Subtitle (137)
0:00Speaker 1:
We need to make a game plan. If I said
0:03this to you, would your heart start to beat really
fast because you have no idea what to say? Well,
0:09don't worry. Today I'm going to help you level up
your English vocabulary. You are going to learn 10
0:16important English expressions that I use every
day, and you should too. Hi, I'm Vanessa from
0:23speakenglishwithvanessa.com. And like always,
I have created a free PDF worksheet with all of
0:31today's 10 important phrases, definitions, sample
sentences. And at the bottom of the worksheet,
0:38you can answer Vanessa's challenge question
so that you never forget what you've learned.
0:43You can click on the link in the description to
download that free PDF worksheet today. It is my
0:49gift to you. Let's get started with the first
phrase that I use every day, and you should
0:54too. I'm going to tell you the phrase to get
done and then I'll tell you a sample sentence.
1:01I want you to guess what you think it
means. This is kind of like a little test,
1:04but it's also really useful because in the
real world you're going to hear expressions
1:09and phrases used in conversations. And you're
not going to have a teacher unfortunately,
1:15in your ear telling you that's what this
means. So I want you to use the English
1:21that you already have, your powers of deduction,
of guessing what you think it means in order to
1:27figure out what it actually means. And I think
you'll be surprised that you actually know more
1:32English than you think you do. So our first
expression is to get done. Let me give you
1:38a sample sentence. I have so much to get done
today. Well, what do you think this means? It
1:44simply means that I have a lot I need to finish
today. But this is a lovely expression that can
1:49help you to level up your vocabulary because
you could say, I have a lot to finish today.
1:55It's okay, we understand what you're
saying. But if you want to level
2:00it up, you can use this phrase, I have a lot to
get done today. Let me give you another sentence.
2:05I think I can get it done before I leave for
work today. Did you notice that I split this
2:11expression with the word it? I think I can get
it done before I leave for work today. Here it
2:19is the project that I'm working on, I think I
can get it done. We could say, I think I can
2:25finish it before I leave for work today. But
you know what? You're here to level up your
2:29vocabulary. Use this phrase and say, I think I
can get it done before I leave for work today.
2:35Phrase number two that I use and you should too
is a pretty fun one, to get my ducks in a row.
2:42Well, if you have been following my channel
for a while, you know that I have chickens
2:46right now. I think we have 15 chickens in my
backyard, but do I have ducks? Do I need to
2:52get my ducks in a row? Actual ducks? No. Take a
look at this sentence and try to guess what you
2:58think this means a figurative sense. I need
to get my ducks in a row before I start my
3:05day. Do I need to go out to the farm and line up
those ducks before I start my day? No. Instead,
3:13we can use this in a more figurative sense to
mean you're organizing the tasks before you get
3:19started, because most busy days or big tasks need
a lot of prep work. Prep work means preparation,
3:28so you can't just jump in otherwise you
might waste your time and not be efficient.
3:32So you need to get your ducks in a row before you
get started. Let me give you another example. If
3:39you want to move to the US, you are going to need
to get your ducks in a row before you apply for
3:46a visa. If you've applied for a visa to the US
or another country, you know it's an extremely
3:52complicated process. You're going to need the
right paperwork. It has to be notarized, it has to
3:57be translated. It's a hassle. So before you walk
into the visa office, you need to get your ducks
4:04in a row. You need everything to be organized
before you get started. Expression number
4:10three that I use every day is a game plan. Is it
because I love playing games all day? No, I wish.
4:18That would be great. Take a look at this sample
sentence and see if you can guess what it means.
4:23My game plan is to start with the most important
tasks that need to get done. Well, we used a great
4:30expression, to get done. But here, my game plan
is, you can get the sense that this is my plan
4:39for the day. I have a lot of things that I need
to get done. I need to get my ducks in a row, so
4:45I need to have a plan. But you don't want to just
say plan. It's okay, but it's not great. You're
4:53here to level up your English vocabulary, so you
can say game plan. My game plan is to get the most
4:59important things done first. You can use this also
in the workplace. If your team is having a meeting
5:05about how to accomplish a certain project, you
might ask, "All right, what's the game plan?"
5:11And you're asking the manager or whoever's in
charge, what are the steps that need to get done?
5:18What is the overall plan? What's the game plan?
Or maybe you're the manager that needs to tell
5:23everyone else the game plan, you can use this
great expression. You can just say, "All right,
5:28this is the game plan, first we're going to do
this, then this." Lovely expression. So after
5:34you've created a game plan, now you need to
use this expression to deal with. Take a look
5:40at this. I need to deal with this bill that I got
in the mail and I'm probably going to be on the
5:47phone for a long time. No one likes to do this.
Let's take a look at how this was used, I need
5:55to deal with this bill that I got in the mail. Do
you think I'm looking forward to talking on the
6:01phone and figuring out what the problem with this
bill is? Absolutely not. This is my nightmare.
6:07I do not want to have to deal with this bill,
but unfortunately we have to do some things
6:14that we don't want to do. So I have to deal
with the bill. This means I have to solve a
6:19problem and figure out why did I get this bill?
I shouldn't have gotten this bill. I have to deal
6:25with it. Usually the nuance with this expression
is that it's something that I don't want to do,
6:31so you might even use it like this. At
my old job, I had to deal with a lot of
6:37angry customers. Unfortunately, for some jobs,
especially in customer support you are hearing
6:44from customers who are unsatisfied.
So you have to deal with, you have to
6:49figure out how to help angry customers. It's
a difficult job, but someone's got to do it.
6:56Expression number five that I use often and
you should too, is to get it over with. Make
7:03sure all of the words are included in this
expression, to get it over with. Take a
7:08look at this sample sentence. I hate having to
wait on hold to talk to someone on the phone,
7:15but I just have to get it over with. It's not
something I'm looking forward to, so what is my
7:22mental approach? Well, I just need to do it,
but instead of saying, I just need to do it,
7:28you can use this lovely expression. I just need
to get it over with. The phrasal verb to get it
7:35over with means that there is an unpleasant task
that you just need to do, and that's part of life.
7:43Expression number six that I use often and you
should too, is to put off doing something. It's
7:52so true. Take a look at this sentence. I put
off calling the company for a whole week and
7:59it only took five minutes. Has that ever happened
to you? You're dreading doing a task all week or
8:06for a long time, and then when you finally do
it it just takes a few minutes. What a relief,
8:12that has happened to me so many times when I
am calling a company about a bill or a problem,
8:18I don't want to be on hold. I don't want to
explain the problem. And then when I do it
8:22just takes a few minutes and it's done. It's like
a weight has been lifted from my shoulders and
8:29that is what this phrase means, to put off
something. It means you're delaying something,
8:35but usually it has to do with
procrastination. It's not a
8:40good thing to put off doing something.
Let's take a look at another example.
8:45I put off scheduling a dentist appointment
for myself and now it's too late because I
8:51have a cavity. If I had gone the dentist
earlier, maybe they would've cleaned my
8:58teeth or warned me that a cavity was starting to
form. But because I put off going to the dentist,
9:04now I have a problem. Sometimes we just
put off things though. It's the way it
9:09is. Expression number seven that I
use every day and you should too,
9:14is to call around. Take a look at this sample
sentence. I need to call around and find
9:20someone who can fix our washing machine.
Another task that I always put off. Here,
9:28I am needing to call multiple companies usually
to see are they available, what are their prices
9:36and are they a good fit for the problem? Can they
actually fix the problem? You're not just calling
9:42one company to see if they'll fix the problem.
You're calling multiple companies. You're calling
9:49around to see who can actually fix the problem,
at the right time at the price that you want.
9:55You can also use this with your friends. You
could say, I called around to all my friends
10:01to see if anyone was available this afternoon
to hang out. You're just calling your friends,
10:07multiple friends, maybe sending them texts
like we do these days and you're seeing if
10:12they're available to hang out. Very casual.
Great. All right, let's go to the next phrase,
10:17phrase number eight that I absolutely use all the
time and you should too, is to head out. Head out,
10:24what? I love these figurative type phrasal verbs.
Take a look at this sentence. I need to head out
10:31to run some errands, like go to the bank and
the post office. I need to head out and this
10:37simply means to leave. You are going somewhere.
I need to head out to the bank. I need to head
10:43out to the post office. You can also use this
in daily life just as a way to say goodbye.
10:49You might say, "I'm heading out. See you later." I
use this all the time and it just means I want to
10:53let you know that I'm leaving the house, so if
you call for me, "Vanessa, where are you?" You
10:59know that I'm not here. I'm heading out. See you
later. Great. Phrase number nine that I use every
11:05day and you can too, is to pick up. I'm not
talking about physically lifting something,
11:11instead, take a look at this sentence. I'm
going to pick up some groceries before I pick
11:18up my kids from school. Here we're talking
about bringing something home. I'm bringing
11:24groceries home and I'm bringing my children home.
It doesn't matter if you buy them like groceries
11:31or if they're just people and you're putting
them in your car, here we are talking about
11:36bringing something home. You can use this to talk
about meals too, so if you're getting pick up,
11:42which is a noun, I'm getting pick. You might
also say, I'm picking up dinner on my way home.
11:50I'm picking up dinner, that means that you're
going to get the dinner from the restaurant and
11:56bring it to your house. I'm picking up dinner on
my way home. Great. Phrase number 10, our final
12:03expression for today that I use every day and
you can too, has to do with an ear, to play it
12:10by ear. Are we playing with our ears? No. Take a
look at the sample sentence. I was going to meet
12:18my friends at the park today, but it looks like it
might rain so we're going to just play it by ear.
12:26This really has nothing to do with ears. Can you
guess what this means? It means we're just going
12:31to see how it goes. It might rain and then we'll
cancel. It might not rain, and then we'll go.
12:37We need to be flexible, let's just play it by
ear. I use this all the time whenever I meet up
12:43with my friends who have children. When you have
children, things change all the time and you need
12:49to be flexible. So if your child wakes up and
they're feeling a little bit sick, you message
12:55your friend and say, "I don't know if we can
meet up later today. Let's just play it by ear,
13:00and I'll let you know how he's feeling later
today." This is so common. I use this all the
13:06time, and you should too. Well, congratulations
on learning these 10 phrases that I use every day,
13:12and you can too now. Don't forget to download the
free PDF worksheet with all 10 of these phrases,
13:19definitions and sample sentences. Plus, you
can answer Vanessa's challenge question at
13:24the bottom of the worksheet so that
you never forget what you've learned.
13:28You can click on the link in the description
to download that free PDF worksheet today. It
13:33is my gift to you. Well, thanks so much
for learning English with me. And I'll
13:36see you again next Friday for a new lesson
here on my YouTube channel. Bye. But wait,
13:42do you want more? I recommend watching this
video next where you will learn some more
13:48phrases that I use every day, including
a sarcastic phrase. It's too bad that,
13:55would you like to use this in English? Well, I'll
see you in that video to find out how you can.
