Learn English Vocabulary Daily #19.2 — British English Podcast

Hello.

Welcome to The English Like a Native Podcast.

My name is Anna and you're listening to Week 19, Day 2 of Your English Five a

Day, the podcast series that is designed to expand your active vocabulary by

deep diving into five pieces every day of the week from Monday to Friday.

Let's kick off today's list with a verb and it is to bare, to bare.

We spell this B A R E, to bare.

Now, this version of bare is to show something that was

previously hidden or covered up.

Now, in this specific context that I'm going to share with you, we're talking

about baring our teeth, which is to show your teeth, which are normally

covered with your lips, of course.

So, if you bare your teeth, then you are showing your teeth.

Now, we are dog lovers in this country.

Sometimes if we see a dog walking by with its owner, we might just

put out our hand and say, "Oh, hello," And go for a little stroke.

But if the dog were to bare its teeth at us, then we know we

probably should put our hand well away and move past very quickly.

If a dog bares its teeth, then it's not happy.

It'll probably be growling at the same time.

Grrr!

So to bare your teeth.

Here's an example sentence,

"As I walked past the cute dog, he bared his teeth at me and growled!"

All right, moving on from bare, we have the adjective inherent.

Inherent.

We spell this I N H E R E N T.

Inherent.

Inherent.

Inherent is existing in a permanent quality of something or to be like a

natural part of something or someone.

Here's an example sentence,

I've always had an inherent distrust of car salesmen!"

So, in this example, they're saying that I've always just had this

natural, permanent, basic distrust that's just always been there.

You might say that someone has an inherent ability to do something.

Anna has an inherent ability to hear different features of

people's accents and pronunciation.

What's your inherent ability?

What's a natural part of you?

A basic skill or quality that you've always possessed.

Next on our list is the idiom barking up the wrong tree.

Barking up the wrong tree.

We spell this barking, B A R K I N G.

Barking.

Up, U P.

The, T H E.

Wrong, W R O N G.

Tree.

T R E E.

Barking up the wrong tree.

Just like a dog running towards a tree and barking up the tree because it

thinks that the squirrel that it was chasing ran up that particular tree.

If the squirrel didn't run up that tree and the dog is mistaken, then

the dog is barking up the wrong tree.

He's pursuing the wrong avenue.

He's going after the thing but in the wrong direction.

He's doing the wrong thing to get the thing that he wants.

So, this means that you're trying to do something in a way that just won't work.

You're barking up the wrong tree.

Or maybe you're looking at something in the wrong way.

So, for example, if I discover that my mobile phone is missing.

I've had a party at the house and I invited a whole bunch of people and

my phone is now missing if I turn to my friend and start accusing my

friend of stealing my phone, then I am very much barking up the wrong tree.

My friend would never steal my phone.

What's probably happened is my phone's probably actually just been misplaced.

It's quite unlikely that any of my friends or guests would have stolen my phone.

It's probably just been moved, hidden, covered, or something like that.

So, I'm barking up the wrong tree by moving straight to accuse my

very good friend of stealing.

Okay, so here's an example sentence,

" If you think paying me off will solve the problem, you're

barking up the wrong tree."

Now in that example, to pay someone off, it means to pay, to keep them quiet or

to make them stop pursuing something.

So, if you are, if you've done something wrong and you want me to keep quiet

about it, you would pay me off, so that I would not talk about it anymore.

But I'm saying,

"If you think that paying me off will solve the problem, you're

barking up the wrong tree."

So I'm saying, you can't give me money to keep me quiet.

I'm not that kind of person.

You're going about it in the wrong way.

It's a fun idiom, that one, isn't it?

Alright, let's move on to the next word.

We have an adjective now, and it is mellow.

Mellow, spelt M E L L O W, mellow.

If something is described as mellow, then it's relaxed, it's easygoing,

it's not severe or threatening in any way, it's nice and mellow.

You might describe music as mellow, the kind of music that you would

hear in a spa or the kind of music that would put you to sleep.

You can describe people or animals as mellow if they're

really chilled and relaxed.

They don't get angry or upset very easily.

They're really mellow.

Here's an example sentence,

"People often look at my dog and instantly tense up, if only

they knew how mellow he is.

Rottweilers are one of the softest breeds around."

Would you describe yourself as a mellow person?

I can be mellow.

But often I'm not mellow.

I'm warm and I'm friendly, but I think I've got quite a busy energy

about me rather than a mellow energy.

I can't keep still.

Alright, last on our list is a noun and it is a companion.

Companion.

We spell this C O M P A N I O N.

Companion.

Companion.

A companion is a person or an animal that you spend a lot of time with.

This is like your friend, your very good friend, or your pet.

It's not just someone that you occasionally meet.

It's someone who is with you all the time or a pet that's with you all the time.

So, as we get older, for example, maybe you are married, but your husband

or wife, your partner passed away.

And so, you don't want to be lonely and you meet someone who

is a very, very good friend.

Maybe there's nothing romantic going on between you, but you

spend all your time together.

You go on holiday together.

You eat all your meals together.

You might even stay over at each other's houses.

You are companions, and your pet is often described as your companion as well.

Your furry companion, particularly a dog in this country, would be a companion.

Here's an example sentence,

" Caesar has been my closest companion for the past four years.

He really is the best dog in the world."

Okay, that's our five, so let's recap.

We started with the verb to bare.

To bare, like to bare your teeth, which is to uncover something that was hidden.

Then we had the adjective inherent.

Inherent, which is something that's basic or a natural part of you or a thing, like

a permanent quality in you or in a thing.

Then we had the idiom, barking up the wrong tree, which is to try and do

something but in the wrong way, or to be looking at something from the wrong angle.

Then we had the adjective, mellow, relaxed and easygoing.

Then we finished with the noun, companion, a person or animal whom

you spend the majority of your time with, a lot of your time with.

Alright, so, let's do this for pronunciation.

Please repeat after me.

Bare.

Bare.

Inherent.

Inherent.

Barking up the wrong tree.

Barking up the wrong tree.

Mellow.

Mellow.

Companion, companion.

Very good.

Now, I'm about to show you something that is normally hidden.

What verb would you use to describe me showing you this hidden thing?

Bare.

Yes, I'm going to bare myself in some way.

And then if I'm talking about a permanent quality that I have, what adjective would

I use to describe this permanent quality?

Inherent.

Inherent.

Yes.

Now, I am actually a very easygoing and relaxed person.

What adjective could you use to describe my easygoing and relaxed nature?

Mellow.

Mellow.

And I have a very, very loyal friend who I spend all my time with.

We go on holiday together.

We stay at each other's houses all the time.

We're just in each other's pockets most of the time.

What word would I use to describe this friend who's so special to me?

Companion.

Companion.

And if someone started suggesting that we go on a date because they can see

that we spend a lot of time together, and they want to do something special for

the two of us to try and get us to hook up, to get together romantically, but

this person just doesn't understand that actually my friend and I have known each

other for 20 years and there's never been anything romantic between us and it's

just not the way we're going to do things.

What idiom would I use to tell him that he's going about the

whole thing in the wrong way.

If he's gonna do something nice for us it should be something completely different.

Not trying to make us hook up.

What is he doing?

He is barking up the wrong tree.

I don't fancy him.

He's my companion.

Stop it.

You're barking up the wrong tree.

OK, how did you get on?

Hopefully, you remembered all of those.

But don't worry if you didn't.

What we're going to do now is bring everything together in a little story.

When you think of Rottweilers, what comes to mind?

A fierce, aggressive, and dangerous dog?

Well, that's just media hype.

The truth is, Rottweilers are not inherently dangerous.

It's all about how they are treated and brought up by their owners.

Rottweilers are actually one of the most placid and laid-back breeds around.

They are known for their calm and mellow nature, making them great family pets.

I've had my Rottweiler for over 10 years now and she has never once

shown any signs of aggression.

She's a big teddy bear and loves nothing more than cuddling with me and my family.

So, why do Rottweilers have such a bad reputation?

It all comes down to how they are portrayed in the media.

We often see images of Rottweilers with their teeth bared and hear

stories of them attacking people.

But the truth is, any dog can bare its teeth or growl if it

feels threatened or provoked.

It's all about how the owner trains and socialises their dog.

Just like with any breed, proper training and socialisation are crucial.

Rottweilers are highly intelligent and respond well to positive reinforcement.

With the right training, they can be the most well-behaved and obedient dogs.

My family have had many Rottweilers over the years and they are one of the most

trainable and eager-to-please breeds.

So, next time you see a Rottweiler, don't be quick to judge.

You could be barking up the wrong tree.

These dogs make wonderful companions and can be incredibly loyal and

loving towards their owners.

Remember, it's often not the breed that makes a dog dangerous, it's the owners.

Rottweilers are not dangerous, they are not naturally aggressive,

they are misunderstood.

Let's change the narrative and give these amazing dogs the

love and respect they deserve.

And that brings us to the end of Day 2.

I do hope you found today useful.

If you did, please show this episode a little bit of love by giving

it a like, give this podcast a rating or review and be sure to

come back again tomorrow for Day 3.

Until then take very good care and goodbye.