30 idioms and expressions with a native speaker in Los Angeles

hi I'm Lisa let's bring real life into the English learning experience in this video we will continue our series of listening to native speakers in Los Angeles you will listen to a conversation that I had with the native speaker we will analyze all the different expressions that the native speaker was using in addition I will give you other example sentences so that you can learn to use that expression in other situations that way you will also be able to understand American TV shows and films and when you have interactions with native speakers not only will you be able to understand them but you will be able to use some of the same expressions I love this teaching method I think it's one of the most effective ways to reach that final level of fluency so in this video we have a lot of different things to talk about we will talk about the American accent we will talk about grammar and you will learn lots and lots of expressions okay let's get started you will listen to my conversation with Craig Gagan Craig moved to Los Angeles three years ago from New York he's a model and an actor and before that he played football in fact he even reached the professional level and now he's using that same motivation and that same hard work to pursue a career in acting there is so much competition in Los Angeles there are so many actors from all over the United States and from all over the world and there's lots of rejection and I love Craig's attitude how he deals with rejection and how he handles going on an audition I was inspired by him and I think you will be too let's watch the first clip and then I will come back and teach you some expressions that he was using it's tough you know first and foremost it's definitely tough it's a challenge but it's fun you know it's it's nice to wake up every morning and know that today is going to be different than it was yesterday and differ it's gonna be tomorrow it's not a typical nine-to-five job which I find really exciting Craig said it's tough and you probably know what that means right it's tough you know first and foremost it's definitely tough it's tough means it's difficult so you can say my job is really tough or yesterday was a tough day and Craig said it's tough first and foremost it's tough it's tough you know first and foremost it's definitely tough so the next expression is first and foremost you know first and foremost it's definitely tough first and foremost means most importantly more than anything else primarily you can say first and foremost I'd like to thank my family you can tell someone if you want to improve your English first and foremost you need to improve your vocabulary the next expression that Craig used was nine-to-five job it's not a typical nine-to-five job which I find really exciting and that means a full-time job but it means it's kind of a boring job you can say I just have a nine-to-five job every day is the same I'm not particularly excited about it but also a nine-to-five job provides stability and a lot of people want that you can also say to someone I know you love being a musician but you really need a nine-to-five job to pay the bills so a nine-to-five job is a regular job a stable job but maybe it's not so exciting now let's listen to Craig talk about how his experience in football is helping him with his acting in Los Angeles and he will also talk about the audition process and what he does to make it less stressful he talks about how he deals with rejection and he also talks about the difference between acting and modeling let's listen to him and then I will come back and I will teach you the expressions that he used football has made me who I am today all the hard work that I put into football from when I was seven up until a few years ago I've just kind of taking that energy and refocused it elsewhere in my life now I'm acting so I know what discipline and hard work is about so it's helped me like that and it also teaches you life lessons football believe it or not you know teamwork accountability and things like that no doubt no doubt about it rejection is huge in Hollywood for every one yes you'll probably get a hundred and fifty noes and it's something that you do have to deal with I used to go into the audition room and leave and be really hopeful only to be cut down at the knees and let down so I kind of took a different approach and now I'll leave the room I'll be proud of the work that I put in but I'll do the best I can to just get it out of my mind focus on the next one and if I get a phone call saying hey you got the part then it's a pleasant surprise rather than like I said a letdown so there's obviously some crossover between acting and modeling I prefer acting of course but I do do some modeling as well it's fun and I fit the mold so why not jump in and do that while I can so between acting and modeling acting is definitely more challenging modeling they kind of booked you for the job because you are in fact what they want or what they need for that specific job everybody has a good side or almost everybody anyway I prefer this side of my face so I'll kind of always cheat that toward camera as much as I can unless of course the cameraman throws me under the bus and tells me to face this way so I'll kind of cheat toward camera with my right side best I can and you just want to look as relaxed and as cool for lack of a better term as you can I like to kind of just lean into a hip maybe one hand in the pocket relax your shoulders and just have fun that's the most important thing is to have fun yeah well my favorite thing about acting is that I get to do things on camera that I Craig wouldn't do in my day-to-day life you know I recently played the character of a gambling addict and he was going to the casinos in Vegas and he's got the girls on his shoulders and he's gambling and he's got all the drinks going and he's living it up partying like you wouldn't believe and that's not me you know I like to kind of lay low and just have a good time I'm not necessarily one who needs drinks or any other type of ice like that but it's fun to kind of put it on and do that for a few hours at a time and then just go back to being who you are naturally without there being repercussions of course that's what's the most fun part about it I guess my least favorite thing about acting is the fact that it's hurry-up-and-wait you know they rush you to get the set at 7:30 a.m. and then you won't even have anything to do until 4:00 in the afternoon you know it's just kind of always up in the air nobody ever really knows the schedule and even if they do it's hard to stick to it so it's a lot of downtime but it's all you know a part of the game and I can't complain and the pros definitely outweigh the cons for me so I'm gonna stick with it I love it so people can find out more about me by following me on instagram which is at craig Gagan 3 1 3 3 1 3 is my birthday March 13th and that's felt crai g g e OG h a n 3 1-3 and that is my Instagram thank you guys this was a lot of fun Craig said football has made me who I am today and I asked how so football has made me who I am today you can use the expression how so to mean tell me more why do you say that please explain in what way how so I've just kind of taken that energy and refocused it elsewhere in my life Craig said elsewhere he said he took the energy and refocused it elsewhere in life and elsewhere simply means somewhere else or in another place elsewhere no doubt no doubt about it I used the expression on edge I said it definitely gives you an edge and to have an edge is to have an advantage to be in a better position than the competition so the experience of his past his football career gives him an edge in Los Angeles as an actor you can say his hard work gives him an edge on the competition another example is Michael Phelps long-arms definitely gave him an edge the next expression is really common no doubt no doubt that B is silent to make sure you don't pronounce to be no doubt no doubt about it no doubt no doubt about it and that means certainly that's true he's the best athlete no doubt about it Craig used the expression to be let down and that means to be disappointed he said only to be cut down at the knees and to be let down I used to go into the audition room and leave and be really hopeful only to be cut down at the knees and let down wow that sounds pretty intense you can say for example your parents will really be let down when they find out about what you did and let down can also be used as a noun in that case we stress the first part we say a letdown not getting accepted to the top university was a huge letdown for her the next expression that Craig used was to put in and he said I'll be proud of the work that I put in now I'll leave the room I'll be proud of the work that I put in to put in means to make an effort to do something you can say I try to put in one hour of exercise every day and I have a question for you how much time and effort are you putting into practicing your English and if I get a phone call saying hey you got the part Craig used the word part he said you got the part and that means you got the role you got the job for the film you got the part you can say that's a very difficult part to play you're playing a lawyer in that film that's a great part congratulations on getting the parts tell me about your modeling career how is that different than acting so there's obviously some crossover between acting and modeling Craig used the word crossover there is definitely some crossover between acting and modeling and that means they are similar they have some things in common it can be a combination of both and the next one is a grammar point listen to the way Craig uses do two times tell me about your modeling career how is that different than acting so there's obviously some crossover between acting and modeling I prefer acting of course but I do do some modeling as well it's fun and I fit the mold so why not jump in and do that while I can Craig said I do do some modeling as well why did he use do two times why didn't he just say I do some modeling as well what's the difference we use that do for special emphasis or for clarification you can say I usually drink wine but I do like beer as well and let's change that to he he usually drinks wine but he does like beer as well and past tense he used to drink wine but he did drink beer as well so you see we use the auxiliary form for special emphasis for clarification and what does aswell mean what that simply means also or - I prefer acting of course but I do do some modeling as well you can say I speak French and the other person will say oh I speak French as well me too let's look at the next expression Craig said I fit the mold it's fun and I fit the mold it's fun and I fit the mold to fit the mold means to be the type that they want to have the characteristics that they are looking for I asked Craig how he poses when he's modeling let's listen to his answer everybody has a good side or almost everybody anyway I prefer this side of my face so I'll kind of always cheat that toward camera as much as I can unless of course the camera man throws me under the bus and tells me to face this way so I'll kind of cheat toward camera with my right side best I can and you just want to look as relaxed and as cool for lack of a better term Craig used the expression to throw under the bus let's listen to how he used it unless of course the cameraman throws me under the bus and tells me to face this way to throw someone under the bus means to harm someone to hurt someone in order for you to get what you want to betray someone you can say I'm shocked that my colleague threw me under the bus or it was the managers fault but I got thrown under the bus instead and that's a very common expression I've been hearing that one a lot even more than before and the next expression is for lack of a better term let's listen to Craig and you just want to look as relaxed and as cool for lack of a better term as you can you can say for lack of a better term or for lack of a better word and that means that's the best word I can find right now I can't think of a better word maybe a better word exists but it's not coming to mind right now you can say he is for lack of a better word crazy that's a good expression for you to know and use the next expression is a phrasal verb and I use that one and it's to come across that's the most important thing is to have fun right yeah Craig said the most important thing is to have fun and I said and that comes across probably and when something comes across people notice it it's noticeable it comes across you can also say he comes across as a cold person we use as as a cold person as a nice person you can also say when you first met me how did I come across and that means what impression did you have of me what did you think of me what did you notice let's listen to two more expressions that Craig used to get to and day-to-day life well my favorite thing about acting is that I get to do things on camera that I Craig wouldn't do in my day to day life if you watched my previous videos where I talk to people in Los Angeles then you have already learned both of these expressions people have used these in the past they're very common expressions to get to do something means to have the opportunity to do something Craig said that as an actor he gets to do things that he normally doesn't get to do in his day-to-day life and what does day-to-day life mean it means his ordinary life his routine his everyday life let's pronounce that correctly day-to-day life pay attention to what happened to the letter T in the word - I didn't say day to day I said day to day you say it day to day repeat after me in my day to day life some people like to go to Las Vegas to escape their day-to-day lives the next expression the Craig used is a phrasal verb to live it up and he said living it up let's listen he's living it up partying like you wouldn't believe live it up means to live an exciting life to have a good time to party to not worry so much about the future to live for today and also it might mean to just spend a lot of money and really enjoy it right now you have a good time you love socializing you're living it up ever since he won the lottery he's been living it up he's very serious and careful about money but his brother loves to live it up and you can say come on have fun live it up and the next expression the Craig used is to lay low let's listen you know I like to kind of lay low and just have a good time I'm not necessarily one who needs drinks or any other type of ice like that and to lay low is almost the opposite of to live it up people who like to lay low don't really like to live a crazy life they like to relax or maybe they like to be in the background they don't need to be the center of attention are you the type that generally prefers to live it up or do you generally prefer to lay low you can say for example let's stay home and lay low tonight let's not go out the next word is Vice do you know that word let's listen to Craig I'm not necessarily one who needs drinks or any other type of ice like that Craig set drinks or any other type of vice a vice is some kind of bad or destructive habit for example gambling alcohol lying stealing cheating those are vices okay let's go to the next word its repercussions let's listen to Craig but it's fun to kind of put it on and do that for a few hours at a time and then just go back to being who you are naturally without there being repercussions of course without there being repercussions of course Craig said when he's acting he can have a lot of vices without any repercussions so what are repercussions repercussions are the negative sequences the effects of something bad that you do you can say to someone I'm warning you if you do that there will be repercussions you probably understood the next expression that Craig used hurry-up-and-wait that kind of makes sense doesn't it I guess my least favorite thing about acting is the fact that it's hurry-up-and-wait you know they rush you to get the set at 7:30 a.m. Craig said his least favorite thing about acting is it so often it's hurry up and wait and that means sometimes people make you hurry and then when you arrive you have to wait people are not ready yet you have to wait for something to happen or for someone to do something that's very frustrating he said they rush to get you to set and what does that mean that's the location where they're filming that's called a film set I guess my least favorite thing about acting is the fact that it's hurry up and wait you know they rush you to get the set at 7:30 a.m. the next expression is a very common one up in the air it's just kind of always up in the air nobody ever really knows the schedule he said it's just kind of always up in the air nobody really knows the schedule if something is up in the air it's not decided it's not certain the schedule is not fixed so nobody knows the exact schedule it's up in the air the decision hasn't been made yet you can say did you get the job I don't know it's still up in the air due to the coronavirus our summer vacation plans are up in the air the next expression is to stick to it nobody ever really knows the schedule and even if they do it's hard to stick to it he said and even if they know this schedule it's hard to stick to it what is stick to it mean to stick to something means to do what you promised to do to do what is planned you don't change the plans you stick to the plans you can say let's stick to our original schedule or he decided to quit smoking I hope he can stay - it would you like some dessert no thank you I'm trying hard to stick to my diet the next expression is downtime so it's a lot of downtime but it's all you know a part of the game and I can't complain Craig said it's a lot of downtime and downtime means a period of inactivity especially between jobs when you're doing nothing you have a lot of downtime a lot of free time you can say I'm working two jobs and I have zero downtime or I'll call you when I get some downtime the next expression is it's part of the game it's all you know a part of the game and I can't complain he said so it's a lot of downtime but it's part of the game so I can't complain and part of the game means it's part of the way things are done that's the way it goes that's the reality of the situation that's how it works so you can't be upset or surprised about it for example you can say if you want to play the stock market risk is part of the game the next expression is a really common one the pros and cons the pros definitely outweigh the cons for me so I'm gonna stick with it I love it he said the pros definitely outweigh the cons let's first pronounce pros and cons the OM pros is like this o pros pros but the o and cons is very different you open your mouth and say ah cons let's say that the pros and cons let's say that is one unit the pros and cons the pros and cons means the good parts and the bad parts the positives and the negatives reasons for something and against something you can say what are the pros and cons of living in New York and by the way what are the pros and cons of living in your city let me know and Craig said the pros definitely outweigh Conn's there are a lot more pros than cons the pros outweigh the cons we can use out way like this I'm not going to do it the risks outweigh the benefits so but Craig is trying to say is there are so many more benefits to being an actor than negative aspects the pros definitely outweigh the cons for me so I'm gonna stick with it I love it so because the pros outweigh the cons Craig said he's going to stick with it and to stick with it is the same as to stick to it he's not going to stop he's going to continue doing it because he really likes it and I hope that you stick with learning English and I hope that you stick with watching these videos the next video will be part two of my interview with Craig in that video he will talk about the New York accent that he used to have and he needed to change it a little bit in order to come to Los Angeles and get jobs in films and he will give examples of what that New York accent sounds like it's pretty interesting we will also learn a lot more expressions Craig used so many wonderful expressions I hope you subscribe to this channel if you haven't done so yet and click on the notification veil so that you find out when the next video is released thanks for watching and keep practicing your English to learn all of the rules for a good American accent you can buy my online video courses at accurate english.com [Music]

Channel: AccurateEnglish

Views: 487,811

Rating: 4.9324789 out of 5

Keywords: American accent, idioms, idiomatic expressions, real people in LA, native speaker, like a native speaker, fluent english, advanced english, grammar, vocabulary, lisa mojsin, accurate english, mastering the american accent, how to sound fluent, natural english, english expressions, common expressions, phrasal verbs, actor in LA, Craig Geoghan, speak fluent english, Los Angeles, people in Los Angeles

Id: 6M8iGCBzRJE

Length: 26min 0sec (1560 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 02 2020