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hi everybody welcome back to ask alicia
the weekly series where you ask me
questions and i answer them maybe first
question this week comes from stefan hi
stefan stepan says hi alicia what is the
meaning of the phrase to get used to
doing something does it refer to a
completed action or not and can we use
it in present simple like i get used to
getting up early ah yeah okay to get
used to doing something means to become
accustomed to doing something we tend to
use it more in simple past tense as in
your example i got used to getting up
early or i got used to waking up early
when we use it in the past tense the
past tense got instead of present tense
get it means that the speaker has
already become accustomed to doing that
thing so in the sentence i got used to
waking up early it means the speaker is
now accustomed to getting up early
they're fine we can however as you
suggest use it in the present tense as
well like i need to get used to getting
up early that's an expression for like a
desire to be able to get up early which
means that the speaker is not now able
to get up early or they're not
accustomed to getting up early so yes
you can use it
in present tense but it's probably going
to be used in a situation where the
speaker is expressing a desire or some
kind of need for a new behavior for some
kind of new behavior to be learned if
it's in a conversation a speaker might
say like ah don't worry about your new
job you'll get used to getting up early
so it's you'll get used to in that case
it's a future tense expression like you
are going to get used to getting up
early through this job or another way of
saying that is you will become
accustomed to getting up early through
this job so to get used to something
means to take time and practice to get
accustomed to something to become
accustomed to something we use it all
the time when we're learning new things
like you'll get used to learning english
or you'll get used to speaking english
or you'll get used to talking in front
of a camera all of these different
things that take some time and practice
to do we can describe those with get
used to or once we've become accustomed
to them got used to so i hope that this
helps you thanks very much for the
question okay let's move on to your next
question next question comes from aswin
hi azwin azwin says what's the
difference between do you
did you and are you when i ask questions
okay uh first let's talk about do you
and also does he or does she so this do
and does pattern we use these do and
does patterns when we're making simple
present tense questions like do you have
a pen or does he exercise every day or
do you know where my bag is so we're
asking these simple yes or no questions
with a simple present tense verb so we
could answer yes or no to all of these
questions so let's compare this then to
did did so did is just the past tense of
do we use did in the same way as do but
when we're asking simple past tense
questions for example
did you just call me or did he forget
his wallet or did we buy enough food so
these are all simple past tense
questions we don't conjugate the verb
that comes after do rather we conjugate
did so did is the past form of do
finally let's compare this with are you
or for example is he or is she when we
begin sentences with is or are we're
typically using them with an adjective
or with a progressive tense verb so
we're asking simple questions again yes
or no questions but the thing that
follows is or are is an adjective or is
a verb in the ing form as in is he
sleeping or are you okay
or is he at the office so these yes or
no questions don't use simple present
tense verbs in the part that comes after
the is or are so to recap do and does
are used in present tense or past tense
with simple present tense verbs and are
you or is he is she are used with
adjectives and with verbs in the
progressive form so these all are ways
of making yes or no questions but the
grammar and the structure of this
sentence just changes a little bit so i
hope that this helps you thanks very
much for the question okay let's move on
to your next question next question
comes from anderson souza again hi
anderson anderson says hi alicia i'm a
bit confused with the difference between
the present perfect and the present
perfect continuous if i want to say that
i live in some place and have lived
there for some time which one should i
use okay you can use either for example
i have lived in portland for three years
and i've been living in portland for
three years
so at base these two sentences have
exactly the same meaning they mean
exactly the same thing the only thing
that changes here is perhaps the
situations in which we might use these
let's take a look at the first example
here to begin with let's imagine that
you're at a going-away party a farewell
party for yourself it's your party you
are leaving the city of portland you
might say to your friend at the party i
have lived in portland for three years
it's been great to live here but i'm
excited about my next step so in that
case present perfect tense not using the
continuous sounds quite normal because
you want to talk about this period of
time you've spent in portland it started
three years ago it continued till now at
this party in portland right now and so
you want to emphasize like yes this has
been a continued experience up until
this point in time but it would sound
strange to say i lived in portland for
three years because actually at the
party you're still in portland maybe you
have a few days or another week or so so
it would sound strange to use simple
past tense here
we don't want to use the continuous
tense here because the continuous tense
really emphasizes that something is
going to continue after the conversation
perhaps so in this case just using
present perfect tense without the
continuous form sounds the most natural
let's compare this then to another
situation in this situation you are in
portland and you're at a networking
event for your job you meet someone
there and you're talking about like
basic things where you live and so on
you might say i've been living in
portland for three years it's a great
place to live so in this case we're
using the present perfect continuous we
choose this it sounds most natural
because we want to emphasize that we are
going to remain in portland i'm going to
continue the condition of living in
portland so this sounds a little bit
more natural and it sounds like it's
more emphasis on my continued presence
in portland which we want to emphasize
here because we might be making a new
business connection so in sum these two
sentences communicate exactly the same
thing yes but there are just some small
differences that depend on the situation
and that's the reason that we might
choose to use simple present perfect
tense as opposed to the present perfect
continuous so try to keep these sorts of
situations in mind when you're choosing
between these two i hope that this helps
you thanks very much for the question
okay let's move on to your next question
next question comes from
i hope i said that right hi nini nini
says what does can't help plus the
progressive form mean okay uh yeah this
is like saying i can't control this
behavior so a great example is if you're
watching a funny movie and when you try
to explain your feelings about the movie
you might say i can't help laughing at
this scene
can't help laughing means i can't
control the behavior of laughing you
might also hear i can't help but and
then the simple present tense form of
the verb as in i can't help but laugh so
i can't help but laugh and i can't help
laughing both communicate this loss of
control i'm not able to control this
thing we tend to use this sort of
pattern when we're talking about
emotions so in this case it's about
laughter you might also hear it used to
talk about feelings like i can't help
feeling angry or i can't help feeling
worried about this situation i can't
help feeling means i don't have any
control over this emotion or this action
we tend to use this pattern for like
emotional and mental state verbs we
might use it for some other kind of like
bodily related verbs like i can't help
watching or i can't help looking and so
on so it's like these sorts of actions
that maybe we don't even think about
doing and that we just do automatically
if we see something interesting or
exciting or if something smells terrible
whatever that is it's like some
situation where we lose control somehow
for a moment
we can express that with can't help plus
the progressive form or i can't help but
blah blah blah so some examples can't
help but laugh or can't help laughing i
can't help but feel and can't help
feeling or i can't help but look or
can't help looking so there's not really
a difference in meaning between present
tense and the progressive tense there
but i would say personally i feel that
that can't help but present tense sounds
a little bit more formal so i hope that
this helps you understand the meaning of
this can't help plus the progressive
form of a verb thanks very much for the
question okay let's move on to your next
question next question comes from kitty
hi kitty kitty says hi what is the
difference between have to and must all
right must is used for official rules
and strong advice very strong personal
advice so for official rules you might
see in the airport passengers must show
their passports to immigration or for
strong advice a doctor might say to a
patient you must stop smoking or you're
going to die so in these very serious
official situations must sounds very
appropriate must sounds too official for
everyday speech we don't use it so much
for giving advice or for talking about
rules in everyday speech however you
might see it in something like your
company's rules like your corporate
policy like employees must wear business
shirts to work for example let's compare
this then to have to we use have to to
talk about our responsibilities and we
also use have to to talk about friendly
advice or rather to give friendly advice
that also sounds a bit strong for
example you have to try this dessert
it's so good or i have to go to the bank
today
so have to for advice sounds friendly
and strong but it's not used for very
serious things like we did with must so
please keep this in mind when you're
choosing between these two also if you
would like some more information about
have to and must there is a live stream
about this exact topic on the channel so
please check out our channel archives
for some more information about this
there is also a whiteboard about this
topic coming up soon so please keep an
eye out for that too i hope that this
quick introduction helps you and
definitely check out the other resources
on our channel thanks very much for the
question okay that is everything that i
have for this week thank you as always
for sending your questions remember you
can send them to me at
englishclass101.com
ask hyphen alicia thanks very much for
watching this week's episode of ask
alicia and i will see you again next
week bye bye
hi everybody my name is alicia in this
lesson we're going to talk about
reporting speech in english i'm going to
talk about the verbs we use and a couple
of grammar points that you can think
about so let's get started
the first type of speech reporting i
want to introduce is reporting
statements so statements are just simple
things simple sentences that people said
so this can be direct dialogue exactly
the thing someone said or it can be a
summary of something someone said so
keep in mind these are not questions i'm
going to talk about questions later
let's look
at the verbs and the other expressions
we use to report simple statements
the first one is the very very neutral
said i said
said is the past tense form of say so we
use say and past tense said as the most
basic way to share something someone
else said so we can use this for direct
reports meaning exactly the things
someone said we do
this we use quotes to indicate direct
speech
or we can just use it as i have here
to introduce a summary of something in
this example sentence i said i had to
work so this is just a simple summary i
said something similar in the past
perhaps but this is maybe not a direct
report of my speech we can use said in
most cases just to report information
this was said by someone the speaker is
here the subject so i in this case i
said i had to work we could change it
too he said he had to work is fine they
said they had to work
so this is the most basic verb we can
use to report speech let's move on to a
couple other ones let's look at this
told here i'm using the verb tell but
i'm using past tense told so here the
speaker is indicated at the beginning of
the sentence he
and then the person receiving the
information in this case me
follows the verb so he told me in this
case the train was late he told me the
train was late so this is a past
situation i received information from
him
the information was this he told me the
train was late
so you can change
the person speaking and the person
receiving by changing these two parts on
either side of the verb my mother told
my brother to clean his room for example
so keep in mind when you use the verb
tell or in this case past tense told the
idea is that it's more one-way
communication it's not really a
conversation in this case he told me so
meaning information is coming this way
only i'm not sharing information with
him really he's just sharing something
with me it's one way so we use told to
communicate that of course we could use
said here he said the train was late
using tell or in this case past tense
told
just makes the feeling of one-way
communication stronger he told me okay
now i want to go on to some very casual
expressions that you see for reporting
direct speech especially in american
english
the first one is this
was all was all so i've used this in
past tense here you may hear this in
present tense she's all as in this
example
but was all is quite common too so was
all
is a very casual way of using a verb
like said
however we use this to report direct
speech so these quotes show this is
exactly the thing
someone said these little quotation
marks in this case she was all you're
not gonna believe this so this is the
exact statement the speaker she said in
the past she said exactly this we know
this because we've used this reporting
expression and in this case uh in the
written words we see the the quotation
marks here so when you're speaking or
when you're listening for this you won't
hear she was all you'll hear she was all
so she was all you're not going to
believe this it's quite fast she was all
she was all so sometimes this w sound is
very difficult to hear you might just
hear she's all she's all in which case
it sounds like present tense but in both
cases the basic meaning of just
communicating speech remains so don't
worry too much about catching this w
sound so this she's all uh
is fine to understand what's going on
another one that uses this same was
pattern is using like another very
casual way to report direct speech so in
this case who is speaking my mom so my
mom was like you can't go out this
weekend so in this sentence too these
words here are exactly the words my
mother said but we use was like here so
you'll notice that these two expressions
was all and was like while they're very
very casual
they're used to kind of report something
that's maybe shocking or surprising or
maybe a little bit gossipy in this case
maybe the speaker is complaining so it's
very very casual situations that we use
these expressions in my mom was like so
again this w sound my mom was like
this kind of disappears a little bit
we can also use it in present tense my
mom is like but my mom was like is good
for a clear past tense report
okay so we use the next pair went and go
to report speech very casually so
uh you can see here there is past tense
went present tense go we use them in the
same way again just as with was all and
was like we use these to communicate
direct
quotes these are exact quotes things
people actually said
so they went we're leaving so again we
could say they said we're leaving but
using wendt
again has this sort of very casual maybe
gossipy like there's a little bit of
exciting information there perhaps
same thing with go so i go fine i'm
leaving too so we use these two together
in very casual situations uh that have
kind of a quick conversational feel
about them we can say these things very
quickly in a pair they went we're
leaving so i go fine i'm leaving too so
having this kind of went and go match
together
feels very natural i think to native
speakers same thing here she was all and
my mom was like using these together in
the same kind of dialogue report sounds
quite natural i think but generally
using a mix of all of these to report
statements is a really good idea if you
use the exact same expression to report
report report all the time it sounds a
little bit unnatural kind of stiff okay
so these are all for statements these
are all for statements let's look at two
patterns for uh questions now
so here i have the past tense asked
and inquired used here
i chose these two just because uh asked
is kind of the casual or the everyday
verb we can use for questions inquired
just sounds more formal it's a more
formal way of saying asked so some
examples of this are i asked about the
menu and i asked if there were any
vacancies these are two common patterns
i asked about some topic or i asked if
and then there's some kind of inquiry
point here i asked if there were any
vacancies here
same thing we can do with uh inquired he
inquired about the company
so we see this same about plus a topic
point
um we can also with the verb ask use a
direct uh quote too so for example i
asked what are you doing that's also
okay we can use ask with a direct quote
you can also use it with inquired as
well if you like but perhaps this one is
a little bit more useful for everyday
conversations and everyday questions
so throughout this lesson i've talked
about using the past tense and the
present tense for reporting but what's
the difference so i want to talk a
little bit about that here to finish
that
so past tense and present tense both
used to report speech both fine to
report speech here i've used simple past
and simple present tense you might also
hear progressive tense in the past or in
the present tense
but the difference between them present
tense if you use present tense it feels
like the story is happening now so if
i'm using present tense to
report speech and maybe to share the
points in the story as well it sounds
like the story is happening now it's
present it's present tense it's
happening in the present so if i want my
story to feel kind of lively and more
exciting i can use present tense to tell
my story
if however past tense is used it sounds
more like just a simple report it's like
you're just telling facts what happened
there's not really like a feeling of
excitement necessarily it's just simple
reporting so we see past tense and
simple past tense uh story reporting in
the news for example so in the news it's
simple reports of fact what happened on
that day you'll see simple past tense
used in english news reports so this is
kind of a key difference that you can
think about when you're telling stories
and you're reporting information as well
alright that's everything for this
lesson i hope that it was useful for you
if you liked the video please make sure
to give us a thumbs up subscribe to the
channel if you haven't already and check
us out at
englishclass101.com for other good study
tools of course please feel free to drop
us a message in the comments as well
thanks very much for watching this
episode and i will see you again next
time bye
hi everybody my name is alicia in this
lesson i'm going to talk about borrowing
and lending expressions i'm going to
share some sample requests you can use
for borrowing and lending things and i'm
going to introduce some time expressions
you can use with these requests to make
more specific questions so let's begin
okay
first i want to look at a category for
expressions you can use when you want
something so you want to receive
something in other words let's look at
the first sentence here then so it's
will you lend me your car here we're
using the verb lend and the person
receiving the item follows the verb lend
so in this case me who is receiving it
me i am receiving it
the item i'm receiving your car comes
after the person receiving it so in this
case lend is used but let's look at the
kind of opposite of this question
can i borrow some money so here the verb
borrow is being used but the person
receiving in this case money the person
receiving the item is the subject here
can i borrow some money
so here we're not saying can i borrow
some money from you you can include can
i borrow some money from you that's okay
but here it's understood we understand
the speaker wants to borrow money from
the listener
so this is a key difference
when the verb used is lend
the person receiving the item is the
object of the verb however when the verb
is borrow the person receiving the item
is the subject so this is something to
keep in mind let's look at some other
examples
here i'm not using the word lend and i'm
not using the word borrow here i'm using
use can i use some item
for a minute so this specifically
includes a verb what am i going to do
i'm going to use the item so can i use
your pen for a minute can i use your
computer for a minute can i use your
phone for a minute
for a minute means a short period of
time literally it means 60 seconds but
this indicates just a short period of
time about a minute perhaps
another one if you don't want to use a
will or can you can also use just a
simple please statement so this is not a
question but please lend me
something something something so please
lend me your car please lend me your pen
this sounds quite formal actually please
lend me keep in mind though we cannot
use please borrow we can't say please
borrow me that's incorrect we can only
use lend here please lend me something
okay let's go though to the next
category here which is borrowing and
lending for someone else so in these
sentences i've included you and me as
the basic pattern however if you're
talking about someone else or you want
to ask person a for something for person
b how do you explain that
let's look at these examples first
similar to this will you
lend person
your item so this is very similar to
this pattern here i've replaced me with
person here so will you lend your
classmate your pencil will you lend your
teacher the paper so something you want
comes at the end of the sentence here
and the person follows the verb right
here
we can do the same thing when we're
using the verb borrow as we did in this
example sentence
here
we've replaced i in the original
sentence with person so can person
borrow your item so again because we're
using borrow the person receiving the
item is the subject of the verb so can
my roommate borrow your car
can my parents borrow your house for the
weekend for example so just keep in mind
that these two verbs
always follow the same rule about the
positioning of the subject and the
object and the person receiving
or giving the item let's look at one
more example though this is quite a
complex situation because the person
lending the item and the person
receiving the item are not participating
in the conversation the speaker and the
listener are talking about some other
group of people for example here i
wonder if person a
can borrow
item from person b
so here we need specifically
to describe who is person a
and who is person b they're not
participating in the conversation so i
wonder if my dad can borrow
a tool from my uncle for example so
these two people are not participating
in the conversation but we're discussing
the possibility this is how we would do
it this is one example of that
all right
so just to recap then these are kind of
the simple requests that i'm using and
that you can use when you're doing
borrowing and lending conversation
practice so can i will you and please
you'll notice please is not made as a
question please is just a statement
can i and will you our actual questions
there
so just remember can i borrow will you
lend because the subjects of the
sentence
indicate different people are receiving
and giving the item
also just to review as well this is a
key point from this lesson when you're
using the verb lend the person receiving
the item is the object of the verb as in
here please lend me your car will you
lend me your car me is the object here
when you're using the verb borrow the
person receiving the item is the subject
of the verb as we saw here can i borrow
some money i is the subject i am
receiving the money in this case
okay so with that i want to look at some
time expressions that you can add to
your request
so i talked about it in this point here
can i use something for a minute that's
an example of a time expression we can
use to make our request a little more
specific so
i've used two kind of patterns here the
first group uses four the second group
uses until so remember we use four for a
period of time a time period a length of
time in other words here for a minute i
talked about before for a bit is a
casual way to say a short period of time
for a sec a sec is short for a second a
second also a very short period of time
literally not a second one second but
very short period of time
here specifically for a week and for a
year so these are just some examples of
lengths of time you can use to add to
your request
in the other group until here we see
some situations that might happen that
would cause the
speaker to return the item they have
borrowed or to return the item they have
been lended so can i borrow your car
until i get a new one for example or can
i borrow your calculator until i find
mine
so these sentences or rather these time
expressions show for example can i
borrow your calculator until i find mine
means at the point in time i find my
calculator
i will return your calculator to you so
until i find mine shows that another one
until i can pay you back this would be
used for money so
we talked about here can i borrow some
money until i can pay you back it's
quite a
risky
question perhaps but until i can pay you
back is one example
here are some more specific ones with
time until tomorrow so until this point
in time until the test so again a
specific point in time so we can use
until and for with our requests for
borrowing and lending i hope that that
helps you make some more specific
questions anyway those are all the
things that i want to talk about for
this lesson if you have any questions
comments or would like to practice
making sentences or requests please feel
free to do so in the comment section of
this video of course if you like the
video don't forget to give us a thumbs
up subscribe to our channel and come
check us out at
englishclass101.com for other good study
tools thanks very much for watching this
lesson and i will see you again soon bye
hi everybody welcome back to top words
my name is alicia and today we're going
to talk about 10 past perfect continuous
patterns
so before we start today's episode of
top words this is just a
review of a grammar point so using i've
been i'm going to use i've been to
introduce each of these so for a little
bit of grammar review this means i have
been plus a progressive form of the verb
meaning i started at some point in the
past and it continues to the current
point in time when we are speaking so
all of the sentences all of the patterns
i'm going to introduce in this lesson
follow that pattern and i'll try to use
some example sentences with different
subjects as well so
let's look
i've been thinking all right the first
sentence is i've been thinking i've been
thinking so something that you uh
started thinking about in the past and
you have continued you maybe started
thinking i don't know two weeks ago when
you thought about a week ago and you
thought about a few days ago so and now
you're thinking about it you can say
i've been thinking you can say i've been
thinking
thought and continued to a new idea you
can say i've been thinking about and
then you continue with the gerund form
of the verb so like i've been thinking
about changing jobs i've been thinking
about moving to a new apartment we use
the gerund form they're moving so
another example sentence i've been
thinking about starting a new hobby
i've been worrying
the next pattern is i've been worrying
i've been worrying so something that you
thought about in the past that caused
you to worry and you continued to worry
about until the present time i've been
worrying about blah blah blah i've been
worrying about my brother my mother says
she's been worrying about me for a long
time or my boss has been worrying about
this project so always this has been or
have been plus worrying about
something i've been worrying about
something okay in another sentence
i've been worrying about you all night
i've been wanting
and the next pattern is i've been
wanting i've been wanting so wanting
means something you started like you
wanted it for the first time in the past
like i think i used this in a live a
live video i said i've been wanting to
see that movie like i've been wanting to
see the new blade runner i think i said
that means i started wanting i for the
first time i thought i wanted to do that
or i wanted some object and i didn't get
it at that time maybe the next day and
the day after that and the day after
that i still wanted that thing so i can
say i've been wanting that i've been
wanting that so for example in my
sentence i've been wanting to see that
movie for a long time or he's been
wanting to take a day off for ages or
they've been wanting to travel the world
for 50 years
something like that in another example
sentence yeah i've been wanting to see
that movie
i've been studying
the next pattern is i've been studying
i've been studying this is a pattern
that's probably very useful for many
people who are watching i've been
studying means you started studying in
the past and you continued to study for
a number of years or a number of months
or maybe just a few days i don't know
i've been studying so this is a pattern
that you can use actually all of these
are patterns that you can use with for
and since before the period of time or
the length of time so for example i've
been studying english for three years or
she's been studying accounting her whole
life or they've been studying gardening
for the last six months for example so
talking about a thing you have studied
for a period of time you can refer to
that continuously with the progressive
form or the continuous form in another
sentence i've been studying english for
a year
i've been hearing about
ah the next one the next pattern is i've
been hearing about i've been hearing
about this is useful for gossip or for
news
maybe you can use it to talk about like
a new restaurant or a new bar or just
something interesting some interesting
little piece of information you
continue to hear about so you heard it
once or maybe you heard about it again a
few days later something that here and
there
you've you heard about a few times you
can say i've been hearing about blah
blah blah like i've been hearing about
this new restaurant that opened recently
or i've been hearing about the upcoming
policy changes at work or he said he's
been hearing about some bad weather
that's going to come this summer i don't
know but something that you've been
hearing something that you heard news
about in the past multiple times you can
say i've been hearing about blah blah
blah in a sentence
i've been hearing about our new manager
little gossip okay
i've been listening to
uh next one is also maybe useful for
your studies but um i think useful for
your hobbies it's i've been listening to
i've been listening to um so something
that began and again began in the past
continues to the present
that happened regularly so this can mean
like music that you like or maybe a news
program or a podcast that you enjoy
or maybe i don't know even this video
series for example so i've been
listening to that artist for many years
or he's been listening to his boss's
advice for the whole day or
um
she's been
listening to her mother
shout for three hours i don't know but
these are things we've we we are we have
listened to uh continuously for a period
of time i've been listening to something
else continuously in another sentence
i've been listening to a lot of jazz
lately
i've been talking a lot with
the next pattern is i've been talking a
lot with
i've been talking a lot with or you can
say i've been talking a lot too is also
all right but i've been talking a lot
with means
over an extended period of time or maybe
recently there's a person or a group of
people or an organization perhaps you
have had many conversations with you've
spoken to that person many times so for
example um he's been talking a lot with
a counselor recently or they've been
talking a lot with upper management
about the future of the company for
example or i've been talking a lot with
my neighbors lately it's been great
so talking a lot with is another pattern
that's useful in this grammar point i
think
um in a sentence
i've been talking a lot with my parents
this month
i've been living
next one is a commonly confused one i
think the next one is i've been living
i've been living here or i've been
living in city or country name for or
since blah blah blah so i've been living
in the usa for
87 years or she's been living in that
city for three months or they've been
living here for almost a year i think so
being living a lot of people say like
can i say
like i have lived here for one year or
i've been living here for one year they
mean the same thing really like
especially with the verb to live like i
have lived here for five years and i've
been living here for five years they're
to me they're very similar in meaning i
think i've been living here i've i feel
both they're they're both perfectly
acceptable really
i would i would use either like i would
say i've lived here for five years or
i've been living here for five years um
it
i suppose the continuous nature is a
little bit stronger with the continuous
tense but they really communicate the
same idea so you can use either to talk
about the place where you live really so
one more example i've been living in
bangkok for three years now
i've been working
next pattern is i've been working i've
been working this is one you can use to
talk about your job or perhaps a project
that you're doing
so you can use i've been working at a
certain company you can say i've been
working
as plus a job title with your extra
information so i've been working as a
teacher for 18 years or i've been
working as a doctor for three months for
example you can say i've been working on
plus a project name like i've been
working on a new promotion or i've been
working on a new book for example so
depending on the preposition that you
use after this expression you can change
sort of
the information you want to present so
to recap i've been working in abc
company for five years i've been working
as
a
doctor for five years or i've been
working on a new project for five years
so these are a few patterns that you can
use with the verb working here to talk
about a continuous thing
in your past and your present as well so
in another sentence
i've been working in this department for
six months
i've been planning
the last one is i've been planning i've
been planning so this refers to perhaps
a future plan something that you started
thinking about in the past but it has
not happened yet maybe something that
you are planning even now but you
started planning it in the past so this
is something
maybe it has not happened yet it's going
to happen in the future so i've been
planning a birthday party for my friend
or he's been planning to find a new job
or they've been planning a month-long
vacation for example so something it
hasn't happened yet but it's going to
happen in the future we can use i've
been planning they've been planning
she's been planning in another sentence
i've been planning a barbecue all summer
so
those are 10 past perfect continuous
patterns i hope that those are helpful
those are a few examples of some ways
that we use at least in american english
the past perfect continuous or the past
perfect progressive tense so i hope that
these are helpful for you as you kind of
build some sentences
and kind of get a feel for the way that
some of these verbs are commonly used of
course if there's another pattern that
you like to use with the continuous or
the progressive tense please let us know
in the comments section
if you like the video please make sure
to give it a thumbs up it helps us a lot
check us out at
englishclass101.com for some extra
resources and of course subscribe to the
channel if you haven't already thank you
very much for watching this episode of
top words and i'll see you again soon
hi everybody welcome back to top words
my name is alicia and today we're going
to talk about 10 expressions for
business emails let's go
to whom it may concern
the first expression is to whom it may
concern to whom it may concern this is a
very classic email opener so it may
sound a little bit old-fashioned to some
people but this is used when you don't
know the name of the person you are
writing to so perhaps you're writing to
a company or you're writing just to a
general inquiries uh email account and
you don't know who to address your
letter to you don't know anything about
who is going to receive the email but
you can use the expression to whom it
may concern meaning in other words this
message is for the person related to
this inquiry i don't know who they are
but this is a polite way to begin that
message to whom it may concern in a
sentence
to whom it may concern at abc
company i'm writing today regarding
the next expression is i'm writing today
regarding i'm writing today regarding
this is a formal way of saying i'm
writing today about blah blah blah so
you can introduce the purpose of your
message with this expression i'm writing
today regarding an inquiry i have or i'm
writing today regarding a problem with
my order i'm writing today regarding a
recent video that i saw on your channel
for example so in another sentence i'm
writing today regarding an order we
received recently
would you be available
the next expression is would you be
available would you be available would
you be available is an expression that
we use to ask about someone else's
schedule so we want to know what their
schedule is like at a specific day or at
a specific time
usually for like a meeting or perhaps
for a conference call something that you
need to do with that person we use would
you be available it's a more polite way
to ask instead of are you available
would you be available sounds a little
more formal so like would you be
available for a meeting next week or
would you be available for lunch
tomorrow these are much more polite ways
to ask for someone's schedule than just
can you meet me so try to use would you
be available in your business emails in
a sentence
would you be available for a meeting
next week
would it be possible for you to
the next expression is would it be
possible for you to
so would it be possible for you to is a
very polite way to make a request so you
want something from the other person but
you need to request that politely so
would it be possible for you to send me
that file or would it be possible for
you to meet me tomorrow would it be
possible for you to call our clients in
the morning for example so you're making
a request of the other person something
you want them to give you something you
want them to do for you would it be
possible for you to verb phrase all
right in another example sentence would
it be possible for you to send the
updated files
we'd like to request the next expression
is we'd like to request we'd like to
request so here you can see i'm using
this weed we'd like we'd like so not we
like but weed like meaning we would like
so this is a formal request we would
like to request blah blah blah in this
case i've used weed just for an example
but we can use i'd like to request too
if you're writing on behalf of your
company or on behalf of your department
for example you can change i'd to weed
if you'd like so we'd like to request a
new
copy machine for example or we'd like to
request a maintenance person come visit
us for example so when you're making a
request this is another way to do that
we'd like to request blah blah so it's a
it's a polite but direct request that
you can make in another example sentence
we'd like to request your attendance at
the seminar next month
we'd like to inquire about
the next expression is we'd like to
inquire about we'd like to inquire about
this is when you have a question this is
something that you can use if you have a
question about a specific
detail or something that you just don't
know the answer to so this is an
expression that you can use to ask a
question so we'd like to inquire about
your menu or we'd like to inquire about
your prices we'd like to inquire about
your plans for the next quarter for
example
so um you can use this just to introduce
a question in your email uh in another
example sentence we'd like to inquire
about a recent purchase
if you could be so kind as to
the next one is if you could be so kind
as to this is an interesting one if you
could be so kind as to verb phrase if
you could be so kind as to send me that
file or if you could be so kind as to
return my call at your earliest
convenience this is quite a polite
request if you could be so kind meaning
kind to me as to as to so in other words
you are so kind you will do this thing
for me this is sort of the level of
formality of this expression so if you
could be so kind asked to
order me pizza so i don't know so of
course that's a very casual situation
but if you are trying to make a formal
polite request you could try using this
especially towards the end of an email i
feel this is good so in an example
sentence you could say if you could be
so kind as to email the data it would be
greatly appreciated
i look forward to hearing from you again
soon
so the next expression is i look forward
to hearing from you soon or i look
forward to hearing from you again soon
so you can include again if you are
already in touch with that person if you
are already contacting that person you
can drop again if you are not in touch
with that person if you're not
contacting that person so this just
means you are expecting a response and
maybe you are happily expecting that
response i look forward to hearing from
you i look forward to receiving a
response from you soon is what this
means this is very nice at the end of
your business email in a sentence thank
you for all your help i look forward to
hearing from you again soon
i look forward to working with you
the next expression is i look forward to
working with you i look forward to
working with you this is an expression
that you can use when you are introduced
to a new colleague or a new client or
you have just begun a new partnership
with someone this is a very positive
expression that you can use to end an
email as well i look forward to working
with you very positive very nice it's a
good way to begin a business
relationship i feel in a sentence i look
forward to working with you on this
project
sincerely warm regards best
the last one is actually a few different
ways to close your message or a few
different ways to end your message so
some of my favorites are sincerely warm
regards and best sincerely is typically
very good for more polite situations or
where you don't know the other person
well
warm regards is maybe for a
kind of friendly yet uh
business maybe like a business casual
email you could use warm regards so it
has kind of like a warm feeling like you
recognize that there's a good
relationship and you want to express
that you can use warm regards another
one you can use is best so best means
like my best or like all the best like i
wish you the best sort of but in one
expression i like to use best actually
so best alicia for example or sincerely
alicia or sincerely meg whoever you are
so
you can choose the level of formality so
sincerely is quite polite if you don't
know the other party
warm regards it's kind of a business
casual feeling best is fairly casual but
just straightforward and direct so in an
example sincerely alicia
that's everything for this episode so
those are 10 expressions for business
emails i hope that those were useful for
you and i hope that you can use them
right away in your business emails and
in other polite email and writing
related situations if you have any
questions or if there's another
expression that you like to use in your
business emails please let us know in
the comments if you liked the video of
course as always please please please
give us a thumbs up subscribe to us as
well if you haven't already and you can
check us out at englishclass101.com
for more good resources too thank you
very much for watching this episode of
top words and i will see you again soon
sincerely alicia
bye bye very professional
that's our job to be very professional
on the internet that's recorded okay
business emails the musical by
englishclass101.com
to whom it may concern i'm writing today
regarding a request
don't even i'm gonna stop hi everybody
welcome back to top words my name is
alicia and today we're going to talk
about 10 words for the airport let's go
check in
the first word is check in check in so
to check in this is a verb a phrasal
verb to check in means to check into
your flight to essentially say yes i am
here i'm going to get on the plane i am
checking in we can use the same
expression for hotels actually to check
in to your hotel to check in to your
flight so to check in means to confirm
you are going to fly on the plane in a
sentence
check-in for international flights is
two hours before departure
immigration
the next word is immigration immigration
so this is passport check essentially
when you are traveling internationally
you may need to well you do need to show
your passport to the immigration staff
so they are checking the people who are
coming and going in and out of the
country that process that area of the
airport that area uh maybe of border
control as well is called immigration we
call it immigration uh in a sentence
make sure your passport is ready when
you go to immigration
customs the next word is customs customs
is the next word so customs uh is
the part of the airport or the
international travel experience where
the items you have purchased or the
items you are bringing into the country
maybe the amount of cash that you have
on you or maybe any dangerous items or
any kind of like specific items that you
need to declare that you need to
announce you are carrying those things
are checked that's the place in the
airport where that sort of thing is
covered so
there's usually
there's usually a form that you fill out
when you enter a country and it'll say
do you need to declare anything so to
declare means to announce there's
something you are carrying or something
you need to explain to the people who
are in the country
to the border staff the customs staff in
the country you are going to so that
whole area of the airport of the travel
experience is called customs customs in
a sentence uh do you have anything to
declare with customs
departuregate
the next expression is departuregate
departuregate so depart means to leave a
place your departure gate is the gate
the airport gate from which you leave
the airport your departure gate the
place your plane leaves from in the
airport is called your departure gate
your departure all right in a sentence
my departure gate is a5
baggage claim
okay next one the next expression is
baggage claim baggage claim so bag or
baggage meaning your luggage your
suitcase and claim so claim means you
say that's mine in other words to claim
something to retrieve something to pick
up something baggage claim suitcase
pickup is essentially what it means
baggage claim um so you might hear
baggage claim carousel so carousel is
that that machine that goes around in a
circle and it moves bags and moves
suitcases that's a baggage claim
carousel in the airport baggage claim in
a sentence pick up your luggage at
baggage claim carousel number three
currency exchange
the next expression is currency exchange
currency exchange so currency means type
of money currency so yen is a currency
dollar is a currency euro is a currency
type of money and exchange so for
example if you need to change yen to
euro you do it at a currency exchange
location where you can change your money
to a different type of money so if the
country that you're coming from has
different money than the country you're
going to which is likely the case you
may need to change your money at a
currency exchange location so in a
sentence i need to stop at a currency
exchange desk
boarding pass
the next expression is boarding pass
boarding pass your boarding pass is a
piece of paper or now i suppose we have
them digitally on our smartphones a
boarding pass a boarding pass is the
documentation digital or physical that
shows the flight attendants that shows
the staff
from the airline that you are allowed to
get on the plane that you have a seat
you uh are allowed to board the plane so
boarding means getting on the plane and
pass means permission so boarding
permission essentially allowed to get on
the plane paperwork is what you can
think of this as so a boarding pass very
important of course in a sentence
do you have your boarding pass
seat assignment
the next expression is seat assignment
seat assignment so seat meaning the
place where you sit your chair uh your
your assignment then is the place that
the airline has chosen for you to sit
the seat the airline has chosen for you
is your seat assignment or maybe you
chose your seat assignment but that's
the place you are supposed to sit on the
airplane in a sentence
i'd like to change my seat assignment
first class business class
so the next expression is first class or
business class so these refer to a
couple different levels of service on an
airplane the basic level of service is
called economy service or we also call
it coach coach so coach economy is the
basic level
after that would be business class which
usually has slightly larger seats maybe
a little bit more delicious food
maybe more drink options for example and
then there's first class which is the
highest level of service and is also the
most expensive level service so first
class business class economy class these
are the three levels on an airplane so
it's typically uh considered a nice
experience to fly business class or
first class somewhere in a sentence are
there any seats available in business
class
layover
the next word is layover layover a
layover is a period of time between two
flights presumably at an airport so if
you are flying for example from like um
i don't know from
singapore to london maybe maybe you have
to transfer at an airport you fly from
like singapore to
i don't know los angeles maybe or like
chicago maybe and then you have to wait
there for your next flight to london
you're connecting flight that period of
time between your two flights is called
a layover so typically people want to
have a short layover a fairly short
layover so they have time to transfer to
their next flight or maybe they want to
take a break
from being on a plane so
a layover typically a short layover is
good typically long layovers are bad but
you might have a cheap flight if that's
the case so a layover is the period of
time between two flights in a sentence i
have a long layover in bangkok
so those are ten words for the airport i
hope that was useful for you of course
if there are some other words or other
phrases that you have heard or that you
find useful please let us know in the
comments if you liked the video give us
a thumbs up subscribe to the channel and
check us out at englishclass101.com for
some other good resources thank you very
much for watching this episode of top
words and i will see you again soon bye
bye
uh in a sentence pick up your luggage at
magus bagassel clay
bag of cell
oh i made clay laugh
that's what i'm going to call it from
now on
magic cell claim seven oh my god
pick up your luggage at baggage claim
karen's i'm sorry i knew
hi everybody welcome back to top words
my name is alicia and today we're going
to talk about 10 words to express
appreciation so let's go
thanks
the first word is thanks thanks thanks
is a very casual very common way to
express your appreciation for someone
it's so easy to use thanks thanks so
usually for something small someone else
has done for you or has given to you
just say thanks
in a sentence yeah
thanks that really helped
thank you
the next expression is thank you thank
you so thank you is like a step above
thanks so thanks is the most casual one
i think and then thank you is like the
next step up thank you thank you so you
can again use this in casual situations
and in more polite situations if you're
ever unsure if you ever don't know you
can just use thank you as your default
as your basic greeting thank you in a
sentence thank you for the book
thanks a lot
the next expression is thanks a lot
thanks a lot so with this expression
please make sure to use thanks a lot we
don't say thank you a lot we say thanks
a lot so please be careful with that
thanks a lot so this is a little bit
casual we use thanks here but to express
a little bit more a little bit of a
stronger appreciation you can say thanks
a lot thanks a lot in a sentence
thanks a lot for all your help this week
i really appreciate it
the next expression is i really
appreciate it i really appreciate it so
this expression is a little bit more
formal i really appreciate it so we're
using the word appreciate which means
like to show to express your
appreciation to express
a thankful feeling a grateful feeling so
to say i really appreciate it expresses
a strong feeling um so i really
appreciate it is for a slightly more
formal a slightly more polite situation
in a sentence
thank you for the support i really
appreciate it
you're a lifesaver
the next expression is you're a
lifesaver you're a lifesaver so a
lifesaver is
uh this word actually refers to a piece
of equipment used to save people who are
drowning so there's there's like a a
circle an inflatable or like a floating
circle that people um
can catch if they're like drowning or
having trouble swimming in the ocean and
a lifeguard can throw them a lifesaver
something it's a round thing that floats
so the person can hold on to it or put
it around their body but that's called a
lifesaver in this expression you're a
lifesaver means in other words you
saved my life similar to the way that a
lifesaver would save like a person
drowning so you're a lifesaver means you
really helped me a lot you saved me from
something terrible you did something
really great for me you're a life saver
so in a sentence you found my keys
you're a lifesaver
i'm so grateful
the next expression is i'm so grateful
i'm so grateful so this is one that you
can use for more serious situations so
maybe you receive a nice gift or maybe
you get a special honor or maybe you
receive some kind of recognition in a
more formal situation you can say i'm so
grateful i'm so grateful in a sentence
your recommendation got me into college
i'm so grateful
your kindness is greatly appreciated
this is one you might use to finish a
formal letter you could use this
perhaps to finish a formal speech i
suppose to
or to end a more formal discussion i
suppose but your kindness is greatly
appreciated kind of implies that you
want to receive something from the other
person or they have given you something
so maybe if you receive a donation of
money for example or if you receive a
lot of like volunteer support you could
say your kindness is greatly appreciated
so it's a formal and sincere expression
in a sentence thank you for the donation
your kindness is greatly appreciated
you rock
the next expression is you rock you rock
so this is a very casual expression it
means
like you rock this rock means like you
are awesome you're great you're cool i
think you're awesome amazing fantastic
so it's a very casual expression it
doesn't directly mean
thank you but rather you are awesome i
think you are great so it's a compliment
we can use this expression as a
compliment when someone helps you or
someone does something for you that's
great you really are happy about that
and you appreciate that you can say you
rock or you can substitute with any of
the other words i just said you're great
so we can use you rock or you're amazing
or you are awesome those those are
pretty good casual expressions just tell
somebody you think they're great
and to give them a compliment that means
thank you so in a sentence you already
finished the paperwork you rock
thank you so much the next expression is
thank you so much thank you so much so
this sounds like a very positive yet
casual and strong way to express your
appreciation to emphasize it even more
you can draw out that so sound thank you
so much if it's too much of a of an
extension though it will sound insincere
if you say thank you so
much it doesn't sound so sincere so kind
of think about how long you want to make
that sound thank you so much is pretty
good um so you can express casual strong
appreciation with this phrase thank you
so much in a sentence all right this
birthday cake is amazing thank you so
much
cheers
the next expression is cheers cheers so
i included cheers on this list uh
because it's a word that you might hear
in british and perhaps australian
english it's a word that means sort of
like thank you in advance for something
we don't use this word very much in
american english in u.s english in u.s
english we typically use cheers when
we're enjoying drinks with somebody we
touch glasses together and say cheers
when we're drinking but in other types
of english you might hear cheers used to
mean thank you in advance for something
so if we agree to maybe do a project
together or we agreed to make a i don't
know to plan a birthday party together
and you say
okay well i'll book the restaurant and i
say okay i'll send invitations to
everybody cheers it means thank you in
advance for what you are going to do for
me thank you in advance so cheers is a
nice casual way to say thank you in
advance for something in a sentence
cheers see you at the event tomorrow
so those are 10 words to express your
appreciation i hope that those were
useful for you if there's another word
that you've heard of or another
expression let us know in the comments
for sure thank you very much for
watching this episode of top words give
us a thumbs up if you liked the video
check us out at
englishclass101.com for other resources
and make sure to subscribe to our
channel if you haven't already i will
see you again in the next episode soon
bye bye
[Music]
in a sentence an express i thought i
tried to say expression in sentence
that one didn't work before it was bag
of cell now it is expense yeah
this breaking new word i am this is how
a new language is born surely all right
you are so
good at sitting meg
another face
i saw i was like oh there it is i
haven't used that in a while
that's our running joke telling giving
each other compliments for everyday
actions like sitting hi everybody
welcome back to know your verbs my name
is alicia and in this lesson we're going
to talk about the verb play let's begin
let's begin with the basic definition of
this verb it's to engage in a game sport
or activity examples
we play soccer every week
let's play a board game
now let's look at the conjugations for
this verb
present play
plays
past played
past participle played
progressive playing
okay so now let's talk about some
additional meanings for this verb the
first additional meaning
to spend time doing something fun
this use of the verb is typically used
among children we use this for children
and to talk about the activities of
children
examples we used to play with the kids
in our neighborhood
do you like playing with dolls
in these example sentences we're talking
about the activities that kids do things
that kids do like playing with their
friends playing with dolls playing with
trucks playing with cars so when we use
playing with it's like there's some kind
of enjoyable activity going on and it
has a very youthful sound to it it
sounds like something kids do
a mistake that i hear adult learners
make sometimes is they say i played with
my friends last weekend as adults we
don't use the verb play we'll use it to
refer to a sport or to a game but we do
not use it to talk about spending time
with friends as adults especially
american english speakers we can say for
example
i hung out with my friends last weekend
or i got together with my friends last
weekend that's fine we do not use the
verb play as adults for kids great i
played with my friends when i was little
i played with dolls when i was little
okay let's go on to the second
additional meaning the second additional
meaning is to perform as a character
this can mean theater it can mean movies
it can mean any kind of performance
examples
keanu reeves played neo in the matrix
series
i want to play a dramatic role someday
so here
in my first example sentence i've got
keanu reeves as my example keanu reeves
played neo in the matrix series so he
performed in the role of neo he
performed in the role of is shortened to
played there in the second example
sentence i want to play a dramatic role
someday play means perform in i want to
perform in a dramatic role someday so
this means perform to play okay let's
move on to the third additional meaning
for this verb it is
to pretend to be a certain way or to
pretend to exhibit a certain behavior a
key here is pretending pretending
examples
he's playing dumb he knows the answer
i taught my dog to play dead
okay so here we see play in the first
example sentence he's playing dumb that
means he's pretending not to know that's
what this sentence means he's playing
dumb playing dumb is quite a common
phrase like don't play dumb means don't
pretend not to know something
in the second example sentence i taught
my dog to play dead means i taught my
dog to pretend to be dead or i taught my
dog to act like he or she is dead so to
play means to pretend something so the
fourth additional meaning here is to
perform music to perform music examples
the dj played a lot of great music last
night
have you ever played this on piano
so this is quite simple it just means to
perform music like you
you cause music to be heard by other
people so a dj can play music through a
sound system of course we can play
instruments like playing the piano or
playing the heart playing the flute so
we can use play to mean performing music
or like sharing music some way
all right let's talk about some
variations for this verb now there are a
lot of variations for the verb play
these are just a few that i'm going to
introduce of course if you want to know
more i highly recommend checking a
dictionary okay let's take a look at the
first one for this lesson to play
something by ear to play something by
ear this means to do something without a
plan it means to make decisions in the
moment so examples
we have no plans for the day we're just
going to play it by ear
i don't want to plan my travels too much
i prefer to play things by ear
so both of these use the expression play
it by ear play things by ear meaning i
don't want to make plans like i just
want to see how things go if things are
feeling one way i'll do that if things
are feeling another way i'll make a
different decision so why do we say
playing by ear imagine then if you play
an instrument maybe this is useful for
you but imagine you're trying to play
the piano and you're trying to play a
melody you're trying to find a melody
you don't know it but you listen to each
note as you play and gradually you can
find the melody you're looking for so we
call that playing physically playing
performing a song by ear so using your
ear to listen to the melody and find the
correct melody that way
we use the same idea for our activity so
playing an activity by ear according to
our feelings we make decisions for the
next step to play it by ear
let's go on to the second variation for
this verb it is to play with fire to
play with fire means to do something
dangerous or to do something that's a
bit risky for example examples
you want to confront the ceo about her
mistakes don't play with fire
he's trying to date three people at the
same time he's playing with fire
okay so both of these share maybe a
risky or possibly dangerous situation in
the first example sentence confronting a
ceo about her mistakes that sounds like
it could be dangerous for someone
potentially if they don't want to lose
their job at the company so the speaker
recommends don't play with fire in other
words don't do something risky don't do
something dangerous suggesting that the
previous point confronting the ceo is a
risky or dangerous behavior don't do
that in the second example sentence we
see it in the progressive tense he's
playing with fire by dating three women
at the same time so that could be risky
it could be dangerous he could cause
fights he could cause problems we don't
know but we're saying he's playing with
fire he's doing something that is risky
or dangerous okay let's move on to the
third variation of this verb
the third variation is to play up to
play up this is kind of a slang
expression this is an expression that
means to make something seem better than
it actually is so maybe the true level
is here but when we play something up we
exaggerate it we improve it but only
with our words it's not truly here it's
still here we make it sound better
examples
my parents always play up my
achievements
be careful not to play yourself up on
your resume it might cause problems in
the future
so here we see play up being used to
describe someone's life or someone's
activities being exaggerated so in the
first example my parents always play up
my achievements it means my parents make
my achievements sound better than they
actually are so maybe i had some nice
achievement great but perhaps my parents
make it sound like the achievement is
even better even bigger than it truly is
like as parents do fine but
to play up something means it's not
truly at that level in the second
example sentence be careful not to play
yourself up on your resume it means
don't make yourself sound better than
you actually are on your resume because
it might cause problems in the future so
to play up means to improve the apparent
quality or the apparent value of
something but it's not true okay so
those are a few new ways to use the word
play i hope of course as i said there
are lots and lots of ways to use this
word so i highly recommend checking a
dictionary to see all of them of course
if you have any questions or comments or
if you want to practice using this verb
please feel free to do so in the comment
section of this video of course also if
you like the video don't forget to give
us a thumbs up subscribe to the channel
and check us out at englishclass101.com
thanks very much for watching this
episode of know your verbs and we'll see
you again next time bye bye
hi everybody my name is alicia welcome
back to know your verbs in this episode
we're going to talk about the verb use
let's get started
the basic definition of the verb to use
is to put something to a purpose
examples
we used our iphones to make a video
use your time wisely
let's look at the conjugations for this
verb
present
use uses
past used
past participle used progressive using
let's talk about some additional
meanings for this verb
the first additional meaning for the
verb use is to consume to consume like
for example eating
or taking all of something and
applying it so that all of it goes away
you're consuming it somehow examples
you used all the butter
we've used almost all the toilet paper
so here these are items which we can
gradually get rid of like in the case of
butter in the first example we eat
butter and so we consume it by eating so
it goes away toilet paper we use for
cleaning purposes and so gradually it
goes away we consume it but we use the
word use instead okay let's go on to the
second additional meaning the second one
is a slang term which means to take
drugs to take drugs as like a habit
examples of this use
i heard he's using again
they haven't used in years
so here you don't hear any drug there's
no word drug being used or no specific
drug name but we use the verb use to
refer to taking drugs so when someone
says he's using again it means he's
using drugs again but saying drugs is
quite direct and kind of strong so
instead we say using alone we don't
specifically say what he is using
but it refers to drugs so this use of
the word use
refers to drug use actually okay the
third additional meaning of the verb use
is to exploit a person or to exploit a
situation exploit means to take
advantage of someone or to take
advantage of a situation examples
he's just using you for money
don't let them use you for your ideas
so in both of these example sentences
use refers to someone being taken
advantage of for a different reason so
in the first example sentence he's just
using you for money it means the he in
this situation
is taking advantage of the listener
because he wants money from the listener
so he's taking advantage of the listener
and getting money in the second example
sentence it's the person's ideas so one
person has a lot of ideas and a group of
people are taking those ideas from the
other person so
taking advantage of someone or taking
advantage of a situation it has a
negative image
let's move on to some variations of this
verb the first expression is could use
something could use something it means
that that thing might be useful in some
way might be a good idea in some way
examples
i could use a break
you look like you could use a vacation
so these just mean that the item talked
about seems like it could be useful or
uh might be useful so in the first
example sentence i could use a break we
see could this is actually used in the
second example sentence too i could use
a break meaning it would be possible for
me to use a break like that seems like a
good idea to me right now in the second
example sentence you look like you could
use a vacation it means it seems based
on your appearance you need a vacation
it would be useful for you to have a
vacation so could use something means it
seems like that thing might be good for
you so this expression is used tip is
used in positive statements you look
like you could use something it means
that thing might be useful for you or it
might be a good idea for you okay let's
move along to the second variation which
is to use up to use up so this means to
consume completely to consume completely
in the alternate definitions for this
verb we saw it means to consume to use
means to consume but to consume
completely we use the word use up to
refer to this examples
she used up all of her sunblock at the
beach
we used up all the wood for the fire
so here you'll see in both of these
example sentences i included the word
all she used up all of her sunblock at
the beach we used up all the wood for
the fire so all shows everything
completely consuming that thing so when
you want to talk about using everything
you can use use up use up she used up
all her sunblock we used up all the wood
you can also exchange verbs here like
for example we drank up all the wine or
we drank up all the beer or we ate up
all the pizza you can use it in a couple
other situations relating to consumption
too but use up is used for like
resources of some kind so those are a
few hopefully new ways for you to use
the word use i hope that you found
something new of course if you know a
different way to use this verb or if you
have any questions or comments please
feel free to let us know in the comment
section of this video of course don't
forget to give us a thumbs up subscribe
to the channel and come and check us out
at
englishclass101.com for other things you
can use for your english studies thanks
very much for watching this episode of
know your verbs and we'll see you again
soon bye-bye
use the force
that's obviously the best example
sentence from this lesson
when learning a new language we
sometimes have a hard time with things
like procrastination discouragement or
failure but don't panic with a good
strategy you'll be able to overcome
these difficulties are you ready to
discover the four habits of successful
learners
number one optimize your time
when learning a language it's important
to dedicate time to your studies
regularly even if sometimes it's
difficult you're busy with school work
family or friends but you can spread out
your learning throughout the day study
whenever you have small gaps of time in
your busy schedule this can be when
you're on the metro on your lunch break
or while you're exercising our podcast
learning format fits perfectly into your
tight schedule number two
consistency with your chosen method
there are a lot of options when it comes
to courses and learning materials
switching from one method to another can
confuse you and disrupt your progress
focusing on one learning method will
make a difference our method has been
created and optimized by real teachers
so you can stick to it with confidence
number three use your language
background
many languages share some commonalities
you can find words that look or sound
similar or even share the same grammar
structure a little bit of language
background will give you an edge while
learning
number four study continuously
people are excited when they start
learning a new language the enthusiasm
usually lasts until the first roadblock
this can lead to discouragement and
procrastination but don't burn yourself
out learning a language is a marathon
not a sprint don't try to learn it all
at once break things down into more
digestible chunks learning step by step
might feel slow but it's an efficient
way to learn a language with patience
motivation and good resources you'll
master the language
do you want to crush your language
learning goals and overcome setbacks on
the road to mastering a new language
in this video you'll discover why
learning goals are so vital to learning
a new language and overcoming the
inevitable setbacks you'll encounter on
your way to mastering the language here
are some useful strategies you can use
to crush your goals
first switch to strategic goals rather
than general internal motivation people
are motivated to learn a second language
for any number of reasons including
personal enrichment better career
opportunities or even meeting new people
however unlike simpler goals which may
only take a week or two to complete
learning a new language takes time and
there will be occasional setbacks and
failures so to reach your overall
objective of mastering a new language
you need to learn how to motivate
yourself and stay focused on the bigger
picture
to do so it is vital to set specific
strategic goals with an action plan
second reasons learning goals are vital
to success
learning an entire language well enough
to carry on full conversations with
native speakers is certainly a goal but
with this as your primary objective
there's a long period of time between
the time the goal is set and when it can
be realistically attained
the problem is that a failure to achieve
an objective creates stress that can
build until you either reach the
learning goal or quit the solution is to
set more realistic strategic learning
objectives that are easier to attain but
still keep you on track to learning here
are some examples of strategic learning
objectives that you might set on your
way to mastering a new language
study for 10 minutes every day
complete one lesson or chapter each week
learn 20 new words each week or even
learn one new word each day
the key here is that your learning goals
and objectives need to be very concise
attainable and relevant to your overall
objective
as long as you can see progress towards
your learning goal your stress levels
will be lower and you're far more likely
to succeed next to learn a new language
or virtually any new skill you'll need
to make adjustments to your routine
simply telling yourself that you want to
be able to speak fluently probably won't
force you to alter your daily or weekly
routines but when your strategic goals
include learning a new word each day or
a lesson every week you're forced to
alter your schedule to reach the goal or
risk certain failure
although altering your schedule may
cause some minor degree of stress at
first the added motivation you get from
achieving goals quickly eliminates any
initial discomfort and the more
strategic goals you complete each day or
week the faster you can achieve your
larger goal of mastering the language
the key to achieving goals includes
learning how to deal with the inevitable
setbacks and failures the great part
about setting smaller attainable
strategic learning goals is that you can
occasionally miss your objective but
quickly make up for it
so if you can't finish a lesson one week
it's entirely possible to either learn
the lesson the following week or even do
two lessons to make up for the initial
failure the point is that failing to
achieve smaller strategic learning goals
won't kill your motivation or derail
your overall objectives
there are many ways to crush your
language learning goals using our
program first check out our custom
learning paths which are based on your
specific goals
learning paths are designed to help you
reach your specific learning objectives
by providing you with step-by-step
strategic goals so imagine you're about
to travel and just wanted to learn
enough essential language to navigate
any potential emergency situations you
might encounter our language learning
program has created a custom learning
path for your goal that includes just 10
lessons or strategic learning objectives
once you complete the 10 lessons your
larger overall learning goal is complete
learning paths are one of the most
powerful features at our website and
help you quickly and efficiently achieve
larger learning goals and objectives
for premium and premium plus members our
website offers more than 20 advanced
learning tools to make it easier than
ever to reach and achieve your goals
these include teacher feedback and
comments for every lesson
full lesson transcripts and review
tracks
voice recording tools to perfect your
pronunciation
lesson review quizzes and much more
our language learning program makes it
easier and more convenient to achieve
your smaller strategic goals so you can
quickly reach your larger overall
objectives in less time and with less
stress
without setting realistic and attainable
learning objectives and goals your
larger dream of mastering a new language
might never be realized specifically
strategic objectives help to reduce
stress adjust your daily routine and
make it far easier to deal with the
inevitable setbacks on your way to
mastering a language we've made it
simple and easy for you to set and
attain your strategic goals so you can
successfully reach the larger goal of
mastering your target language today's
topic is
how to double your speaking time in your
target language
today you're going to learn 1. why it's
hard for many learners to make progress
with their speaking skills and two how
you can double your speaking time if
you've always wanted to speak more of
your target language then this episode
is for you
[Music]
but first listen up here are this
month's new lessons and resources
first the movies and tv shows cheat
sheet want to be able to talk about your
favorite shows and films
this conversation cheat sheet teaches
you 50 plus words and phrases to help
you do just that
second the ultimate listening video
master course how are your listening
skills sharpen them up with this video
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third 20 phrases you'll need for the
doctor
learn how to schedule appointments talk
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one minute lesson gives you 20 must-know
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fourth want to be able to handle
everyday tasks in your target language
like sending and receiving mail then
this next one minute lesson is for you
you'll learn most of the words and
phrases you'll need at the post office
fifth
learn how to impress native speakers
with this one-minute lesson
learn how to give natural compliments
like the food is delicious and this is a
beautiful country
to get your free resources click the
link in the description below right now
they're yours to keep forever okay let's
jump into today's topic
how to double your speaking time in your
target language
okay let's get into part one why is real
speaking progress so hard to make let's
say you've studied the language for a
few months and now you finally have a
chance to practice speaking
maybe you have a tutor or a native
speaker friend who is willing to
practice with you you start talking and
your friend helps you improve bits and
pieces of your speaking like
pronunciation and grammar and maybe you
can talk about your day and common
topics but without proper preparation on
both sides the person learning and the
person teaching that's it you're limited
to what you can talk about you don't
know enough of the language to keep
going and they aren't prepared to help
you speak more of the language
so if you try to have an open-ended
conversation you'll fall flat at some
point you'll run out of things to say
and talk about you'll run out of words
and topics and this is true outside of
language learning it's easy for
conversations to die when you run out of
things to talk about a freestyle
approach to conversation is nice for
advanced learners or people who do
serious preparation but it's not so
great for beginners
this is one reason it's hard to make
real progress with speaking you run out
of things to say
but there is a way to double your
speaking time even if you're an absolute
beginner even if you're low on words and
grammar and that's by adding structure
that you'll find in our lessons let's
get into that
part 2 how you can double your speaking
time with our audio and video lessons
let's say you're having a practice
conversation with that same friend
except this time both of you have a list
of topics to follow then your
conversations won't die out as quickly
the point is if you have a structure to
follow like a lesson there's always
something for you to fall back on and if
you're already using our audio and video
lessons you get just that
so here's how you can use our lessons to
double your speaking time one
make sure to listen to and review your
current audio or video lessons why
each lesson conversation is based on a
certain topic like talking about the
weather talking about family ordering
food and so on so by simply taking a
lesson you learn a conversation around a
certain topic
lessons will give you a lot of topics to
talk about along with the relevant
grammar and vocabulary which many
beginners might not have think about it
if you wanted to talk about a vacation
you'd need to know words like vacation
cruise and holiday in your target
language you'd also need the right
grammar points to help you express ideas
our audio and video lessons will provide
you with all of these so listen to the
lessons and prepare ahead of time
two use the dialogue presented in the
lesson in other words you can memorize
the lines from the lesson dialogue
you're already learning conversations in
the lessons so you may as well use them
for yourself
and doing this will help prepare you for
future conversations think about it we
often use lines like where are you from
what's your name my name is how was your
weekend i went out last weekend once you
memorize these expressions you can and
will use them over and over as an
example imagine you do a few lessons
about the weather you'll master a few
conversations about it the next time
that topic pops up in real life you'll
be able to talk about it and three each
lesson comes with cultural insights what
does that mean for you
it gives you more things to talk about
with a native speaker
so if you bring up a cultural point in a
conversation with a native speaker
you'll likely get a good reaction and
extend the conversation because you're
talking about what they know best their
culture
so today you learn one why it's hard for
many learners to make progress with
their speaking skills it's because we
tend to run out of things to say and two
how you can double your speaking time
accomplish this by
taking our lessons memorizing the
dialogues and using the cultural
insights
today traditional classrooms are no
longer the only or even best place to
learn a new language
more and more people are finding that
they can easily learn a language just
about anywhere they have a few minutes
of spare time including their daily
commute to work
according to the us census bureau the
average american spends over 50 minutes
a day commuting to and from work or over
300 hours a year
but rather than simply sitting in
traffic and wasting the time you can
instead use your daily commute to
literally learn a new language in just a
few short months
our language learning program has
specialized learning tools that you can
use on your commute to and from the
office to master a language in your
spare time
what are some reasons traditional
classroom settings just aren't the best
option for most people in today's
fast-paced world
difficulty getting to and from class
learning on someone else's schedule
very expensive and may cost thousands of
dollars to complete can take years to
finally complete classes and learn the
language
the simple truth is the traditional
classroom instruction is simply not a
viable option for most people in today's
very fast-paced time-starved world now
let's examine how you can learn a
language faster more easily and at far
less expense than traditional classes
all during your commute to work and back
home again
three reasons your daily commute can
help you master a language in the next
year
on average americans spend more than 300
hours per year commuting
during the commute to and from work over
six hours a week is completely wasted
the time isn't used to help you reach
any goals or objectives
but thanks to online language learning
platforms with audio books and other
resources that you can access during
your commute you can easily transform
wasted time into progress toward
learning a new language with over 300
hours available annually your daily
commute could provide you with enough
time to gain significant skills in a new
language each and every year
increase your earning potential while
commuting to work
how would you like to transform all
those spare commuting hours each week
into more money for a new car house or
even a dream vacation
according to research someone making
thirty thousand dollars per year can
boost their annual income by six hundred
dollars or more per year by learning a
second language over the course of a
lifetime that's a significant amount
how from work at home translation jobs
to working overseas there are many ways
to leverage your second language into
more money in your bank account
so instead of wasting your precious time
you can make your commute more
productive and eventually profitable the
more languages you learn the higher your
income potential
repetition is key to mastering a new
language
not sure if it's practical to learn
another language while commuting to and
from work each day well not only is it
possible learning in your car on the way
to and from work each day can actually
help you learn and master any language
quickly the simple truth is that
repetition is absolutely vital to truly
internalizing and mastering any language
so if you listen to audiobooks or even
audio lessons on your commute to work
and then repeat the same lesson on your
commute home the information is more
likely to be locked in to your long-term
memory
our language learning program has been
helping people learn and master language
in the comfort of their home during
their daily commute or any place they
have a few spare minutes of time
here are five features of our program
that make it easy to learn a new
language while commuting to and from
work
first the largest collection of audio
lessons on the planet by native speaker
instructors
every single week native speaker
instructors create new audio lessons all
lessons are short to the point and
guaranteed to improve your mastery of a
language
second the word of the day
simply exposing yourself to new
information and vocabulary terms helps
increase your fluency and mastery of
your target language so every single day
check out the word of the day and
memorize it during your commute it's a
quick and easy way to boost your
vocabulary every day
third daily dose mini lessons
have a short commute to work but still
want to make progress towards learning
more than just vocabulary not a problem
our daily dose mini lessons are one
minute or less and are designed to
improve your grammar conversations and
pronunciation
fourth all content is available on a
convenient mobile app
you don't need a pc or tablet to learn
during your daily commute instead all of
our lessons tools and resources are
available 24 7 via our mobile app
that means you can access all of our
audio lessons and other tools during
your commute to work or anytime you have
a few spare minutes
fifth audiobooks and other supplemental
resources
in addition to the world's largest
online collection of hd audio lessons
our language learning program has audio
books to enhance your understanding and
make it more convenient than ever to
learn a language during your commute
the average commute time of most
americans is over 300 hours each year
and it's the perfect opportunity to
learn and master a new language
use the dead time during your daily
commute to learn a new language and
potentially boost your lifetime earnings
whatever your motivation our language
learning program has the tools and
resources necessary to help you learn a
new language each year during your
commute to and from work
immersion is often hailed as the most
efficient and effective way to learn a
foreign language in many ways it's true
with all the language learning methods
out there nothing else comes close to
having to think and interact with your
environment in the language you're
learning
unfortunately though most language
learners wrongly assume that the only
way to experience language immersion is
to pack up and move to a foreign country
but not everyone can afford to spend a
summer abroad just to learn a foreign
language
luckily there are other ways to immerse
yourself
these methods are less obvious but they
are effective in this video we'll take a
look at five steps you can take for the
ultimate language immersion experience
at home
number one transform your digital world
into your target language
technology is an indispensable part of
modern life we interact with phones
computers tablets and other electronic
devices throughout the day
why not take these interactions and use
them to practice your target language
most devices give you the option of
switching the language of the operating
system
switching your phone or laptop interface
to your target language won't make you
fluent but it will help you engage with
the language in a very practical way
multiple times every day
another way to transform your digital
life is to check which sites you use on
a daily basis and use them in your
target language also
a great example of this is switching
your version of google
using google in your target language
will allow you to search for things in
that language and you're more likely to
get results in that language as well
so if you're looking for a popular band
a show or food something that's usually
written in your target language it will
actually be easier to find information
about it if you switch your version of
google
of course you can also change popular
social networks like facebook or twitter
you can even go to news sites for your
fill of global news do you like podcasts
try listening to a couple popular
podcasts in your target language
number two write out a speech or
conversation in your target language
a surefire way to increase your ability
in a foreign language is to write out a
mock conversation or speech in that
language
pretend you have to give a speech on one
of your favorite topics it could be
anything from sports hobbies or even
your favorite movie genre
now take some time to write out your
fictitious speech inevitably you will
hit some roadblocks but when you get
stuck research the words or grammar
points you don't know this is a highly
effective and practical way to increase
your vocabulary and it'll help you
practice thinking in a different
language
writing a long connected train of
thoughts exposes the gaps and weaknesses
in your language studying once you know
what these are you're free to practice
them and use them to continue on with
your speech
this is also a great way to learn new
words in the context of your entire
speech
context is king when you're learning a
language learning words in the context
of other words and sentences helps you
surmise what new words mean
it also helps you get comfortable with
how these words are practically used not
to mention context helps you to remember
and recall new information more easily
number three practice with native
speakers
there are a lot of great learning
resources out there for anyone learning
a new language however nothing quite
comes close to practicing the language
with a real person
if you live in or around a large
metropolitan area there's a chance that
there are some native speakers nearby
check and see if your area has any local
language exchanges or language speaking
groups you're likely to find a native
speaker there
if you can't make a connection locally
you can search online just as there are
language exchanges in the real world
there are also online ones most of which
are free
number four connect with other language
learners
native speakers aren't the only people
who can age you on your language
learning journey
practicing with other learners is also
helpful
don't worry if you practice with someone
who has a higher or lower level in the
language than you
if you're the more advanced learner you
can learn a lot by teaching someone else
as you help someone else understand
difficult words or grammatical concepts
you'll find that you start to better
understand them yourself
if your learning partner has a higher
level they can be the one to help you
overcome the hurdles you encounter as a
beginner after all what better way to
learn than from someone who as a
language learner has been in your shoes
number five reward yourself in your
target language
at the end of a busy day we all love a
little relaxation and me time one of the
most enjoyable and effective ways to
develop your language skills is to kick
back and enjoy the language while doing
leisure activities
whether it's listening to music watching
a movie or tv show reading a book or
even enjoying a good online video binge
even spending just an extra 30 minutes a
day doing something you love in your
target language can yield some serious
long-term results
if you're a beginner start with more
basic content you might have to start
out listening to simple songs or even
watching children's shows after a while
though you'll be able to dive into the
meatier stuff and more engaging stuff as
your proficiency increases
learning a foreign language doesn't mean
you have to spend your days straining
over grammar rules or textbooks any way
that you can take your learning off the
page and make it more enjoyable will
help you learn faster
immersion is a powerful way to learn a
foreign language and now more than ever
the immersion experience isn't limited
to just world travelers with a little
creativity and the right resources you
can experience the language without ever
having to leave your hometown
great work here's a reward speed up your
language learning with our pdf lessons
get all of our best pdf cheat sheets and
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