Hello and welcome to this video. Today you're going to learn 15 advanced English expressions
to sound fluent. Of course I'm Jennifer from JForrestEnglish.com. And this channel is dedicated
to helping you feel confident speaking English in public so you can take your career and your life
to the next level. Now, before we go any further, make sure you subscribe and hit that bell icon
so you're notified every time I post a new lesson. Now, let's get started with this lesson.
Are you ready to add 15 new expressions to your vocabulary? Now make sure you watch
right to the end because I'm going to quiz you to make sure you really know how to use these
expressions. Let's get started with expression number one. Expression number one, one's take
on something. This is simply another way to ask someone for their opinion or ideas. So if you're
in a meeting, it's very common to say, What's your take on that? What's your take on that? And the
'that' being whatever you're discussing, maybe a new idea, a new project, a new plan. And to reply,
you could say, well my take on it is. And then you simply state your opinion or your idea. We
also sometimes will say our opinion or idea. For example, I think we should delay the project.
And then we add 'that's my take on it'. That's my take on it. Number two, to be in a position to.
This is an expression that simply means to be able to or to be capable of. So you might say,
we're not in a position to take on any new clients. At least that's my take on it. Or you
might ask, is the company in a position to take on more debt? Is the company able to. Number three,
to be on the right track. I love this expression because it means you're making good progress
on something specific. For example, you might say, we haven't solved the problem yet,
but we're on the right track. So the problem still exists, but you're headed towards the solution.
You're making good progress, you're on the right track. So if you keep doing what you're doing,
you'll solve the problem. Number four, to stem from. This is an excellent business or academic
expression. And this means to be caused by or to come from. So you might read in an article,
a lot of health problems stem from poor diet. So the health problems are caused by,
stem from, a poor diet. Said another way, you could say, a poor diet causes health problems. But
remember, we're switching them because we're using stem from, caused by. Number five, to be a given,
a given. This is something that is well known as an established fact or truth. So I might share
my fact or truth. If you want to be a confident English speaker, you have to practice speaking.
That's a given. It's just another way of saying, that's a fact. At least that's my take on it.
And said another way, I can say, it's a given, to be a given that, it's a given that if you want to
be a confident speaker, you need to practice speaking. Number six, to take x into account.
X is something. And into account simply means to account for or to consider something. For example,
when you're planning a vacation, you need to take the exchange rate into account, the exchange rate,
the timezone difference, the customs, the culture into account. Number seven, this is a good one,
to grapple with, to grapple with. This is another way of saying to deal or cope with
a difficult situation. So let's take a difficult situation. Social isolation during the pandemic.
That's been very difficult. Many people are grappling with, they're dealing with,
they're coping with the situation. Many people are grappling with isolation during the pandemic.
Number eight, to be short on something. This simply means you don't have enough
of something. For example, I'm short on time this week. Or, I can't go on that vacation because I'm
short on cash. I don't have enough. Number nine, to be up in the air. We use this expression to
talk about a plan or an issue that's unsettled or unresolved, or uncertain. Up in the air.
For example, my summer plans are up in the air. They're uncertain. I haven't planned them yet.
Or I might say, the future of that business is up in the air. It's uncertain.
Number 10, to bring someone up to speed. When you bring someone up to speed, you share the latest
information with them. So let's say your colleague was on vacation and they get back
and they could ask you, Hey, can you bring me up to speed? Can you share the latest information.
Can you bring me up to speed on the Jones project. So you could talk about a specific situation
or just in general. Can you bring me up to speed. Number 11, this is a great one, a deal breaker.
A deal breaker is something that causes you to abandon a plan or a commitment or a relationship.
For example, I might be looking for a new job and I see one that looks really great. But then I get
to the salary and it's way too low. That's a deal breaker, that causes me to abandon the plan. The
plan to apply for that job. The salary is a deal breaker. We also use this a lot in relationships.
You might say, she lied to me. That's a deal breaker. So you're going to end the relationship,
you're going to abandon it, because she lied. And that's a deal breaker. Number 12, a do over.
A do over is another attempt to do something when your previous attempt was unsuccessful.
So let's say you go to a job interview and it went terribly. You did really poorly. You could say,
I wish I could have a do over. I wish I could do the interview again. But unfortunately,
most of the time we don't get do overs. But you might be in a situation where you're
in a class and the professor gave you have a test and everybody did poorly on the test.
So the professor might give the students a do over. The professor gives the students
a chance to do the test again because everyone did really poorly. Number 13,
to come in handy. When something comes in handy, it's very useful. So this is a positive one.
So let's say you're considering adding a new feature to a product you provide or a service
and you might say, oh this new feature will really come in handy. It will come in handy.
It will be useful. Number 14, to be a breeze. We describe something as a breeze when it's really
easy. For example, learning English is a breeze, right? It's really easy. Maybe,
maybe not. Depends on what your take on it is. Or I could say, using Google Docs is a breeze.
It's really easy. And then I could add, using Google Docs is a breeze compared to MS Word.
So in this case, I'm saying that Google Docs is easier than MS Word. And finally, number 15, to be
spot on. When someone is spot on, they're 100% accurate or correct. For example, I could say,
the weather forecast this weekend was spot on. The meteorologist said it was going to rain on
Saturday at two o'clock and it rained on Saturday at two o'clock. He said it was going to be
sunny and 25 on Sunday. And that's exactly what it was. The forecast was spot on. And now you
have 15 new advanced expressions to sound fluent. Are you ready for your quiz? Feel free to go back,
review the video again if you need. But if you're ready, let's complete your quiz.
So here's how the quiz is going to work. You're going to see a sentence and you have to decide
which expression best completes the sentence. I'll only give you a few seconds so hit pause
and take as much time as you need. So let's do this one together. Which option is it A, B or C?
And the answer is, A. Bring someone up to speed. Now notice how I also completed the sentence.
You can do that as well for additional practice, to make sure you get the grammar correct.
So those are the instructions, now let's continue on with the next question.
So how was that quiz a breeze? Let us know your score in the comments below. And if you
found this video helpful, please hit the like button, share it with your friends
and of course subscribe. And before you go make sure you head on over to my website,
JForrestEnglish.com and download your free speaking guide. In this guide, I share six
tips on how to speak English fluently and confidently. And until next time, Happy Studying!