[Music]
hello I'm Emma from English I've made
several videos about English idioms and
that's because they're a really
important part of English they're
expressions that come up all the time in
both written English and spoken English
in formal and informal conversations
when used correctly especially in an
English exam they show creativity and
they demonstrate a control over the
language
now most idioms don't make a lot of
sense
literally often you can't just look at
the words and try to guess the meaning
the meaning is often something
completely different to the individual
words in the idiom so you need to learn
the meaning of these idioms separately
which might sound like more work and it
might sound stressful but I've got a
really great tip to share with you today
to help you remember these idioms and to
start using them more in conversation so
you ready this is the advice that I give
all of my students when you hear a new
idiom and you learn the meaning think
about a situation in your own life where
the meaning of this idiom is relevant so
let's use a really common idiom as an
example a blessing in disguise which is
used when something seems bad or unlucky
at first but it results in something
good happening later so it just to be
clear disguise is something that someone
wears to hide themselves so a blessing
in disguise is a good thing that is
hidden got it
so to help you remember this idiom and
this is something that you should do
every time you learn a new idiom is
think about how it relates to you think
about an event or a moment in your life
where something happened that seemed bad
at the time but it resulted in something
good happening later so let's use an
example to explain my best friend Amy
wanted to study medicine and her parents
really wanted her to study medicine too
but she didn't get accepted at the
University she wanted to study it that's
bad right she was really upset about it
at the time but a few months later she
got an opportunity to volunteer with an
aid organization in Africa so she
thought why not she went out and went on
a big adventure but she loved the work
that she was doing there helping
refugees to apply for visas so that they
could start new lives in other countries
and she was really good at this job she
instantly found her true passion in life
so over time she was promoted within the
organization and now she's the CEO so
when the university didn't accept her
for the degree in medicine that was a
blessing in disguise because she
probably would never have found her true
passion if she just went to university
and studied medicine like her parents
wanted to now can you think of an
example from your life where this idiom
is relevant I want you to write it down
because this is going to help you
remember how to use this idiom and you
can write your sentence in the comment
under this video if you want me to check
it for you let's try another example now
the best of both worlds
so this idiom is used when you can enjoy
the advantages or the benefits of two
different things
at the same time my mum used to live in
the city it was close to her work and
she loved going to the theater and
galleries in her free time but now that
she's retired she's moved to a small
town by the beach and she really loves
it it's quiet it's peaceful and she's
got some good friends there but she
misses going to the theater and seeing
shows every week like she used to and
takes her over an hour to drive to the
cities so she doesn't go there very
often now but recently my mum bought a
small apartment right in the middle of
the city so now she's got the best of
both worlds the peaceful relaxing Beach
lifestyle but then when things seem a
little quiet she can drive to her
apartment in the city and see some shows
and visit the gallery she's got the best
of both worlds so what about you can you
think of a situation in your life where
this idiom is relevant a time when you
had the best of both worlds again tell
me about it in the comments I want to
read it okay to give someone the benefit
of the doubt now if you give someone the
benefit of the doubt
you trust that they're telling you the
truth you assume that their behavior is
honest and correct even though you're
not certain that it is I don't know if
you know this about me yet but as an
English teacher I can be a massive
pushover I always want to believe that
my students are telling me the truth so
when I first started teaching I was
working at a university in Melbourne and
my students were all international
students
who had to pass an exam before they were
accepted into their university courses
so the stakes were really high if they
failed their visas would be cancelled
and they would be sent back to their
home country so many of the teachers my
colleagues were very tough on their
students if they handed in their
assignments late if they didn't arrive
to class on time but if my students had
a good reason why they were late then I
believed them I remember one guy Paulo
arrived an hour late for class and he
told me that he had locked his keys
inside his car that was his reason and I
was a little suspicious at the time
because his hair was all messy and he
looked a bit sleepy but I gave him the
benefit of the doubt he was a good
student so I wanted to trust him even
though I wasn't sure if he was telling
me the truth I found out later that he
was so I was glad I'd given him the
benefit of the doubt okay your turn
think of the time in your life when you
gave someone the benefit of the doubt
when you accepted that they were telling
you the truth
but you weren't a hundred percent sure
about it when a situation is not under
control this idiom is a good one to
remember it often relates to arguments
and behavior so if a situation is out of
hand it's not being managed well and it
could cause some problems for you
then you can use it so for example my
nephew he had 15 friends come to his
sixth birthday party last weekend and we
planned some party games to play
I had three prizes to give for the
winners so when I gave out the prizes to
Kay
who didn't get a prize started crying
uncontrollably
and another tried to take a prize off
the winner so things got really out of
hand
so I quickly had to give out some
chocolates to help keep things under
control hmm maybe that's not the best
example okay
so during the celebrations last night
things got a little out of hand Paul
broke a window by accident they were all
drinking a lot and I tried to stop them
before things got out of hand but I
wasn't quick enough
your turn can you think of an event or a
situation in your life where things got
out of hand you know they got a bit
crazy can you believe that we are
already up to idiom number five time
flies when you're having fun this is a
really common idiom you can use it when
you don't notice how long something
takes because you've actually been
really enjoying yourself
it's been fun so you can simply say time
flies when you're having fun it tells
the listener that you're surprised by
how quickly times gone by and it's the
perfect idiom to use when you get to the
end of a speaking exam and your examiner
says okay that's the end of your
speaking exam you can impress them and
show them how much you were enjoying
yourself during the exam by saying
really gosh time flies when you're
having fun and actually this idiom is
often just reduced down to time flies if
you're in a meeting with some colleagues
for example and someone says oh it's
3:15 already our meetings run over time
you could say oh really
time flies I've got to go I'm late
for my next meeting it's just a casual
way of saying that the meeting was
interesting and you didn't notice how
quickly time went by but it's a positive
expression so don't use this idiom if
you're frustrated or annoyed that the
meeting ran over time and when you're
using the complete idiom time flies when
you're having fun the use of your is not
directed to the person that you're
talking to it's not like you're saying
your time flies when you're having fun
it's a really general statement it's not
specifically referring to anyone it's a
fixed expression so it's always said
time flies when you're having fun
and yes time does fly we are coming to
the end of another lesson but the five
idioms in this video are very common
you'll hear them often in movies you'll
read them in books you'll hear them in
conversations and you can be confident
using any of them with native English
speakers because people use them in all
english-speaking countries they're
really useful ones to learn don't forget
to practice using them in the comments
below this video I'll try to check them
for you so I can give you some feedback
so keep watching more English lessons
right here and make sure you subscribe
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button down there I'll see you again
next week
bye for now