English Idiomatic Expression: “Such and similar”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vPcOGDi1_0 You’ve probably noticed by now that in my English idiomatic expression videos I don’t focus on the typical English idioms such as “Heard it through the grapevine” or “It’s raining cats and dogs”. Why? First of all, I believe it’s more important to focus on idiomatic expressions that are used more often – such as “I would have thought” or “Down the line”. These expressions can be used in various situations whereas the more specific idioms are limited to certain occasions. Secondly, the typical English idioms aren’t going to help you speak more fluently. Idiomatic expressions such as the following speech pattern – “It’s not that… it’s just that…“ – on the other hand, are instrumental in helping you structure your speech around those key-phrases and as a result your fluency is improving :!: Lastly… Well, read this blog post yourself and you’ll find out everything in relation as to why I favor English idiomatic expressions over traditional idioms! ;-) Today’s expression, by the way, is “such and similar”. It’s quite a simple speech pattern, yet it will come in handy whenever you want to… To find out when EXACTLY it’s useful – watch the video above! :grin: Chat soon, Robby ;-)
English Idiomatic Expression & Phrasal Verb: “To Get Across”
English Idiomatic Expression: “Down the line”
English Idiomatic Expression: “Within a matter of…”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAt_rvNnjR8 Today’s English idiomatic expression is “Within a matter of…”, and it is most commonly used to refer to a certain time frame – be it seconds, minutes, hours or days. Watch the video above to see how exactly I’m using this particular expression so that you can start using it in your own daily English conversations! See you soon, Robby
English Idiomatic Expression: “I would have thought…”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt0luGKPcP4 Are you often analyzing spoken English phrases and expressions and asking questions such as: “Why do they say it like that?” If you are, then you’ll definitely ask the very same question upon finding out what today’s English idiomatic expression is! So, here you go – “I would have thought”. Now, are you wondering why it’s “I would have thought” instead of “I would think” or simply “I thought”? STOP DOING IT! Just the very fact that native English speakers use such a phrase is sufficient enough to justify its very existence. As far as we’re concerned, that’s how they say it, and that’s all there is to it! So, if you want to sound like a native English speaker, use the idiomatic expression “I would have thought” whenever you find out that something is quite the opposite to what you believed. As for more sample sentences involving this phrase – please watch the video above and let me know what you think about it! ;-) Chat soon, Robby
English Idiomatic Expression: It’s not that… it’s just that…
English Idiomatic Expression: “You may want to…”
Have you heard this popular English phrase – “You may want to (do something)”? It’s used by English speakers worldwide, and it’s very handy to have it in your active phraseology because of the following reasons: You can use it instead of “you should…” but you don’t want to sound as if you’re giving orders; You want to give someone unsolicited advice but you don’t want to fall out with them in case the other person doesn’t take well to being told what to do! Basically the phrase “You may want to…” can be used if you want to come across as a friendly person and you want to avoid any miscommunication that might potentially cause a negative reaction to what you’re saying. To find out more – and also to hear some examples in this phrase in use – please watch the video above! I hope you’ll find this video useful, and also don’t forget to repeat and memorize the phrase – that’s the only way you can add it onto your active vocabulary. And did I say “you may also want to come up with some sample sentences on your own using the phrase “you may want to” and use them in your spoken English self-practice session?” ;-) Chat soon, Robby
English Idiomatic Expression: “When it comes to…”
English Idiomatic Expression: “This or that particular thing”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnIbrUkSRzE I’m back with another English expression, and this time it’s a very simple one – “This or that particular thing”. You know why I’m giving you mostly such simple expressions? The reason behind it is quite simple – it’s such and similar English phrases that form the core content of your speech and allow you to sound fluent and get the message across to your chat partner! Yes, I don’t deny that there’s also a place for proper idioms and specific phrases – the heck, I’ve also published them on my blog! – READ this article stuffed full with smart English phrases! By and large, however, it’s the simple phrases that make up the backbone of your speech, so I warmly suggest you to incorporate learning these simple phrases and start using them in your daily English conversations RIGHT NOW! See more simple English phrases here: “It’s only when you… that…” “In the first place” “Pretty much the same” Talk to you soon! Robby ;-)
English Idiomatic Expression: “You know what I mean?”
English Idiomatic Expression: “It’s only when you… that…”
English Idiomatic Expression: “To say the least”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXVwlh_trY4 Another day – another English idiomatic expression for you to learn! Today’s phrase is “to say the least”, and it’ll come in very handy whenever you need to make a sarcastic comment or you want to drop a polite hint without sounding openly confrontational. Want to listen to some sample sentences? Please watch the video above where I’m providing you with enough information so that you can use this idiomatic expression – “to say the least” – in your daily English conversations! And also make sure to repeat, memorize and use this phrase in your daily spoken English practice. It’s the only way you’ll add such and similar phrases to your active vocabulary. Why active vocabulary is so important for us, foreign English speakers? Read this article to find out more! Chat soon, Robby ;-)
English Idiomatic Expression: “In the first place”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5mvTxNF8e4 Today's English idiomatic expression is "In the first place", and please watch the video above to hear my examples of how to use this phrase. They mightn't always be the best samples sentences, but you can rest assured that I would never tell you something that is totally wrong - EVER! I might be a foreigner and my spoken English mightn't be exactly native-like; however, I have a pretty decent level of fluency and over the years I've developed a good 'gut feeling' for correct English. Thanks for visiting my blog, and chat to you soon again my friends! Robby ;-)
English Idiomatic Expression: “Send the Wrong Message”
English Idiomatic Expression: “Nothing could be further from the truth”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl1a8x0CjFM Hello, and welcome back to my daily English idiomatic expression video series! In today's video, you'll find out how to use the phrase "Nothing could be further from the truth". I'm sure you've heard it before, but you're probably not 100% confident as to its exact wording - "...from the truth", or "...from truth". If so - listen to the video above, repeat the phrase to yourself AT LEAST 10 times to make sure it imprints into your mind, and also don't forget to do some spoken English self-practice to cement this new expression into your mind! Remember - it's the REPETITION that makes a foreigner fluent, so its importance really can't be overstated, my friends. Chat soon, Robby ;-)
English idiomatic expression: “Pretty much the same”
Why It’s a Bad Idea to Categorize English Idioms when Learning Them!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x61xJ0pLL_k English idioms are very useful for foreign English speakers like you or me because they allow expressing our thoughts and voice our opinion quickly and using the same phrase in dozens and hundreds of similar situations. Let’s take the following idiom – “Chip on your shoulder”. You can use it in pretty much every situation when someone feels they’re treated unfairly and they’re acting defensively but it’s obvious that there’s no good reason for them to behave that way and they’re acting so because of their own insecurities. So instead of describing the whole situation you can just use this short phrase instead – “He’s always had a chip on his shoulder, that’s why he’s acting that way!” It saves you time and effort, and such and similar idioms are used worldwide – “chickens have come home to roost”, “on the ball” or “elephant in the room”. But here’s what I’ve noticed – many idiom directories like grouping idioms by the actual words contained in those idioms. For example, the two idioms about chickens and the elephant would fall under the same category – animal related idioms. It might sound like a good idea to give all those hundreds and thousands of idioms some structure and make them easy to find. When learning idioms, however, it may do more harm than good, so read the rest of this article to find out why I’m making such claims :!: (more…)
Speaking in English Made Super Easy – Follow my Tweets and Just Stick Word Chunks Together!
Can You Speak Fluent English Without Learning Idioms?
Idiomatic Expressions: Why I’m Highlighting Some Bits of Text in Red in My Blog Posts
Here’s the short answer – they’re bits of spoken English any foreign English speaker should know to communicate effectively! They’re word combinations used by native English speakers and by using them you’re going to make your spoken English sound more natural and native-like. English collocations, phrasal verbs and sayings all fall under the broad category of these idiomatic expressions, and to put it simply – you can’t come up with these sort of sayings just by sticking the words together; you have to learn the EXACT phrase or word combination to be able to use it :!: There are also typical full English idioms among them, but I have to admit I have some reservations towards learning certain idioms like “It’s raining cats and dogs” or “pot calling the kettle black.” They are typical English idioms that you’ll find on any decent English idiom list online, yet they’re rarely heard in real life, if at all. My take on the whole English idiom thing (like it’s on spoken English in general) is the following – you don’t need to hammer loads of English idioms in your brain that you’re not going to use. You’d much better off using your potential as a foreign English speaker by learning idiomatic expressions because there’s a much bigger chance you’re going to use them in real life! How about the following ones: “for the argument’s sake”, “to jump to a conclusion”, “fit for the purpose”? These are typical idiomatic expressions that have some characteristics of full idioms, but at the same time it would be possible to derive their meaning from the words alone. Also, they don’t even need to be long phrases to fall under the category of idiomatic expressions. “On target”, “straight away”, “I’m all ears”, “big time” and similar short expressions are the ones that can make a difference between you being perceived a so-so English speaker or quite an advanced one! Not that you should care what others think of you, but still it’s nice to be capable of communicating with native English speakers like an equal, isn’t it? ;-) So to help you with learning these idiomatic expressions, I’ve been highlighting them in my blog posts in red color so that you can immediately see which bits are useful to memorize! (more…)