You have a C1 Level in English If You Know These Words - Advanced English Vocabulary

Hello and welcome to this video. Today you're  going to learn 15 advanced English expressions  

to sound fluent. Of course I'm Jennifer from  JForrestEnglish.com. And this channel is dedicated  

to helping you feel confident speaking English in  public so you can take your career and your life  

to the next level. Now, before we go any further,  make sure you subscribe and hit that bell icon  

so you're notified every time I post a new  lesson. Now, let's get started with this lesson.  

Are you ready to add 15 new expressions to  your vocabulary? Now make sure you watch  

right to the end because I'm going to quiz you  to make sure you really know how to use these  

expressions. Let's get started with expression  number one. Expression number one, one's take  

on something. This is simply another way to ask  someone for their opinion or ideas. So if you're  

in a meeting, it's very common to say, What's your  take on that? What's your take on that? And the  

'that' being whatever you're discussing, maybe a  new idea, a new project, a new plan. And to reply,  

you could say, well my take on it is. And then  you simply state your opinion or your idea. We  

also sometimes will say our opinion or idea. For  example, I think we should delay the project.  

And then we add 'that's my take on it'. That's my  take on it. Number two, to be in a position to.  

This is an expression that simply means to be  able to or to be capable of. So you might say,  

we're not in a position to take on any new  clients. At least that's my take on it. Or you  

might ask, is the company in a position to take on  more debt? Is the company able to. Number three,  

to be on the right track. I love this expression  because it means you're making good progress  

on something specific. For example, you  might say, we haven't solved the problem yet,  

but we're on the right track. So the problem still  exists, but you're headed towards the solution.  

You're making good progress, you're on the right  track. So if you keep doing what you're doing,  

you'll solve the problem. Number four, to stem  from. This is an excellent business or academic  

expression. And this means to be caused by or  to come from. So you might read in an article,  

a lot of health problems stem from poor  diet. So the health problems are caused by,  

stem from, a poor diet. Said another way, you  could say, a poor diet causes health problems. But  

remember, we're switching them because we're using  stem from, caused by. Number five, to be a given,  

a given. This is something that is well known as  an established fact or truth. So I might share  

my fact or truth. If you want to be a confident  English speaker, you have to practice speaking.  

That's a given. It's just another way of saying,  that's a fact. At least that's my take on it.  

And said another way, I can say, it's a given, to  be a given that, it's a given that if you want to  

be a confident speaker, you need to practice  speaking. Number six, to take x into account.  

X is something. And into account simply means to  account for or to consider something. For example,  

when you're planning a vacation, you need to take  the exchange rate into account, the exchange rate,  

the timezone difference, the customs, the culture  into account. Number seven, this is a good one,  

to grapple with, to grapple with. This is  another way of saying to deal or cope with  

a difficult situation. So let's take a difficult  situation. Social isolation during the pandemic.  

That's been very difficult. Many people  are grappling with, they're dealing with,  

they're coping with the situation. Many people  are grappling with isolation during the pandemic.  

Number eight, to be short on something.  This simply means you don't have enough  

of something. For example, I'm short on time this  week. Or, I can't go on that vacation because I'm  

short on cash. I don't have enough. Number nine,  to be up in the air. We use this expression to  

talk about a plan or an issue that's unsettled  or unresolved, or uncertain. Up in the air.  

For example, my summer plans are up in the air.  They're uncertain. I haven't planned them yet.  

Or I might say, the future of that  business is up in the air. It's uncertain.  

Number 10, to bring someone up to speed. When you  bring someone up to speed, you share the latest  

information with them. So let's say your  colleague was on vacation and they get back  

and they could ask you, Hey, can you bring me up  to speed? Can you share the latest information.  

Can you bring me up to speed on the Jones project.  So you could talk about a specific situation  

or just in general. Can you bring me up to speed.  Number 11, this is a great one, a deal breaker.  

A deal breaker is something that causes you to  abandon a plan or a commitment or a relationship.  

For example, I might be looking for a new job and  I see one that looks really great. But then I get  

to the salary and it's way too low. That's a deal  breaker, that causes me to abandon the plan. The  

plan to apply for that job. The salary is a deal  breaker. We also use this a lot in relationships.  

You might say, she lied to me. That's a deal  breaker. So you're going to end the relationship,  

you're going to abandon it, because she lied.  And that's a deal breaker. Number 12, a do over.  

A do over is another attempt to do something  when your previous attempt was unsuccessful.  

So let's say you go to a job interview and it went  terribly. You did really poorly. You could say,  

I wish I could have a do over. I wish I could  do the interview again. But unfortunately,  

most of the time we don't get do overs. But  you might be in a situation where you're  

in a class and the professor gave you have  a test and everybody did poorly on the test.  

So the professor might give the students a  do over. The professor gives the students  

a chance to do the test again because  everyone did really poorly. Number 13,  

to come in handy. When something comes in handy,  it's very useful. So this is a positive one.  

So let's say you're considering adding a new  feature to a product you provide or a service  

and you might say, oh this new feature will  really come in handy. It will come in handy.  

It will be useful. Number 14, to be a breeze. We  describe something as a breeze when it's really  

easy. For example, learning English is a  breeze, right? It's really easy. Maybe,  

maybe not. Depends on what your take on it is.  Or I could say, using Google Docs is a breeze.  

It's really easy. And then I could add, using  Google Docs is a breeze compared to MS Word.  

So in this case, I'm saying that Google Docs is  easier than MS Word. And finally, number 15, to be  

spot on. When someone is spot on, they're 100%  accurate or correct. For example, I could say,  

the weather forecast this weekend was spot on.  The meteorologist said it was going to rain on  

Saturday at two o'clock and it rained on Saturday  at two o'clock. He said it was going to be  

sunny and 25 on Sunday. And that's exactly what  it was. The forecast was spot on. And now you  

have 15 new advanced expressions to sound fluent.  Are you ready for your quiz? Feel free to go back,  

review the video again if you need. But  if you're ready, let's complete your quiz.  

So here's how the quiz is going to work. You're  going to see a sentence and you have to decide  

which expression best completes the sentence.  I'll only give you a few seconds so hit pause  

and take as much time as you need. So let's do  this one together. Which option is it A, B or C?  

And the answer is, A. Bring someone up to speed.  Now notice how I also completed the sentence.  

You can do that as well for additional practice,  to make sure you get the grammar correct.  

So those are the instructions, now let's  continue on with the next question.  

So how was that quiz a breeze? Let us know  your score in the comments below. And if you  

found this video helpful, please hit the  like button, share it with your friends  

and of course subscribe. And before you go  make sure you head on over to my website,  

JForrestEnglish.com and download your free  speaking guide. In this guide, I share six  

tips on how to speak English fluently and  confidently. And until next time, Happy Studying!