Advanced English Listening And Vocabulary Practice - Conversational American English - Shopping

Now, I begin by talking with Carly. We're actually talking about quite a few different

things, and so you'll hear us mention buying things for yourself or buying things for other

people or giving things to thing, uh, giving things to other people. Uh, so we can talk

about gifting something.

To gift something to someone else means, you know, maybe you had that thing already. Or,

it could be, uh, maybe even something you buy, but you want to just give a present to

another person. So, you'll hear that, uh, describing, like, I gave it to someone else

or I gifted a particular thing.

Like, people, even if they have, you know, some land or something. When they die, they

want to gift their, you know, some money or their property or something like that to other

people, maybe to charity or some organization like that. To gift something.

But I begin while, uh, while talking with, uh, with Carly about what are you thinking

about buying for other people. Now, this is an interesting way of, kind of something different

that natives do that a non-native wouldn't really say. Uh, a non-native would probably

just say more, uh, very specifically, like, what, what are you buying for someone else?

What are you buying for them?

Now, you can use that if maybe you know, uh, what the person is going to buy. But a typical

native way of describing this is, what are you thinking about doing? What are you thinking

about doing?

So, maybe we don't know exactly what it is or the other person. So, I'm asking Carly.

Maybe she doesn't know exactly what she wants to get, but she's thinking about something.

But even if she's not thinking about a particular thing, and she knows exactly what she wants

to get, it sounds a little bit more casual and conversational and native if you say,

“What are you thinking about doing?”

So, as an example, a friend of mine might be doing some kind of activity over the weekend

or on Saturday or Sunday. And I say, “Oh, what are you thinking about doing?” So,

maybe he doesn't know, and it's, again, it's easier for me to say that, to ask him that

kind of question than saying something, like, “What are you doing on Saturday?” So,

I, I can ask that, and that's correct, but it's a bit more native and conversational

to say, “What are you thinking about doing?”

Now, in a business situation, you probably want to be a bit more direct. You can say,

“Well, uh, how much do you want to pay for this?” Or, what, like, what is the price

or, you know, what, if you want to be very specific. But if, even in a business situation

or some other professional situation, you're thinking, uh, like, what are you thinking

about paying for this? Again, you can have that “thinking about” before that particular

verb.

So, what are you thinking about doing? I'm thinking about seeing a movie. So, thinking

about seeing, thinking about eating. Um, and again, this is just a really great way, a

more casual and native way. And I, uh, that's why I'm spending a lot of time on this because

it's really quite a thing, uh, that you really won't hear so much, uh, like, in a textbook.

You won't see this at all. It's just, uh, like, what are you doing over the weekend?

Something like that.

Uh, now, if you know what the person did, like, in the past, I would say, like, “What

did you do on Saturday?” So, that's a very common question. Very easy and that's correct.

You can use that. But if you're talking about something in the future, and you don't really

know, what are you thinking about doing or I don't know.

So, thinking about doing something. Remember this and use this when you're, you’re, you

don't quite know something, or you just want to sound a bit softer. And you really don't

want to make it, maybe, try to, like, push the other person too much. What are you thinking

about doing?

Next, you'll hear us talking about regifting something else. Now, this is a very common

thing. And I talk about this actually in the conversation. In Japan, but also, you know,

everybody does this. So, you might give a gift to someone else. Uh, or maybe, you know,

you receive a gift, you get something from someone else. But then you don't do anything

with that yourself, and then you pass that on to someone else. So, you give it as a gift

to someone else.

Now, this is a, a, like, a pretty common thing in Japan. I, I described this as well in the

conversation. Uh, but, like, we will receive something and then give that to some, someone

else.

So, regifting something is when you're talking about getting something as a present, typically,

but then you don't do anything with it. And then you, like, sometimes you don't even unwrap

that thing if you know what it is, and you're going to just give that to someone else. To

regift that to someone else.

Now, talking about regifting something, or if we're talking about a used item, we can

describe this in a softer way. Now, you'll see this. We don't talk about it specifically

in the conversation, but just as something related to this that you'll hear. Uh, people

used to talk, or companies used to talk about used cars. Now, in an everyday conversational

way, we just, we use that. We talk about used clothes or, you know, used cars or something

like that. So, we're buying something that someone else owned previously.

But taking that idea of previously owned, you'll see that now a lot more in car commercials.

I don't think anyone, like, I mean you’ll see used cars where we have, uh, like, kind

of a local place that might sell old cars. So, they call it used cars, or you have that

area called a used car lot where there are, there are used cars being sold. But you will

never see, uh, used cars being sold on television. Uh, you always hear previously owned.

So, we call this a euphemism. So, it's a way of describing something in kind of a nicer

way when we don't want to say used because, I mean, nobody wants to buy a used car. But,

you know, we might not mind buying a, like, a previously owned car. So, it's pre-owned

or previously owned.

And that's just an interesting thing that happened, you know, when people had that idea.

That happened quite a few years ago. But it's just an interesting thing. So, we say, “Oh

no, no, no. It's not used, it's pre-owned. It's previously owned.” So, that's just,

uh, again, it's not something you'll see in the conversation. But I thought I would share

that because it's related, and you will see that a lot.

So, if you're making a joke with someone, they say, “Oh, is that some used clothing?”

You can say, “No, no, no, no. It's pre-owned. It's previously owned.” So, you can use

both, like, pre- meaning someone else did it beforehand. Uh, but it's a great way to

talk about that.

Another way to describe some used clothing is secondhand, secondhand. So, if I buy something,

you can think about I am the firsthand. So, like, a, a company or a person or whatever,

some organization makes something, and I buy that thing. So, if I'm the first person to

buy that, you can think of me as, like, uh, having firsthand. We don't really use that

expression.

Firsthand, typically means you're talking about, uh, like, connecting with someone or

you're, you know, experiencing that thing directly. Like, I have firsthand knowledge

of, um, I dunno, like, koala bears or something, so, firsthand, firsthand knowledge of koalas.

So, it means I've been to Australia, and I've touched koalas, and I, I have firsthand experience

with them.

But when we buy things, we don't really talk about having, like, firsthand experience with

something. Uh, but that idea still goes into clothing or other things that we buy when

we talk about secondhand. So, if you buy something, remember, I'm the first one who buys it. But

if I sell that to someone else, now it's a used thing. Now, it could be used clothes.

It could be, uh, a used car, a used anything, a used boat or, you know, used furniture or

something. Uh, but the person who gets it after me is getting it secondhand. So, you

can get secondhand or thirdhand or something like that. But typically, any kind of, even

if used clothes, you know, it's been used by many different people, we still just talk

about it getting, uh, someone getting it secondhand.

Now, you'll also hear people talking about something being gently used. So, how well

it's used. Like, if you go to Amazon.com or other websites where you can buy things that

are pre-owned or previously owned or used. It will say, you know, you can actually get

some different examples of the different English we use, uh, for ranking these different things.

So, you can say used. Uh, like, if something is not touched at all, we can describe that

as mint. So, it's in mint condition. So, these are things like baseball cards or other sports

cards, uh, or comic books or other things like that where something is in mint condition.

Or even, like, the highest quality would be like gem mint. So, something in mint condition

means it's really high quality, never been touched or maybe it's in the original packaging.

Uh, and then we go down from there. Like from, from mint to like new. So, used but like new.

So, it's like new. Again, it's a great way of describing something where you don't know

if it's actually new or not. Uh, people usually say it's used, but it's like new.

And then you can also go a step down from that for something like gently used. So, you

can say, uh, like, well this is some clothing. Like, yeah, it's been used but it's only been

gently used. So, we used it nicely, and again, these are all just ways of trying to make

something sound better than it is. But you know, we're trying to be truthful at the same

time.

So, something is maybe used or then gently used, uh, or it can be well-worn, or it can

be really badly damaged. So, you can go all the way from mint all the way down. And again,

these aren't really things that we cover, uh, in detail in the conversation. But they're

just things that come up, and I thought I would prepare them or prepare you for them.

Now, related to this you'll hear me mention, it works perfectly fine. Works perfectly fine.

So, you'll hear this, this phrase, perfectly fine, where it's, uh, really interesting.

We've got perfect, but we've got fine also. So, we can say it works fine.

So, if a friend of mine, you know, he's trying to sell me his old camera or something like

that. I say, “Why’re you selling me this?” And he says, “Oh, well, I'm buying a new

one. So, I want to, you know, to not have this one anymore.”

And in this case, we talk about getting rid of something. So, to get rid of something,

and it means, like, you could throw it away or it just means you don't want it anymore.

So, you're getting rid of that thing. This phrasal verb, meaning to remove something.

Or, to, uh, maybe you don't, you want to dispossess that thing. So, you don't want to have it

anymore, you want to give it to someone else. And so, that's what we use for this. So, to

get rid of something.

So, a friend of mine says, “OK, uh, I'm getting rid of this camera. Do you want to

buy it?” And I say, “Oh, well, what's wrong with it?” Or, “Is anything wrong

with it?” And he says, “No, no, no, nothing's wrong with it. It works perfectly fine.”

So, it’s perfectly fine, it's a perfectly fine camera. So, it's a great camera. It's

perfect. And then he can describe that, like, “Oh, it's gently used.” “It's actually

like mint.” Or, you know, it's, uh, it's still in the box or something like that. But

again, we can use these different ways of describing things to sound more native, but

to be more, uh, specific about how well-worn or how used something might be.

Next, the word coincidence. Now, this isn't really related to shopping, but I thought

I would add it here just because it's a great word you'll see often, uh, in conversations

where something is such a coincidence. Like, a friend of mine is looking for a new camera,

uh, but then he finds a camera, you know, at some store for a really good price. And

I say, “Wow, what a coincidence.” So, it's a really great thing that, you know,

he was doing this one thing, and this other thing happened to coincide with that. So,

that's the verb of it. And the, the noun is coincidence. So, what a coincidence.

And so, you'll see this. This is another great phrase you can use, uh, it was such a coincidence.

Wow, that's such a coincidence. It was such a coincidence. So, incident meaning like something

happened, and coincident. So, like, two things are happening and again, you can use this.

It's a great way to describe that. It's just a really good phrase you can remember when

two things happen, and they really seem to fit perfectly together. Wow, what a coincidence!

So, I was outside visiting someplace, and then my friend happened to be there too. Wow,

what a coincidence!

Next, to be bummed or to be bummed about something, or to be bummed by something. Typically, we’ll

be bummed about something. It just means we're disappointed. But this is a conversational

way of saying this, to be bummed.

So, I took a test and my scores were really bad and I felt bummed about that. So, I felt

really bummed about my, my test scores. So, when people are talking about feeling bummed,

they just mean sad.

Now, uh, think about this again, like, your bum, like, also, this is, like, British English

for your butt. So, and, we can kind of use it like babies have a little bum also, talking

about a baby's butt in, uh, in American English. But when you think about, again, feeling bummed,

you're just talking about feeling disappointed or sad.

Now, something related to this is to make your heart melt. To make your heart melt.

Now, this isn't about feeling sad. It's like the opposite. So, we've got, uh, like, something

where you see, uh, a video on YouTube about a little dog that saves a, a small kitten

from a, you know, some trouble or something like that. And you say, “Oh, it just makes

my heart melt.” Listen for this carefully when it appears in the conversation. But this

is a way of duh, describing it. You feel, uh, you feel moved by something, very strong

feelings, uh, very emotional about something. Uh, so you have, uh, again, very strong feelings

about that and you feel moved. And your heart, your heart melts. Your heart melts.

Next, to get away with something. To get away with something. Listen carefully to how this

phrasal verb blends together. To gedaway. Gedaway. Gedaway. So, to get away from something,

I'm going to cover both of these even though only one is used in the conversation. But

to get away from something is when you're trying to run away, you're escaping something.

Or, you can get away with something. Typically, you're leaving someplace or you're trying

to cheat, and maybe you, you don't get caught.

So, you're getting away with, like, if I'm a thief and I take some money, I'm getting

away. So, I'm escaping with that thing. So, if I don't get captured and I, I get away

safely, then I'd get away with something.

And you'll see us talking about this, uh, in the case of giving a gift to someone else

that maybe you received as a gift or even it's just something you own, and you're kind

of making it look nicer as a gift where you're giving that to someone else.

So, a friend of mine, uh, he gave my daughter a dollhouse. And, um, he was just saying,

“Well, this is a gift from us.” Now, it was just something, like, his daughter had

played with as well. But, uh, you know, he can get away with that. So, we don't need

a new dog house or a dog house, a dollhouse, uh, for my daughter to play with. We don't

put my daughter in a dog house.

Next, another great phrase, when I saw this, I thought of you. When I saw this, I thought

of you. Now, listen carefully as I blend the whole thing together. When I saw this, when

I saw this, I thought of you, I thought of you. Now, I can say it even faster. I thawdah

you. I thawdah you. Thawdah you. I thought of you. So, when I saw this, I thought of

you. When I saw this, I thought of you.

This is a great phrase you can use with people where you're in one place and you see something,

and it reminds you of a person. And so you buy that thing and when you give that thing

to that person or, you know, even if you get it for free, it doesn't matter. But when you

give that thing to that person, you say, “When I saw this, I thought of you.”

Or, when I heard this, I thought of you. So, I'm listening to some music. And so, I was

at, like, listening to some music at a, uh, at a department store. And I heard a song

and I, I just sent the link to that friend of mine. I say, “Oh, when I heard this,

I thought of you.”

So, people are always happy when you're thinking about them. You know, we're all just thinking

about our own lives or our own, we're in our own heads or in our own minds all the time.

So, it's nice to hear when other people are thinking about us. So, when I, when I saw

this or when I heard this or when I tasted this, even if you try some ice cream or something

and you want to send them some of that thing, some of that same thing, this is a great phrase

you can use.

Next, you'll also hear Carly and I talking about specific places where something is.

And I say, “Oh, where is that place located?” And typically, uh, if we know specifically,

we can give an address. But people generally, when they are sharing information about where

a place is, we just say, “Oh, it's over by something.” So, it's by something or

over by something.

And we give general directions, um, where some kind of landmark is. So, a landmark is

a place where most people know. So, there's, like, a, a, like, famous mall or a famous

bridge or a statue or something like that. So, you can say, “Oh it's over by this.”

So, a friend of mine says, “Oh, that’s, that's a really nice shirt you got. Where

did you get that?” And I can say, “Oh, I got it at…,” you know, the name of the

store. And if he doesn't know what that is, I can say, “Oh, it's over on…,” this

street, or it's over by that thing. So, it's over by the train station. And, you know,

I can, if he really wants to know, I can draw him a map or something like that. But we usually

go for more general. So, the name of the place to, like, the general area to the specific

location.

So, when you're having conversations with people and they say, “Oh, where did you

got, where did you buy that?” Or, “Where do you go to school?” You don't have to

say, “I go to this school.” You, you can, you can be more general, and you'll actually

sound more native if you do that. So, “Oh, where do you go to school?” Like, “Oh,

it's, it's by the art, the art museum,” or something like that. So, even if you don't,

uh, know the specific location, or they don't know it, it doesn't really matter. You're

just speaking generally.

Next, it's new to me. It's new to me, or I've never heard of it. So, when I hear about something

like some new music or a new toy or a new book or something like that, even if other

people have heard of that thing, I can say, “Well, it's new to me.” Now, listen carefully

because the to becomes like a ‘ta,’ or even a ‘duh’ when I blend it together.

It’s new duh me. It's new duh me, new duh me. It's new duh me. It's new to me. I've

never heard of that before. I've never hurdov that before. Hurdov that before.

Next, I can't say for sure. I can't say for sure. Again, just like we had “to” becoming

more of a ‘duh’ sound, “for” becomes more of a ‘fur’ sound, especially in American

English. So, I can't say fur sure.

So, if I'm giving directions or if people are asking me about something, they say, “How

many people came to the party last night?” And I don't, I don't really know. I can say,

“Well, I don't know for sure.” I can say, “I can't say for sure, but I think about

20 people.”

So, I don't know exactly. And most people, when they ask you a question like that, they're

not looking for a specific answer. “Oh, how many people came to the party last night?”

“Well, uh, 24 people came.” So, nobody knows that information. But you can say just

as a, as a beginning part of that, “I can't say for sure, but I think about 20 people

or 30 people,” something like that.

Next, saves money. Saves money. We’ll cover a lot more things about spending money or

saving money when you're buying things. But to save money, this is a really great expression

when we're talking about the money that you don't have to spend, uh, because you bought

something. Or, uh, maybe you bought something. You got a, uh, a good deal on that thing.

So, people want a really nice price or a discount in American English, and really, just any

eng, English speaking country. We can talk about getting a good deal on something. So,

if you go to a store, you get something, uh, for, you know, 50 percent off or something

like that. You got a good deal on that thing, a good deal.

Next, a shopping spree. A shopping spree. A shopping spree is when you go out and you

buy a lot of things. And this is, again, when we have these transition moments in our life

where maybe we're getting married or buying a new home or something like that. We'd go

out on a shopping spree. So, anything where you have a spree, it just means you're doing

a lot of that thing. It's almost a little bit uncontrolled. So, we can talk about a

crime spree as well or, like, a, like, a fighting spree or something.

But it just means you’re, you're doing something where you're doing a lot of that thing in

a short period of time. And it's almost a little bit uncontrolled. So, I went on a shopping

spree. My father gave me a, a whole bunch of money and he said, “Go have fun. Go on

a shopping spree.” So, I bought a whole bunch of clothes and a whole bunch of other

things like that. A shopping spree.

Next, a clothing swap or a swap meet. A swap meet. Now, when you're buying things you can

trade things as well. So, that's another thing that you can do. And there are places, usually,

where we're offering used clothing or used goods. So, you'll hear used goods, just talking

about things in general. So, it could be used toys, used furniture, uh, and again, we're

talking about the secondhand market for things like that. So, you buy something new from

a store. And then you've got it used, secondhand, or again, pre-owned or previously owned. Uh,

but you can trade and, and get things from other people as well.

So, that's a swap meet. When you swap something, that's a casual way of talking about exchanging

something. So, I could swap clothes or swap shoes or swap, you know, video games or something

like that. I'm trading with a friend of mine.

Now, it could be something just for the day. So, we swapped books for the day. So, I was

using a friend of mine’s books and he was using mine. And then we, you know, we swapped

back. So, you can, again, you're trading something. It can be for a limited time or it can be,

you know, forever.

So, you go to a swap meet and you can buy things. Or, you can just get things, you know,

used and they become yours. So again, you can trade for something. You can swap for

things, or you can just buy something.

Next, worn out. Worn out. Now, worn out can be used to describe anything from clothing

to materials, like, to a house or anything else. It can be a book, but it just means

it's getting old and worn. So, maybe you've used it a lot of times. And the, like, if

I have a worn-out book, I've opened that book and closed it, and I've touched all the pages,

and I've marked in the book, and it's a little bit dirty. So, the book is worn out.

And you can describe that even for yourself if you're talking about being really tired,

but you want to sound more conversational. So, if you want to sound more like a native,

instead of saying, “Oh, I'm so tired.” You can say, “Oh, I'm really worn out.”

So, this is a phrasal verb. Again, when you're talking about being worn out, just meaning

very tired or you feel like you're used, or all your energy has gone. To be worn out.

Next, one size fits all. One size fits all. Now, this is a really great expression. If

you've never heard this before, for things where, like, a, an, a very common example

is a, like, a cap. So, a hat that has the expandable brim on the back. So, if you've

got or, or like, the expandable, um, you know, just like the, the actual cap. So, like a

baseball cap, it has the bill. That's the, like, the, the kind of brim or the bill on

the front of the cap. And then you have the actual cap, and in the back of it, it's got

these little, little dots so you can make the space, uh, longer or shorter to make room

or to fit your size, uh, for your head.

So, some things, you know, they're, they're, they say they're one size fits all, but it's

not really true for everybody. Maybe some people are really big, or some people are

really small. Uh, but one size fits all is a really great way of talking about that.

It can be for clothing or it can be for, you know, like, cars or anything else.

So maybe cars are designed for like, like, the kind of average height person, but you

can move the seat back or move the seat forward or something like that. One size fits all.

Next, it's hard to shop out here, or it's hard to buy a particular thing. So, it's hard

for me to do something means it's difficult. And for clothing in particular or my, me buying

shoes or something. So, it's hard for me. It's always hard for me to find shoes in Japan

because my feet are pretty big. So, I have, usually, in Japan, it would be about size

30 centimeters.

And so, it's, again, uh, it's not one size fits all for me. And if I can't find some

basketball shoes or something just because my feet are larger. They’re pretty wide

too. Uh, but it's hard to find shoes. And this is a great way of describing, like, you're

always looking for something but it's hard to find.

So, you can also describe this as like a person being hard to shop for. As, uh, as an example,

my father, trying to think about a good Christmas present for him. He never really wants anything.

There's nothing he needs, and, you know, so for maybe ten years in a row, we just kept

giving him puzzles ‘cause one year he liked puzzles and, you know, we said, “OK, we

found something he likes.”

So, it's hard to find things for him or he's a, he's a hard person to shop for. He's a

hard person to shop for. So, we don't know what he likes. Uh, and even if, you know,

he says he likes something, he may not use it or something like that. So, he's a hard

person to shop for.

Now, you'll also hear some other great words. These are just short descriptions of clothing

that you can use. So, just a few of them. You can talk casual or professional, or you

can talk about even your work clothing. So, we're talking about the different styles of

clothing you, you might wear. Uh, so, something as casual or professional. You'll hear, you'll

hear these, uh, different things. I won't cover them all here, just ‘cause I want

you to listen for them when they appear in the conversation. And you’ll also see them

in the, uh, in the Glossary as well, so, in the Quick Reference Glossary.

Uh, so, one of the more important ones is to feel that you're swimming in something.

So, if you have, if you have some, some clothing on that feels really big on you. And people

say, “Oh, does that, does that feel comfortable?” So, you can describe it as feeling too tight

or too loose. Or, if it's really loose, you can say, “I feel like I'm swimming in it.”

So, it's like, it's kind of like water around me. So, I'm swimming in the clothing as opposed

to, you know, it, like, fitting me properly. So, you can say it's fitting me nicely, or

I'm swimming in it if it's really, really loose.

Next, we have to pair something with something else. So, if you buy some clothes, you can

say these, uh, these, uh, shoes go well with this jacket. Or, this shirt goes well with

this tie or something like that. To pair different things.

So, just like you have a pair of hands or a pair of socks or a pair of shoes, you're

pairing different things.

Now, you can use this with food or other things as well or even with people. You can say,

“Wow, they really go well together.” They make a good couple. So, they make a good pair.

They pair well, or they go well together.

Next, to do it just for a change. To do it just for a change when you don't have a good

reason why you do something. Maybe you buy something, or you're even doing a dramatic

thing, like, just buying a new car or something else. You can say, “Oh, I'm just doing it

just to make a change,” or just for a change.

So, for me, if I always wear t-shirts and jeans, maybe one day I will wear a vest or,

you know, some cowboy boots or something like that. Just for a change. Just for a change.

So, I have no reason why I'm doing that. It's just, eh, just for a change. Just to make

a change.

Now, continuing with trying things on, if you're going to a department store or a clothing

store or shoes or whatever, if you want to try something on, another great way to describe

clothing itself is how well does it breathe. Now, this probably isn't something you'll

find in a textbook, but it's a very common thing when you're talking about the kind of

fabric that you like.

So, as an example, I like natural fibers. So, natural fibers means things like cotton

or wool because they breathe easily. Now, if I wear synthetic, so synthetic things.

That's like, uh, like… What's a good one? Like poly… Now I'm forgetting the names

of these things. But like, any, any kind of thing that's made from oil where we have a,

uh, like, a synthetic.

So, it's not a natural fiber, uh, like, like polyester. OK, there you go. That's the word

I was looking for. It's like, ah, what's that word? What's that word again? Um, what am

I thinking of? Polyester. So, polyester is a very common fabric. Um, usually we use this

where, where we need something to stretch a little bit. But I don't like wearing that.

So, it's touching my skin, I don't feel very comfortable and it doesn't breathe for my

skin very easily. To breathe well.

Next, to bargain or haggle. Now, you can find a bargain. So, when you find a bargain or

you get a bargain on something, it means you get something for a good price. So, there's

a strong value. So, you get a lot of stuff for a very low price. You can say, I had a

good deal or a good bargain on that thing.

But you can also bargain. So, bargain is also a verb when you're talking about bargaining

with someone. So, an example, we talk about, you know, being in Vietnam or when I was in

Thailand, uh, and people are, you know, they're bargaining with me about what the price of

something is. And they, they kind of expect, you know, foreigners to do that. And maybe

they should, you know, like, people should expect foreigners to kind of, you know, like,

learn the language or know things like that.

But again, you'll see in the conversation where we're talking about, uh, like, as a

customer when you're trying to listen to that. Like, Americans typically don't, kind of,

bargain for everyday things. We just go to the store and buy something. Whatever the

price of that thing is, we pay that. And if we can find a cheaper price somewhere else,

and it's the same thing, we'll probably get that.

But again, you can haggle. So, haggling or bargaining means you're trying to work out

a better price where you're getting a good value for the money you're spending.

Next, to take advantage of something or to take advantage of someone. So, if you feel

like you're in a bargaining situation, or maybe you feel that you're not getting, like,

uh, like, a good deal on something. We can talk about that being, like, being on the,

the bad end of a deal.

So, I got, I got a bad deal on something. So, we can have a good deal or a bad deal.

Like, I spend a lot of money on something and there's not much value there. So, I feel

taken advantage of. So, I can say, “The person at the store, he lied to me. He said

this was real leather, but it's actually not.” So, he took advantage of me. To take advantage

of a situation, or to take advantage of a person.

Typically, taking advantage of a situation is a lot nicer. You're not, like, doing something

bad to, or tricking some kind of person. It just means you're, you’re, uh, using an

opportunity or getting some kind of chance and taking that thing. So, it's more of a

good sense, uh, of the word or the expression for a situation. So, taking advantage of the

situation. But with people, we don't want to take advantage of different people.

Next, ROI. So, this is return on investment, and this is where you're spending money and

hoping to make a return, some kind of profit on that money. So, if I spend $10 on something,

I want at least, you know, $10 of value to come back. Or, if I want a return on the investment,

so I'm investing $10 to buy something. I'm hoping, uh, that that thing will, you know,

generate more, uh, money for me, you know, in the future in some way. So, ROI or return

on investment.

Next, very quickly, we've got a bargain hunter. So, this is a person who goes out looking

for good prices on things, or you're trying to get a discount on something or just really

good prices on things. So, if I'm a bargain hunter or a bargain shopper, I'm a person

who goes looking for things like that.

And finally, a big old something. So, I found a big old bag of clothing, used, for $5 and

it had lots of great things in it. So, I can physically mean something that's very big,

but I don't really mean old. This is just a casual, conversational way native speakers

describe something that's really, it's pretty big or bigger than we expected. Uh, like,

you can say, “That person over there, he's really tall.” I can say, “Wow, that's

a big old guy!” And I don't mean he's old, like, he's 90 years old. I just mean that's

a big ol’ thing. And this is just a common way of people describing this.

I don't really recommend you use it, but I'm explaining it here, so you understand it when

you hear people talking about that. So, often native speakers will use words and they don't

literally, we don't actually mean someone being big or being old. It just means, wow,

that's like a large thing. Uh, but we put old in that as well, just to make it sound

more casual and conversational.

All right. Finally, I'll just cover a few great words and expressions that you can use

when you're in a conversation to develop rapport with that person. So, rapport just means you

have a good connection with that person, and if you can develop a good rapport with them,

if they like you more, then, like, many great things can happen from that.

You can speak with that person more or again. Like, maybe you get a good deal on something.

And they like you more. Again, we just, we like doing things with people that we like.

And so, that's, you know, why we try to develop rapport and to have a good relationship with

people.

So, the first one is totally. Totally. So, if I'm speaking, and a friend of mine says,

“Um, well, I, I, I think it's like really a good idea if we, if we try to, like, help

people, uh, succeed at this thing,” and whatever. And I say, “Totally!” It just

means I agree with what you're saying. But so, like, I totally agree. But, that meaning

of I totally agree. I can just say, “Totally!” Totally. So, totally or completely.

I can use this, but totally is a really conversational way of describing this. And so, it's just

one word you can use when you're agreeing with someone, and you're really excited. So,

use the tonality, your body language, the way you're speaking. Uh, totally! Totally

agree. I totally agree with that. So again, if it's something that, like, you, uh, you

also agree, you can just say, “Totally.” Totally.

Similarly, we can say, nice. Nice! So, if a friend of mine says, “Wow, I got a really

great discount on some clothing.” And I'm happy for him, I can say, “Wow, that's nice!”

Nice!

Or, I can say, “That's cool!” That's cool! That's cool! And again, even if I'm not, you

know, ten years old or something, like, all, all ages of people use the term “cool.”

It's been around for a long time, uh, and everybody uses that expression to say “Wow,

that was really cool! That was such a cool experience.” So, that's such a cool thing

that you did for someone else.

But you can just use these really short things like, “Wow, that's nice!” Or, “That's

really cool!” That's cool. Or ,even just, “Nice!” “Cool!” Listen for these in

the conversation, and you'll see how we use them.

Next, another great part of rapport is using the same vocabulary. So, you'll hear me talk

about, gravitate towards, and then you'll hear Carly say the same thing, not long after

I speak it. So, it's really interesting. She might not have used a phrase like that, but

because I said that, she's able to develop rapport with me by using the same vocabulary.

And again, as a native speaker, uh, or even as a learner, when you're repeating something

that someone else says, it's let, it's letting you practice that thing.

So, if a friend of mine says, “Yeah, I really had a great time at the party.” I can say,

“Wow, it sounds like you really had a great time at that party.” I'm just repeating

what that other person said, but it's a really great way for me to establish rapport with

that person.

So, I can, and again, uh, get them to like me more and, and I'm not doing this in a bad

way. It's just, like, a natural way that we communicate, so that we have stronger relationships.

Next, you can talk about something being interesting or funny. You can say, “Wow, that's so interesting!”

Or, “That's funny.” Or, you can say, “How funny.” How funny. So, a friend of mine,

maybe they're going out and they're traveling somewhere, but they meet unexpectedly, another

friend of theirs. And I say, “Oh, how funny!” So, I don't mean it's actually ha-ha, like,

I'm laughing funny. It's like, “Wow, that's, that's a, that's an, uh, an interesting coincidence.”

So, what a coincidence. But how funny is just another, uh, really great short conversational

way of saying this. How funny. How funny.

Next, no way. No way! So, no way is another thing you can use when you're talking about

being really surprised by something. And you're, you're almost saying like, “Wow! You must

be joking!” You must be joking, or you must be lying. But I'm saying, “Oh, no way.”

No way. So, something was, like, there's no way it's possible that, that, that thing could

happen. But in a, in a casual conversational way, we can say, “Wow, no way!”

So, if a friend of yours is really excited and you're trying to, again, you want to match

them. So, if they're really excited and you're just like, like that, you don't care. Well,

you know, you're not going to have a good conversation and good rapport with that person.

But if they're really excited, and you say, “Wow, no way,” when they tell you about

some amazing thing that happened to them. Uh, they're going to be much more excited,

and you have a closer relationship develop with that person.

Finally, I know what you mean. I know what you mean. I know what you mean is something

when a person is describing something, and even if they can't describe it very clearly,

you can just say, “Yeah, I, I know what you mean.” I know what you mean. And your

tone, the way you say that is really important. Again, you're matching how they're describing

something.

So, if they feel really sad about something you can say, “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

I know what you mean. So, they maybe their, their dog died or something. They're really

depressed about something. Yeah, I know what you mean. My dog died, you know, five years

ago or something like that. So, you're, again, making a connection, but you're using that

as a way of saying, “Yes, I understand what you're saying.”

You can also use that expression yourself if you want other people to just kind of agree

or say like, “Yeah, like, you know what I mean?” So, yeah, I was, I was feeling

kind of lonely because my friends all went home, and I didn't have anything to do. And

yeah, I was just a little bit sad, you know what I mean? So, I'm asking the other person

to agree with me, to see if they're, like, listening and paying attention. And they can

say, “Yeah, I know what you mean.” I know what you mean. So, it's a really great ray,

uh, really great expression where you're talking about, like, whether it's a positive thing

or a negative thing, it doesn't matter. But I know what you mean, I know what you mean.

I understand you.

Well, that's it for this lesson. I hope you have enjoyed it. I've given you a lot of great

things, not only about shopping and bargains and all of that, but also some great phrases

you can use just to develop more rapport in your conversations.

Carly is really great about that, and I can see why she would want to get into conflict

resolution because she's really great at listening and developing rapport.

So, now, when you're watching and learning with these lessons sets, don't just watch

what we say or what we do. Try to, try to look at the big picture of the conversation.

Try to figure out what kind of people are speaking. What kind of speaker am I? How do

I do things? Or, who is controlling the conversation, or who is leading or who is following, and

are people listening more or not listening more?

You can learn, really, lots of great information. And this is why we give you real conversations

to learn with because that's really the native speech, uh, the native speech that you want

to be speaking. And so, if you learn that, even if you don't even go out and practice,

just sitting and watching these videos is really going to teach you a lot and prepare

you well for conversations.

I'm Drew Badger, the founder of EnglishAnyone.com, and thanks so much for learning with me today.

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