Oh hello there welcome to another full English lesson with me Mr Duncan. I hope you are feeling
good today. What is full English?, I hear you ask. Full English can be about anything connected
to the English language. New words, new expressions, new ways of using familiar words.
Perhaps that is the reason why we are here. Before I begin, I have a little brainteaser
for you. What common word can be used alongside these five words? Down, wet, super, place,
and stall. I will give you the answer at the end of today’s episode, so get your thinking caps on!
Here is an interesting phrase. Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve reached ‘the point of
no return’? To be in a position where you find yourself unable to go back on something you have
said or done is to be at the point of no return. A moment of anger or frustration might cause you
to say or do something which you cannot go back on. It cannot be undone. There is no way back.
“I told my boss he can stick his job where the sun doesn’t shine.”
“I got so angry at my neighbour and said some very hurtful things to her.” We can
also say that you have ‘burnt your bridges’. An action that causes irreversible consequences
might be described as ‘burning your bridges’. Those actions are irrevocable, irreversible,
final, irretrievable, and permanent. They can’t be undone. Sometimes it is best to choose your
words and actions carefully, or else you might find yourself stuck with the consequences of
a situation where there is no going back. You have reached the point of no return.
It’s time to take a look at another buzzword. A buzzword is a word or phrase that is popular
during a certain period or is often used. Today’s buzzword is… litigate. The word ‘litigate’ is a
verb that means to go ahead or proceed with legal action against someone. The action of litigation
is the process of taking a person to court, due to a perceived wrongdoing,
or in an attempt to receive payment for damages or some other form of recompense. The word lawsuit is
often used when naming this action. You issue a lawsuit and you begin the process of litigation.
We might also use the word ‘sue’, when legal action is carried out against someone. Normally
this involves the claiming of money for damages caused to a person’s reputation or good name.
Here are two words that begin with the same letter but have very different meanings. The words are
‘help’ and ‘hinder’. To help or offer help is to give assistance or offer to aid someone with
a task of some sort. An action that is useful to someone can be described as help. You give help.
You offer help. You are helping someone. Then there is the word ‘hinder’, which means to prevent
or obstruct someone. To distract or interfere with the smooth flow of something is ‘hinder’.
You hold something back by getting in the way. A hindrance might occur when two actions clash.
Two different languages being used at the same time might hinder a conversation.
So help and hinder can be used as opposites. One is useful, whilst the other is not.
Can you see where I am standing? I am behind bars. The bars on these railings
are in the way. They are partially blocking my view and are preventing me from moving forward.
Bars are often used as a safety measure. Gates and fences might have bars on them.
Windows sometimes have bars so as to prevent break-ins, or in the case of prisons,
break-outs. You can ‘bar’ someone as an action. To ban or list someone as not welcome can be
described as barring. You might be barred from your local pub for bad behaviour. To be added to
a list of people who are not allowed to enter a place or join a group is described as being
‘barred’. “I have been barred from the local pub for fighting with the manager.” Then there is the
expression ‘raise the bar’, which refers to the standard or level of something being increased.
The ‘bar’ is used figuratively to show the expected standard of something.
So by raising the bar, you are increasing the standard or difficulty of something. Of course
the opposite can also be true. It is possible to ‘lower the bar’ when standards are being
lowered. The quality of something is not as high as it used to be. The bar has been lowered.
The phrase ‘behind bars’ is often used to describe a person who is serving a prison sentence.
They are literally behind bars.
Well sadly we have come to the end of another Full English lesson.
At the start of this video I asked you to work out what common words
can be used with each of the following words. Down, wet, super, place, and stall. The answer
is…market! You can have down market,
which means cheap with no frills.
You can have wet market, which is a place where fish is sold.
You can have supermarket, which is a large food retail store.
You can have market place which is and area where traders gather to sell their goods.
And you can have market stall, which is a position where a trader will sell their goods from.
I hope you have enjoyed today's Full English lesson
and I hope also that you will join me very soon for another one.
This is Mr Duncan in the birthplace of English, that is of course England saying,
thanks for watching, see you again soon and of course...
ta ta for now