ENGLISH MASTERCLASS: Build Your Vocabulary and GET FLUENT in 1 Hour!

By the end of this lesson, you're going to  feel confident with all areas of your English.

Because in this lesson we're going to do different  activities that focus on different areas.

You'll improve your listening skills,  reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar,  

pronunciation, and all of this will help you  feel confident speaking English in public.

Welcome back to JForrest English.

Of course, I'm Jennifer.

Now let's get started.

Here's how this lesson will work.

This is a long lesson, but it's  divided into specific sections.

You can watch the entire lesson from  start to finish, or you can simply  

watch one section take a break, come  back, and continue with another section.

So the choice is yours.

The first section we're going to  focus on improving your listening  

skills of fast speaking native English speakers.

And at the same time, you'll  still expand your vocabulary,  

improve your pronunciation, and improve  your grammar, your speaking skills.

You'll do all of that at the same time as well.

Here's how this lesson will work.

I'm going to say a sentence three times,  

and you need to write down exactly  what you hear in the comments.

After, I'll explain exactly what I said,  and I'll explain the pronunciation changes  

that take place in fast English, and I'll also  explain the advanced expressions that I used.

Are you ready for your first listening test?

Remember, I'll say it three times.

They've been bickering all day.

They've been bickering all day.

They've been bickering all day.

Did you get this one?

I said.

They've been bickering all day.

Let's talk about the pronunciation changes.

Notice I have they've, this is a contraction.

They have, they've, they've,  

they've native speakers use contractions  in spoken English almost 100% of the time.

So you need to be very, very comfortable hearing  

the contraction because it affects the  grammar of the sentence you need to have.

They have been bickering  because that shows the grammar,  

and the grammar is the present perfect continuous.

So if you didn't have that, it  would be grammatically incorrect.

They've been bickering all day now.

Notice I said bin bin, a very unstressed bin.

This is how we pronounce the past participle  of the verb be bin in American English.

I don't speak British English,  

but I believe in British English  they pronounce it more stressed bean.

But in American English we don't do that.

We just say bin bin.

They've been.

They've been bickering all day.

Now, to understand fast English outside of the  classroom, you need to hear the individual words.

But you also have to understand  the meaning of the words.

So let's talk about the verb to bicker.

This is when you argue about  things that are not important.

The concept of bickering is extremely  common and everyone does it,  

and we usually do it with people  we spend the most time with.

Our family, our spouses, husbands  and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends,  

our close friends, our coworkers  that we spend a lot of time with.

Anytime you spend a lot of time with someone,  

it's common that you'll bicker,  but it's different from fighting.

Because when you're fighting with someone,  usually there's a strong emotion involved,  

but when you bicker, you don't  really have that emotion.

It's less serious because  the things you're arguing  

about fighting about are not actually important.

Like I said, this can be very  common in the workplace when  

you spend a lot of time with your coworkers.

So maybe you're in a meeting and you've  

been discussing an issue for  hours with your Co workers.

But people start bickering, They start  arguing about things that aren't important.

You could say we didn't get  anything done today because  

we bickered all meeting, we argue, we bicker.

Yeah, we bicker either.

Yeah, well, we were bickering  because they were bickering.

Kids are bickering.

Let's try this again with  another listening exercise.

I'll say it three times.

That street's pretty sketchy.

That street's pretty sketchy.

That street's pretty sketchy.

How'd you do with this one?

I said that streets pretty sketchy.

Did you hear that?

Streets.

The S Well, that is the verb  to be in a contraction form.

The street is the streets.

The streets.

Pretty sketchy.

Again, it's extremely important that  you hear these contractions for grammar,  

because we need the verb to be grammatically.

The sentence would sound very  awkward if you didn't have it,  

because it would be grammatically incorrect.

That street's pretty sketchy.

Sketchy.

Sketchy Sketchy sketchy.

Let's talk about to be sketchy.

That street is our verb to be to be sketchy.

This is used to say that  something is not completely safe.

So by saying that street is pretty sketchy, I'm  saying that street doesn't look completely safe.

I don't think that street is safe.

So I'm saying we shouldn't go down that street.

We should avoid that street.

Now why would I say this street is sketchy?

This is an adjective that  native speakers use a lot.

If I say a street's sketchy, it's most  likely because it's dark or lacks lighting.

There aren't a lot of people around,  there's broken glass or broken windows,  

or there are a lot of abandoned  buildings on that street.

It could be all of those reasons, or it could be  

just one of those reasons for me to  say that street doesn't look safe.

That street's pretty sketchy.

I could say let's take another St.

This one looks sketchy, so I can also use the verb  look look sketchy, but I have to conjugate it.

This street looks sketchy.

Or let's say your friend or your husband  or your wife came to you and said hey,  

I heard this amazing business proposal today.

All we need to do is invest  $1000 and we're guaranteed  

$100,000 and you could say that sounds sketchy.

So notice here the verb is to sound  sketchy, and you're saying the idea,  

the plan, the business proposal  doesn't sound completely safe.

We also use this to describe people.

He's a sketchy guy or he's sketchy.

She's sketchy.

In this case, you're saying the person isn't  safe, which means you can't trust the person.

So with people, it's a way of saying  I don't think I can trust him.

She's sketchy.

He's sketchy.

Seems a little sketchy.

You're kind of sketchy.

Laundry to some sketchy laundromat.

Let's try another listening exercise.

I'll say it three times.

You must have seen it.

You must have seen it.

You must have seen it.

Did you get this one?

You must have seen it.

But notice I didn't actually say.

Have I reduced that entirely to  just ah, you musta, you musta.

I could also reduce it to more of an of sound,  which is very commonly done by native speakers.

You must have, you must have, You  must have seen it, notice for seen it.

I use that that N sound to  connect the 2 words together.

Seen it, Seen it, Seen it.

So you hear it.

N in front of it.

It sounds like NIT.

But if you say those two words  together, it blends together.

Seen it, Seen it?

You must have seen it.

Now let's talk about the grammar of this.

A must is a modal verb, and  grammatically you need must  

plus base verb, which is the verb without two.

So grammatically you need must have.

In written English you must use must have  seen it because that's grammatically correct.

But in spoken English it will  sound like must ah or must of.

But in written English, if you wrote you must  ah or of, it would be incorrect grammatically.

So just remember what I'm explaining is for  spoken English you must have seen it 200 times.

You must have seen it 2:00.

You must have seen them.

Here, Let's try this one more time.

I'll say it three times.

What's the ETA?

What's the ETA?

What's the ETA?

I said, what's the ETA?

Of course we have what's that's a  contraction of what is what's what's the now?

Because ETA it begins with a vowel sound.

EI could say either the OR the 'cause we do a more  stressed the when the next word starts in a vowel.

But this isn't a rule that native  speakers follow all the time.

But if I did a more stressed E in the  IT would really blend together with ETA,  

the TA, and it would almost sound  like it's just one word, the TA,  

because I wouldn't really  repeat the E on ETA, the ETA.

I believe in my example, when I did the listening  test, I think the first time I did it more of the  

ETA, and the second time I did it, more of  the ETA, and the sounds blended together.

Let's listen to that again and see what I did.

What's the ETA?

What's the ETA?

What's the ETA?

Now, ultimately, either way that you  pronounce it, the ETA or the ETA is fine.

Now you're probably wondering, well what's ETA?

This stands for estimated time of arrival.

So your ETA, the ETA or someone  somethings ETA is the estimated  

time of arrival for that someone or  something when it's expected to arrive.

So let's say we're talking about a project,  

and your boss wants to know  when this project will arrive.

In his inbox or on his desk, he  could say what's the ETA and he  

could just say the If it's obvious  you're talking about the project,  

he could say what's your ETA because  you're the one submitting the project.

Or he could say what's the project's  ETA, so the ETA belongs to the project.

So you need that possessive.

What's the project's ETA?

And they all have the same meaning.

We commonly use this with friends or coworkers,  

family members to let them know  when we're going to arrive.

So let's say you were supposed to be at  your family's house at 7:00 for dinner,  

but you're running late.

You could send them a text  message and say running late.

Google says my ETA is 642 or 15 minutes.

Now, Google says because when you put something in  a GPS, Google will tell you or whatever you use.

Google will tell you when  you're expected to arrive.

That's your ETA.

What's their ETA okay, ETA ETA 11 minutes.

Now let's do an imitation exercise so you  can practice your pronunciation as well.

So I'm going to say each sentence  again, and then I want you to repeat  

the sentence out loud and try to imitate  my pronunciation as closely as possible.

And I'll say each sentence three times.

Let's do that right now.

They've been bickering all day.

They've been bickering all day.

They've been bickering all day.

That street's pretty sketchy.

That street's pretty sketchy.

That street's pretty sketchy.

You must have seen it.

You must have seen it.

You must have seen it.

What's the ETA?

What's the ETA?

What's the ETA?

Amazing job.

Now let's continue on.

If you want to take a break, feel free to do so.

In our next section, we're going  to read a news article together.

This article focuses on a very current event  and it talks about Will and Jada Smith.

Now we're reading this so you can  improve all areas of your English  

at once and be entertained with this  interesting story at the same time.

So let's start this section now.

First, I'll read the headline Jada Pinkett  Smith and Will Smith Healing Relationship.

I'm sure you recognize these two celebrities and  

I've talked about them on  my YouTube channel before.

Now let's talk about healing relationship.

This is what we call short form and is often  used in bullet points and news article headlines.

This is when you want to be concise  and you exclude necessary grammar.

Now there are some words missing.

We need the auxiliary verb are because  this is the present continuous are healing.

We need are because we have two people.

They they are healing Relationship.

We need a possessive.

The possessive would be their relationship  because the relationship belongs to them,  

so is their relationship.

Now, technically the sentence is  grammatically incorrect without  

this information, but we just  call that short form, which,  

as I said, is very commonly used in  newspaper headlines and bullet forms.

But for you, you should always use all  the necessary grammar when you're writing.

Now, don't worry about taking these  notes because I summarize everything  

in a free lesson PDF so you can look  for the link in the description.

Now let's continue.

Jada Pinkett Smith has said she and Will  Smith are working very hard on their marriage.

Now notice here, because we're no longer  in the headline, we're in the story.

They are going to use full grammar.

So you see the auxiliary verb  are and you see their marriage,  

just like we needed their  relationship and our healing.

So as soon as you get into the body of the  article, they will use proper, correct grammar.

Because it's no longer short form, they're  working very hard on their marriage.

So it's always important when you're reading  to pay attention to the prepositions that you  

need to complete a sentence, because often  students use the incorrect preposition.

But to a native speaker, it's very  noticeable if you have the wrong preposition.

So you work on something,  I'm working on the report,  

and then you can add more information  to describe how you're working.

We're working very hard on our report, our  proposal, our presentation on our relationship,  

our marriage, after revealing last  week that they separated in 2016.

OK, so only last week they  revealed, they revealed.

Let's talk about this verb.

When you reveal something, usually  information, it means that you make it public.

So you announce it.

You make it known.

Now, public could be just to your  family, just to your friends.

It doesn't have to be to the entire  world like the actors did in this case.

So you make that information known.

But previously that information was a secret,  

so they purposely didn't tell  anyone that they were separated.

But then they revealed last week that they  separated in 2016, quite a long time ago.

Now notice here they separated.

This is a verb to separate.

When you separate, it means  you and your your spouse,  

your husband, your wife decide to  no longer live together and you're  

considering whether or not you're going  to get a divorce or try to reconcile.

So that's the verb to separate.

But notice I think I said they  revealed that they're separated  

because you can also use this in  the to be form, so to be separated.

You're describing your current state.

Oh, I'm not married.

I'm separated, which means my husband and I know  longer live together, which for me is not true.

It was just an example.

But for this couple it is true.

They have been living separately.

Like I said, when you separate,  that's kind of the word, right?

To separate.

You separate your lives.

You live separately.

They've been living separately.

Now we know the time reference 2616.

So I could add.

Do you know what I need to add?

2016 What word do I need here?

They have been living separately 2016 since 2016.

Hopefully you got that right  because this is the present  

perfect continuous and we know our time reference.

They have been living separately since 2016,  she said, despite regularly appearing together.

So they would be in public together.

Their photos would be on magazines online.

So you and I as the general public, we  would think that they're still together,  

they're married, they're happy  because that's how they appeared.

But in fact, in reality they separated in 2016.

So notice here despite notice the  grammar because our verb is appear,  

but you need it in the gerund form because  despite is a preposition, so you need that  

gerund regularly is the adverb that describes how  frequently they were appearing together regularly.

It happen often.

Are you enjoying this lesson?

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

This is my premium training program where  we study native English speakers from TV,  

the movies, YouTube, and the news so you  can improve your listening skills of fast  

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Plus, you'll have me as your personal coach.

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.

The couple made headlines last  year when Will Smith stormed the  

stage at the Oscars and Slapped host Chris Rock.

Now, I'm not going to explain  what this means or discuss it  

because I have a full lesson on this exact topic.

I included the link to that at the end, so I  have one on that exact news headline and then  

there's another one when they discuss  it a few months after the incident.

So there are two other articles you can  review about Will Smith and this issue,  

so I won't discuss it now.

So let's go on to this paragraph here.

Speaking to NBCS Today Show, she said that she  being Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith's wife Jada,  

she said we are working very hard at bringing our  relationship together back to a life partnership.

So they still have a relationship  together now as their their parents.

So they have the relationship  with their their children.

They still communicate with each other regularly.

So they still have a relationship, but they want  

to bring their relationship  back to a life partnership.

So before their relationship was as life partners.

Now it's most likely their relationship  together is more like friends.

Friends perhaps.

So they want to take it from where  they are now, friends and back to  

life partnership and we're using back  because this is what they previously had.

So it's a little bit difficult  because we have relationship together.

Let me just put this this is the  thing, their relationship together,  

this is what they want to bring back to a  life partnership, so I'll put that there.

A life partnership, she explained.

He can't be this perfect, idealized husband.

Let's talk about idealized.

When you idealize something or someone,  

you think about that something or someone  in a way that's better than the reality is.

So we all have idealized ideas  of what a relationship is,  

what a husband is, what a wife is.

Especially when we have so many romantic movies  

where the relationships are  just perfect in these movies.

But then in reality, it's very different.

So we have an idealized version of what a  relationship should be, is what she's saying.

And I see this a lot with my students.

I feel like a lot of my students  idealize living in North America  

when it comes to being able  to improve their English.

Not about the life in North America specifically,  but a lot of students think that the only reason  

why they're not fluent is because they don't live  in North America and English speaking country.

However, I have many students who have been  in North America for 10-15 years and still  

struggle with their English as much as  someone not living in North America.

So I feel like students outside of  North America have this idealized  

version of how their English will improve  as soon as they move to the United States.

Now notice there is a minor  difference here in spelling.

In North America American English  we spell idealize with a zed,  

whereas in British English they spell it with  an S There's no difference in pronunciation,  

and honestly I didn't think  this looked weird at all.

So if you use the S or you  use the Z, it does not matter.

They're both correct and the  pronunciation is exactly the same.

I have to be able to accept  him for the human he is.

So she's saying in reality,  he's not this perfect person,  

this perfect husband that  you might expect from movies.

He's a person now he has to  accept me for the human I am.

So she's saying the same thing about herself  

and we want to love each other  There, the there in this place.

It's not overly clear what location she's  talking about, but to me, I read this as  

there being a place where they understand that  both of them are just people who have flaws.

They're not perfect.

Their relationship isn't a fairy tale romance,  they're regular people with regular issues.

That's the there, the location.

She wants to have the relationship  because that's reality.

When asked if the couple might live in  the same house again, because remember,  

currently they're separated to be separated.

They separated the verb form.

They separated in 2016, so now they are separated.

When asked if the couple might  live in the same house again,  

she agreed they might notice  this very important word choice.

Might might is a modal verb.

So just remember grammatically you  need the modal and then the base verb.

So might live, might live.

This is the base verb because  there's no two in front of it.

Might live.

Now as a modal verb, might represents  probability, how likely something is to happen.

When I hear might in my  mind it's not very certain.

There is about a 50% chance it will happen,  

but then there's equally a 50%  chance that it won't happen.

So if my friend said to me I might come to  the party, that doesn't sound very certain.

I most likely would not make plans with  my friend if I needed a ride to the party.

I would not count on my friend if she said I might  come to the party because that's only about 50%.

That's not very high.

If my friend had said I'll likely come to  the party, well then I would feel a lot more  

confident having my friend as my ride, my form  of transportation because likely is about 80%.

Now this isn't an exact science,  but close to 80%, close to 50%.

So the fact that she said they  might, there's an equal chance  

that they might not on Wednesday, as  part of a book, launch, A book launch.

When you launch a book, it means you introduce  that book to the public for the first time.

So to launch something, you can launch a  business, you can launch a new project.

But in this case, she launched a book.

She made that book public for the very first time.

But notice, grammatically, we're  not using this as a verb form.

We're using this as a noun, and it's very  common to use a launch as a noun as well.

Let's review these two sentences.

I launched my new book last week,  

which means I made my book available to  the public for the first time last week.

So this is the verb.

I launched my new book last week,  

and that's why it's in the past  simple form, because of last week.

Now I could also say, hey, are  you coming to my book launch now?

In this case, I'll launch.

This is the noun form my book launch.

This is either an event where you launch the  book, so at this event I make the book publicly  

available for the first time or is simply an  event where we celebrate the launch of my book.

So my book is already available, it's already  been launched and we're just celebrating the fact.

Now hopefully you don't say I might come to your  

book launch because then  there's only a 50% chance.

So hopefully you say something like I'll  definitely come to your book launch,  

you can say I'll definitely  come to your book launch.

And then if you want to  make it sound even stronger,  

I remembered this really great  expression we have in English.

You can say I wouldn't miss it for the world.

This is an expression, so you have to  use all of these words just as they are.

I wouldn't miss it for the  world, which means 100%.

You're coming to my launch.

It is extremely strong.

So if I needed a ride from you, I would  feel very confident if you said that.

And then the IT you can replace  that with whatever you want.

I wouldn't miss your book launch.

I wouldn't miss your wedding.

I wouldn't miss your retirement party.

I wouldn't miss your graduation  ceremony for the world.

And again is just an expression to say how  likely it is and you are 100% going to attend.

Now thinking about how likely you  are to watch my next YouTube video.

My next learn English with the news YouTube video.

I hope you're thinking, Jennifer,  I wouldn't miss it for the world,  

which means you are absolutely going  to watch my next YouTube video.

So put this in the comments since  I wouldn't miss it for the world,  

Jennifer, I wouldn't miss it for the world.

And then I'll feel very confident that  you are going to watch my next video  

and it will motivate me to make the video for you.

So put that in the comments.

Now let's continue on Wednesday  as part of a book launch.

She said she had considered a  legal divorce but could not go  

through with it because she was  determined to work through it.

So notice we have the past perfect because this  is an event that happened before another event.

So she had considered it in the past.

But now let's talk about to  go through to go through with  

something and also to work through something.

Because notice we both we have two expressions  with through, but they have different meanings.

So let's talk about each of these.

First, let's talk about to  go through with something.

This is when you do something and that  something is always unpleasant or difficult  

and you do something unpleasant and  difficult that you committed to.

So you said you were going to do something  like get a divorce, but in this case,  

which is obviously unpleasant and difficult, but  in this case, I could not go through with it,  

which means that she didn't get  divorced even though previously  

she said she was going to get divorced  but she couldn't go through with it.

So we often use this expression in the negative  and we often said, we often say, I know I said  

I was going to quit my job, but I couldn't go  through with it, I couldn't go through with it.

So for thinking of Jada and Will,  maybe they said this is not true.

They did not say this.

It's just an example.

But we agreed to tell our kids about our  separation, but we couldn't go through with it.

We couldn't go through with it.

So which means they didn't do it.

Even though they committed to it.

They didn't do it.

Why?

Because it was just so unpleasant and  difficult to have to tell your kids that.

So they couldn't go through with it.

Even though this was just my example.

It's not true, OK?

So she couldn't go through with it because  she was determined to work through it.

So now let's talk about to work through something.

This is a positive expression 'cause when you work  

through something it means you  find a solution to a problem.

We commonly use this with relationships.

So let's say your best  friend came to you and said,  

my husband and I or my wife  and I are having difficulties.

You might say, oh, don't  worry, you'll work through it.

You'll work through it, which means  you'll find a solution to that problem.

Let's continue.

She put the relationship breakdown.

So the breakdown of the relationship, that's  when the relationship started to become negative.

It took a turn for the worse.

It was no longer a loving positive relationship.

It was more negative than positive.

The breakdown.

So this is the noun form, the breakdown.

Another word for that is simply deterioration.

So you can say when the relationship  started to become negative,  

that would be the relationship breakdown.

She put the relationship  breakdown to a lot of things.

And by 2016, remember this is  when they separated in 2016.

By 2016 they were exhausted with trying.

So that's why they separated.

They just didn't want to try anymore and  the relationship officially broke down.

Previously there had been speculation  about the couple's marriage.

So speculation is when people  say things, they guess things,  

but they don't actually know if it's true.

So the media probably said  things like Jada and Smith.

Jada and Will Smith are not happy,  

but they're just speculating because  they don't actually know if that's true.

Maybe because they didn't see  them together in public a lot.

And maybe people started speculating  that the marriage was in trouble,  

that the marriage was  breaking down, deteriorating.

Previously, there had been speculation  about the couple's marriage in 2020 after  

the Red after the pair discussed on her  Facebook show Red Table Talk that Pinkett  

Smith Jada had been in an entanglement  with artist August Alsina Entanglement.

This seems to be a term that Jada created  because it's not one I had heard before.

The more common way of saying it is that  she had been in a romantic relationship,  

which we refer to as an affair.

When you're married and you have a  romantic relationship with someone else,  

we call that an affair, an affair.

So here's an example.

We separated the verb to separate.

We separated because she had  an affair or he had an affair.

So you have an affair.

An affair is just a romantic relationship  when you're already with a romantic partner.

The actors met in 1994.

This is Will and Jada.

Wow, that's a very long time ago.

The actors met in 1994 when she auditioned  for The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, which,  

if you don't know, this is the show that  Will Smith became very popular from.

It's a great show if you've never watched it  and it's old, though it's from the 90s and  

later married in 1997, so that's how long  the couple has been together since 1997.

It's a long time the pair,  

of course they mentioned it before and  I didn't explain it, but pair means two.

Another word that's commonly used,  

which I believe was already in this  article I didn't explain either,  

is the couple, which means 2 pair is commonly  used with a lot of clothing and accessories.

For example, a pair of mittens, a pair of  shoes, a pair of boots, Things that come in too.

I guess for your hands and feet,  that's when they generally come in too.

So I bought a pair of mittens  and and a pair of boots.

So notice the pair part is singular  because one pair if you bought 2.

Pairs of boots.

Trick not trick.

Question A real question.

How many boots do you have?

If you bought 2 pairs of boots,  how many boots do you have?

Well, hopefully that's easy for you.

You have four boots, but if you bought a pair,  one pair of mittens, how many mittens do you have?

Two mittens just to help you learn that.

OK, so remember pair is singular, but it can be  

plural because you can buy 2 pairs or  three pairs, or 4 pairs if you want.

So the pair more commonly  referred to as the couple.

But I do hear pair from time to time the couple.

The pair have two children together,  

Jaden Smith and Willow Smith,  along with Trey Smith, Smith's son.

So in this case, the Smith is Will  Smith's son from his first marriage.

I didn't know Will Smith was married before and  I didn't know he had a child with another woman.

You learn something new every day  and that's the end of our article.

And I did share the two links to the previous  previous articles I've done on Will Smith,  

The Oscar Slap, Chris Rock  and the whole situation.

So this is available and the free lesson PDF,  

so make sure you download that  the links in the description.

I'll also leave these two links  in the description as well.

So that's the end of the article.

What I'll do now is I'll read the  article from start to finish and  

this time you can focus on my pronunciation.

Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith  Healing relationship Jada Pinkett  

Smith has said she and Will Smith are working very  

hard on their marriage after revealing  last week that they separated in 2016.

They have been living separately, she  said, despite regularly appearing together.

The couple made headlines last  year when Will Smith stormed the  

stage at the Oscars and slapped host Chris Rock.

Speaking to NBCS Today Show,  she said we are working very  

hard at bringing our relationship  together back to a life partnership.

She explained.

He can't be this perfect, idealized husband.

I have to be able to accept  him for the human he is.

He has to accept me for the human I am  and we want to love each other there.

When asked if the couple might live in the  same house again, she agreed they might.

On Wednesday as part of a book launch, she  said she had considered a legal divorce but  

could not go through with it because  she was determined to work through it.

She put the relationship  breakdown to a lot of things,  

and by 2016 they were exhausted with trying.

Previously, there had been speculation about the  

couple's marriage in 2020 after the pair  discussed on her Facebook show Read Table  

Talk that Pinkett Smith had been in an  entanglement with artist August Alsina.

The actress met in 1994 when she auditioned for  

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air  and later married in 1997.

The pair have two children together,  Jaden Smith and Willow Smith,  

along with Trey Smith, Smith's  son from his first marriage.

Amazing job.

Now let's continue and expand  your vocabulary even further.

You are going to learn phrasal verbs dot native  speakers commonly used in our everyday speech.

So having these phrasal verbs  in your vocabulary will help  

you understand native speakers  and sound more fluent as well.

So let's get started with this section  and make sure you watch until the end,  

because I'm going to quiz you to make sure  you really understand these phrasal verbs.

Let's get started.

Number one, to act out.

This is when you perform or explain  something using actions and gestures.

For example, right now I'm acting out.

It's raining.

Using my actions and my gestures, I'm teaching  you this one because when you don't speak a  

language fluently, often we act out what we  mean to help the other person understand.

For example, I couldn't think of the  word for sunrise, so I acted it out.

How you're going to act out sunrise?

I'm not sure.

You can try though.

Another example.

I'm not sure what you mean.

Could you try acting it out?

This could be a smart way for you to understand  what someone else is saying #2 to belt out.

I love this one because it means to sing loudly.

For example, the crowd belted out  the national anthem before the game.

So the crowd sang the national anthem loudly.

They belted it out.

And here's another example that is true for me.

I love driving alone because I  can belt out my favorite songs.

I can sing those songs very loudly  #3 to catch up with someone.

This is a must know phrasal verb.

This is when you meet someone after a period  of time to find out what they've been doing.

So let's say you and your friend  haven't seen each other for one month.

Well, you don't know what your friend  has been doing for that one month.

So you could text your friend  and say we need to catch up.

Are you free tomorrow?

This is a very common way that two native  speakers will arrange a social gathering.

You could also simply say let's catch up  soon, and this means let's meet soon so I  

can find out what you've been doing  and you can find out what I've been  

doing since the last time we saw each  other #4 to grind away at something.

This is when you work on some something  for a long time or with a lot of effort.

For example, I had to grind  away at my taxes all weekend.

So this means I worked on my taxes,  but because I said grind away at,  

you know, it took me a long  time and a lot of effort,  

You could also say I've been grinding away at  this report all week, but it's still not done.

So you've spent a lot of time on this report.

You've put in a lot of effort,  but it's still not done.

You've been grinding away at it.

#5 to not at.

This means to trouble, worry, or annoy someone.

First of all, notice that silent G  naw naw, it starts with an N sound.

Not to not.

For example, his text message  has been gnawing at me all day,  

so his text message has been troubling  me, worrying me or annoying me.

You don't exactly know which one it is, but  based on context and based on my emotion,  

my facial emotion, you would know his text  message has been gnawing at me all day.

Or let's say you were in a meeting and  your Co worker said something negative  

about you in front of everyone  and it's been bothering you.

Well, your friend could say don't  let his comment gnaw at you.

Don't let his comment bother you or annoy you.

Number six, to pull oneself together.

This means to become calm or to  regain control of your emotions.

Calm down, calm down, calm down.

So let's say your coworker made that  angry or rude or mean comment towards  

you in front of everyone else  and you became very emotional.

You became very upset or  very agitated or very angry.

Even your friend could say pull  yourself together to let you know  

you need to regain control of your emotions  because you're being too upset, too angry.

We also commonly use this in the imperative.

Pull yourself together.

So notice with the imperative, you start  with the base verb, pull yourself together.

You need to pull yourself together.

Both of those are very common.

And then an hour later, your friend could  say, hey, I was calling you, where were you?

And you could say, oh, I went for a  walk alone, to pull myself together,  

to regain control of my emotions and  simply to become calm, #7 to rack up  

this means to acquire a lot of something,  and that something is generally negative.

For example, I racked up a lot of  parking tickets while I was on vacation.

So maybe you're in a new city and you're not  familiar with the parking rules and regulations,  

so you racked up a lot of parking tickets.

Parking tickets are, of course, negative.

Or you could say when I was a student,  I racked up a lot of student debt.

Again, student debt is of course  a negative and you racked it up.

You acquired it.

#8 To rub off on this is when a quality  or a characteristic is passed from one  

person to another person, for example, her  passion and enthusiasm rubbed off on me.

So this means my friend was being very  passionate and enthusiastic and because of  

that I became very passionate and enthusiastic,  so her passion and enthusiasm rubbed off on me.

But we also use this with negative  qualities and characteristics.

For example, don't let Frank's  anxiety rub off on you.

So Frank is always anxious, and he's sharing  his anxieties in public with his team.

If you're not careful, his anxieties could rub  off on you, which means you will become anxious  

simply because Frank is anxious and you're  in the same room as Frank #9 to slip up.

This means to make a careless error or mistake.

For example, I can't believe I slipped  up and told her about her surprise party.

So there was a surprise party  being planned for this person,  

and because it's a surprise, you're  not supposed to let the person know.

But I slipped up and I told her about the party.

I made a mistake and it was a careless mistake.

I should have known better.

Another example, you purchased  1000 units instead of 100 units.

That was a real slip up.

What do you notice here?

A slip up.

Here it's being used as the noun  form to simply mean a mistake,  

a careless mistake, and finally #10, to talk down.

This is when you try to make  something sound less important,  

less important than it really is in reality.

For example, the CEO tried to  talk down the recent layoffs.

Layoffs is when you fire people from a company  because there is no longer work for them.

So that sounds like the  company could be in trouble.

But if you try to talk down the recent layoffs,  

it means you try to make them sound less  severe, less important than they really are.

Or remember when I accidentally ordered  1000 units instead of 100 units?

Well, I could say I try to talk down my slip up.

Remember here slip up is being used as the  noun form of the phrasal verb to slip up.

And it means a careless mistake.

I tried to talk down my slip  up, my careless mistake.

So I tried to make my mistake the fact I  ordered 10 times as many units as needed.

I tried to make that sound like  not a big deal, not a big mistake.

I tried to talk down my slip up and now you have  the top 10 phrasal verbs added to your vocabulary.

So Are you ready for your quiz?

Here are the questions.

Hit, pause, take as much time as you need, and  when you're ready, hit play to see the answers.

How did you do with that quiz?

Well, let's find out.

Here are the answers.

Hit, pause, and take as much  time as you need to review them.

So how'd you do with that quiz?

Make sure you share your score in the comments  below and also leave an example sentence.

Practicing your favorite phrasal verb What's  your favorite phrasal verb from the list?

Mine is probably slip up, but  as the noun, I made a slip up.

A careless mistake.

Because let's be honest, it  happens to everyone, right?

What's your favorite?

Share that in the comments below.

You're doing such a great job.

You have learned so much already.

Now, finally, I want to leave you with 10 study  tips that will help you maximize your time.

I know you're busy, I know your time is  limited, but I also know that you can get  

amazing results with your English even with  limited time if you use that time correctly.

So let me share 10 study tips  to help you maximize your time.

Tip #1, Create a study schedule.

This is extremely important.

Your study schedule should identify the specific  day or ideally the specific days of the week that  

you're going to study, and it should also identify  the start time and the end time of that session.

So for example, Monday, Wednesday,  

Friday from 6:00 to 6:30 and then maybe  Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 to 9:45.

Ideally your goal should be five  days a week for 30 minutes each day.

As a pro tip, I want you to choose  the day and time extremely carefully.

Make sure the time time you put in your calendar  

is realistic and you can actually  spend the time on your studies.

And when it's in your calendar,  treat it like an appointment.

You wouldn't miss an appointment,  so don't miss this time.

Your study time Tip 2.

Set a clear goal for each study session.

The worst thing you can do is sit down at your  

scheduled time and then say to  yourself, what should I study.

Or just randomly watch YouTube videos or  randomly look through an English textbook.

That's going to waste a lot of time.

Before you begin your study session,  

you should know exactly what  you're going to do with that time.

For example, before you sit down, you know that  you're going to complete the practice exercises  

for week two of your lesson in the Finely Fluent  Academy, which is my premium training program,  

and my students get a study schedule that  I've created for them when they join.

So as a pro tip, make sure  you take 5 minutes before  

your scheduled study time,  or ideally the day before.

Just take a few minutes and plan exactly what  you're going to do in that scheduled time.

Tip #3, you want to maximize your study time.

30 minutes is not created equally.

Some people will have 30 minutes and they  will accomplish nothing with that time.

Another person will have 30  minutes and accomplish a lot.

So how you use that time matters.

You can maximize your 30 minutes by,  first of all, removing all distractions.

You need to turn off all social media  when you're focusing on your study time.

You need to turn off all notifications.

Lock your pets in another room so they don't come  and distract you and take your attention away.

Have your water, your tea, whatever  supplies you need for that session  

already in the room so you don't have to leave.

And get a glass of water, which  will take time away from studying.

And also make sure you set a timer.

So if your study session is for 30 minutes, set a  timer because even just wondering what time it is,  

how much time has passed takes your  attention away and you're losing time.

Now as a pro tip, make sure you leave  your phone in an entirely different room.

Assuming you're not using your phone to study.

That will definitely eliminate the distraction  and that temp temptation to pick up your phone  

during your scheduled study time, which  will of course waste a lot of time.

Tip #4, improve multiple skills at once.

A lot of students study using wordless, and  they have an individual word and a definition,  

but that is only improving one skill.

If you follow my YouTube channel, you  know I love sharing videos where we  

learn English with the news because you're  learning so many different skills at once.

You're improving your reading,  your listening, your vocabulary,  

your grammar, your pronunciation, your speaking.

You're doing all of that at once,  

so you're maximizing your time  by focusing on multiple skills.

Tip #5 Learn words in context.

So again, you use a vocabulary list  and you learn an expression off  

track and you see the definition for that  expression off track, not making progress.

But when you learn a word in context,  it means you have a full sentence.

That's a natural sentence, the way a  native speaker would use that expression.

For example, yesterday our meeting went off track  when John brought up the consultants report.

So here you see the word being used in context,  

you understand the meaning a lot more,  and you also understand the grammar.

You understand that you need to go off track  and then you see OK yesterday, I need the past  

simple wind off track and you learn a lot more  when you see grammar or vocabulary in context.

Tip #6.

Repetition, Repetition, Repetition.

It's so important I repeated it three times.

According to scientists, we forgot about  50% of new information in one hour,  

which means one hour from now  you'll forget half of these tips.

And scientists say that we forget 70%  of new information within 24 hours.

So you won't remember very much from this lesson  tomorrow unless you repeat, repeat, repeat.

Our brains were designed to remember  information only if it's repeated,  

because that tells our brain  the information is important.

So if you want to remember what you're  learning, you need to repeat, repeat, repeat.

And as a pro tip, it's more beneficial  to have a quick review multiple times a  

day rather than once a week and having a longer  review because we need that constant repetition.

Tip 7.

You need to recall information, which means your  brain provides that information without seeing it.

So we do this when we quiz ourselves  or when we complete practice exercises.

You're recalling that information,  so let's try that right now.

We didn't make a lot of progress at the meeting.

The meeting?

How would you complete that sentence?

Based on the expression I taught you just a  few minutes ago, the meeting went off track.

The meeting went off track.

So right there you just recalled that definition,  

which will make it a lot more likely  you'll remember it the next time.

And as a pro tip, you can complete just the  

quizzes in my lessons frequently  to help you recall information.

Tip #8 is quality over quantity.

According to scientists, we can  remember about 5 to 9 new words per day.

That's about the maximum  capacity that our brain has.

So it's not very beneficial to review  a word list of 300 positive adjectives  

because you're not going to  remember very many of them.

It's more beneficial just to learn the top 8  

or 9 adjectives that you can use in a  meeting to sound professional at work.

As a pro tip, you can take my videos  which teaches you many many words,  

more than 5 to 9 in each lesson,  

but you can divide that lesson into smaller  pieces and just focus on a few words 5 to 9.

Ideally, learn them, practice them, repeat them,  recall them, and then move on with the lesson.

Tip #9 Practice different skills.

Students are obsessed with  practicing their speaking skills.

Of course speaking is important, but there are  many other skills you need to improve as well.

So practice writing right example sentences.

Of course, practice speaking.

Say it out loud.

You can focus on your pronunciation by recording  yourself and then comparing the pronunciation.

And you can improve your listening skills by  hearing your new vocabulary in a natural context.

So do all these different exercises  to improve different language skills.

And as a pro tip, make sure you add these  different areas to your study schedule so  

you remember one day practice speaking,  another day practice writing, another day  

practice pronunciation, and finally tip #10, my  personal favorite, which is to reward yourself.

When you reward yourself, it creates positive  reinforcement, which means you feel positive.

And if you feel positive, you're  more likely to do the action,  

so you're more likely to spend 30 minutes  and really concentrate on that time.

If you reward yourself now, the  reward should just be something small.

Very small.

But it needs to immediately make you feel good.

So here are some ways I reward  myself after spending a focused time.

I listen to a song I really like.

I sing and I dance.

I spend time with my pets.

I check the YouTube comments and I  reply to them because I love doing that.

I might watch some cat videos on YouTube  for 5 minutes, not an hour, but 5 minutes.

You could eat a piece of chocolate or  something very small that you like.

Or you could go for a walk or a  bike ride and do something physical.

Remember, it can be very small, but it  has to make you feel good immediately.

And as a pro tip, reward yourself immediately  

after the behavior because that will  create the positive reinforcement.

Follow these 10 tips and I know  that you'll maximize your time.

You'll stop wasting your time, which  means you'll get results a lot faster.

So which tip was your favorite?

Make sure you share that in the comments below.

And also put in the comments.

I'm committed.

I'm committed, which means you're  committed to following these 10 tips.

Put I'm committed in the comments below.

You did an amazing job completing this lesson.

Now feel free to review this lesson.

And of course you can review the individual  sections on their own or the full video.

And if you want me to keep making  more lessons like this one big lesson,  

but with individual sections that you can  review whenever you like them, put more,  

more, more, put more more more in the comments.

More more, more.

So I know you want me to keep  making these videos for you.

And of course, make sure you like this video,  

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 you can keep improving your  English with this lesson right now.