Most of my students don't know these 12 common words... do you?!

Hello, everyone, and welcome  back to English with Lucy.

There are some really common words that I use  all the time that my students never seem to know.

It always takes me by surprise. So, in this video,  

we are going to look at 12 common words  that most of my students don't know.

And this means that if you do know these  12 words, you are above average in English.

To really cement what you learn in this  video, I've created a PDF that contains  

all 12 words we mentioned in this  video plus 12 more, so you get 24.

There are lots of extra examples and a  quiz and a link to a secret exercise pack.

If you'd like to download that for free,  

click on the link in the description  or scan that QR code there.

Then all you have to do is enter your name and  email address and I'll send you the PDF by email.

Let's start with number 1:  

The first word that most of my students  don't know is 'terrific'. 'Terrific'.

Here it is in a sentence: 'The film was terrific.'  Was it scary, really bad or really good?

It was really good! 'Terrific'  means very good or wonderful.

A lot of my students understandably  confuse 'terrific' with 'terrifying',  

which means very scary.

And in fact, in the past, 'terrific' also meant  scary, but the meaning has changed over time.

Other students confuse it with 'terrible',  

which means really bad. But if something  is 'terrific', it is wonderful. Note  

the pronunciation /təˈrɪfɪk/. /tə/ with the  schwa. 'Terrible'. 'Terrifying'. 'Terrific'.

Let's move on to the next word. If  I say—'That's a terrific outfit!'  

What am I referring to with the word 'outfit'?

'An outfit' is a set of clothes worn together,  often for a special occasion or purpose. For  

example, I might say—'I need a new outfit for  my friend's wedding.' That means I need a dress,  

shoes, and a hat. A hat is usually  quite important for an English wedding.

So—'I'm going to buy myself a new  outfit.' But what's another way to  

say 'buy myself' using a word starting with 't'?

It is 'treat'. 'I'm going to treat myself  to a new outfit.' If you 'treat yourself' or  

'someone else to something', you buy something  pleasant or pay for something that you or they  

will enjoy. An example—'You look hungry - come  on, I'll treat you to a burger and fries.'

We also use 'treat' as a noun meaning  something special and enjoyable.

For example—'When I was little,  having ice cream was a special treat.'

You'll also hear people say—'It's  my treat.'—this means I'll pay.

'Treat' is such a positive word and I'd  love it if my students used it more often.

Speaking of things that are enjoyable, let's  talk about spending time with friends and family.

Lots of my students default to the  word 'party' for every social event,  

but sometimes there's a better fit.

Let's try 'gathering', 'gathering'.  A 'gathering' is a meeting of people,  

and often it's more informal  or casual than a party.

For example—'We had a little  gathering for my husband's birthday.'

Maybe we had a small group of friends over to our  house for drinks and nibbles—little things to eat.

A 'party' is often something bigger and  more celebratory with dancing and so on.

But a 'gathering' can also involve a lot of  people. For example—'We have a big family  

gathering every year.' That's similar  to saying our family gathers together.

I also have a bonus word for  you. An alternative way to say  

'gathering' is 'get-together'. A 'get-together'.

This is an informal meeting or  party. For example—'We're having  

a get-together tomorrow to say goodbye to Joanna.'

Okay, let's review the words we've learnt so  far. How many of them did you know? How many  

of them do you actually use? Be honest!  Let's look at some more words now. Number  

5 is 'venture'. 'Venture'. Which word  do you think this might be related to?

'Adventure'. So, 'venture' is a noun and a verb.  As a noun, it means a new activity that is risky

and it often refers to a business  activity. For example—'He lost all  

his money because of a few  risky business ventures.'

As a verb, 'to venture' means to go somewhere or  do something that might be dangerous or difficult.

For example—'We ventured out  into the storm to find a taxi.'

And do you know this common phrase?  'Nothing ventured, nothing gained.'  

It means if you don't take risks,  you won't achieve anything.

That's why you have to boldly speak English,  

not be afraid of making mistakes.  'Nothing ventured, nothing gained.'

Okay, before you undertake a 'venture',  you have to ask yourself, is it really  

worth the effort? And that's where our next  word comes in - 'worthwhile'. 'Worthwhile'.  

If something is 'worthwhile', it means it's  worth the time, effort or money you put into  

it. For example—'Learning English takes  time, but it's definitely worthwhile.'

Or—'Volunteering at my local animal  shelter is a really worthwhile experience.'

I rarely hear my students use this word.

It might be because it contains 2  sounds that they usually try to avoid  

the /ɜː/ sound and the /θ/ sound 'worthwhile'.

A question for you: What is something  that you think is 'worthwhile'?

Often the things we find 'worthwhile' are also  deeply 'meaningful' and that is our next word.

Look at this sentence:

'After 3 hours of scrolling on social media,  

I realised I hadn't done  anything meaningful with my day.'

Had you done something useful or not? Right,  you hadn't. If something is 'meaningful',  

it is useful, important or  serious like watching this video.

Here's another example—'We had a meaningful  discussion about the future of the company.'

Now, if you think something isn't meaningful,  you might not want to do it. And in fact,  

you might be 'reluctant' to do it. And that  is number 8—'reluctant', 'reluctant'. Notice  

the schwa in the final syllable /rɪˈlʌktənt/. It means unwilling to do something and therefore  

hesitant to do it. For example—'Some  of my students are reluctant to speak  

English because they're afraid of making  mistakes.' Please don't let this be you.  

Or—'My dog was reluctant to get in the car  because he knew he was going to the vet.'

Do you know and use those words?

If you said yes, I'm very impressed, but stick  around because I am almost certain that you  

don't know number 12. But let's start with  number 9 and this one is tricky to pronounce.

How do you say this word? Well, in British English  

it's usually a 'pursuit'. /pəˈsjuːt/ with a  /j/ sound between the 's' and 'u', 'pursuit'.

But in North American English it's  often /pərˈsuːt/ with no /j/ sound.

Now, whether it's /pəˈsjuːt/ or /pərˈsuːt/. Most  of my students don't use this word very much.

So, what does it mean?

Well, it has a few meanings, but you might know  it from the film 'The Pursuit of Happyness'. And  

in this case, 'pursuit' refers to the act of  looking for or trying to achieve something.  

And by the way, 'happyness' is spelt with  a 'y' in the film title—it's not a mistake.

It's not a mistake in this video.  Normally, 'happiness' is spelt with an 'i'.

Here's another example with 'pursuit': 'Sometimes,  

people move to another country in  pursuit of better opportunities.'

I've put some more meanings of this word and  

example sentences in the PDF  that goes with this lesson.

Remember the link for that is in the description  box or you can scan the QR code there.

Okay, let's be honest, being in  'pursuit' of a goal isn't always easy.

And that brings me to my next word.

What does 'regardless' mean in this  sentence? 'Everyone told me my plan  

wouldn't work, but I carried on regardless.'

Did I pay attention to them  or did I do it anyway? Yes,  

I did it anyway! If you do something 'regardless',  

you do it despite any doubts or setbacks. You  pay no attention to the problems. 'Carry on

regardless' is a common collocation.

Here's another example with this word:  'The forecast was for torrential rain,  

but they went ahead with the  outdoor wedding regardless.'

I'm going to give you a clue for number 11. It's  

a word that can replace 'clue' in  that sentence, it starts with 'h'.

It is 'hint'. A 'hint' is something you say or  do to suggest something to someone indirectly.

We often use the collocation 'to drop a hint'. For  

example—'My mum's been dropping hints  about what she wants for her birthday.'

She hasn't told me directly, but  she's told me several times that  

she lost her favourite watch a few months ago.

We can also use 'hint' as a verb.  

For example—'What are you hinting  at?' What are you suggesting?

Okay, we have reached the final word in the video.

If you have made it this  far, that is no small 'feat'.

Lucy, what are you doing talking about feet?

I'm not talking about those 'feet'.  Although it is pronounced the same. 'Feat',  

'f-e-a-t' is our final word and it  means an impressive achievement,

usually requiring skill or strength.  This is a word you'll hear often,  

though you may not use it in everyday  conversation. Here are a couple of examples:

'The world's longest suspension bridge  is a remarkable feat of engineering.'  

Or—'Not checking your phone for  a whole hour is quite a feat!'

How many of these 12 words did you know  and use frequently? Which ones are you  

going to start using? Let me know in the  comments—I'm always interested to know!

And if you knew all 12, that  is such an impressive 'feat'.

If you want to learn 12 more, make  sure you download that PDF—it's in  

the description box or there's the QR code there.

I really hope you enjoyed this  lesson, I hope you learnt something. 

I will see you soon in another lesson! Muah!