(energetic music) - Hello, this is Jack from tofluency.com, and welcome to this lesson
where you're going to learn some advanced English phrases
based on a conversation that my wife and I had about fall. Now, if you want to
watch that conversation, then there's a link in the
description to do that. You can also watch or listen to this as a podcast episode, too. Just search for To
Fluency Podcast on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you use. So, yeah, we're going to
show various clips today from the conversation, and
then I'm going to explain what these phrases mean,
give you more examples, and I'm gonna leave all the examples in the description for you. Now be sure to stay until the end because I have a question
for you, as well. Okay, let's get started
with the first clip. (screen whooshes) This is your favorite season. - That's right, well, one
of my favorite seasons. I actually really like the
transition from summer to fall. - Kate said, "I really
like this transition "from summer to fall." So I thought that fall
was her favorite season, but she said, "Well, nearly, "but it's that transition
from summer to fall." Because that's the sweet spot here, which means the temperature is just right where you can go outside
and being comfortable. It's not too hot and it's not too cold. And I think I agree with Kate here. So the word transition means to change from one thing to something else. Another example is, I know a lot of people who become online teachers, and at first, they find this transition
from traditional, in-person lessons to
online lessons difficult. So they find this change difficult. They find this transition difficult. (screen whooshes) - So a few of the warmer
beverages and soups and things that are more
hearty and comforting. - Number two, hearty and comforting. So Kate was talking about food here, and she's talking about hearty food, which basically means, in my
mind, it's when food is warm, and it's very filling and satisfying. So think of things like
lasagna, chilis and stews. And to get a better idea
of what a hearty meal is, then just Google search hearty meals and see which recipes come up. A similar word from the UK is stodgy. It's not exactly the same,
but it's very similar. And to have a stodgy meal
in the UK means to have lots of carbohydrates, and it's
warm and it's filling, things like pies or bangers and mash. (screen whooshes) - But it started to get a
little bit cooler at night. But it started to get a
little bit cooler at night. - It started to get a
little bit cooler at night. So start to get, this is a verb pattern. Now what's interesting
about this verb pattern is that you have the
infinitive and the gerund after the word, and they
both mean the same thing. So you can say, "It started
to get a little bit cooler "at night," or, "It started getting "a little bit cooler at night." Another example is, I've
started working out again, which is true. Well, I didn't actually stop,
but let's say I stopped. I've started working out again, or, I've started to work out again. Now Kate also used the word get there, and get means become, and again, it's talking
about a transition, a change. Another example is, he
started to get a bit angry, he started to get a bit angry. I don't know why.
(screen whooshes) For example, the th sound
is going away in London. - Yeah? - Because
- that's right. - Yeah, nothin' - Nothing.
- instead of nothing. - Oh. - So that th sound's going away, and you can see on a map how... Now this one isn't an
expression or a word to learn. Instead, it's just something interesting where, in the UK, people are predicting that the th sound might
disappear within 50 years. Because a few years
ago, or a long time ago, only a certain amount of people made the f sound instead of the th sound. For example, saying
"free" instead of "three". Now sometimes I do this,
especially when I speak quickly, and the map that I'm gonna leave a link to in the description shows
that this is spreading throughout the UK. Froughout or throughout? But yeah, definitely check out that link because it's interesting
and it shows the evolutions of the English language in the UK. (screen whooshes) Do an impression.
- No, I can't do an impression of you, you know it. I want to be able to do
a good impression of you, and I think, in general, I
do do decent impressions, but your accent is very hard for me. - Yeah. So Kate can't do an impression of me. She tries. It's not always that accurate. She really wants to be able
to do an impression of me, and to do an impression of someone means to imitate the
way that someone speaks. We can also say "to do an
accent, to do an accent", which means to imitate an accent. Now some people say that I
can do a good New York accent. I live in New York, I've
got my dog, I've got my car. I go to the park. I like coffee. I need to work on this a little bit, and the way I'm doing this
actually is using my method to listen, repeat, record, compare method, where you listen to a phrase, you record yourself repeating it, and then you compare it to
the original and make changes. Now, this is a method you can
use to learn English, as well, and there is a link to the method, a video, in the description. (screen whooshes)
- Okay. - But let's start with Halloween. - Yes. - Halloween is huge in the U.S. I am always shocked every
year just by how big it is and how early people
have to get prepared for. Halloween is huge in the U.S. It's huge, which means it's very popular. Now, big, huge. Huge
normally means very big. And you can say, "Halloween
is big. Halloween is huge." Both of these words mean
popular in this case. Another example is,
he's huge on Instagram, which means he's very
popular on Instagram. He has a lot of followers on Instagram. And another one is, although
Oasis were huge in the UK, they weren't very popular
or well-known in the U.S. Here's a question. Were
Oasis popular where you are? Are they still popular?
Leave a comment below. (screen whooshes)
No. - You said people will come
back and egg your house, - Oh.
- if you don't leave candy for people. - Yeah. - Now to egg a house means
to throw eggs at a house, and this is very naughty. You can get in trouble if
you egg people's houses. But it does happen. Some kids do do this. People will egg a house or egg a car. And again, this just means to throw eggs at a house or a car. And I was worried that
people would egg our house, or Kate said, "People are
going to egg our house "if you leave out carrots
instead of candy." I was never going to leave
out carrots instead of candy, but yeah, I still don't like kids getting so much candy at Halloween. (screen whooshes) Everyone dresses up,
right? Parents, children? - Yeah. - Most parents.
- Yeah. - And it's hard to get
an outfit in the week running up to Halloween
because everything's sold out, which is why you often
do it six weeks before. Everyone dresses up. To dress up means to wear a costume. Now the phrase of a dress-up
is specific to the UK and probably Australia and Ireland, but it's not used in the
U.S. because in the U.S. you say "to wear a costume,
to wear a costume". But I remember people in the UK saying, "What are you going to
dress as for Halloween?" What are you going to
dress up as for Halloween? And this is true. Some of
my friends hate dressing up. They hate dressing up. (screen whooshes) - And every year, I just run
out of time a little bit, but I think that you can get so creative and do something really special, but- - Every year, I just run out of time. Every year, I just run out of time. So to run out of time means
that you have no time left because we normally leave
it to the last minute, which means we do things
just before a deadline, when it comes to making
costumes for Halloween. So we always run out of time. We don't have enough
time to make a costume. Now listen to these two examples. We're running out of sugar,
and we've run out of sugar. We're running out of sugar,
and we've run out of sugar. So if we're running out of sugar, it means we still have a
little bit of sugar left, but soon we won't have any left. And if we say we've run out of sugar, it means we have no sugar. (screen whooshes) - I had a whole design, with like a headpiece and
a cape and my tentacles. And in the end, all I ended up
wearing were like some tights that I never had time to stuff. - Kate's still talking
about a costume here saying, "All I ended
up wearing was tights." Now to end up doing something
means to conclude something with a particular action. And it's kind of hard to
explain how to use this, but I think this example
is really gonna help you. Imagine that you haven't
seen somebody in a while, but the last time you saw
them, let's say two months ago, they were telling you about their vacation and that they wanted to go on a vacation, but they weren't sure about
where they wanted to go. And then, you see this friend
again today, and you say, "Oh, where did you end
up going on vacation?" Where did you end up going on vacation? Where did you finally
decide to go on vacation? And they say, "We ended
up going to Preston." Another example is, "We were
going to go out last night, "but we ended up staying home "and watching a terrible TV show." (screen whooshes) And sometimes it's been rainy and cold, and they just want to eat the candy, and then they get the sugar rush. And then, the next day at school, you know as a former teacher,
- Yeah. - the day after Halloween
was the worst to teach. To get a sugar rush. This means to get that
uncontrollable energy after eating too much sugar. It's where kids,
especially, get hyperactive, and they can't sit still and they shake and they're constantly moving. But then, after a sugar rush,
normally you got a crash, and this is where you just
feel tired, sometimes cranky. Sometimes children get
cranky after a sugar rush. (screen whooshes) The person who used to live in the house that we live in now, it was known as the best house in the neighborhood 'cause they had all these decorations, but they didn't leave them for us. - No.
- A neighbor got them. - Uh huh. - So then, they put up all
these new decorations and... - Yeah. - Yeah, the person who
used to live in the house where we live now. So the person who used
to live in our house means the person that lived
in our house in the past, and people often get
confused between used to, be used to and get used to. For example, I used to live in Spain. So in the past, I lived in Spain. I am used to living in
America because I've been here for 10 years and I'm
accustomed to living here. I'm used to living here,
but I'll never get used to people saying "yo-gurt"
instead of "yogg-urt". I'm not gonna make that transition. (screen whooshes) What happens when the leaves fall? We'll say it on three. One, two, three. One, one, two, three. Bag them up.
- Oh. - We'll put them in
compost (laughs lightly). To bag something up means
to put something in a bag. Next.
(screen whooshes) - It's a little bit
crisper, it's more crisp, and there's a little bit of
a chill in the air at night. - Yeah, chill in the air. What do I say when I come outside, and there's a chill in the
air and it's not humid? Kate talked about the weather saying, "It was crisp and there
was a chill in the air." Now if something is crisp
or if the weather is crisp, it means that it is cold, but also clear. So you can imagine those winter days when it's cold but clear. So the sun is shining. And if there's a chill in the air, it means it's not too cold, but you're uncomfortable due to the cold and you need to put some more layers on. You need to put some more clothes on. (screen whooshes) Yeah, I remember celebrating
my birthday here, and it was really warm. So I've never had a warm sunny day on my birthday in my life. But it can be hit or miss. It could be, it could be cold - Yeah.
- near the end of October. I was talking about my birthday
here, and how sometimes, at the end of October where
we live, it's warm and sunny, but sometimes it's cold. So the weather can be hit or miss, meaning it's inconsistent. It can be good or bad. Another example is, that
restaurant is hit or miss. Sometimes you get something great. Sometimes the food is terrible. Usually, it depends on what you order. (energetic music) Okay, so those are the
advanced phrases for you. Again, be sure to watch the conversation or listen to the conversation
on your favorite podcast app. And then, also go to the
description to have a look at the phrases that we've talked about and just to read the
examples that I've given you. And while you're down
there in the description, check out the other videos, as well, and be sure to get my book, "The 5 Step Plan for English Fluency". And before I share the question, I just want to say, if you're new here or if you're old here, like the video. And if you're new here, subscribe and turn on the notification bell. Now my question for you is,
what is a typical Halloween like where you live, and do you
dress up for this event? Do you dress up for Halloween? So leave those comments below. I look forward to reading them. Again, thank you for being here, and I will speak to you soon. Bye-bye.
(lively music) ♪ Oh oh ♪ ♪ Oh oh ♪
