Common American Phrases for Fluent English Conversation

Hey it’s Kate Welcome to my channel

English lessons with Kate is the channel Created to help you practice and improve your

English.

Today I have a vocabulary lesson for you In today’s lesson we gonna discuss 12 extremely

common American phrases you can use to sound like a native speaker.

In this video we will focus on the meaning and the situations

where these phrases can be used But before we get started

I wanna tell you that every week I make new videos like this one

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I often have my students ask me: Kate, I can watch an English movie and I get

the general points But I don’t feel like I totally get everything

Because I don’t really understand all the things people are saying

And today I’d like to introduce you 12 extremely common American phrases

that we often hear in American TV shows and movies.

These phrases are slang and informal.

But some of them you can use in your everyday conversation.

I use these phrases all the time, and I hope you will be able to use them too

And you will understand native speakers better, so.

Let’s get started.

Phrase number 1 1.

Think outside the box People in the US say this phrase all the time.

You can hear it in school, in business, and in daily conversations.

The “box” means something what’s been done,

something that’s boring or something everyone else is doing.

If person thinks outside the box that means he’s creative, unique,

he’s able to find new and different approaches to a problem.

If you think outside the box, you think in an imaginative and creative way.

Phrase #2 2.

A dime a dozen When you’re describing things that are very

common, you would describe them as a “dime a dozen.”

TV series are a dime a dozen these days.

A dime a dozen also means being of very little value:

Let’s have a look at the examples: Chinese plastic toys like this are a dime

a dozen.

Cheap smartphones have flooded the market.

You can get them a dime a dozen.

That means it’s easy to get them They don’t cost much

Phrase number 3 3.

For real You can use this phrase when you want to approve

that something is real.

For real can be used instead of saying “I agree” and “True”.

When your friend is complaining about something and you also feel the same,

you can say: “Oh, for real.”

This phrase means Oh, I understand you completely Native speakers use this phrase very often

If you are not sure that something is true, you can also ask “Are you for real?”

Are you for real means: Are you serious?

Are you kidding?

Phrase number 4 4.

Ride shotgun You have probably heard this phrase from movies

or TV shows, but do you know what it actually means?

Ok, you may think: I know what is to ride and I know what a shotgun means

But does that phrase mean to ride and shoot a shotgun?

Nooo Ride shotgun means “to sit in the front

seat of a car”.

For example, when someone wants to give you a ride,

he may ask “do you wanna ride shotgun?” that means “ Do you want to sit next to

the driver?”

The next phrase 5.

take a raincheck It seems that it means you should go outside

to check if it rains Am I right?

Nooo If a friend wants you to do something with

them and you can’t do it at that moment, you

can say “Can I take a raincheck?”

It means “I can’t now, but I’d like to do it another time.”

Let’s say someone invites you to the party but you have to get prepared for your IELTS

exam.

And you cannot accept an invitation now, but you would like to do it later

So you tell your friend you need to take a rain check.

“Let's take a rain check” It’s a polite way to say no,

to refuse to do something For example:

John asked Mary to dance, but she told him that she would have to take a rain check.

The next phrase is a slang expression used to accept that you are wrong

And it’s really really common 6.

My bad That’s another way to say I’m sorry,

to apologize for something "if you did something bad, and you felt like

you're wrong, but there is nothing that can be done for

it now, and you want to say that you won't make that

mistake again, you can simply say "My bad"

The next phrase 7.

drive someone up the wall If you’ve ever been in the situation

when your neighbours are listening to really loud music,

you might tell your friend “My neighbours are driving me up the wall.”

It means they’re making you crazy and irritated.

You get very angry.

Imagine that you feel so furious that you try to drive your car up the wall.

That’s the emotion to express that feeling of being driven up the wall.

Here is another example- It’s so hot!

(The temperature is 41 °C.)

The weather these days drives me up the wall.

The next phrase 8.

Give it a shot It’s very common, American people use it

a lot in daily conversations And we often hear it in American movies

“Give it a shot” means “Take a try” “Try something” (often for the first time)

For example: I’ve never gone rock climbing before but

I’ll give it a shot.

That means I’ll try it Phrase number 9

9.

Nip it in the bud This expression means

to stop something bad before it’s getting worse

If we nip a flower in the bud it wouldn't grow.

To nip means to cut off If you nip it in the bud, you stop something

from becoming a bigger problem.

Here’s the example: If you want to deal with a problem when it

is still small, you should nip it in the bud.

The next phrase is 10.

Back in the day Let’s have

a look at the sentence Back in the day people used to live without

smartphones What do these words mean?

Back in the day Think about it for a moment

Our parents tell us that they remember those good old days when they were children

And they had no smartphones and they spent much time outside

playing ball games and having fun And they say that back in the day they were

happy without mobile devices…

Sounds familiar, right?

So, we use this phrase to talk about a time in the past,

usually when you are remembering nice things about that time.

Phrase #11 11.

Get it off my chest If you've got a problem you might get it off

your chest.

That means to say something that you’ve wanted to say for a long time,

To let it out and feel relief.

Please, tell me the truth.

You will feel better if you get it off your chest.

I have something that I need to get off my chest.

That means I have something important and I need to share with you

this information.

The last but not the least phrase is 12.

The real deal “The real deal” is a popular phrase in

American English if you want to say that a person is real and

genuine.

For example, when you are in a job interview and

You tell your interviewers about your experiences, they can say: “You’re the real deal!”

That means you are the person they’re looking for.

Also we often hear the phrase “This is the real deal”

These words mean “This is something that you need”

“this is the real thing” , “this is the true”, “This is serious”

or “this is reality”

Now let’s go on to a little quiz Where I’m going to see how many of these

expressions you understand.

Let’s listen to the sentences and try to guess what it means.

I’d like to get it off my chest.

I should tell you that back in the day, I gave it a shot to ride shotgun.

It was my bad, because this always drives me up the wall.

I rather prefer to ride in the back seat.

However, I decided to overcome my fear.

So, I didn’t take a rain check and nipped my fear in the bud.

Along the way, I tried to imagine fabulous animals and magical landscapes, so as not

to be afraid.

Later, my father told me that it was not the best way to get rid of phobias.

As they say, smart people are a dime a dozen.

However, there are so few of them, who think outside the box.

Did you get it?

I hope that this little story was clear for you.

You’re welcome to go back and repeat the story and try to understand it.

Well that’s it for today’s lesson If you like this video you may also like this

one Tips to speak English like an American

I hope you enjoyed this lesson And now you can use these American phrases

and understand them

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And as always – thanks for watching