8 Awesome Phrases to Talk about Inventions

- Inventions, innovations,

and technology are all very common topics in IELTS speaking,

so these eight phrases are going to be a life saver for you.

(laughs) All right,

they're gonna be pretty useful.

Let's do it.

(uplifting music)

Hello, this is Keith from English Speaking Success

and the website, the Keith Speaking Academy.

My goal is to help you to move

from being a frustrated student of English,

to becoming a confident English speaker.

I think it's partly about learning more language,

partly about improving your fluency

and partly about mindset, the way you think.

So let's change your mindset.

Let me help you to start thinking

like a confident English speaker.

I'm gonna try and help you in this video.

Before I begin,

if you want to study more with me online,

please do check out my online course,

"IELTS Speaking Success, Get a Band 7+ Gold."

The links are down below in the description.

Go and check it out.

Right now, let's have a look at our first phrase

about, inventions.

So the first phrase is, to catch on,

which means to become popular.

This is great to talk about new inventions, right?

I was thinking of electric cars,

actually, not so much electric cars, but hybrid cars.

You know hybrid cars, right?

They're partly petrol, partly battery.

So, we could say hybrid cars are really catching on.

Can you repeat?

Great, repeat with me, catching on.

Really catching on.

Hybrid cars are really catching on.

Fantastic!

Now, I want you to put it in the past tense.

Listen, hybrid cars are really catching on.

In the past?

Ha ha!

You could say hybrid cars really caught on.

Hybrid cars really caught on.

Or possibly,

hybrid cars were really catching on a few years ago.

Both of those are okay.

Lovely!

Let's move on to number two.

So number two is, to turn something on its head.

Hmm. What does that mean exactly?

Well, let me show you.

Let's take an example.

This is a book.

Thank you, Jamie, hmm.

This is the top or the head of the book.

If we turn it on its head, we are turning it upside down,

which means we are changing our understanding of something,

often an idea.

We change our understanding of an idea.

Now, we can say then,

this invention is turning something on its head.

What's the something?

For example, it could be the way we do things.

This invention is turning the way we do things on its head.

Let's take a specific example.

Let's take cryptocurrency, for example, right?

Like Bitcoin, Ethereum.

We can say,

cryptocurrency is turning the way we buy things

on its head.

The something is the way we buy things.

Repeat after me,

cryptocurrency is turning the way we buy things on its head.

Notice the stress, right?

Cryptocurrency is turning the way we buy things on its head.

Nice.

Now, substitute cryptocurrency for Instagram.

You might say Instagram is turning the way we buy things

on its head.

That's true.

Or you might say,

Instagram is turning the way we communicate on its head.

Both are okay.

Excellent!

Moving on, phrase number three.

Right, phrase number three is to take the world by storm.

Now a storm, you may know, is the rain,

the thunder, the lightning, (thunders rumbling)

to take the world by storm is to become very popular.

Let's take an example.

Let's talk about wearables.

Do you know wearables?

So this is technological devices that you wear

like an Apple Watch

or a fitness tracker, here or here, maybe, right?

So we can say wearables are taking the world by storm.

Repeat.

Very nice.

Now, I want you to use a synonym

for taking the world by storm, okay?

Wearables are taking the world by storm.

Use a synonym.

You might say wearables are all the rage.

Wearables are the in thing.

Wearables are very fashionable.

All of these are very good.

Let's move on!

Okay, the next phrase

and I love this phrase is, to be a game changer.

This is something

that significantly changes the way we do things.

Actually, it could be something or someone

but because we're talking

about inventions, something, right?

That changes the way we do things.

For example, the internet is a game changer, right?

Of course!

I mean, it changes the way we communicate.

It means that we can connect with people all over the world.

Repeat with me.

The internet is a game changer.

Great, now put it in the past tense again.

The internet is a game changer.

In the past?

Okay, you might say the internet was a game changer,

or the internet has been a game changer.

Both of those are okay.

Okay, so now I'm gonna say, I think, oh,

actually let's say I reckon, bit more informal, okay?

I reckon the internet has been a game changer.

Now you say something that you think is true.

Give another example.

Lovely, that's it!

Next!

Right, phrase number five is, to take someone by surprise,

which is the same as to surprise someone

but it's just more natural.

I think it's a much nicer expression, right?

So, to take someone by surprise,

to surprise them or startle or astound them

or astonish them, lots of synonyms.

So, an example, right?

3D printers have taken everyone by surprise.

It's true, right?

Nobody imagined we would be able to print 3D objects.

3D printers have taken everybody by surprise.

So, repeat with me.

3D printers have taken everyone by surprise.

Good.

Now, if we're talking about inventions in the future,

did you know 3D printers are now being used

to create human organs for organ transplants?

So we're taking the tissue

from the patient to create 3D organs.

Whoa! That's crazy!

So, let's think about future tenses

and future inventions, right?

Let's take our phrase,

3D printers have taken everyone by surprise.

Put it in a future tense.

You might say 3D printers will take everyone by surprise

or 3D printers are going to take everyone by surprise

or 3D printers are bound to take everyone by surprise.

There are different possibilities, right?

These are just a few of them.

Very, very nice.

Okay, let's move on.

Right, time for a coffee break.

Hmm, what a great invention, the coffee break, right?

Now, have you noticed that

in this video you are practicing pronunciation,

word stress, different tenses and even synonyms, right?

This approach is what I call the speaking success system

and this is a very, very simple way to practice day

after day, your fluency, and to build up your confidence

to become that confident speaker

of English we talked about, right?

It's also the exact method that I follow systematically

in my course, the online course,

do you remember I mentioned?

"IELTS Speaking Success, Get a Band 7+ Gold."

You can find out more about the course

in the description below

and if you think it will help you build your fluency,

become a confident speaker, go ahead and join right now.

Let's get back to, not the coffee, but to phrase number six.

Right, phrase number six is cutting-edge.

The adjective, okay?

If something is cutting-edge, it means it's advanced,

innovative and leading the field.

In fact, we also say leading edge, right?

This is a leading edge video.

Is it really?

I'm not sure about that.

Let's talk about inventions.

I'm gonna talk about the robot waiter.

Now these, apparently, are very popular in Japan.

The robot waiters, they come to your table,

they take your order and they bring your food,

they even make jokes, apparently, using AI,

artificial intelligence.

So my example is, right,

I think that robot waiters are cutting-edge.

Repeat.

Nice.

I think that robot waiters are cutting-edge.

Now, say something you think is true.

Okay, excellent.

Very, very interesting.

Good.

Now, ooh, look out, here comes phrase number seven.

And here it is, the long awaited for, phrase number seven.

Hey!

So, it won't be long before,

it won't, it will not,

it won't be long before, something happens,

and it means in the near future, something will happen.

It's such a simple expression, but it's so nice.

It's so natural.

It's lovely.

I love it, right?

Now, an example.

Earlier we talked about hybrid cars, do you remember?

Now, hybrid cars are great

but they're just the tip of the iceberg.

It won't be long before we have flying cars.

Okay?

Repeat with me.

Sorry, repeat after me.

It won't be long before we have flying cars.

Nice, it won't be long before we have flying cars.

Substitute flying with driverless.

Good.

You should say it won't be long

before we have driverless cars.

Now substitute cars with buses.

You should say it won't be long

before we have driverless buses.

Very nice.

Lots of pros and cons, right?

Of driverless buses, driverless cars

and it's a technology that is still developing.

While it's developing,

let's move on to phrase number eight.

So here we are with phrase number eight,

which is, this will go down in history as, something.

If something will go down in history,

it means in the future,

we will look back and we will see this as something, right?

It's a bit strange, right?

To say, this will go down in history

'cuz it's the future looking back, right?

For example, let's take VR, virtual reality.

I think VR will go down in history

as the most important invention ever.

Right? Okay.

I think so, right?

Why?

Because it's used in gaming, which is all the rage,

it's used in training, training pilots,

doctors, and even dentists,

and it's a fundamental part of the metaverse,

which we are entering.

Let's practice.

Repeat with me, go down in history.

I think VR will go down in history.

I think VR will go down in history

as the most important invention ever.

That was so good, well done.

It's a long phrase, right?

Change VR, let me repeat the phrase.

I think VR will go down in history

as the most important invention ever.

Change VR for AI.

I think AI will go down in history

as the most important invention ever.

Now, change important for another word.

I think AI will go down in history

as the most expensive invention ever.

Or you could say I think AI will go down

in history as the most useless invention ever.

There are many possibilities, right?

Good! That's phrase number eight.

So listen, I hope you have learned some new phrases here

and also enjoyed the practice, right?

How do you feel?

Well, listen, if you've liked the video,

please do remember to subscribe

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go and check out the link below

to check out my online course,

"IELTS Speaking Success, Get a Band 7+ Gold",

if you want more practice like this,

using the speaking success system.

I think it's a great way to practice,

especially if you have no one else to practice with

or even if you do have other people to practice with,

it's a great compliment to go together

and practice more.

Practice is the key to fluency and confidence.

Go and check out the Gold course below.

Thank you so much for joining me today.

I will see you in the next video, which is

about the five mistakes you should avoid in IELTS speaking

and how the speaking success system can help you.

I'll see you there in a few moments.

Thank you so much.

Take care.

Bye bye.

(upbeat music)