The BEST Way To Become Fluent in 2025! (NEW METHOD)

The old way of learning English is to  memorize long lists of words and definitions.

But when are you ever going to talk about  whisks and ladles in your daily life?

No way.

Trust me, there's a better way to become fluent.

This year, I'm very excited.

Instead of memorizing words and definitions,  

you need to learn full phrases  and expressions in real speech.

And that's what we'll do today.

Welcome back to JForrest English.

Of course.

I'm Jennifer.

Now, let's get started.

First, we're going to practice  listening to real speech.

You're going to listen to me  say a sentence three times,  

and you need to write down exactly what you hear.

After, you'll learn how to  use your new vocabulary.

Here we go.

I'll say it three times.

My mom nitpicks like crazy.

My mom nitpicks like crazy.

My mom nitpicks like crazy.

Did you get this one?

I said my mom nitpicks like crazy.

The pronunciation is clear, but if you  don't know what the vocabulary means,  

you're not going to understand  what that native speaker said here.

Our verb is to nitpick.

To nitpick.

What does this mean?

This is when you find faults.

Faults are things that you don't  like or criticisms when you find  

faults in details that are not important.

I'm sure you know someone in your life who  nitpicks, or maybe you nitpick yourself.

Let's say you're with someone and you  go out for dinner and the food is great,  

the restaurant is beautiful,  the server is very friendly.

But your friend finds faults in  details that are not important.

Your friend nitpicks.

You could say the dinner was amazing,  

but of course Lindsay wasn't happy about the  color of the plates or the art on the walls.

Lindsay is a nitpicker.

So your friend wasn't happy  about the color of the plates.

That is such a detail that is not important.

So this is a perfect example  of someone who nitpicks.

But notice in my example, I said  Lindsay is a nitpicker, a nitpicker.

This is the noun form, and a nitpicker  is simply someone who nitpicks.

The original example was My  mom nitpicks like crazy here.

Like crazy.

This simply means a lot or quickly,  but in this context it means a lot.

So my mom nitpicks like crazy.

My mom nitpicks a lot.

You could also say I worked  like crazy all weekend.

So you worked a lot all weekend.

Let's try this again.

I'll say it three times.

It's OK to be picky sometimes.

It's OK to be picky sometimes.

It's OK to be picky sometimes.

Did you get this one?

I said it's OK to be picky sometimes for  pronunciation notice I use the contraction.

It's it's this is the contraction  of it is it's OK, it's OK to be.

But I didn't say it's OK to be picky.

I said to be to be so an unstressed  to it's OK to be, to be, to be picky.

It's OK to be picky.

Now don't confuse this expression to be  picky with our last expression to nitpick.

Yes, they both use the word pick, but  they are totally different expressions.

This expression to be picky.

This describes someone who has very strong  preferences about what they like and don't like.

For example, most young kids are picky.

I don't know about you, but when  I was a young kid, five years old,  

ten years old, there were many  food items that I did not eat.

My diet was very simple.

I had a small number of things that I liked to eat  

and I had a very large number of  things that I did not like to eat.

So as a child, I was picky when it  came to food, when it came to eating.

What about you?

Were you a picky eater?

Were you picky about your food?

When?

You were a child, or maybe  you still are right now.

Some adults are picky as well.

In our original example, I  said it's OK to be picky.

Sometimes it's OK.

That means it is acceptable.

It's acceptable to be picky, to have those strong  preferences about what you like and don't like.

Sometimes, for example, it's OK to  be picky when it comes to a job.

Choosing a job, you should have  very strong preferences about  

what you want that job to have the  qualities of that job, and that's OK.

Choosing a job, choosing a house,  you should definitely be picky,  

have very strong preferences  and choosing a spouse.

Maybe that's the ultimate 1.

You should be very picky when  you choose a spouse because  

you're with that person for your entire life.

Are you enjoying this lesson?

If you are, then I want to tell you  about the Finally Fluent Academy.

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You can look in the description  for the link to learn more,  

or you can go to my website and  click on Finally Fluent Academy.

Now let's continue with our lesson.

Let's try this again.

I'll say it three times.

I'm beat, let's call it a day.

I'm beat, let's call it a day.

I'm beat, let's call it a day.

Did you get this one?

I said I'm beat, let's call it day.

Let's talk about the contraction at the beginning.

I'm of course this is, I am, I'm, I'm beat.

I'm beat, I'm beat, let's call it.

But with linking, we're going  to combine those sounds.

So it sounds like call it, call it.

So call lit.

But then we have to say it as one word.

Call it, call it.

Call it a day.

Call it a day.

Call it a day.

I'm beat.

Let's call it a day to be beat.

I'm beat.

This.

Means to be very tired, to be exhausted.

So instead of saying I'm very  tired, you can say I'm beat.

I'm beat where beat the verb to be.

Now let's talk about the expression.

Let's call it a day to call it a day.

This is an expression used to say  that you're going to stop working  

for the day and you stop working for the  day because you've completed enough work,  

you've done what you've needed to do,  or simply because everyone is exhausted,  

everyone is beat and it isn't  productive anymore to keep working.

So maybe it's 3:00 and technically the day  ends at 5:00, but everyone is so tired,  

everyone is beat that they're  just not thinking clearly anymore.

So you might say let's call it a day.

Let's just stop working for  today and we'll get a good night.

Can't sleep?

We'll come back tomorrow and begin again.

You could combine this with our  expression like crazy, which means a lot.

And you could say we've been  working like crazy all week.

Let's call it a day.

So again, maybe it's Friday at 2:00  and technically you're supposed to  

work until 5:00, but because you've  been working like crazy all week,  

let's just call it a day and stop working Now.

Are you ready for another listening exercise?

I'll say it three times.

You shouldn't be so nosy.

You shouldn't be so nosy.

You shouldn't be so nosy.

Did you get this one?

I said you shouldn't be so nosy.

Here.

Notice I said shouldn't, shouldn't.

You shouldn't be.

This is a contraction of should not  shouldn't You shouldn't be You shouldn't be.

You shouldn't be so nosy.

What does this mean?

To be nosy?

To be nosy?

This is used to say that your  interested in what other people  

are doing or saying when you have  no right to be interested in that.

You have no right to know what other people are  saying or doing because it doesn't involve you.

A lot of people are nosy when it comes  to their significant other's cell phone.

They want to know what their  significant other is looking  

at online, who they're talking  to, who they're texting with.

But ultimately, you have no right  to that knowledge because that's  

your significant other's personal privacy.

So if your significant other leaves their phone  and goes to the bathroom or goes to another room  

and you pick up the phone and you try to look  at it without them knowing, you are being nosy.

And that's when someone can  say you shouldn't be so nosy.

Let's try this one more time.

I'll say it three times.

Being nosy is one of my pet peeves.

Being nosy is one of my pet peeves.

Being nosy is one of my pet peeves.

Did you get this one?

I said Being nosy is one of my pet peeves.

And now you know what nosy means so  I don't have to explain that being.

Nosy.

Notice how this is a gerund statement,  

a sentence that starts with a gerund  verb, a verb in ING being nosy.

Gerund statements are used  to make general statements.

So in general, being nosy is one of my pet peeves.

What is a pet peeve?

A pet peeve is something  that especially annoys you.

So there are many things that annoy you.

But a pet peeve is when whenever that  one thing happens, it really annoys you.

So I googled this and according to Google,  

the top three pet peeves things  that especially annoy people.

The top three pet peeves are loud chewing.

So if your coworker is or your kids,  your husband or wife, loud chewing,  

is that one of your pet peeves #2  according to Google is bad manners.

So if you have bad manners,  it means you're not polite.

So if someone holds the door  open for you in North America,  

it's considered polite to  say thank you to that person.

So if you hold the door open for  someone and the other person,  

they go right in and they  don't say thank you to you.

That would be an example of bad manners in North  America, and the person who held the door open  

would be annoyed because  that's one of their pet peeves.

And #3 according to Google, is clutter.

Clutter describes when a room  is very disorganized or messy.

So if there were things all over my office,  

papers everywhere, things were not neat  and organized, that would be clutter.

What about you?

What's your pet peeve?

Share your pet peeve in the comments below.

Now let's do an imitation exercise where  you're going to imitate my pronunciation.

So you're going to listen to  me say the sentence and then  

you are going to repeat the sentence out loud.

So say the sentence out loud and  try to match my pronunciation,  

and then you'll repeat that  three times for each sentence.

So let's do that right now.

My mom nitpicks like crazy.

My mom nitpicks like crazy.

My mom nitpicks like crazy.

It's OK to be picky sometimes.

It's OK to be picky sometimes.

It's OK to be picky sometimes.

I'm beat, let's call it a day.

I'm beat, let's call it a day.

I'm beat, let's call it a day.

You shouldn't be so nosy.

You shouldn't be so nosy.

You shouldn't be so nosy.

Being nosy is one of my pet peeves.

Being nosy is one of my pet peeves.

Being nosy is one of my pet peeves.

Now let's focus on phrasal verbs  because natives love using them.

You'll learn 15 common  phrasal verbs in context and.

You'll review real.

World examples Remember that phrasal verbs  have multiple meanings depending on context.

So I'll show you the phrasal  verb, and then I'll give you  

an example sentence so you can see  how that phrasal verb is being used.

Our first phrasal verb, Pull off.

I know the team can pull it off.

Pull off.

Do you know this one?

In this context, to pull off means to succeed  in doing something difficult or unexpected.

For example, getting a high mark on your IELTS  is challenging, but I know you'll pull it off.

So notice here, I know you'll pull it off here.

It means I know you'll succeed at  getting a high mark on your IELTS.

How about this one?

If you have a great teacher,  I know I'll pull it off.

Maybe that's something you would say.

I know I'll pull it off.

I will be successful if I have a great teacher  and I hope I'm not great teacher for you.

If you agree with not put, that's right.

That's right, I'll pull it off with Jennifer's  help Put that's right in the comments.

And don't worry about taking notes because  I summarize everything in a free lesson PDF.

You can find the link in the description.

Now let's listen to some real world  examples using this phrasal verb.

Is it something you've really managed to pull off,  

or does the Middle East really  still have us kind of sucked in?

So how did Ukraine pull  off such a stunning attack?

It requires a bit of confidence to  pull off our next phrase over Take off.

Sarah's online store really took off.

Do you know what this means?

Take off.

This means to become successful or popular.

For example, my YouTube channel  didn't take off at first.

It wasn't successful or popular at first,  

but I was persistent and consistent  and eventually it took off.

Eventually it became successful, I could  also say, and eventually I pulled it off.

I pulled it off.

And in this case, it represents creating  and growing a successful YouTube channel.

Or I could say to you, if you're consistent, your  English fluency and confidence will take off.

Do you agree with that?

Well put.

That's right.

That's right, put that's right in the comments.

Now let's listen to some real  world examples using this phrasal  

verb just to the point where your  career is starting to take off.

You're taking on seniority.

After the trial, she was able to  move away to Florence and that's  

where we really see her career kind of take off.

But once you look at that 10 year mark and beyond,  that's where things really start to take off.

Next, put off.

She put off scheduling her IELTS.

Do you know what put off means?

This means to delay or postpone doing something.

She put off scheduling her IELTS  until she mastered phrasal verbs.

Now, this means she'll schedule her  IELTS once she masters phrasal verbs.

You might say, let's put off the meeting.

Let's delay the meeting  until after the long weekend.

Or your husband or roommate might ask you, are  we still cleaning out the garage this weekend?

And you can say let's put it off until winter.

Let's delay it until winter.

Let's listen to some real world examples.

Do you put off writing a  paper until the last minute?

Just an idea being put off for a  better time that never came, bunnies.

And I think it's such a waste when people  just put off their vacation or travel plans.

Next turn around.

How did you turn around your online store?

Do you know what this means to turn around?

This means to take a business plan or  system from not successful to successful.

For example, the new manager turned  the marketing department around,  

so to turn something around to take the marketing  department from not successful to successful.

Or she turned around her speaking  skills by practicing speaking every day.

And you can add to this and say her excellent  

communication skills helped her  career take off become successful.

Let's listen to some real world examples.

I'm hoping we can turn it around.

Accommodation that has turned  the business, turned it around.

Our economy in peril.

We turned it around.

Our next phrasal verb call off.

Do you know why the meeting was called off?

Do you know what this means to call off?

This means to cancel something  that was planned or scheduled.

For example, the company had  to call off the conference,  

cancel the conference because of the hurricane.

Now let's compare this  sentence to one with put off.

Remember, put off means delay.

The company had to put off the  conference because of the hurricane.

Do you know the difference  between these two sentences?

In the first example we call off the  conference will not happen, it is cancelled.

But in the second example, we put off the  conference will happen but at a later date.

Or you could say she called off her  birthday party when she got sick.

She cancelled it.

She didn't put it off, she called it off.

Let's listen to some real world examples.

As violence, they began to receive  threats to call off their events.

After two hours, the man looks  call off their attack and retreat.

So we decided to call off the.

Wedding at the last minute.

How are you doing with these phrasal verbs so far?

Our next phrasal verb to catch up on.

I spent the whole day catching up on emails.

Do you know what this means?

To catch up on this means to do something  that you haven't been able to do recently.

For example, I need to catch up on your lessons.

Maybe you say that to me or to your  teacher or your piano instructor.

This means you haven't been able  to review the lessons recently.

So now you have many lessons to review  and you need to catch up on them.

You need to watch all the  lessons you haven't reviewed.

Or you could say this weekend  I caught up on my chores.

I did all the chores I haven't been able to  do because I was too busy doing other things.

So I put them off.

But this weekend I caught up on them.

Let's listen to some real world examples.

Anyone that wants to catch up on  that part of the story can go back  

and watch our original issue,  which they should do anyway.

Because it feels like a way to catch  up on social media or read something.

Let's have this down.

Catch up on e-mail.

Go home at a regular time.

Our next phrasal verb blurred out.

I can't believe I blurted  that out in front of my boss.

Do you know what this means to blurt out?

This is when you say something  suddenly without thinking,  

often something that shouldn't have been said.

For example, let's say you're in a meeting and  

you're discussing a strategy  or a goal, and you say P.

There's no way we'll pull that off.

There's no way we'll be successful.

And then later in the meeting you can  say, oh, why did I blurt that out?

I have such a big mouth.

So this is an expression to have a big mouth.

Someone who has a big mouth often  

says things they shouldn't say because  they don't think before they speak.

So people with big mouths often blurt things out.

Or maybe your coworker is looking  for a new job but it was a secret.

But then you say to your.

Co worker.

I accidentally blurted out that  you're looking for a new job,  

so you said it suddenly without thinking.

Let's listen to some real world examples further.

When girls blurt out answers without  raising their hands, one of you.

So what's your story?

Can you just blurt out a 30 second story?

His first reflex was not to  blurt out what was going on next.

Comb through.

Do you have time to comb through this report?

Do you know what this means to comb  through and notice that B is silent?

Comb.

Comb through.

This means to analyze or review  something carefully and completely.

Before you submit your CV, you should comb  through it to make sure there are no errors.

That's always good advice.

Or I combed through this entire  textbook to prepare for my IELTS.

You reviewed it entirely and completely.

She spent the whole afternoon combing through  old family photos to create a scrapbook.

Let's listen to some real world examples,  help NASA kind of comb through our data.

So I went back to my staff.

Let's comb through this.

Go comb through their website next.

Skim through.

I only had enough time to skim through the report.

Do you know what this means to skim through?

This means to review something  quickly without going into detail,  

so you can think of it as  the opposite of comb through.

For example, the consultant  

has an impressive background, but I  only skimmed through his proposal.

I didn't read it fully.

She skimmed through the recipe to  make sure she had all the ingredients.

So she looked at it quickly, not fully.

Let's listen to some real world examples.

Can't sort of skim through it and I'm just going  

to skim through couple hit  a couple of the highlights.

Read the class syllabus, skim through  textbooks and review all the materials.

Next, gloss over the consultant  glossed over the budget increase.

Do you know what this means?

To gloss over?

This means to briefly mention  something without going into  

detail, and you do this often to  avoid discussing it thoroughly.

For example, the manager glossed  over the consultant's rude comment.

So how could he gloss over this rude comment?

Maybe he's in the middle of  a meeting and he says to the  

consultant who remembers said something rude.

He says to him, I appreciate your perspective.

Anyway, let's review the upcoming conference.

So he mentioned it briefly, but then  he quickly moved on to something  

else because he didn't want to spend  time reviewing that negative comment.

How about this one?

My brother always glosses over why his  girlfriend doesn't come to family gatherings.

He mentions it quickly but then  moves on to a different topic  

on purpose because he doesn't want to discuss it.

He glosses over it.

Let's listen to some real  world examples of this stuff.

So I didn't want to gloss over anything.

In the early days, I would gloss  over my family's experience.

I'll have to gloss over or  emit many formal details next.

Pan out.

The speaker we wanted didn't pan out.

Do you know what this means to pan out?

This means to have a successful outcome.

The strategy didn't pan out.

This means the strategy wasn't successful,  didn't have a successful outcome.

So we need to revise our approach.

Or you could say to your spouse  or roommate or family member,  

let's see how our kitchen  Renault pans out before we start.

The bathroom Renault is short for renovation.

So you're renovating?

Your.

Kitchen let's see how it pans out.

Let's see how successful it is  before we start another Renault,  

another renovation, let's listen  to some real world examples.

Another reason why this learning styles  theory doesn't pan out and in that way  

in case there were any failures  in case things didn't pan out.

We're excited to see how the metrics of those pan.

Out our next phrasal verb, drift off.

I think I drifted off during the presentation.

Do you know what this means to drift off?

This means to gradually become less  focused or to fall asleep unintentionally,  

not on purpose, often while  engage in another activity.

Here's a real example.

Sometimes I drift off when my husband  starts talking about his work.

Now in this case, I don't fall asleep,  but I gradually stop paying attention  

to my husband and I start just  paying attention to other things.

We have another expression.

My mind wanders.

I drift off because my husband's  work is very technical and often  

I don't really understand what he's saying.

So I drift off.

You could also say I must have  drifted off during the movie.

Now this could mean that you stopped  paying attention to the movie and  

you started paying attention to other things.

Or quite likely you fell asleep during the movie  and you didn't even realize that it ended and  

hours later you're asleep on your couch and the  movie is over and you had no idea you drifted off.

Let's listen to some real world examples.

Listening to the sound of the ocean  as you slowly drift off to sleep.

It might feel nice for a while  to drift off into past memories.

Eventually, Henry began to  drift off for the last time.

Next dip into We had to dip into  our emergency fund to make payroll.

Do you understand this one?

To dip into this means to spend a portion  of a reserve or saving, often temporarily.

So you have this reserve or  saving and if you dip into it,  

you take a portion, some of that money out.

So this is you specifically with spending money.

For example, the company had  to dip into its emergency fund,  

so take a portion of that fund  to cover the unexpected expenses.

Or we had to dip into our savings  to cover the cost of the car repair.

Let's listen to some real world examples.

The House had initially proposed a $2700 payout,  

but couldn't muster the votes required  to dip into savings to pay for it.

But there are other proposals to dip into  it, One for a school loan construction fund,  

and therefore I don't need to dip into my savings.

Our next phrasal verb?

Pick up.

I pick up a lot of English  expressions by watching TV.

Do you know what this means in this context?

Pick up means to learn something  informally or casually,  

often through exposure rather than instruction.

So right now you're not  picking up these phrasal verbs.

I'm teaching them to you.

This is formal instruction.

But if you're watching ATV show and you hear  the speaker say a phrasal verb in speech,  

and you learn the meaning of that  phrasal verb from that TV show,  

you just picked up that phrasal  verb, which is a great way to learn.

Or maybe you have a great skill you  know how to code and someone asks.

You did you take coding.

Classes and you say no I just  picked it up over the years.

So you were exposed to coding and you just  learned it gradually from being exposed to it?

You didn't take formal classes  or have formal instruction.

Let's listen to some real world examples to  LinkedIn Learning more than ever to pick up  

new skills, find people with similar  hobbies and pick up new interests.

It's not uncommon for humans  to pick up new accents.

How about this phrasal verb?

Shake off.

If you make a mistake, just shake it off.

Do you know this one?

If you're a Taylor Swift fan,  you probably do shake off.

This means to get rid of something, such as  a problem or mistake, and move on from it.

So you can imagine the problem is  right here and you just shake it off.

Shake it off.

This is commonly used in sports.

The coach might say to the  team, we're down three points,  

which means we're losing by three  points, We're down three points.

We need to shake it off and play better than ever.

So this means not let let the  fact that we're losing affect us.

We need to forget about it  and play better than ever.

Or you could say, I know I  made a few grammar mistakes  

during my spoken exam, but I just  shook them off and I passed which.

Is a great.

Reminder that you can make mistakes and  still pull it off, still be successful.

And they shake off criticism  with the flip of the wig.

So my challenge is that we share  and we shake off those narratives.

It had developed a reputation  as the king of knockoffs,  

and it couldn't shake the  reputation of being a copycat.

Let's keep learning natural  expressions in context.

Now we're going to do something fun.

We're going to review a conversation  I had with two girlfriends and this  

conversation is about scheduling a dinner.

With friends.

Here's a picture of me with my two close  friends, so you can put a face to the name.

On the left we have my friend Harminder, but  she goes by the name Harm and she's an engineer.

And on the right we have my friend Melissa.

She has her PhD and she is  doing a research fellowship.

So these are my friends and  we're scheduling a get together.

Let's review the e-mail.

Melissa lives in a different.

City so she.

Sent Harm and I an e-mail letting  us know that she's coming to town  

and she wanted to schedule a get together.

So let's review this e-mail from Melissa.

Hi ladies, hope you're both doing well.

Spring is just around the corner.

Now this is a nice expression.

Here spring is just around the corner.

The expression is to be.

So our verb to be spring is.

Just.

Around the corner just is optional,  

but it is very commonly used and this  means happening soon or almost here.

So it's just another way of saying spring  is almost here, Spring is happening soon.

You can use this expression in any situation.

In a work context, you could  say our or annual reviews.

Now notice I'm using our because reviews is  plural, so we need to conjugate our verb to be.

Our annual reviews are just around the  corner, which means happening soon.

Now notice we don't put an  as or make corner plural.

We only conjugate our verb to be.

Everything else remains the same.

So if you think about any event,  you could use this expression.

My vacation is just around the corner.

That could be a good one to use.

All right, let's continue on.

Spring is just around the corner now.

Just wanted to give you a heads up.

This is a great expression here  to give someone a heads up.

Let me write that out to give someone a heads up.

To give someone a heads up.

This is when you give someone advanced knowledge,  knowledge or information on a specific topic.

So knowledge, information on a specific topic.

So in this case, a specific topic is that I'll be  in Ottawa where Harm and I live in a few weeks.

So the actual event is happening  in a few weeks, 2-3 weeks.

But she's letting us know now.

So she's giving us the knowledge,  the information in advance so we  

can plan ahead so we can look in our  calendars and make sure we're free.

So you might say to your boss, just  a heads up that our annual reviews.

Is that what I said, annual reviews?

Yeah, just a heads up that our annual  reviews are just around the corner,  

just around the corner now because  I use just in the expression,  

I might get rid of it here, but it  is common to use just a heads up.

But you could just say heads up that our annual  

reviews are just around the  corner, heads up, heads up.

So I'm letting my boss know  now so he can prepare for it.

So very, very common expression.

So she'll be in Ottawa in a few weeks.

She gave us a heads up.

I would love to see you if you  aren't somewhere warm and tropical.

This is a little joke because  Canadians frequently go on  

vacation in the winter to a tropical  place because it's so cold in Canada.

So this is just a little joke, OK?

Let's continue on with Melissa's e-mail.

If you happen to be available on Saturday,  March 18th, that would work perfectly.

Let's take a look at this expression.

We're using the verb happen, but it's followed  by an infinitive if you happen to be available.

This means to do or be by chance.

So for example, if you happen to see  Maria, can you give her a heads up  

that the annual reviews are what's our  expression are just around the corner?

This is a very long sentence, but I  wanted to use all of our expressions.

So let me just put this up here.

There's no room if you happen to see  Maria so happen and then are infinitive.

This means that you're not planning to  see Maria, it just happens by chance.

OK, so you don't have a  meeting scheduled with Maria,  

but maybe you work in the same building and  you frequently see Maria, so this is likely.

If you happen to see Maria,  can you give her a heads up?

Advanced information that the annual  reviews are just around the corner,  

that the annual reviews are happening soon.

Now Melissa included this.

If you happen to be available on Saturday,  

just as a way of saying I understand  that you might not be available.

So if by chance you're available on Saturday,  

March 18th, that would work perfectly as I  have to make a presentation that afternoon  

and then the next morning, early afternoon,  I'll be heading back to Toto means Toronto.

It's just the short way of saying  Toronto where Melissa lives now.

Notice the expression she used.

Head back to head back to.

This is the more informal, casual  way of saying returning to Toronto  

or going back to I'll be heading back to Toronto.

So you can use this when you're  not at your home location.

Even if you're at the store and you're going  home, you can say I'll be heading back home soon.

So you can use that in lots of situations.

If you'd rather do an early brunch on the  19th, that might also be a possibility.

So she's giving us an alternative.

If Saturday doesn't work, then she suggested  an alternative, which is brunch on the 19th.

Brunch.

Americans love brunch.

OK, I know some students in  other parts of the world,  

they're not really familiar  with brunch, what it is.

So brunch.

We have breakfast, lunch, dinner, right?

These are our.

Three main meals.

Brunch is a combination of breakfast and lunch.

So brunch.

That's why we take the lunch from lunch,  but we put the B from breakfast, brunch.

So it's a combination of breakfast, lunch,  

food items, food items, and it usually  takes place between 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

And it's very commonly held on Sundays.

So most restaurants will have  a brunch menu on Sundays only.

And that menu is available from  10:00 AM to 2:00 PM and you can  

have breakfast or lunch items  or they combine those items.

Does brunch exist where you live?

Let me let me know in the comments.

I want to know.

OK, so that was oh, still on.

Fingers crossed.

This is when we hope something happens.

Fingers crossed, fingers crossed.

So if you're taking your IELTS  exam, I would say fingers.

Crossed you pass.

I hope you passed, so let  me just highlight this now.

Also keep in mind all the notes I'm taking.

You can download the lesson PDF.

It will be in the comments section below.

So fingers crossed to say  you hope something happens.

Fingers crossed we'll be able to  organize an Ottawa rendezvous.

This is a French word, but we commonly use it  to say get together and Ottawa get together.

That would be the English version  of the word rendezvous get together.

OK, miss you both, Melissa.

Aw, so sweet.

Now Harm replied to the e-mail.

You reply to an e-mail, so let me just write that.

Harm replied to the e-mail first.

She was faster than me.

And let's see what she said.

Hi, Melissa.

So nice to hear from you and so  excited you're coming to town.

When you come to town, this is just a way  of saying you're coming to my location.

Ottawa is not a town, it's a city.

So it doesn't matter if the size of  your city is quite small or large.

We use it for any size.

It's just an expression.

Coming to town means coming  to the place where you are.

OK, Sunday brunch would work best.

OK, so Harm wants to have Sunday brunch.

But also, I can make Saturday work, too.

So Harm prefers Sunday.

Would work best, Work best.

I hope you're noticing  these expressions work best.

But I can also make Saturday work, too.

All right, That's from Harm Now from me.

Then I reply.

That's awesome.

I'm so glad you're coming.

So my, that's awesome.

Well, it's explained right here.

It's the fact that Melissa  is coming, so that's awesome.

You could use a different adjective.

That's amazing.

That's fabulous, that's wonderful.

These are some alternatives.

I like the word awesome.

That's the one I always use.

Notice the contraction that is.

That's awesome.

So.

Just to express.

Good news.

That's awesome.

So if you told me you passed  your IELTS, that's awesome.

I'm so glad you passed your IELTS.

I'm so glad you're coming to town.

You're coming.

I'm actually the opposite of harm.

Oh, oh, difficulty here.

I'm being difficult.

So what was Harm?

Harm wanted to work.

Harm wanted to meet for Sunday brunch.

She said that would work best.

But I'm saying actually I'm the opposite.

So that means Saturday.

Works.

Best Saturday works best for me.

OK oh I write it right here.

I'm the opposite of harm lol.

Laugh out loud right?

Saturday would be best.

Notice in our messages we commonly use would  be best just to express that hypothetical.

But I could also say Saturday works best for me.

I didn't write it, but you  can definitely include that.

You can even include it here.

Saturday would be best for me.

There's no difference in  meaning between these two.

They both convey the same message.

I prefer Saturday, but just grammatically  they're a little bit different.

Oh, sorry, Saturday that should  just be Saturday works best.

So because Saturday is a singular  day, I need my S on works, right?

If I said those days that would be  plural, those days work best for me.

OK, so now my verb would be conjugated  with those days, which is plural.

But I can make Sunday work.

OK, so I'm the opposite of harm.

So because harm and I don't  agree, we don't see eye to eye.

That's a good expression.

I turned it to Melissa to make the decision.

What's best for you, Melissa?

Oh, kind of sneaky of me.

I put Melissa in the difficult position of  having to decide what's best for you, Melissa.

Now you could also say this is very  common, but you could also say what  

works best for you Melissa, or I could  say what would be best for you Melissa.

All of these have the exact same meaning.

So some nice alternatives for you.

Now what does Melissa say?

What do you guys think?

Saturday or Sunday brunch?

Hi Jennifer and Harm.

Saturday evening, the 18th would be ideal as  

I won't have too much time the  next morning before my train.

OK, so she will be rushed on Sunday so it  would be difficult for her to have brunch.

I believe it leaves around noon.

Yeah, that would be difficult because  we would have to meet at 93010 AM.

No, even earlier, because if it leaves at noon,  she would have to be at the train station at noon.

So she'd probably have to leave  the restaurant around 11:00 AM.

That would not leave a lot of time.

Now notice she said it leaves  around noon even though we're  

talking about a future day,  three weeks in the future.

Why did she use the present?

Simple.

the IT is the train right?

So my train leaves around noon, but this is 3  weeks from today so this is in the future right?

So why did she use the present simple?

Because we use the present simple in the  future for one very specific situation,  

and that's timetable events.

Or you could consider it a scheduled event.

So your transportation, your planes, your  trains, your boats, major transportation.

You have a ticket with a departure time.

So even if your trip is next month,  you would still say my flight leaves  

at 6:00 AM next month even if it's in the  future because we use the present simple.

I'll write that for you.

Present simple.

Oops.

Not present time, present simple for timetable  events or scheduled events in the future.

OK, so that's why she said it leaves around noon.

She goes on to say I'm off to Denver.

When you're going somewhere, Denver, Co is the  place where she's going in the United States.

I'm off to.

This is a great expression.

So when you're leaving to go somewhere,  you could say I'm off to the store.

See you soon.

I'm off to the conference.

See you next week.

OK, I'm off to and then the  location where you're going.

This is an excellent expression.

Now notice the verb to be because if  it is you and your friend or Co worker,  

you would say we are, which I  would write as a contraction.

We're off to the conference.

See you next week.

I'm off to Denver on the 21st of March.

So that only gives me one day to pack, etcetera.

So pack whatever else she  needs to do between trips.

If this weren't the case, I would have tried  to extend my stay in Ottawa by another day.

So she's giving us the reason why  she has to leave so early on Sunday  

and it's not possible to have brunch on Sunday.

Basically no pressure at all, but it  would be fun to meet up all together.

We commonly put the preposition up with meet  when we're getting together with friends.

Do you want to meet up tonight?

You could also say meet.

It's one of those phrasal verbs that  are optional and has the same meaning.

You want to meet up tonight?

Now, I wrote this the way I would write this to  

a friend because we commonly leave out  unnecessary words like auxiliary verbs.

Do you want to meet up tonight?

Do you want to meet tonight?

OK, they have the exact same meeting but  I would use this with social situations.

That being said, harm if you  can't make it on Saturday,  

perhaps we can grab a quick coffee  on Sunday morning before I take off.

Take off is a casual way of saying leave, leave.

Now a lot of students know this one  because your flight takes off right?

That is the expression we use.

My flight takes off around noon.

My flight leaves around noon.

And notice this is in the present.

Simple because it's a scheduled event.

Grab is a common casual way of saying have have.

We can have a quick coffee.

We can grab a quick coffee.

It's a casual way.

We commonly use it though with friends  or in casual social situations.

Whatever works best.

And remember I told you optionally, you  can say whatever works best for you.

Or in this case, because she's talking to harm and  

me, she could say you ladies,  whatever works best for you.

Whatever works best for you ladies to include  both of us, but whatever works best for you.

I'm so excited to see you both.

Oh right, So what do we do?

Do we get together on Saturday or Sunday?

So this is from Harm.

Sounds great.

I'm in for Saturday night.

So Harm changed her mind and she decided  she can meet meet up on Saturday night.

Notice I'm in for Saturday night.

This is a casual way of accepting something.

Do you want to go to the movies tomorrow?

Sure, I'm in.

Sure, I'm in.

So it's just a very casual way of  accepting a casual social invitation.

I'm in.

I'm in looking forward to seeing you ladies.

Now notice to and then our verb ING because to is  

functioning as a preposition and we  use gerund verbs after prepositions.

I see a lot of mistakes with this expression,  

even though it's one of the most common  expressions in English, but I see mistakes.

Looking forward to going on vacation.

I had to think of something that I'm  looking forward to looking forward  

to going on vacation, looking forward to  buying a new car, whatever it might be.

And then I should point out  because it's not included.

It's I'm so it's to be looking forward  to because it's taking place right now.

I'm looking forward to buying a new car.

So don't forget that Jaron Vert so  harms in for Saturday and what do I say?

Awesome.

How about for Roos Cafe in the market?

The market is an area in Ottawa.

OK, so this is just an area of the city.

It's called the market area of the city.

So I said awesome.

I told you guys I like the word awesome, right?

So I used it again.

Awesome.

How about I'm using this to  suggest, how about Faroos Cafe?

So we're meeting for dinner on Saturday night.

I'm suggesting a restaurant.

It's a Middle Eastern restaurant  called Faroos Cafe in the market.

And then I shared the menu so they can look at  the menu and see if they want that type of food.

And then I added happy to go anywhere though.

MMM, what does this mean?

Happy to go anywhere though?

I suggested Faroos Cafe, but  I want them to know if Melissa  

really wanted to go to a different  restaurant or Harm really wanted to.

That's fine by me.

I left out the subject and the verb to  be very common in casual conversation.

I'm happy to go anywhere though.

We add though at the end of a sentence  to suggest there's some kind of contrast.

The contrast is I want to go to Foruse Cafe.

That's my choice.

But if harm doesn't, that's OK.

So there's that contrast there when you use a ****  or however you can add though at the end and then  

a little :) just to let them know I won't be  upset if they don't like the food at Farouz.

OK.

And then Melissa said hi ladies,  so great that we can all meet up.

She could have said meet the  up is optional on the 18th.

Veru sounds awesome.

It's been on my list for ages.

So for ages.

This is a great time reference,  and it means for a long time now.

Notice the verb tense.

What verb tense did Melissa use?

It has been, which is the present.

Perfect because she put it on her list,  her list of places she wants to go or try.

She put it on her list six months  ago, a year ago, two years ago,  

and it's been on her list ever since.

So we use the present perfect for an action  that starts in the past and continues until now.

It's still on her list.

That being said, I'm up for whatever.

So Melissa, sorry, Melissa is  doing the same thing because  

Harm hasn't told us if she wants  Furus or a different restaurant.

So Melissa is also saying if you don't  want to go to Furus, that's OK with me.

I'm up for whatever, to be up for something.

This is a very casual expression  to be up for something.

This means to be willing to do or try something.

OK, so you might say I'm up for having.

No, I'm up for going to the movies tonight.

So a friend might say, oh, do  you want to go to the movies?

No, I'm up for it.

I'm up for going to the movies.

I'm up for it, which means I'm  willing to go to the movies.

I'm accepting it.

Basically, I'm up for it.

I'm up for that.

And then finally, what does harm say works for me?

We've used this a lot.

Now, remember in this message we have dropped  a lot of subjects and auxiliary verbs.

That works for me.

I.

Can't wait.

Very common to just drop these unnecessary words.

That works for me too.

Works for me and she's adding the S here because  

even though she didn't include the  subject, the subject is singular.

So she's still conjugating her verb correctly  even though she didn't include the subject.

Works for me too.

Can't wait.

And then I think I wrote awesome.

My favorite word.

Awesome.

I booked for RUSE for 7:00 PM and then that's it.

I booked book.

When you book a reservation.

When you book a ticket, it  means you make a reservation.

You make a reservation or you  confirm a scheduled event.

Like a scheduled event could  be your airfare for example.

I booked my flight.

So you confirmed that scheduled event.

You purchased your ticket.

Basically I booked my flight, I  booked Faroos, I made the reservation.

Now you can absolutely use book for restaurants.

Extremely common.

But it is also common to say I  made a reservation at Faroos.

If you use make a reservation,  

you have to use at and then the name of the  restaurant I made a reservation at foruse.

So obviously it's a lot easier to just say book.

And this is in the past simple  because it's a completed action.

I booked foruse for seven.

I booked my flight so this is still in  the future at the time I'm recording this.

I am very excited to see my friends and  go to Furus Cafe and I hope you learned  

a lot of natural vocabulary to help you  schedule your next visit with your friends.

So do you like this new way  of improving your fluency?

If you do, put let's go, let's  go, put let's go in the comments.

And of course, make sure you like this lesson,  

share it with your friends and subscribe so  you're notified every time I post a new lesson.

And you can get this free speaking  guide where I share 6 tips on how  

to speak English fluently and confidently.

You can click here to download it or  look for the link in the description.

And I have another lesson I know you'll  love, so make sure you watch it right now.