Transcript for:
Boosting Advanced Vocabulary and Grammar Skills

hello lovely students are you ready for a lesson that is going to give your Advanced vocabulary and grammar skills a much deserved boost well today we're going to do just that this video is long but trust me it's going to be worth every minute I'm going to help you speak confidently in everyday situations but we are pushing things to the extreme because you're going to learn how to talk about everyday scenario at a mindblowing C1 level from your morning routine to ordering fast food and even navigating touchy subjects like flirting and breaking up this lesson is going to give you the tools you need to use Advanced vocabulary and grammar in real life to a certain extent some of these examples are a little bit dramatic in all seriousness my C1 students tell me that this is their favorite type of lesson it's basically the most fun way to learn Advanced English to make sure you get the most out of this incredibly useful lesson I've prepared two special ebooks that go hand inand with this video you can download both of them for free for now I might shut this at some point the first ebook contains all of the valuable information that we cover in this lesson all of the vocabulary all of the the grammar so you can refer back to it whenever you need a refresher I've basically made lesson notes and lesson quizzes for you and compiled them into an ebook I'm also including my B1 to C1 ebook this ebook is a 92 page ebook that contains all of the grammar and all of the vocabulary that you need to master in order to achieve the B1 the B2 and the C1 levels of English if you would like to download these two ebooks for free right now all you have to do is click on the link in the description box enter your name and your email address you sign up to my mailing list and the two ebooks will arrive directly in your inbox and then you've joined my free pdf Club you will automatically receive my free weekly lesson PDFs alongside all of my news course updates and offers it's a free service and you can unsubscribe with one click at any time one more thing I'd like to mention because I think you might be interested my most popular course is my beautiful British English C1 program when I tell you this is a masterpiece I'm not exaggerating over 5,000 students have taken my C1 program and they have learned so much Advanced vocabulary as well as C1 grammatical structures Advanced features of pronunciation how to write different texts at an advanced level and so much more students love the storyline that runs through the entire program and the authentic conversations between me and some of the special people in my life take a look at some of the lovely things my graduates have had to say I would love for you to join them for you to try this program I can guarantee it will boost your English skills in so many ways if you want to check out the program you can click on the link in the description of this video or you can visit that link on screen or SC and the QR code to go to the page there you'll be able to learn much more about my beautiful British English C1 program okay now you know what's happening let's dive into your daily routine at C1 level get ready to learn how to describe your day-to-day life with really impressive vocabulary and grammar hello lovely students and welcome back to English with Lucy the first thing you learn when you take your first English class is normally the daily routine right I wake up I get up I eat breakfast and I thought what would a daily routine look like at C1 advanced level I started to write this lesson just as a little experiment and ended up becoming so interesting that I've decided to make it into a video for you in this lesson I am going to give you a daily routine on steroids and on steroids means the most extreme version or a very extreme version in this daily routine I am going to give you a ton of super Advanced C1 vocabulary and we're going to cover lots and lots of C1 level grammar structures so if you really want to test your English skills this lesson is for you I also want to mention before we start that this is going to be quite an extreme daily routine and some people will probably want to let me know English people do not speak like this in real life no I totally agree I just want to see how far we can go with Advanced grammar and advanced vocabulary all I know is it's going to be complex and it's going to be fun upon waking up to The melodious Chimes of my alarm clock I embark on my wellestablished morning routine that I've perfected over the years first and foremost I indulge in a brief meditation session allowing me to clear my mind and start the day with a sense of calm in addition to my mental exercise I dive into a challenge alling 30 minute workout session but I guess it isn't so much challenging as it is invigorating after freshening up I pamper myself with my nourishing skincare regimen ensuring a well hydrated and glowing complexion I told you this is a daily routine on steroids in order to reach the C1 level of vocabulary and grammar there aren't many people in the UK that speak like this on a daily basis okay so in addition to loads of really great vocab we we also have quite a few C1 level grammar structures and let's start by looking at these three Clauses what do you notice about them we have upon waking up to The melodious Chimes of my alarm clock we have allowing me to clear my mind and start the day with a sense of calm and we have ensuring a well hydrated and glowing complexion well these are known as non-finite Clauses a non-finite clause is a type of clause that doesn't have a subject and a finite verb a verb with tense and agreement in other words it's an incomplete sentence that can't stand alone as a complete thought and non-finite clauses use verbs in their base form infinitive or the ing form the present participle without specific subject information these incomplete sentence building blocks help add more context and information to our sentences now let's take a look at another structure in this paragraph It Isn't So Much challenging as it is invigorating so using not so much plus adjective plus AS Plus adjective is an advanced comparative structure we use to compare two related qualities okay I'm going to address one more grammar concept from this paragraph before we move on to the rest of my routine compound adjectives like well established 30 minute well hydrated so compound adjectives are adjectives that are formed by combining two or more words to create a single descriptive term these adjectives are commonly used to convey complex or specific qualities that may not be easily expressed with just one single word I used several hyphenated compound adjectives in this first paragraph and we use the hyphens to clarify that the words are meant to be taken together as a single descriptive unit right let's see what I get up to with the rest of my C1 extreme this is going to get complex no sooner have I got dressed in my most casual yet professional attire then I am wolfing down a hearty breakfast to fuel my day ahead with a steaming cup of herbal tea in hand I scan the morning headlines to stay informed on the happenings of the world meanwhile as I commute to work I immerse myself in an audio book relishing The well-written pros and captivating storytelling thus I arrive at work ready to tackle the day ahead of me wow that's really sounding like a novel at this point okay let's see what we've got here in the first sentence no sooner have I got dressed in my most casual yet professional attire than I am wolfing down a hearty breakfast to fuel my day ahead so the construction no sooner have I got dressed is an example of negative inversion a negative inversion is one of my favorite GR grammatical structures I absolutely love the way it sounds and when students learn it they can instantly sound so intelligent when they speak so negative inversion is where the usual word order of a sentence is inverted or changed when a negative adverbial expression is used at the beginning of the sentence the construction is important because it adds emphasis I'm not just saying I have got dressed but I'm highlighting the immediacy of the action by using no no sooner this construction often indicates that one action happens immediately after another almost without any delay using negative inversion helps to add a little flare to the story instead of sticking to the same subject verb type construction but it should be used sparingly if you use it too much it will sound pretty contrived the final two sentences featured signposts and no I'm not talking about these I'm referring to language like meanwhile and thus and using signposting language like this is giving your writing a GPS it helps steer your audience smoothly along and it keeps your thoughts organized these little words and phrases act as the glue that holds your writing together think of it this way without these signposting cues your writing can get all jumbled up and end up sounding like a bunch of random thoughts let's do a quick comprehension check can you identify the sign posting language in our first paragraph I'll give you a few seconds to read through use your pause button now to have a read through in 5 seconds I'm going to give you the answers okay you should have said first and foremost in addition to and after okay what's the rest of my day looking like upon arriving at the office I buckle down and get on with my work meticulously completing my task tasks in the most efficient way possible it's knowing that I'm contributing in a meaningful way that I thrive on and I actively seek opportunities to enhance my skill set throughout the day I engage in productive dialogues with colleagues synergizing ideas and learning from their unique perspectives all right we have a few things to look at here first we have the Clause meticulously completing my tasks in the most efficient way possible this utilizes a postmodified super superlative adjective that's quite a mouthful postmodified superlative adjective so this is an adjective that is placed after the noun and it modifies or adds emphasis or specific information about the noun and this construction is used to highlight the extreme quality of the noun in comparison to others of its kind the structure of the second sentence was a bit of an odd one it is knowing that I am contributing in a meaningful way that I thrive on and I actively seek opportunities to enhance my skill set we call this a cleft sentence a cleft sentence and this is a grammatical construction used to emphasize a particular element in a sentence by dividing it into two clauses I know I said that negative inversion was my favorite but I actually think it ties with cleft sentences once you master these it opens up an opportunity to really add some interest to your creative writing the purpose of a cleft sentence is to bring attention to a specific part of the sentence Often by reorganizing the structure to highlight that element in this case I wanted to highlight knowing that I'm contributing in a meaningful way so I was able to restructure my sentence to make sure that this portion of the sentence was the main focus they're pretty nifty these CLE sentences okay let's move on to the final part of my routine as the day draws to a close I reflect on my achievements striving to be the best version of myself both personally and professionally all I hope is that I outdo my previous accomplishments each day as I embrace life with unwavering determination by adopting this disciplined and purposeful routine I feel confident that I can continue on a path of self-improvement and well-being I feel like I'm becoming less and less likable as this um this daily routine goes on but it's not about me it's about the grammar so let's see what we have here in the first sentence as the day draws to a close I reflect on my achievements striving to be the best version of myself both personally and professionally we have a few different things going on here first we have as the day draws to a close which is a subordinate clause but by C1 you should already be familiar with them these are clauses that can't stand on their own as indiv idual sentences they have to be attached to a main or independent clause we also have a participle Clause a participle Clause striving to be the best version of myself both personally and professionally a participle Clause is a type of non-finite clause we discussed those before can you identify the other participle clause in this paragraph that's right it is a last sentence by adopting this disciplined and purposeful routine I can't say purposeful without going purposeful purposeful that's a very it's quite a stuffy sounding word to me quite oldfashioned very purposeful this participle clause also functions as an adverbial phrase because I used the preposition by explaining how the action in the main Clause is achieved finally we saw another common construction of a cleft sentence my other favorite all I hope is that I outdo my previous accomplishments each day as I embrace life with unwavering determination the structure what or all plus Clause plus be plus Clause is quite commonly used so it's a good one to have in your back pocket oh my word that was an intense lesson that's probably one of the most advanced English lessons I have ever delivered okay now that you can talk about your daily life like a pro let's move on to food and drink everyone can relate to this topic right and now you'll learn how to discuss it at an advanced level but before we dig into that because we will talk about that phrase if you're enjoying this lesson so far and you want to take your Advanced English skills to the next level click on the link below to learn more about my beautiful British English C1 program this thre Monon in-depth self-study course covers all all of the advanced topics you need to become the fluent and confident speaker you want to be the program is designed to help you achieve functional fluency in various real life situations it's a real game Cher for your Advanced English skills the links down there hello lovely students and welcome back to English with Lucy here's a question for you when you learn another language when you start to learn English what is one of the first topics ICS you want to learn about apart from swear words food and drink obviously you take them off you learn the basic vocabulary and then you forget about them I want to bring them back today we're going to learn food and drink C1 to C2 advanced level let's get started with the lesson and I must say when you get to a really advanced level of English people like to say in the comment section but people don't talk like this in real life I agree with you lots of people don't and it's not necessary I would say reaching B2 is the level that allows you to really exist in English C1 is when you are completely fluent to the point where you can have very nuanced conversations the vocabulary we'll discuss today is the kind of vocabulary you might find in a piece of creative writing or you might use with someone who is a real foodie or cooking Enthusiast okay let's start I consider myself a bit of a foodie but I'm definitely not a food snob I'm just as happy tucking into a simple homemade meal as I am polishing off a Michelin starred work of art on a normal day when I wake up I force myself to gulp down a big glass of water before I indulge my caffeine addiction and brew an aromatic cup of coffee that first Swig always hits the spot fellow caffeine addicts raise your hands sometimes I like to work up an appetite before breakfast by going going for a run other times I can't wait and I gobble down a steaming bowl of porridge immediately okay here are some of the vocabulary I want to pick out the first is the phrasal verb to tuck in or to tuck into and this means to start eating enthusiastically after hours of preparation everyone was ready to tuck into the roast dinner the next one to polish off another phrasal verb this means to finish all of something especially food and I always imagine polishing a plate cuz it's so clean because you've eaten everything I can't believe you polished off that entire Pizza by yourself and next to gulp down another phrasal verb this means to drink very quickly after a run I often gulp down a big glass of juice and to gulp is to swallow it sounds the same gulp the next is a verb to brew which means to make coffee or tea by adding hot water to the beans or the bag the highlight of my morning is the fresh pot of coffee my husband Brews every day sometimes we will call a cup of coffee or a cup of tea a brew do you fancy a brew as a noun next we had an adjective aromatic aromatic and please focus on the pronunciation here Aroma as a noun aromatic this means having a pleasant and distinctive smell spices like cardamom and and cinnamon make curry an aromatic dish note that we can use it sarcastically if I smell a dirty sock I might say very aromatic meaning it stinks number six this is a noun a swig it means an amount of something that you drink quickly and it can also be used as a verb meaning to have a large quick mouthful of a liquid or gulp of a drink after reaching the peak of the mountain he took a big Swig from his flask of iced tea we take a swig you can say to have a swig but take is the stronger collocation we could also say he swigged from his flask of iced tea slightly less common number seven nice phrase here to work up an appetite to work up an appetite this means to do something normally strenuous that makes you feel hungry I was gardening all morning and I really worked up an appetite and the final one a nice slang phrasal verb to gobble down to gobble down so to gobble means to eat quickly to gobble down to eat very quickly with lots of swallowing it's just an emphasis here this particle doesn't really change the meaning of the verb a bit like with to sit and to sit down there's no real changing we're just emphasizing the direction of the action the food is going down we sit down an example my dog always gobbles down his dinner as soon as I give it to him that is is so true he really does gobble down there's no better verb or phrasal verb to describe it okay next part of the story when I have time I love nothing more than whipping up some dishes in the kitchen when I was in Tuscany recently I learned to make this incredibly flavorsome pasta sauce the ingredients are so simple but fresh and H it's mouthwatering I love cooking one pot meals too because they're so easy and there's minimal cleanup speaking of we're very lucky to have a dog who Hoovers up any stray crumbs so our kitchen is usually pretty clean okay there was a lot of good vocab in that passage so let's have a look number nine we have to whip up to whip up this is a nice slang phrasal verb it means to cook something quickly especially using whatever ingredients you have to hand don't worry everyone I'm going to whip up a gourmet Feast of beans on toast beans on toast is a really typical British meal when you don't have any food in the house we nearly always have a tin of Hines baked beans or actually now with inflation we're buying Supermarket brand ones and toast so beans on toast is a very common I don't know what to make I don't have anything I'll make beans on toast next number 10 is flavorsome flavorsome which means delicious and full of flavor notice the pronunciation two schah sounds there flavum flavum the sauce proved incredibly flavorsome transforming the mundane dish into a culinary Masterpiece next we have the adjective mouthwatering mouthwatering which describes food that looks so good you want to eat it right then they served up a mouthwatering dish that tasted just as good as it looked next something I love to make a one poot meal a one poot meal this is a meal that can be cooked in one pot and I want to draw your attention to how I pronounced it instead of saying one pot I said one pot the beauty of a one pot meal is that there's barely any washing up to do afterwards and the final one for this section is crumb usually seen in the plural because there's almost always more than one a crumb is a very small piece of bread cake or biscuit or food in general that has fallen off get a plate you're dropping crumbs everywhere next part according to my husband will my best dish is a chicken recipe by otal langi one of my favorite chefs whenever I make it will practically inhales it it's incredibly moish too so we never have leftovers what about my favorite foods some of you may know that I adore fruit especially watermelon but I also love blue cheese especially some good Stilton it's got quite a pungent smell and I would say it's an acquired taste but it's really yummy I always put it out when I do nibbles when guests are coming over okay let's have a look at the vocabulary first up number 14 to inhale to inhale this means to breathe in literally however in the context of food it means to eat very quickly he was so hungry he seemed to inhale his sandwich the next is a lovely adjective moish moish this describes something that is so delicious you want more of it this cake is so Moorish I can't stop eating it next I love this one the adjective pungent pungent I love the phones together pungent I feel it's so descriptive it's not normally a very positive adjective because it means having a very strong smell or taste normally smell when we're talking about blue cheese though that's a good thing that's what we pay for an example the jurian fruit has quite a pungent smell next I talked about something being an acquired taste which means something that you might not like at first but you start to enjoy over time olives are an acquired taste and children often don't like them I used to pretend to like olives as a child because I wanted to sit with the adults and have nibbles and that was often the only thing on offer and if I stopped eating that'd send me to bed and the final word was the noun nibbles which means small items of food that are normally eaten with your fingers you will often see them on restaurant menus nibbles then start as M's desserts we also have the verb to nibble which means to take a small bite of something and if you have a nibble of something again you take a small bite but nibbles in general little snacks you normally eat with your fingers I put out some nibbles like cheese and crackers before dinner okay last part of the story will and I also love eating out if I know we're going somewhere special I make sure to not spoil my appetite beforehand even so my eyes are often bigger than my stomach and I end up with too much food doggy bags aren't much of a thing in the UK but I wish they were I always walk out of a restaurant completely stuffed okay finally here are four more words and phrases to finish off this video number 19 is to spoil one's appetite to spoil one's appetite and this means to eat something before a meal that causes you to fill up or not feel hungry don't have that chocolate bar it'll spoil your appetite next one's eyes are bigger than one's stomach if your eyes are bigger than your stomach it means you order or put too much food on your plate and you can't finish it I always have eyes bigger than my stomach at a buffet I want to pile my plate with absolutely everything and then when I start eating I realize I've taken way too much an example sorry I really can't finish this my eyes were bigger than my stomach the next phrase and this one might surprise you is doggy bag doggy bag and this is a bag or a box you get from a restaurant to take home your leftovers in and it's more common in the US it's becoming more of a thing in the UK when I went to the US I was really shocked at how big their portions were but when I mentioned it to my American friends they said don't judge us because we take almost everything home with us at the end of the meal and we have it as leftovers in our fridge and it made perfect sense for me in the UK I would say we are more inclined and often pushed by our parents to finish everything on our plate an example could I have a doggy bag please it was delicious just a huge portion and the final word I want to talk about is the adjective stuffed which means very full I couldn't eat another bite I'm absolutely stuffed okay that's it for your C1 food and drink lesson okay now that you've got a taste for food and drink vocabulary let's focus on a specific scenario ordering a coffee if you're not a coffee person don't worry these skills can be applied to ordering whatever your drink of choice might be let's take your coffee order ing skills to the next level hello lovely students and welcome back to English with Lucy today I decided to really push myself and push you to and see if I could write a lesson about ordering a coffee in English at a C1 level how advanced can we make ordering a simple cup of coffee oh just watch me it's going to get Advanced right let's get started so we all know that ordering a coffee coffee is one of the first things you learn in English and it can be very simple can I have a coffee please this way of ordering a coffee is absolutely fine it's perfect in fact although it probably wouldn't work in somewhere like Starbucks where an order is more like can I get a doppio half CF skinny mocka ventti to go you love one of those I know I do but that's not what we're talking about today I want to order a normal coffee in advanced English and I know what some people are going to say when they hear my order people never speak like that I agree I agree it's not necessary but it's fun and it's cool and if we can't have fun cool English lessons then what have we got I think it's fun to see how far we can take it and more importantly for you I think it's a fun and memorable way to introduce some Advanced grammatical structures and vocabulary are you ready we're going to move up through the levels level one black coffee please this is the simplest way to order a coffee and it's perhaps not the most polite way to order in a coffee shop but if you're ordering as part of a group after dinner for example I think it's fine the addition of please at the end though is important let's take it up a notch level two can I have a black coffee please here the request is formulated as a question using the modal verb can which makes it more polite than the first one you will often hear this said as can I get a black coffee please this is slightly more common in American English but it's making its way into British English some people don't like the use of get here but a lot of native speakers use it now let's say this more politely level three may I please have a black coffee with a splash of milk all right we're getting a little bit more complex here this is a very polite way to order a coffee using the modal verb may you can also replace May with the modal verb could which is a more polite way to make requests than can you can also see that the word please has moved from the end to directly after mayi this front loading of please emphasizes the politeness of the request and sets a formal tone from the outset we are also now asking for a splash of milk and a splash means a small amount of liquid in this context okay can I go further level four could you kindly prepare a black coffee with a splash of milk and Two Sugars okay we're getting closer to advanced level here and further from reality now we have the modal verb could which I talked about in level three and instead of please we can see the adverb kindly this is another way to soften a request and make it more polite let's add a little more advanced language level five would it be possible for you to brew a medium-sized black coffee with a splash of milk Two Sugars and a sprinkling of cinnamon on top all right this one is even more polite and a bit poetic as well would it be possible is a very polite way to form a question we also have some more advanced vocabulary including to brew meaning to make a hot drink like coffee or tea and sprinkling which means a small amount of liquid or powder that is dropped onto a surface can I make it even more advanced level six and we're not even at the end yet if it's not too much trouble could you please craft a medium-sized black coffee enriched with a splash of organic milk and precisely two cubes of raw sugar while ensuring it's brewed to the optimum temperature and then garnish it with a delicate sprinkling of cinnamon on top we're moving into Nightmare customer territory now if it's not too much trouble is a very polite way of asking someone to do something we often add it to the beginning of a request often when we know the request is going to cause some extra effort now we're asking for the Barista to craft the coffee not just make one craft this means to make objects in a skilled way especially with your hands and the coffee is to be enriched with a splash of milk to enrich means to make the quality of something better by adding something else then it is to be brewed to the optimum temperature Optimum means best possible you might hear the synonym optimal or optimal used in American English and then we have garnished with cinnamon to garnish means to decorate food or drink with a small amount of food can this customer get any worse yes the answer is yes if you've ever worked in retail or Hospitality you know the answer is yes here is my coffee order in in its final form level seven would you be so kind as to commence the artisanal preparation of a mediumsized black coffee Sauced if possible from single origin beans and brewed at precisely 89° cus it should be complemented with a splash of organic locally saued milk sweetened to a modest degree with exactly two cubes of raw sugar and adorned with a subtle yet discernable sprinkling of handr cinnamon finally CU I'm not done yet I request that it be presented in a ceramic mug featuring a handle ergonomically designed for a right-handed individual someone is definitely going to spit in this customer's coffee let's look at the grammar would you be so kind as to is a very very polite and formal way to make a request and in the final sentence you saw the structure I request that it be presented this sentence uses the subjunctive mood which is a formal structure in English and appears after certain verbs like request and the vocabulary first there is to commence which means to begin we had artisanal artisanal meaning prepared in a traditional way we have complimented this is the verb to complement with an E it's different to the one with I if one thing complements with an E another it goes well with the other thing and it makes it better we complement each other we go well together we make each other better we compliment each other means we give each other compliments I like your dress I like your hair I like your coffee what did you ask for I'm going to ask for that little did she know we also have adorned with the verb to adorn means to add something decorative to a person or thing to make it more attractive we also have the adjectives subtle and discernable subtle means not obvious or noticeable while discernable means able to be recognized so I wanted it subtle but discernable H Nightmare and finally perhaps the most egregious request an ergonomically designed handle ergonomically means in a way that makes something of an equipment or Furniture comfortable and effective for people who use it what did you think of my C1 level coffee order is it realistic no is it interesting I think so and I hope it will help you to remember some of the structures and vocabulary that I've presented we really do use all of these words and phrases in real life okay now it's time to shift gears and spice things up in this lesson we're going to explore the art of flirting in English you're going to learn colloquial language and slang that will help you navigate these exciting social interactions let's get flirty hello you gorgeous things and welcome to my super Advanced lesson on flirting in this lesson I am going to show you how you can ask someone out how you can flirt with someone at a C1 to C2 advanced level we're going to be focusing on British English slang and we'll also touch on some pronunciation as well okay let's start with the first one this is a baseline it doesn't have any slang it's a starting point so that you can make comparisons with later passages let's try it ready my friend doesn't think you'll agree to go on a date with me but I'd love to take you out for dinner sometime nice and simple a nice easy start that's our Baseline let's move to the next level level two I've been wanting to ask you out all night but my mate told me I had no chance of getting a date with you he'll be absolutely speechless if you you say yes so you want to get a bite to eat no pressure so did you understand all of that it wasn't too advanced but there are a few words that I really want to look at the first one is mate mate this here in this context means friend and it's really common in British English but it's even more common in Australian English for example my mates encouraged me to ask you out the second word is the informal contraction W which is short for want to W some people pronounce it w others W with more of an o sound some use a w w as an alternative an example do you want to go for a drink sometime and the final phrase from that text is a bite to eat a bite to eat now notice the pronunciation here in fast speech when one word ends in a vowel sound and the next one starts with a vowel sound we often add an extra sound to make it easier to say in this case the extra sound is w a bite to eat to eat but what does it mean well a bite to eat often means a small meal however we also use it in conversation to ask if someone wants to go out for something to eat not necessarily something small it's just very informal for example fancy getting a bite to eat at the local pub note that you will also hear bite on its own or a bite on its own fancy a bite later fancy something to eat later now before I move on I also want to talk about something in this question you might have noticed that do is missing from it instead of saying do you want to get a bite to eat I just say you want to get a bite to eat in informal speech we often omit auxiliary verbs like do from questions if we want to go super informal we can admit you as well want to get a bite to eat okay I can do better than this we can go more advanced let's try level three ready you are by Miles the most stunning person in the room and I've been weighing up weather to come over all night my mate over there the slightly trollied one told me I didn't have a chance in hell of getting you to go out with me he's going to be Gob smacked if you agree so what do you reckon you want to go out for a slap meal sometime no worries if not okay how did you do with that it's definitely getting more advanced not too advanced though it doesn't sound like you're trying to be Shakespeare the first phrase is by Miles by Miles you can also say by far it means buy a very large amount or byy a long way we do not use the metric system when we use this phrase we can't say by colomet it just doesn't sound right an example you're the funniest person I've ever met by Miles by a long way we also had to weigh up to weigh up this is a phrasal verb this means to think carefully about doing something before making a decision there is another linking sound in that phrase to we up way up can you hear it we insert a little Y sound my next word is extremely colloquial inal it's trollied trollied and this means very drunk Ben's trollied get him a taxi and next we have an idiom to not have a chance in hell sometimes we admit the in Hell part we just say to not have a chance and even sometimes to not stand a chance we also use it with the verb to be there's no chance in hell that he will go out with you now this example might sound a little bit mean but it's an example of British banter our humor we often say these kinds of things to close friends no knowing hopefully that they will know that it's a joke it's like playful teasing it can go too far but be prepared for it if you come to Britain and mix with britz next I just want to mention Gunner from that text it's another informal contraction just like w or W Gunner is generally pronounced with the schah Gunner Gunna you going to ask him out or not you going to ask him out or not another great word super informal Gob smacked Gob smacked so Gob is quite a rude informal slang word for mouth shut your Gob if you are Gob smacked you are so surprised that you can't speak you smack your mouth I'm Gob smacked I'm absolutely Gob smacked it's very informal I was Gob smacked when he turned up to our date wearing a tuxedo black tie the final word that I'm I want to point out from that text is an adjective slap up slap up which often comes before the word meal this means a very large and delicious meal but I will tell you a secret I didn't understand the meaning of this for a very long time I thought a meal that was a slap up meal was something that was just slapped up in the kitchen something that was made in a really careless way so honestly if someone had invited me for a slap upal i' I'd have said well maybe you could put in a little bit more effort an example I'd love to take you out for a slap up meal sometime a really large and delicious and luxurious meal that was good but I think we can make it even more advanced here is number four level four the final level ready my mate The Tipsy one by the bar is absolutely sick of me banging on about how stunning you look and told me to shut my cake hole and do something about it anyway I decided nothing ventured nothing gained so I'm here to ask you out for dinner he'll be flawed if you say yes maybe literally he's more than Tipsy to be honest and I'll be well chuffed to get a date with the fittest person in London no stress if you don't fancy it though okay how was that one would you say yes to me it was packed full of slang so let me break some of it down for you we have to be sick of something if you are sick sick of something you are bored of something because it's annoying it's repetitive you will also hear people say I'm sick of it I'm sick of this I'm bored of this an example I'm sick of you talking about Dylan either ask him out or stop we also have to bang on about something to bang on about this means to talk for a long time about something in a way that is annoying Ruth's been banging on about her date for hours did you notice that when I'm trying to be extra informal instead of saying banging with the sound at the end I said banging banging and sometimes we do this for emphasis it also sometimes happens when we talk quickly I've been singing for hours singing for hours should be singing the next word is possibly the funniest one on my list cake hole cake hole which is British slang for mouth isn't that wonderful it's literally the hole that you put cake into so we've had Gob and Cake hole this is an incred incredibly rude lesson it's not a polite word but you will often hear it in the phrase shut your cake hole shut your mouth in American English they often say pie hole which maybe means that Americans prefer pie over cake now I want to talk about the idiom nothing ventured nothing gained this is a proverb meaning that you have to take risks to achieve something or to get something good if you don't take any risks you won't get the reward an example just ask rabie on a date nothing ventured nothing gained next let's look at the verb to FLW which means to confuse or to surprise someone so much that they don't know what to say very slang here you saw this phrase in the passive voice he'll be flawed but you can also use it in the active voice Amelia flawed me when she asked me if I wanted to dance I didn't think she knew who I was after that you heard the most marvelous slam adjective chuffed chuffed which means very happy or proud or sometimes even satisfied in a in a positive in a really positive way I was really chuffed surprised and happy I was really chuffed when Tom gave me his phone number or I was so chuffed with my exam result we sometimes say well chuffed or chuff to bits for emphasis using well instead of very very or incredibly is Uber slang it's not traditionally grammatically correct but it's a common feature in many dialects you look well nice today that food is well good unless you're trying to integrate into a specific community that uses it I wouldn't say it's something that you should really say but it's really important to understand it and the final word that I want to talk about is fit fit which in the text in that context means physically attractive we met some really fit guys at the pub last night did you notice how I used a glottal stop at the end fit guys fit I'm being informal and when I am with my friends or family I'm talking fast we're having fun I don't follow all of the RP pronunciation rules I do use the guttal stop I do make you know intentional grammar mistakes as I said you don't want to sound forced but really important that you understand why people say them okay what do you think would you use any of these phrases to ask someone out if you were in the UK and maybe you can adopt some of the slang into your daily conversations that was hot but not every fling is a match made in heaven and breakups are never easy but being able to express yourself clearly can help so in this lesson we're going to tackle this emotionally complex topic using your Advanced English skills don't worry I've got your back here hello lovely students and welcome back to English with Lucy unfortunately all good things must come to an end today I'm doing a video on how to break up with someone in super Advanced C1 to C2 level English now this is something I hope you never have to do but if you are going to do it you might as well do it in style am I right before I get into the speeches that I've created to help you break up with someone I want to talk about a few cliches that you might have heard in in films or on TV or even read in books maybe you've even heard them in real life but I I really hope not these are phrases that people often say to end a relationship but they don't usually Express what the speaker really means so I'm going to translate them for you the first one you might have a version of this in your own language it's not you it's me also don't get that wrong and say it's not me it's you cuz that's even worse if someone says it's not you it's me the translation is that it's probably you the next one oh this one's painful I love you I'm just not in love with you translation of this is that they might see you more as a friend the next one I've heard this one before heartbreaking I need space if someone needs space they need space away from you that relationship didn't work out for me another one I've heard as well oh my word this is triggering you deserve better you deserve better I guess when someone says this they just can't think of anything better to say that's a major red flag it's a red flag now I don't think there are any really good ways to break up with someone let's start with level one and this is going to be a very basic way to break up with someone are you ready cuz this is going to be brutal I'm not happy this isn't working we need to break up okay I'm going to take that as a baseline for my super Advanced ways to break up with someone and before I start I need to add my disclaimer the following levels are for entertainment purposes I do not recommend that you try to break up with someone and also aim for a C1 or C2 level of language whilst doing it I do think that this is a really fun and interesting way of teaching you advanced level grammar and vocabulary if you copy my wording when breaking up with your partner uh that on you your partner will probably be confused or Furious or both let's go with number two you're a fantastic person and I've treasured the moments we've shared but I've been reflecting a lot lately and it's become clear that we're as different as chalk and cheese let's call a spade a spade our paths are heading in completely different directions the odds are that we're just going to make each other miserable in the future this has been as good a relationship as I've ever had but I think we need to acknowledge reality and go our separate ways Ah that's a fairly Advanced text and there's a lot to unpack here there's a lot to analyze there were two idioms that I want to point out chalk and cheese is the first which means completely different chalk and cheese are very different we can say that people or things are like chalk and cheese or are as different as chalk and cheese notice the pronunciation of and in this phrase I drop the D sound and I say n chalk and cheese we call chalk and cheese a binomial and in a binomial there are two words separated by a conjunction and the conjunction is often and said as n the word order is usually fixed it's always chalk and cheese and never cheese and chalk chalk and cheese is also an alliterative phrase It's alliteration meaning that the two words start with the same sound ch ch chalk cheese there are lots of other binomials in English and they're not always idioms as in this case they include ones that use synonyms like pride and joy sorry I couldn't quite find my thumb there pride and joy and we also have ones that use opposites like ups and downs the other edum I want to talk about is to call a spade a spade to call a spade a spade I feel this one is fairly British this means to tell the truth and say exactly what you think even if it's not polite even if it's going to hurt someone's feelings but now I want to touch on some structures I use that are very Advanced the first is the odds are the odar now this is a phrase that we use to say How likely it is that something will happen you saw this phrase in the sentence the odds are that we're just going to make each other miserable in the future meaning it's likely that we will make each other miserable an example the odds are that Jane and Ellie will break up soon the second phrase is an advanced comparative you saw this in the sentence this has been as good a relationship as I've ever had as good a relationship is I'm saying as as is a weak form as good a relation shippers this means that the relationship was as good as or equally good as any any other relationship the person has had the structure is as plus adjective plus a or an plus noun plus as you're as patient a partner as I could wish for you're as perfect a match as I could ever hope for all right let's see if we can make it more advanced let's move to level three are you ready our relationship has experienced its share of waxing and waning you know that I've always always had a jealous streak but lately I've been feeling there's a lack of trust between us it's been an honor to have been a part of your life and I've cherished our time together however given that trust is fundamental we would be better off parting ways tough to hear but trust trust is essential in a relationship let's look at some of the vocabulary and structures in this text the first one to wax and Wayne to wax and Wayne this is another binomial with two words with opposite meanings I will say that this is quite an oldfashioned idiom and we don't tend to use the words separately wayanne maybe but wax in this context not as much to wax is to grow stronger to Wayne is to grow weaker to wax and wne to go stronger and weaker it comes from the phases of the moon when the moon is getting bigger it's waxing when it's getting smaller it's waning next I want to point out a strong a very strong collocation a jealous streak a streak is a characteristic and it's often an unpleasant one if someone has a jealous streak they have a tendency to be jealous sometimes other strong collocations include a stubborn streak a vicious streak a nasty streak an independent streak that one could be used positively or negatively streak characteristic finally I want to touch on an advanced conditional sentence from the text you saw that give given that trust is fundamental we would be better off parting ways given that means when you consider that given that Heather is in love with you she will be devastated when you break it off okay that was pretty Advanced but I know we can do better let's move to level four our most advanced level are you ready it seems that our paths in life are diverging we've indisputably had some incredible moments together but it's imperative that I be true to myself recently it's become apparent to me that variety is the spice of life and I feel a powerful need to explore diverse relationships this decision hasn't been taken lightly but it's essential for both of us to prioritize our individual happiness and fulfillment okay good riddance what a horrible speech for a breakup it's horribly Advanced as well so let's take a look at some of the vocabulary and structures that are used in that text firstly I want to highlight the verb to seem and I know this is not an advanced verb so you may already know that it means to appear one common use of this verb is to make what we are saying less forceful it softens it often when we're not sure whether what we're saying is true or if we want to be polite this is a skill that we call hedging you often see to seem in the structure it seems that or it it seems to me that it seems that Jeremy is looking to end the relationship for example I don't know for sure that's what it seems like to me the next word I want to draw your attention to is indisputably indisputably this is an advanced adverb meaning in a way that is true or cannot be disagreed with the adverb indisputably emphasizes or boosts what we're saying other similar adverbs include undeniably and unquestionably head and boosting are really important skills to learn when you reach an advanced level in English now I want to talk about the phrase variety is the spice of life it's a proverb that means new things and changes make life more interesting and this is probably one of the worst things that you could say during a breakup because it makes the person think that you want to date other people okay there are two grammatical structures that I want to cover now the first was in the sentence it's imperative that I be true to myself you can see I be instead of the usual I am this is an example of the subjunctive mood which we use to express possibilities and wishes if we use the subjunctive mood in the present tense with the verb to be we use be for all subjects I be you be he be she be for example quite fun to say he be shei we use the base form with all subjects so instead of she goes the subjunctive is she go here are a couple more examples I propose that you be completely honest about the reasons why you want to break up or it's my recommendation that she end the relationship immediately the subjunctive mood is formal and impersonal and in modern usage it's not particularly common and people will often say it's imperative that I am true to myself for example I do personally use it and this video is all about Advanced English and the subjunctive is super Advanced and I love the way it sounds I think it sounds really elegant I just like it and I think you should like it too finally I want to look at the passive voice you saw it in this sentence this decision hasn't been taken lightly hasn't been taken is an example of the present perfect simple passive voice has not been plus the past participle in this case the passive voice makes the sentence very impersonal by not naming the person who made the decision and it's more commonly heard from leaders like politicians or people in business who don't want to take responsibility for something I sincerely hope that you never hear this when someone is breaking up with you well I really hope no one ever breaks up with you but I really hope they don't use the passive voice whilst doing it an example of how politicians would use it mistakes have been made promises have been broken they're not saying I made a mistake or we broke promises they have been broken they have been made okay well the course of true love never did run smooth Shakespeare said that not me okay if you're still here well done that was intense from discussing your daily routine to navigating the complexities of relationships you've learned so much Advanced English vocabulary and grammar and I I hope you feel more confident in your ability to tackle these real life situations and express yourself with a little more flare a little more art before we wrap up I just want to 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