Learn English Vocabulary Daily #10.5 - British English Podcast

Hello and welcome to The English Like a Native Podcast.

My name is Anna and you're listening to Week 10, Day 5 of

your English Five a Day series.

The series that aims to increase your vocabulary by five pieces every single

day of the week from Monday to Friday.

So, let's kick off today's list.

We start with a verb.

And it is to lob, lob.

This is spelled L O B, to lob something.

Now, you might hear this in relation to sports.

This is when you would hit or kick or even throw the ball high into the air so that

it goes over the head of your opponent.

But you could also hear this just in general conversation when someone's

talking about something being thrown high.

"He lobbed it over the fence,"

you might say, if someone threw a ball or a cardigan or

a bucket high over the fence.

Then you'd go and knock on the door.

"Hello, sorry, it's Anna from next door.

Hi.

I'm really sorry, but my son just lobbed the bucket and spade over your fence.

Do you mind if I come and grab it?"

Okay, here's another example sentence.

"The goalkeeper had come out of the goal and Webster lobbed the ball

over his head into the empty net."

Alright, moving on.

Next we have an adjective and it is countless, countless.

I'm spelling this C O U N T L E S S, countless, countless.

You'll notice that I'm merging the T and the L and I'm making a

kind of plosive sound count-tl-tl.

So, what I'm doing here is I'm putting the tip of my tongue up against the

alveolar ridge as if I was about to release a T coun-t, but I don't release

the T by removing my tongue from the roof of my mouth, I keep the tongue

firmly up there, and then the tuh kind of explodes out of the side of my tongue.

Count-tl-tl.

Countless.

Countless.

It's a little bit tricky, but that gives you an idea of how we pronounce it.

Countless.

Countless.

This adjective means very many or too many to be counted.

So, if I say,

"I've told you countless times, pronunciation is really important."

Then I'm saying I've told you so many times, I don't even know exactly

how many times I've told you because there are just too many to count.

Countless.

Here's another example.

"I've heard this song countless times on the radio today, please,

can you change the channel?"

Alright, on to our next adjective, and it is capable, capable.

We spell this C A P A B L E.

Capable.

If you are capable, or described as capable, then you're able to do

things effectively and skilfully, and you can achieve results.

So, I might say to my mother, who is trying to stop my son from clearing

the table after dinner, saying,

"Oh, don't do that.

You'll break something.

Oh no, that's too heavy.

No, no.

Put that down."

I'll say,

"No, mum.

Listen, my son is very capable of clearing the table.

He's got experience.

He can clear the table effectively and skilfully.

And you don't need to worry.

He is capable."

Here's another example.

"We need an assistant who is capable, efficient, and a team player.

Ah, I have just the person in mind."

Next on the list is an idiom and it is a sure thing.

A sure thing.

The spelling of this is S U R E, sure.

Thing, T H I N G.

A sure thing.

If something is described as being a sure thing, then it's something

that's certain to happen or a person that is certain to succeed.

So, if you are training a race horse and you enter your race horse into a

competitive race, so you put them into a competition and you know, because of

your experience and your understanding of the competitors, you know that

your horse is guaranteed to win.

And you might say to me, although this is against the rules,

"Anna, you might want to put a bet on my horse."

And I say,

"Oh yeah, why is that then?"

You'd say,

"Well, you didn't hear it from me, but my horse is a sure thing."

Meaning my horse is guaranteed to win because it's so much

better than the others.

Here's another example.

"I'm not supposed to tell you this, but you getting a car for

your birthday is a sure thing.

I heard mum and dad talking about it last night."

Okay, moving on to our last piece of vocabulary for today.

It's another idiom and it is, I bet, I bet.

The spelling of this is I, I and bet, B E T.

I bet.

Now this means that you're showing that you understand why

someone has a particular opinion or feels a particular way.

So, if you are trying to show them that you understand what they're

saying, then you say, I bet.

I bet.

So, if you say,

"Oh, Anna, learning a second language is really hard."

And I say,

"I bet, I bet."

But this is particularly used when you don't have experience of it yourself.

So, let's say that you are a software engineer and you're

writing code, something I don't understand, I don't write code.

And you say to me,

"Anna, writing code takes a really long time and it can

be very frustrating at times."

Then I would respond with,

"I bet."

Because I understand what you're saying.

But I have no experience of it myself.

So, I'm just agreeing that I understand that you are finding it difficult.

Here's another example.

"I was so relieved I didn't have to clean up after the party."

"Yeah, I bet you were.

They really trashed the place."

Okay, so that's our five.

We started with a verb, to lob, which is to throw or kick or hit

something, particularly a ball, high into the air so that it goes over

someone's head or over something.

Then we had the adjective countless when something is

very many or too many to count.

And another adjective capable, to be capable, which means you are able to

do things effectively and skilfully.

Then we had the idiom a sure thing when something is certain to happen

or a person is certain to succeed.

And we finished with, I bet, I bet, an idiom showing that you understand

why someone has a particular opinion or feels a particular way.

So, now let's try it for pronunciation.

Please repeat after me.

Lob.

Lob.

Countless.

Countless.

Capable.

Capable.

A sure thing.

A sure thing.

I bet.

I bet.

Okay, so let me just test you now.

What's the verb that describes throwing something high into the air

so that it goes over someone's head?

To lob.

And what's the adjective that suggests that someone is really

able to do something effectively?

Capable.

If I understand why you feel a particular way, which idiom could I use?

I bet.

And if there are just too many to be counted, which adjective would I use?

Countless.

Countless.

And finally, what idiom suggests that someone is certain to succeed?

They are a...

...sure thing.

Very good.

Alright, let's bring all of those words and phrases together in a little story.

If you are a fan of hockey, or sports in general, you will enjoy

reading this biography of one of the greatest players of all time.

The author takes you through his remarkable journey, from his humble

beginnings to his glorious retirement, spanning 30 years of professional hockey.

The book is full of anecdotes, insights and facts that reveal the personality,

character, and talent of the player.

You will learn how he mastered the lob pass, made countless assists, how

he became a capable leader and earned the reputation of being a sure thing.

You will also discover the challenges, struggles, and sacrifices he faced

along the way, as well as the joys, triumphs and rewards he received.

The book is not only a tribute to the player, but also a

reflection on the sport, the culture and the history of hockey.

The author explores the evolution of the game, the changes in the rules,

the trends in the strategies and the impact of the media and the fans.

The book also features interviews with his teammates, coaches, opponents

and family members who share their perspectives and memories of the player.

The book is well-written, engaging and informative.

It captures the essence of the player, the sport and the era.

It is a must-read for anyone who loves hockey, or who appreciates a good story

of passion, perseverance and excellence.

I bet you will not regret picking up this book."

And that brings us to the end of this particular episode and this

week of Your English Five a Day.

I do hope you found today's episode useful.

If you did, then I would greatly appreciate if you took a moment to

give this podcast a rating or review so that others may find this podcast and

increase their English vocabulary too.

Until next time, take very good care and goodbye.