YES, it's possible - Daily Routine at C1 (Advanced) Level of English!

- Hello, lovely students,

and welcome back to English with Lucy.

I was thinking the other day,

and that's not something I do very often,

but I was thinking,

the first thing you learn

when you take your first English class

is normally the daily routine, right?

I wake up, I get up, I eat breakfast.

And I thought, what would a daily routine look like

at C1 advanced level?

I started to write this lesson just as a little experiment

and it ended up becoming so interesting

that I've decided to make it into a video for you.

In this lesson, I am going to give you

a daily routine on steroids,

and on steroids means the most extreme version

or a very extreme version.

In this daily routine, I'm going to give you a tonne

of super advanced C1 vocabulary,

and we're going to cover lots and lots

of C1 level grammar structures.

So if you really want to test your English skills,

this lesson is for you.

We'll focus more on grammar for this lesson,

but I will mark out the C1 level vocabulary,

and then in the PDF that goes with this lesson,

you will receive a full vocabulary list

with phonetic transcriptions,

with definitions, and with examples,

and of course, a quiz plus all of the grammar information

that we've gone through today.

In addition to that free PDF,

I'll also give you the opportunity

to download my C1 ebook for free,

and this ebook contains everything, grammar and vocabulary,

that you need to know to reach a C1 level.

If you would like to download the free PDF and the ebook,

just click on the link in the description box.

You enter your name, your email address,

you sign up to my mailing list.

The PDF and ebook will arrive directly in your inbox.

And after that, you've joined the PDF Club,

you will automatically receive my weekly free lesson PDFs,

along with my news, course offers, and updates.

It's free. You can unsubscribe at any time.

I also want to mention before we start

that this is going to be quite an extreme daily routine

and some people will probably want to let me know,

"English people do not speak like this in real life!"

No, I totally agree.

I just want to see how far we can go

with advanced grammar and advanced vocabulary.

All I know is it's going to be complex

and it's going to be fun.

Upon waking up to the melodious chimes of my alarm clock,

I embark on my well-established morning routine

that I've perfected over the years.

First and foremost,

I indulge in a brief meditation session,

allowing me to clear my mind

and start the day with a sense of calm.

In addition to my mental exercise,

I dive into a challenging 30-minute workout session,

but I guess it isn't so much challenging

as it is invigorating.

After freshening up,

I pamper myself with my nourishing skincare regimen,

ensuring a well-hydrated and glowing complexion.

I told you this is a daily routine on steroids

in order to reach the C1 level of vocabulary and grammar.

There aren't many people in the UK

that speak like this on a daily basis.

Okay, so in addition to loads of really great vocab,

we also have quite a few C1 level grammar structures,

and let's start by looking at these three clauses.

What do you notice about them?

We have upon waking up

to the melodious chimes of my alarm clock.

We have allowing me to clear my mind

and start the day with a sense of calm.

And we have ensuring a well-hydrated and glowing complexion.

Well, these are known as non-finite clauses,

and this is a topic that we cover

in great detail in my C1 programme.

I've left links for that down below.

But here is a quick explanation of non-finite clauses.

A non-finite clause is a type of clause

that doesn't have a subject and a finite verb,

a verb with tense and agreement.

In other words, it's an incomplete sentence

that can't stand alone as a complete thought,

and non-finite clauses use verbs

in their base form, infinitive,

or the -ing form, the present participle,

without specific subject information.

These incomplete sentence building blocks

help add more context and information to our sentences.

Now let's take a look

at another structure in this paragraph.

It isn't so much challenging as it is invigorating.

So using not so much + adjective + as + adjective

is an advanced comparative structure

we use to compare two related qualities.

Okay, I'm going to address

one more grammar concept from this paragraph

before we move on to the rest of my routine.

Compound adjectives.

Like well-established, 30-minute, well-hydrated.

So compound adjectives are adjectives that are formed

by combining two or more words

to create a single descriptive term.

These adjectives are commonly used to convey complex

or specific qualities

that may not be easily expressed

with just one single word.

I used several hyphenated compound adjectives

in this first paragraph,

and we use the hyphens to clarify

that the words are meant to be taken together

as a single descriptive unit.

There are some other forms of compound adjectives,

and I cover those in the C1 programme.

Right, let's see what I get up to

with the rest of my C1 extreme day.

This is going to get complex.

No sooner have I got dressed in my most casual

yet professional attire

than I am wolfing down a hearty breakfast

to fuel my day ahead.

With a steaming cup of herbal tea in hand,

I scan the morning headlines

to stay informed on the happenings of the world.

Meanwhile, as I commute to work,

I immerse myself in an audio book,

relishing the well-written prose

and captivating storytelling.

Thus, I arrive at work ready to tackle the day ahead of me.

Wow, that's really sounding like a novel at this point.

Okay, let's see what we've got here.

In the first sentence,

no sooner have I got dressed

in my most casual yet professional attire

than I am wolfing down a hearty breakfast

to fuel my day ahead.

So the construction no sooner have I got dressed

is an example of negative inversion.

A negative inversion

is one of my favourite grammatical structures.

I absolutely love the way it sounds.

And when students learn it,

they can instantly sound so intelligent when they speak.

So negative inversion

is where the usual word order of a sentence

is inverted or changed

when a negative adverbial expression is used

at the beginning of the sentence.

The construction is important because it adds emphasis.

I'm not just saying I have got dressed,

but I'm highlighting the immediacy of the action

by using no sooner.

This construction often indicates

that one action happens immediately after another,

almost without any delay.

Using negative inversion

helps to add a little flare to the story

instead of sticking

to the same subject-verb type construction,

but it should be used sparingly.

If you use it too much, it will sound pretty contrived.

The final two sentences featured signposts,

and no, I'm not talking about these.

I'm referring to language like meanwhile and thus.

And using signposting language like this

is giving your writing a GPS.

It helps steer your audience smoothly along

and it keeps your thoughts organised.

These little words and phrases

act as the glue that holds your writing together.

Think of it this way.

Without these signposting cues,

your writing could get all jumbled up

and end up sounding like a bunch of random thoughts.

Let's do a quick comprehension check.

Can you identify the signposting language

in our first paragraph?

I'll give you a few seconds to read through.

Use your pause button now to have a read through.

In five seconds, I'm going to give you the answers.

Okay, you should have said,

first and foremost, in addition to, and after.

Okay, what's the rest of my day looking like?

Upon arriving at the office,

I buckle down and get on with my work,

meticulously completing my tasks

in the most efficient way possible.

It's knowing that I'm contributing

in a meaningful way that I thrive on,

and I actively seek opportunities to enhance my skillset.

Throughout the day,

I engage in productive dialogues with colleagues,

synergizing ideas and learning

from their unique perspectives.

All right, we have a few things to look at here.

First, we have the clause meticulously completing my tasks

in the most efficient way possible.

This utilises a post-modified superlative adjective.

That's quite a mouthful.

Post-modified superlative adjective.

So this is an adjective that is placed after the noun,

and it modifies or adds emphasis

or specific information about the noun.

And this construction is used to highlight

the extreme quality of the noun

in comparison to others of its kind.

The structure of the second sentence

was a bit of an odd one.

It is knowing that I'm contributing

in a meaningful way that I thrive on,

and I actively seek opportunities to enhance my skillset.

We call this a cleft sentence, a cleft sentence,

and this is a grammatical construction

used to emphasise a particular element in a sentence

by dividing it into two clauses.

I know I said that negative inversion was my favourite,

but I actually think it ties with cleft sentences.

Once you master these,

it opens up an opportunity to really add some interest

to your creative writing.

The purpose of a cleft sentence is to bring attention

to a specific part of the sentence,

often by reorganising the structure

to highlight that element.

In this case, I wanted to highlight

knowing that I am contributing in a meaningful way,

so I was able to restructure my sentence to make sure

that this portion of the sentence was the main focus.

They're pretty nifty, these cleft sentences.

Okay, let's move on to the final part of my routine.

As the day draws to a close, I reflect on my achievements,

striving to be the best version of myself

both personally and professionally.

All I hope is that I outdo

my previous accomplishments each day

as I embrace life with unwavering determination.

By adopting this disciplined and purposeful routine,

I feel confident that I can continue

on a path of self-improvement and well-being.

I feel like I'm becoming less and less likeable

as this daily routine goes on.

But it's not about me, it's about the grammar.

So let's see what we have here.

In the first sentence,

as the day draws to a close, I reflect on my achievements,

striving to be the best version of myself

both personally and professionally.

We have a few different things going on here.

First, we have as the day draws to a close,

which is a subordinate clause,

but by C1, you should already be familiar with them.

These are clauses that can't stand on their own

as individual sentences.

They have to be attached to a main or independent clause.

We also have a participle clause, a participle clause,

striving to be the best version of myself

both personally and professionally.

A participle clause is a type of non-finite clause.

We discussed those before.

Can you identify the other participle clause

in this paragraph?

That's right, it is our last sentence.

By adopting this disciplined and purposeful routine.

I can't say purposeful

without going, purposeful, purposeful.

That's a very...

It's quite a stuffy-sounding word to me,

quite old fashioned.

It's very purposeful.

This participle clause also functions as adverbial phrase

because I used the preposition

by explaining how the action in the main clause is achieved.

Finally, we saw another common construction

of a cleft sentence, my other favourite.

All I hope is that I outdo

my previous accomplishments each day

as I embrace life with unwavering determination.

The structure what or all + clause + be + clause

is quite commonly used

so it's a good one to have in your back pocket.

Oh my word. That was an intense lesson.

That's probably one of the most advanced English lessons

I have ever delivered.

I really hope you enjoyed it,

and if delving deeper

into the world of C1 grammar and vocabulary

and pronunciation and writing and speaking

and listening and reading sparks your interest,

then I do invite you to join

my Beautiful British English C1 programme.

Our first cohort of students have just finished.

They have taken their final exam.

They have got fantastic results

and we're starting to receive the most amazing feedback.

I'm so proud of my C1 students.

If you are interested in finding out more,

just visit my website, englishwithlucy.com.

There you can see all of my courses,

including the C1 programme.

If you want to work on your advanced level grammar,

don't forget about the free PDF

that comes with today's lesson.

The link to download that is in the description box.

You just sign up to my mailing list

and it will arrive directly in your inbox.

I'm also giving you a copy of my C1 ebook

that will show you all of the grammar

and vocabulary that you need to achieve the C1 level.

I'm giving you that as an extra with your PDF.

That's it for me today.

I will see you soon for another lesson.

(upbeat music)