Learn English Vocabulary Daily #12.5 - British English Podcast

Hello and welcome to The English Like a Native Podcast.

My name is Anna and you're listening to Week 12, Day 5 of Your English Five a Day.

This is a series that aims to increase your active vocabulary by deep

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

Now let's start with today's list.

We have a noun and it is wellies, wellies.

So, we refer to our wellies, the boots that we put on our feet.

Now, the actual term is wellington boots, but I don't think I've

ever heard anyone actually say in conversation wellington boots.

We all just say wellies.

How do we spell this?

W E L L I E S.

So, wellies are the waterproof boots that we put on our feet, and they usually

come up to the middle of your lower leg.

So, they come up to about halfway up your calf muscle.

And it's so that you can walk around and put your feet in puddles and

mud and it doesn't wet your feet or your socks or your trousers.

I have a lovely pair of pink wellies at the back door.

And my son has some yellow wellies.

My son's wellies actually have little handles on each side so that he can pull

his feet into them because they can be a bit tricky to get on and off actually.

My problem with wellies is when we've come home after being out in the park and we've

all been wearing our wellies and walking in the mud and our wellies are filthy.

We have cream carpets in the hallway.

So, during the winter I lay down lots of mats and rugs so that we can

step into the hallway, onto the mats, and then remove our boots before

stepping onto the cream carpet.

These are washable rugs, by the way and washable mats, so that I can

wash them if they become filthy.

Here's another example sentence.

"Grab your wellies, we're going for a walk across the fields,

and it's going to be muddy!"

Next on our list, another noun, and it is district, district.

This is spelled D I S T R I C T.

District.

A district is an area of a country or a town that has fixed borders that are

used for official purposes, or that has a particular feature that makes

it different to the surrounding areas.

For example, in the UK, we have the Lake District, which is an area of this

country that is known for its beauty and for the many lakes that you find there.

We also have the Peak District, which is known for its hills and green pastures.

Here's an example sentence.

"An upsurge in violence in the district has been linked

to increased unemployment."

Next on the list we have a noun and it is aspect, aspect.

Now aspect is spelled A S P E C T, aspect.

Aspect.

An aspect is one part of a situation, a problem, or a subject.

It's like a feature or a part, okay.

So I might say that one aspect I really enjoy about teaching is connecting

with my students, or one aspect I particularly like is telling stories

and recording podcast episodes.

That's a part of this particular setup that I enjoy.

One aspect that I don't enjoy is doing the accounting and all

the admin that I have to do.

Okay, here's another example.

"Which aspects of the holiday did you enjoy the most?

And which ones did you least enjoy?"

Next on our list is a verb and it is lie, lie.

Lie is spelled L I E, lie.

If something lies in a particular place, position or direction, then

it is in that place; it is in that position or it is in that direction.

So, I could say,

"I am living on the outskirts of London.

Scotland lies north of here."

So, Scotland lies, Scotland is positioned north of here.

Scotland lies north of here.

A long way north of here.

Here's another example.

"That house that lies just around the corner has got the most

amazing Christmas lights up.

You must go and check it out."

Last on our list is a verb and it is linger, linger.

This is spelled L I N G E R.

To linger is to take a long time to leave or disappear.

We often talk about smells lingering.

If a bad smell just won't leave, it won't disappear.

Then you're like,

"Ooh, that smell is lingering."

Or sometimes we say that a person is lingering.

Like if I'm at a party and they haven't yet officially announced

the dessert part is ready, but I can see them all laid out on the table.

I might be lingering over there waiting for someone to say,

"Please help yourself to desserts.

You can get started on the desserts now.

There's lots of cakes and yummy bits and bobs."

. Well, then you'll find me, hanging around that dessert

table, not leaving, lingering.

Here's another example.

"How long is the smell from the sewage system going to linger?

It's giving me a real headache."

OK, so that's our five for today.

We had wellies, wellies.

The noun which describes the waterproof boots we put on our feet.

Then we had another noun, district, which refers to an area of a country

or a town that has fixed borders.

Then we had the noun aspect, which is a part of a situation

or a problem or a subject.

Then we have the verb lie, lie, which means that something is in

a place, position, or direction.

Then we have the verb linger, which is to take a long time to leave or disappear.

Let's now do this for pronunciation purposes.

Repeat after me.

Wellies.

Wellies.

District.

District.

Aspect.

Aspect.

Lie.

Lie.

Linger.

Linger.

Very good.

So, which noun refers to an area of a country?

I mentioned the Lake and the Peak.

What noun am I missing?

District.

District.

That's right.

And if I want to talk about one part of a situation, what noun could I use?

One...

aspect.

Yes.

And if I want to say that a smell is hanging around and not

leaving, what verb could I use?

Lingering.

Lingering.

Yes, to linger.

And, oh my goodness, it's very wet and muddy outside.

What am I going to put on my feet?

Yes, wellies.

Wellies.

And, if I'm talking about something being in a particular position, or place,

or direction, what verb could I use?

Lie.

To lie in a particular place, position or direction.

Very good.

Let's bring those all together now in a little story.

Did you hear about Martha's pup, Charlie?

That mischievous little fella's stirred up quite the excitement in the district.

He's gone and found what might be the oldest pair of wellies in existence,

right in the middle of Farmer Ted's field.

You know the one, it lies just beyond the old mill, always muddy, that spot.

And the funniest aspect of this story?

Charlie couldn't care less about their historical significance.

He was more engrossed in the various intriguing smells the boots

had accumulated over the years.

You should have seen him, trotting back into town with that ancient

pair of wellies like he'd won first prize at the dog show!

Now, everyone's lingering in Martha's front garden, hoping for a glimpse

of Charlie and his historical find.

The local historians are in a tizzy, but for Charlie, it's all

just another day's adventure.

I bet he's wondering what all the fuss is about, probably just itching to get

back to his usual routine of chasing squirrels and taking long naps in the sun.

And that brings us to the end of today's episode.

I do hope you found it useful.

Until next time, take very good care and goodbye.