Stay ConnectedOn the Espresso English podcast, you’ll learn English grammar, vocabulary, phrases, idioms, and more. Espresso English lessons are clear and practical, making it easy to learn the language quickly and effectively.
Visit http://www.espressoenglish.net to get English courses and e-books that will help you learn faster!
Copyright: © Copyright Shayna Oliveira 2015
Today's lesson is on two phrasal verbs – take back and taken aback. These look quite similar, but they have very different meanings, and I'll explain them with examples.
I think it's helpful to learn phrasal verbs in context, inside sentences, in situations where we'd really use them.
That's the strategy we use inside my Phrasal Verbs in Conversation Course. It's an easy and effective way to learn the phrasal verbs that are so common in English!
👉 Learn more inside the Phrasal Verbs in Conversation Course: https://www.espressoenglish.net/phrasal-verbs-intensive-course/
In English, we use the word "please" to make requests and orders more polite – but have you ever considered where exactly to put the word "please" in your sentence?
In today's lesson I'll show you several correct places to put the word "please" as well as a couple that sound unnatural, which you should avoid.
"Please" is a word we use every day, so we want to use it correctly. It's really important to know the most common words and phrases so that you can be more confident speaking English in daily life.
That's why I created the Everyday English Speaking Course, to help you know exactly what to say in lots of different situations! There are actually two levels of the course - so you can make progress and become a more advanced English speaker day by day.
👉 Learn more inside the Everyday English Speaking Course: https://www.espressoenglish.net/everyday-english-speaking-course/
No matter how much you like your job, there are always a few things to complain about. In today's lesson we'll use five sample sentences to learn phrases and expressions for talking about negative points at work.
Are any of these complaints true for you presently? Or maybe you've experienced these things in the past. Try to write a sentence or two putting some of the expressions we learned into practice.
Remember to come check out my Business English Course. In addition to the lessons focusing on practical situations, it also includes lessons on business idioms – yes, many informal expressions are actually used in the business world or when talking about work – so you'll learn those as well inside the course.
👉 Learn more inside the Business English Course: http://www.espressoenglish.net/business-english-course
Today's lesson is going to be a challenge even for me... We're working on 10 tongue twisters - short phrases that are very difficult to pronounce, even for native English speakers!
I like tongue twisters because they're a fun way to train ourselves to develop very precise pronunciation, and if you can learn to pronounce a tongue twister well, then regular English sentences will probably feel a lot easier by comparison.
English pronunciation is really tricky, and I'd love to help you improve yours so that you can speak more clearly, confidently, and correctly.
My American English Pronunciation Course is a great way to train your pronunciation, make it better, and also receive an evaluation at the end of the course!
👉 Learn more inside the Pronunciation Course: http://www.espressoenglish.net/american-english-pronunciation-course
In today's lesson we'll learn 10 idiomatic expressions with the word LIFE, including:
Remember that idioms are short phrases that can't be translated literally word by word; instead, you need to know the meaning of the whole expression.
If you really want to remember the idioms from today's lesson even better, try putting them in your own example sentence! If you'd like to learn more common idiomatic expressions, my 300+ Idioms Course can teach you in a way that's easy and fun, and helps you put them into practice.
Each lesson in the course includes short answer questions that help you use the idioms you've learned, and then you can send in your answers for feedback and correction.
👉 Learn more inside the 300+ Idioms Course: https://www.espressoenglish.net/english-idioms-course
English spelling can be a real challenge. Because of the way the English language has changed over time, there are LOTS of irregularities and exceptions in the spelling.
Although it's difficult, it's important to learn to spell correctly because it gives a bad impression when there are spelling mistakes in your written English.
Today you'll learn 15 common spelling mistakes that even native English speakers often make - so you can be aware of them, avoid them, and spell these words correctly!
Please don't feel bad if you've been making some of these spelling mistakes – like I said at the beginning, these are mistakes that even native English speakers make because English spelling is tricky.
Mistakes are an opportunity to learn and improve, and you can do exactly that inside my 200 Common Errors in English Course.
I'll teach you the WRONG way to say things and the RIGHT way to say them, so that you can speak and write more confidently and more correctly in English.
Today let's expand your vocabulary by learning 40 interesting collocations (combinations of words) with the key words comment, conversation, and speech. This is a free sample lesson from our newest course - Advanced Vocabulary and Collocations - so if you like the lesson, join the course to get more!
Do you want to take your vocabulary from "average" to "amazing"? The Advanced Vocabulary and Collocations Course will help you express yourself more fluently, without using the same basic words over and over. You'll learn 1,000+ high-level English words AND how to put them together in ways that sound natural. This helps you sound more sophisticated when you speak and write in English :-)
Today's lesson is a quick tip about a small difference that could really mix you up – do you attend English class, or attend to English class?
(I'll also explain when to use call vs. call to)
It's in these tiny little details where English learners – even more advanced ones – often make mistakes. And that's why it's so important to get some feedback and correction on your writing from a native English speaker.
You can get that inside our Advanced English Grammar Course. In addition to 45 lessons teaching you grammar in great detail, you also have the option to add teacher feedback – you can practice your writing and get it corrected by the Espresso English teaching team.
This is really for the most dedicated English learners and it's super valuable to get personalized feedback – so I hope we'll see you inside that course!
Let's practice pronunciation together!
We'll work on pairs of words with confusing pronunciation - in which the same combinations of letters are pronounced differently.
One very frustrating thing about the English language is that the pronunciation is irregular. There aren't strict pronunciation rules that you could memorize and always know exactly how words are pronounced – it's just not possible.
There ARE some pronunciation patterns… but there are also exceptions to those patterns! Some letters and combinations of letters have multiple different pronunciations, and you can't know which one to use just by reading the word; you need to hear the word. That's why listening and repeating is so important.
You can improve your pronunciation fast inside my American English Pronunciation Course – we'll learn and practice all the sounds of the language, helping you to make the differences between similar sounds and avoid pronunciation mistakes. This course will help you speak English more clearly, confidently, and correctly!
Do you know the difference between business and busyness? They're pronounced differently... ...and they mean different things! Let's learn them in this quick lesson.
If you need to use English in your job or career, I can help you speak more confidently when you join my Business English Course! It will teach you what to say in lots of professional situations like interviews, meetings, phone calls, and much more.
The lessons are very practical - full of useful words and phrases that native English speakers often use at work.
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