- Hello, lovely students,
and welcome back to English with Lucy.
I was thinking the other day,
and that's not something I do very often,
but I was thinking,
the first thing you learn
when you take your first English class
is normally the daily routine, right?
I wake up, I get up, I eat breakfast.
And I thought, what would a daily routine look like
at C1 advanced level?
I started to write this lesson just as a little experiment
and it ended up becoming so interesting
that I've decided to make it into a video for you.
In this lesson, I am going to give you
a daily routine on steroids,
and on steroids means the most extreme version
or a very extreme version.
In this daily routine, I'm going to give you a tonne
of super advanced C1 vocabulary,
and we're going to cover lots and lots
of C1 level grammar structures.
So if you really want to test your English skills,
this lesson is for you.
We'll focus more on grammar for this lesson,
but I will mark out the C1 level vocabulary,
and then in the PDF that goes with this lesson,
you will receive a full vocabulary list
with phonetic transcriptions,
with definitions, and with examples,
and of course, a quiz plus all of the grammar information
that we've gone through today.
In addition to that free PDF,
I'll also give you the opportunity
to download my C1 ebook for free,
and this ebook contains everything, grammar and vocabulary,
that you need to know to reach a C1 level.
If you would like to download the free PDF and the ebook,
just click on the link in the description box.
You enter your name, your email address,
you sign up to my mailing list.
The PDF and ebook will arrive directly in your inbox.
And after that, you've joined the PDF Club,
you will automatically receive my weekly free lesson PDFs,
along with my news, course offers, and updates.
It's free. You can unsubscribe at any time.
I also want to mention before we start
that this is going to be quite an extreme daily routine
and some people will probably want to let me know,
"English people do not speak like this in real life!"
No, I totally agree.
I just want to see how far we can go
with advanced grammar and advanced vocabulary.
All I know is it's going to be complex
and it's going to be fun.
Upon waking up to the melodious chimes of my alarm clock,
I embark on my well-established morning routine
that I've perfected over the years.
First and foremost,
I indulge in a brief meditation session,
allowing me to clear my mind
and start the day with a sense of calm.
In addition to my mental exercise,
I dive into a challenging 30-minute workout session,
but I guess it isn't so much challenging
as it is invigorating.
After freshening up,
I pamper myself with my nourishing skincare regimen,
ensuring a well-hydrated and glowing complexion.
I told you this is a daily routine on steroids
in order to reach the C1 level of vocabulary and grammar.
There aren't many people in the UK
that speak like this on a daily basis.
Okay, so in addition to loads of really great vocab,
we also have quite a few C1 level grammar structures,
and let's start by looking at these three clauses.
What do you notice about them?
We have upon waking up
to the melodious chimes of my alarm clock.
We have allowing me to clear my mind
and start the day with a sense of calm.
And we have ensuring a well-hydrated and glowing complexion.
Well, these are known as non-finite clauses,
and this is a topic that we cover
in great detail in my C1 programme.
I've left links for that down below.
But here is a quick explanation of non-finite clauses.
A non-finite clause is a type of clause
that doesn't have a subject and a finite verb,
a verb with tense and agreement.
In other words, it's an incomplete sentence
that can't stand alone as a complete thought,
and non-finite clauses use verbs
in their base form, infinitive,
or the -ing form, the present participle,
without specific subject information.
These incomplete sentence building blocks
help add more context and information to our sentences.
Now let's take a look
at another structure in this paragraph.
It isn't so much challenging as it is invigorating.
So using not so much + adjective + as + adjective
is an advanced comparative structure
we use to compare two related qualities.
Okay, I'm going to address
one more grammar concept from this paragraph
before we move on to the rest of my routine.
Compound adjectives.
Like well-established, 30-minute, well-hydrated.
So compound adjectives are adjectives that are formed
by combining two or more words
to create a single descriptive term.
These adjectives are commonly used to convey complex
or specific qualities
that may not be easily expressed
with just one single word.
I used several hyphenated compound adjectives
in this first paragraph,
and we use the hyphens to clarify
that the words are meant to be taken together
as a single descriptive unit.
There are some other forms of compound adjectives,
and I cover those in the C1 programme.
Right, let's see what I get up to
with the rest of my C1 extreme day.
This is going to get complex.
No sooner have I got dressed in my most casual
yet professional attire
than I am wolfing down a hearty breakfast
to fuel my day ahead.
With a steaming cup of herbal tea in hand,
I scan the morning headlines
to stay informed on the happenings of the world.
Meanwhile, as I commute to work,
I immerse myself in an audio book,
relishing the well-written prose
and captivating storytelling.
Thus, I arrive at work ready to tackle the day ahead of me.
Wow, that's really sounding like a novel at this point.
Okay, let's see what we've got here.
In the first sentence,
no sooner have I got dressed
in my most casual yet professional attire
than I am wolfing down a hearty breakfast
to fuel my day ahead.
So the construction no sooner have I got dressed
is an example of negative inversion.
A negative inversion
is one of my favourite grammatical structures.
I absolutely love the way it sounds.
And when students learn it,
they can instantly sound so intelligent when they speak.
So negative inversion
is where the usual word order of a sentence
is inverted or changed
when a negative adverbial expression is used
at the beginning of the sentence.
The construction is important because it adds emphasis.
I'm not just saying I have got dressed,
but I'm highlighting the immediacy of the action
by using no sooner.
This construction often indicates
that one action happens immediately after another,
almost without any delay.
Using negative inversion
helps to add a little flare to the story
instead of sticking
to the same subject-verb type construction,
but it should be used sparingly.
If you use it too much, it will sound pretty contrived.
The final two sentences featured signposts,
and no, I'm not talking about these.
I'm referring to language like meanwhile and thus.
And using signposting language like this
is giving your writing a GPS.
It helps steer your audience smoothly along
and it keeps your thoughts organised.
These little words and phrases
act as the glue that holds your writing together.
Think of it this way.
Without these signposting cues,
your writing could get all jumbled up
and end up sounding like a bunch of random thoughts.
Let's do a quick comprehension check.
Can you identify the signposting language
in our first paragraph?
I'll give you a few seconds to read through.
Use your pause button now to have a read through.
In five seconds, I'm going to give you the answers.
Okay, you should have said,
first and foremost, in addition to, and after.
Okay, what's the rest of my day looking like?
Upon arriving at the office,
I buckle down and get on with my work,
meticulously completing my tasks
in the most efficient way possible.
It's knowing that I'm contributing
in a meaningful way that I thrive on,
and I actively seek opportunities to enhance my skillset.
Throughout the day,
I engage in productive dialogues with colleagues,
synergizing ideas and learning
from their unique perspectives.
All right, we have a few things to look at here.
First, we have the clause meticulously completing my tasks
in the most efficient way possible.
This utilises a post-modified superlative adjective.
That's quite a mouthful.
Post-modified superlative adjective.
So this is an adjective that is placed after the noun,
and it modifies or adds emphasis
or specific information about the noun.
And this construction is used to highlight
the extreme quality of the noun
in comparison to others of its kind.
The structure of the second sentence
was a bit of an odd one.
It is knowing that I'm contributing
in a meaningful way that I thrive on,
and I actively seek opportunities to enhance my skillset.
We call this a cleft sentence, a cleft sentence,
and this is a grammatical construction
used to emphasise a particular element in a sentence
by dividing it into two clauses.
I know I said that negative inversion was my favourite,
but I actually think it ties with cleft sentences.
Once you master these,
it opens up an opportunity to really add some interest
to your creative writing.
The purpose of a cleft sentence is to bring attention
to a specific part of the sentence,
often by reorganising the structure
to highlight that element.
In this case, I wanted to highlight
knowing that I am contributing in a meaningful way,
so I was able to restructure my sentence to make sure
that this portion of the sentence was the main focus.
They're pretty nifty, these cleft sentences.
Okay, let's move on to the final part of my routine.
As the day draws to a close, I reflect on my achievements,
striving to be the best version of myself
both personally and professionally.
All I hope is that I outdo
my previous accomplishments each day
as I embrace life with unwavering determination.
By adopting this disciplined and purposeful routine,
I feel confident that I can continue
on a path of self-improvement and well-being.
I feel like I'm becoming less and less likeable
as this daily routine goes on.
But it's not about me, it's about the grammar.
So let's see what we have here.
In the first sentence,
as the day draws to a close, I reflect on my achievements,
striving to be the best version of myself
both personally and professionally.
We have a few different things going on here.
First, we have as the day draws to a close,
which is a subordinate clause,
but by C1, you should already be familiar with them.
These are clauses that can't stand on their own
as individual sentences.
They have to be attached to a main or independent clause.
We also have a participle clause, a participle clause,
striving to be the best version of myself
both personally and professionally.
A participle clause is a type of non-finite clause.
We discussed those before.
Can you identify the other participle clause
in this paragraph?
That's right, it is our last sentence.
By adopting this disciplined and purposeful routine.
I can't say purposeful
without going, purposeful, purposeful.
That's a very...
It's quite a stuffy-sounding word to me,
quite old fashioned.
It's very purposeful.
This participle clause also functions as adverbial phrase
because I used the preposition
by explaining how the action in the main clause is achieved.
Finally, we saw another common construction
of a cleft sentence, my other favourite.
All I hope is that I outdo
my previous accomplishments each day
as I embrace life with unwavering determination.
The structure what or all + clause + be + clause
is quite commonly used
so it's a good one to have in your back pocket.
Oh my word. That was an intense lesson.
That's probably one of the most advanced English lessons
I have ever delivered.
I really hope you enjoyed it,
and if delving deeper
into the world of C1 grammar and vocabulary
and pronunciation and writing and speaking
and listening and reading sparks your interest,
then I do invite you to join
my Beautiful British English C1 programme.
Our first cohort of students have just finished.
They have taken their final exam.
They have got fantastic results
and we're starting to receive the most amazing feedback.
I'm so proud of my C1 students.
If you are interested in finding out more,
just visit my website, englishwithlucy.com.
There you can see all of my courses,
including the C1 programme.
If you want to work on your advanced level grammar,
don't forget about the free PDF
that comes with today's lesson.
The link to download that is in the description box.
You just sign up to my mailing list
and it will arrive directly in your inbox.
I'm also giving you a copy of my C1 ebook
that will show you all of the grammar
and vocabulary that you need to achieve the C1 level.
I'm giving you that as an extra with your PDF.
That's it for me today.
I will see you soon for another lesson.
(upbeat music)