Day 12: finding conversational English

Hi everyone!

I can't help bringing you one of my favourite activities: finding vocabulary in videos. And here is one that is short, educational, and natural.

Apart from the fact that it is related to what we're seeing right now in C2.2 (technology, and simple machinery in this case), the conversational tone of Stephen Colbert in this short video is what really got to me.

So here's our challenge for day 12:

 - Find at least three expressions that you could use naturally in conversation.

 - What do they mean? Can you find another way of saying the same thing or are these phrases really unique for the idea they want to express?


Tell us in the comments!


Enjoy here Stephen Colbert changing a bike inner tube!


Comments

  1. fdgcMarch 25, 2020 at 11:11 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. fdgcMarch 25, 2020 at 11:13 AM

    Hi,

    Here are my findings:

    “I don´t bike ride that much” That could be said: “I don´t ride on bike very often”

    “Evil Knievel was a big deal at the time” That´s tantamount to saying: “Evil Knievel was an important celebrity at that time”

    “There you go” Meaning: “Now it works”

    “Hit me back” Meaning “Answer back”


    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. EvelitaMarch 25, 2020 at 4:02 PM

    Hahaha. This was a funny (and instructive) video to me!

    I found some simple expressions easy to include in conversations but that I haven't used too much so far.

    - As you can tell -- Meaning that the person you are addressing must be able to infer somehing (either because of previous evidence/knowledge or since she can observe it). You could also use (depending on the context) as you can see, as you might know, as you can guess,

    - I spent all of my time - Meaning that you devoted a large part of your time doing a certain activity. Yoy could also say "I was doing x all of my time",

    - There are a lot of stories we tell ourselves - Meaning that we sometimes have limiting beliefs which affect our actual behavior and success. Although you could use different sentences to mean this idea I find this one quite a unique sentence to express this regardless of the situation.

    - Hit me back! . Meaning "answer". You could also see get back to me, answer, I'll be looking forward for your reply...


    Thanks one more time for this all Bea!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shall I compare thee...March 27, 2020 at 10:47 AM

      "There are a lot of stories we tell ourselves"... I agree with you, Evelia, that's a very unique expression! I also understood it as "we change the past so we can live with ourselves", meaning maybe one or two kids did get smashed by the bikes? ;)

      I'm glad you like the video!

      Delete

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