In order to speak English fluently, you must be able to use English idioms
properly, like a native English speaker.
So my friend today in this English lesson, I'm going to teach you seven
powerful English idioms that will help you finally start sounding
like a native English speaker.
Are you ready?
Well, then I'm teacher Tiffani.
Let's jump right in idiom number one.
The very first idiom you must know is beat around the bush, beat around the bush.
Excellent.
One more time after me beat around the bush.
Great job.
Now you're probably wondering what does this mean?
Let me explain it.
So the definition of this idiom is.
To avoid addressing an issue or speaking directly about it.
You don't necessarily want to really address what's going on.
You don't want to deal with the issue.
You want to avoid it.
For example.
Let's say a mother, maybe your mother or a father walks into their child's room
and their child's room is absolutely a disaster clothes, everywhere,
toys, everywhere, food on the floor.
It looks horrible.
So the mother walks in Johnny, Johnny, listen, didn't I tell
you to clean your room, Johnny?
Why isn't your room clean?
Johnny says, mommy, you know, you look amazing today.
I just love that dress you're wearing mommy.
And you know, when I was at school today, mommy, my teacher, Johnny
stopped beating around the bush and tell me why your room is not clean.
You caught it.
Yes, Johnny was trying to avoid the question, avoid the issue in English.
We say beat around the bush.
Now this idiom can be used in professional environments and also in
very normal environments, comfortable environments with your friends.
All right.
Beat around the bush.
Now check out these examples and instances.
Here we go.
Sentence number one.
John, not Johnny, always beats around the bush instead of giving a direct answer.
Tell us what you want to stay.
Stop beating around the bush.
Next we have example, sentence number two, instead of telling the
truth, she beat around the bush.
And tried to change the subject you're catching on, right?
Beat around the bush, not trying to say what's really.
And what about example, sentence number three, the politician is known for
beating around the bush during interviews.
Well, I, um, I, I just want to say that, you know, Not addressing the issue.
Once again, the politician is known for beating around the bush during interviews.
You got it.
Excellent.
Remember, this is the first of seven powerful idioms.
I guarantee you, you can start using this today to sound more
like a native English speaker.
The second English idiom you must know is this one right here.
Lost four words.
Lost for words.
Here we go.
Unable to find the right words to express oneself, unable to find
the right words to express oneself.
I'm I'm lost for words.
I, I, I just don't know what to say.
This happened to me when I went to South Korea, I was in
South Korea and I went hiking.
My favorite mountain is Sarak mountain, right?
Saraksan for those that speak Korean.
And I went to the top of the mountain with some friends
and I was at a loss for words.
I could not put into words what I was seeing.
That's how beautiful it was.
I was unable to find the right words to express myself.
Lost for words.
You got it.
Excellent.
All right.
Check out this example sentence.
The first example sentence.
I was so surprised by the news that I was lost for words.
I couldn't, I couldn't find the right words to say.
I was so.
Surprised I was lost for words.
You got it, right?
It's a very simple idiom to understand.
Isn't it?
Because many times you as an English learner have those situations, even
in your own language, where you just can't find the right words
to express what you'd like to say.
Either you're surprised or shocked.
I'm lost for words.
You got it.
Excellent.
All right.
Sentence number two, when she handed me the award, I was lost for words and
couldn't give a proper acceptance speech.
This happened to my best friend, uh, the church that she works for.
They surprised her at the end of last year and they gave her a monetary award.
They gave her some money.
And she was at a loss for words.
She didn't know what to say.
She was so overwhelmed with good feelings and joy and appreciation.
So again, when she handed me the award, I was lost for words and couldn't
give a proper acceptance speech.
Sentence number three, using this idiom, he was lost for words when his
girlfriend announced that she was leaving.
What do you mean?
What happened?
I thought we were good.
He was lost for words.
When his girlfriend announced that she was leaving, you got it.
Excellent.
All right.
The second idiom lost for words.
Again, an important idiom for you.
Here we go.
Idiom number three, get the ball rolling.
I love this idiom.
I like to get the ball rolling and I use this quite often.
Again, get the ball rolling after me, get the ball rolling.
Good job.
All right.
What does this mean?
It literally just means to initiate.
Or start something, right?
Think about this at the beginning of every lesson.
What do I say?
What's the phrase I use all the time?
Let's come on now.
You got it.
Let's jump right in.
Let's get the ball rolling.
Let's start the lesson.
You caught it, right?
Again, similar meaning.
It just means to initiate or start something get.
The ball rolling.
So let's check out the example sentences.
Here we go.
Sentence number one.
Let's get the ball rolling on this project by scheduling a kickoff meeting.
Hey, let's get it started by scheduling a kickoff meeting.
Sentence number two, we need to get the ball rolling on organizing
the event before it's too late.
And finally, sentence number three, she took charge and got the ball
rolling on the new initiative.
She got it started.
She initiated it.
Make sense?
I love it.
Now again, these idioms are powerful because native English speakers,
we use them on a regular basis.
So now for you, when you start using these idioms today, you will start sounding
more like a native English speaker.
Your English will immediately improve.
Wow.
You know that idiom A Let's get the ball rolling.
Come on guys.
We need to practice our English.
Let's get the ball rolling.
Yes.
Some of my students will use that in their next practice session.
All right, here we go.
So number three, get the ball rolling.
Let's move on to number four idiom.
Number four, break the ice, break the ice, good break the ice.
Now, what does this mean?
Break the ice.
It literally just means to overcome.
Initial tension or awkwardness in a social situation.
That's not really that comfortable.
You're not really sure how to make everyone comfortable in this situation.
You want to break the ice, the rigidness, right?
The stiffness.
When you're cold, you usually get stiff, right?
You want to break the ice, make.
Everyone relaxed and comfortable makes sense.
All right, here we go.
The first example sentence, he told a joke to break the ice and make
everyone feel more comfortable.
You got it.
Excellent.
All right.
Sentence number two, the team played a game to break the ice at the
start of the team building session.
They wanted to play a game to make everyone relaxed to.
Break the ice and finally, sentence number three, I usually ask about their
hobbies to break the ice with new people.
I meet asking them a question to make them relax.
Make sense.
Excellent.
So again, number four is break the ice.
Now, before we get to number five, I want to remind you everything you're learning.
It's important to practice.
So after you watch this video, don't forget to download the
English with Tiffani app.
You can download the app totally for free, but there's a practice lesson
that goes along with this lesson.
It's important for you to practice what you learn.
So download the app.
The link is in the description, or you can go to your app store and
just look for English with Tiffani.
All right.
So let's move on to idiom number five, idiom number five, speak one's mind.
Good again, speak one's mind.
Excellent.
Now this idiom, another powerful idiom just means to express one's thoughts
or opinions honestly and openly.
Hey, this is how I feel.
I'm going to express my thoughts and my feelings and opinions.
Clearly speak one's mind.
What is your thought?
What are your ideas?
I'm going to speak my mind.
This is how I feel again, to express one's thoughts or opinions, honestly and openly.
All right.
So check out this example sentence.
First one, he never hesitates to speak his mind, even if it means disagreeing with
others, large group of people together.
There's a large group of people and they all have one idea, but then
Brandon raises his hand and says, I'm sorry, I don't agree with this.
I think dot, dot, dot.
Brandon decided to speak his mind, even though he was disagreeing with the group.
Makes sense.
All right, here we go.
Sentence number two, she was encouraged to speak her mind
during the brainstorming session.
She was encouraged to give her thoughts, to give her ideas, her opinions
during the brainstorming session.
And finally, sentence number three, he regrets not speaking his mind
and standing up for his beliefs.
You got it again, idiom number five, speak one's mind.
All right, here we go.
Idiom number six, the sixth powerful idiom is get the message across.
Again, get the message across good.
Last time after me, get the message across great job.
Now this literally just means to successfully convey or
communicate a message or idea.
Once again, to successfully convey or communicate.
A message or idea.
I want to make sure you're understanding what I am telling you.
I want to make sure the message is getting across.
The message is going from me to you and you caught it.
You understand it clearly get the message across.
You got it.
Excellent.
All right, here we go.
First example, sentence, the teacher use various methods.
Or excuse me, the teacher uses various methods to get the message across
to all students, various methods.
I used to do this in South Korea.
I would tell a story.
I would draw a picture.
I would sing a song.
Why I wanted to make sure to get the message across.
I wanted to make sure to successfully convey or communicate the message.
You got it.
Excellent.
Here we go.
Sentence number two, it's important to choose the right words to get
your message across effectively.
And finally, sentence number three, he tried different explanations
to get the message across, but she still didn't understand.
You got it again, get the message across.
All right, here we go.
Number seven, the seventh powerful idiom is beat someone to the punch.
You're probably like, Tiff, wait a minute.
What beat someone to the punch?
What does this mean?
Let me explain.
Beat someone to the punch after me first for pronunciation,
beat someone to the punch.
Excellent.
Now, this just means to do or say something before someone else can to
do or say something before someone else can, for example, let's imagine
that a husband decides to buy his wife.
A Mercedes Benz for their 50th wedding anniversary.
He's excited.
He has the keys.
He's about to surprise her, but then their granddaughter, who's also excited,
runs in ahead of him, jumps on her grandmother's lap and says, grandma,
granddad bought you a Mercedes, the granddad's hand drops and says, well.
I guess she beat me to the punch.
You got it.
Yes.
Again.
It just means to do or say something before someone else can.
All right, here we go.
Check out the first example sentence.
He beat me to the punch and announced the news before I had a chance to.
Next sentence, number two, the competitor released a similar
product to beat them to the punch.
And finally, sentence number three, she always has quick ideas
and beats the team to the punch.
You got it.
Excellent.
So again, idiom number seven, beat someone to the punch.
Remember, I hope you enjoyed this lesson.
Don't forget.
You can practice what you learned by downloading the English with Tiffani app.
I hope you enjoyed it.
I hope you continue studying and I'll talk to you in the next.
Do, do, do, do, do,
do you still there?
Ha ha.
You know what time it is.
It's story time.
Hey, I said, it's story time.
Let's do that again.
Now.
Story time.
Hey, Hey, Hey, I said, it's story time.
All right.
So today's story is a short story, but it has a very powerful and important lesson.
So my parents are two years away from being 70 years old, right?
They look great.
You wouldn't know how old they are.
Right.
Um, but as I get older, I realized how important it is to spend as much
time with your family as possible, specifically with your parents.
I've seen so many articles that speak about as parents get older,
they retire and they're living, my parents are still married.
They're happily married.
But there was a time when my sister and I lived with them, right.
Growing up for all these years, we were together with them every single day.
And then we left right.
College sister got married, has kids and we just continued living life.
Right.
We still, of course, see them often.
Right.
We, we see each other for the holidays.
We talk every single day, but I realized the importance of in person connections.
So about three or four weeks ago, I was at church, we go to different
churches and the church I go to is not too far from where my parents live.
So I said, you know what, let me call and see if my parents are home to stop by and
check on them and see how they're doing.
And they happened to be home.
They were about to head out though.
They're like, Hey, we're going to head out.
I was like, Hey, I'm just going to stop by if you guys are home.
And they said, no, no, we'll wait for you.
And I went to their house and we talked for about an hour, hour and
a half, laughed hard, talked about their week, talked about their day.
And as I was sitting there, I was thinking to myself, I want more of this.
My parents, yes, they're not old, right?
But you just don't know what could happen.
I had friends who have lost their parents like that all of a sudden passed away.
So I want you to keep this in mind.
The people that are around you, whether it's your parents, your spouse,
whoever it might be, remember to value people and to spend time with
them in person as much as possible, because I won't forget that moment.
It was a few weeks ago.
But it was so good to spend time with my parents, laughing with them,
having conversations in person.
We talk on the phone a lot, but in person, there's something about being in person.
So I hope that this week you'll find time to spend with your loved ones in person.
Hope you have a great day, a great week, and I'll talk to you next time.