Learn 53 Everyday Expressions To Sound FLUENT | Reading and Listening Method

Do you know what the difference  between sympathy and empathy is?

Well, today we'll read a news article  that discusses the difference, how to  

build empathy as a skill, and you'll  learn 53 everyday English expressions.

Welcome back to JForrest English.

Of course, I'm Jennifer.

Now let's get started.

First, I'll read the headline.

Can you teach people to have  empathy right off the bat?

Let's define empathy and compare this to sympathy,  a question I commonly receive from students.

Notice grammatically, empathy and sympathy  are both nouns you can have possessed.

So this is the verb to have  empathy, to have sympathy.

Empathy is when you understand  and share someone else's feelings.

Sympathy is simply when you feel bad for someone.

For example, I'm so sorry you lost your job.

That's awful.

I feel bad for you.

Compare that to I'm so sorry you lost your job.

The exact same beginning.

But you might say something like, I understand  how difficult that is, maybe because I lost my  

job last year, or my husband, my brother, my  father, my friend, my roommate lost their job.

So I have a deeper  understanding of those feelings.

So it's a subtle but important difference.

Empathy, sympathy.

You may remember that I said right off the bat,  

right off the bat, let's define  and compare empathy and sympathy.

This is a very commonly used  expression right off the bat.

It means at the very beginning.

You can use it in meetings,  in social conversations.

If you're telling your friend about a vacation,  

you could say right off the bat,  it was the best vacation I had.

So you're laying your friend, No, at the very  beginning, or since we're at the very beginning  

of this lesson, you might say or think to yourself  right off the bat, this is a great lesson.

We're only a few minutes in and  you've learned a lot already.

What do you think?

Do you agree?

Right off the bat, this is a great lesson.

If you do put that's right, that's  right, put that's right in the comments.

And don't worry about taking  all these notes because I  

summarize everything in a free lesson PDF.

You can find the link in the description.

Now let's continue.

Have you ever had that feeling when your friend  

is going through a hard time and  you can almost feel their pain?

Now let's take a look at this  to go through a hard time.

In this context, to go through, the verb is go.

It's conjugated in the present.

Continuous is going through, but the verb is go.

So to go through means experience.

So you could say, have you ever had that feeling  when your friend is experiencing a hard time?

But we only use go through to mean experience  when it's used with a negative adjective.

So a hard time, a difficult time, a  terrible time, any other negative adjective.

You can start with hard time or difficult  time, challenging time, and then you can  

add on and learn more adjectives to  express your ideas in different ways.

For example, you could say we went  through a turbulent time after the fire.

Turbulent means there was a lot of  uncertainty, a lot of confusion.

Turbulent, turbulent.

We went through a turbulent time after the fire.

Now remember, go through go is your verb.

So you conjugate this.

In this case, it's the past simple went.

But remember we only use this  with negative adjectives.

If you say we had an amazing time on  vacation, you use to have an X time.

X represents the adjective and you can use a  positive or a negative adjective with this.

And in this case, the verb have means experience.

You could say we had a terrible time on vacation,  

but you can only use go through  with a negative adjective.

Let's keep reading.

That's one aspect of an  amazing power we have empathy.

So remember, empathy is about feeling and  understanding what someone else is going through.

Now generally we use this  with negative situations,  

which is why I use what someone is going through  because the adjective choice would be negative.

Empathy is the ability to feel and understand  other people's emotions and perspectives.

So now we have a definition.

But you already knew this.

Let's review perspective.

This is a way of thinking or considering  situations and we'll review this because  

it's very common to use instead  of asking for someone's opinion.

You probably are familiar with the  question what's your opinion on this?

You could also say what's  your perspective on this?

What's your way of thinking  about this or considering this?

Now to answer using these two words,  

notice the difference in preposition  in my opinion from my perspective.

So remember this because this is a very  powerful word choice for your IELTS,  

for meetings, for job interviews or for  more formal situations from my perspective.

But you must use the preposition from  in my opinion, from my perspective.

And then you can state your thoughts,  your ideas, your opinion or perspective.

Are you enjoying this lesson?

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

the movies, YouTube, and the news.

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Now, let's continue with our lesson.

At times like that, remember that that represents  when someone you know is going through something.

Remember, to go through something is to  experience something negative, only negative.

At times like that, empathy might come on  without you doing anything to make it happen.

Do you know what come on means in this context?

When something comes on, in this case  empathy comes on, it means it happens,  

occurs or starts suddenly and automatically.

For example, the heat just came on.

So I'm in this room now.

I have a thermostat and I don't  do anything to control the heat.

It comes on automatically.

It comes on suddenly when the  temperature drops below a certain degree.

So the heat just came on.

That would be a very everyday  use of this expression.

And you can use it with the  air conditioning, of course.

But also a migraine came on in the  middle of an important meeting.

So a migraine happened suddenly and  automatically in the sense that you  

didn't do anything to create it, it just came on.

A migraine came on in the  middle of an important meeting.

So it can be used for an emotion.

You can feel a certain emotion  suddenly and automatically,  

something like heat or something like  an illness or symptom like a migraine.

So in this case, empathy might come on happen  without you doing anything to make it happen.

But did you know that empathy is actually a skill  

you can learn and that it's  really useful in myriad ways?

Let's review myriad and notice the pronunciation.

There is no a sound, it's ID, ID, myriad, myriad.

This means large in number or a great variety.

So you can learn how to use empathy or develop  empathy in a large number of ways or there  

there's a great variety of ways you can learn  this skill, as they call it empathy as a skill.

Now notice here they used did you know?

Did you know that is optional.

Often native speakers use that  in writing, but we omit it.

We don't use it in speaking.

That isn't a rule, it's a guideline.

But if you're ever wondering, do I need that?

Do I not need it?

Just use it because it's correct.

It's just optional.

So I could say, did you know I have  myriad videos, a large number of videos,  

or it could be a small number, but within  that smaller number there's a great variety.

So it could be either.

Did you know I have myriad videos on  my channel to help you become fluent?

And in this case, there are both a  large number and a great variety.

So make sure you subscribe if you haven't already,  

so you can watch the myriad videos on  my channel to help you become fluent.

And notice here it's optional.

Did you know that?

Or did you know I have?

So did you know you add this before a clause?

A clause is a subject verb.

And then the rest of the sentence, the object.

Now the rest of the article, They'll  talk about these myriad ways.

The first, listening.

Listening is a key part of empathy.

Do you know what key means in this context?

Of course, we're not talking  about your house or your car keys.

Listening is a key part of empathy.

Empathy in this case, key means  important, important part of empathy.

This is frequently used in  the structure to be key.

For example, listening is key.

Listening is very important.

Depending on the context, it could  be listening is the most important.

So it can be important, very important, or  the most important depending on context.

Listening is key.

Listening is a key part,  important part of empathy.

Tuning in.

So you really understand,  let's take a look at tuning in.

This is a phrasal verb to TuneIn.

In this context, TuneIn means to pay  close attention to or to focus on.

So when your friend is talking, you  should TuneIn pay close attention,  

focus on your friend so you really understand.

Try to listen with your whole self, to concentrate  100% and to hear what's behind the words,  

to check you've really understood and to  show the other person you're listening.

It can be powerful to reflect  back with someone's telling you.

Let's take a look at this,  what's behind the words?

So your job is to hear what's behind the words.

This means to understand the meeting, the  meaning, motivation or intention behind the words.

So imagine your friend says to  you, I lost my job, but I'm fine.

So you want to understand?

Well, your friend says I'm fine,  but how does your friend truly feel?

What is the intention by saying that?

Is this true?

So you want to understand what's behind the words,  the true feeling, the motivation or the meaning.

We use this a lot in different situations.

For example, you could ask someone what's  

behind your decision to quit or  to move or even to learn English.

What's behind your decision?

What's motivating you?

What's the true reason?

So they want to know the true reason.

So this is a very common question that  you can be asked in different situations,  

including professional and social situations.

What's behind your decision to do something?

And then the person wants you to be more honest,  more truthful about why you're doing something.

Let's continue to the next  point of building empathy.

Read stories.

When we read stories, a  character's emotions can feel real.

Tuning into these emotions can help us learn  about others lives, perspectives, and feelings.

So here we already learned what TuneIn means.

Do you remember what it means?

It means to pay close attention to or to focus on.

Hopefully you're tuning in to my words right now.

And remember you tune in to something or someone.

So tuning into my words or tuning in to me as I'm  teaching you all the vocabulary from this lesson.

Now notice your tune is in the gerund form.

Tuning, tuning.

Do you know why?

Why?

Notice it's at the beginning of a sentence.

When we use the gerund at the beginning of  sentences, it's to make general statements.

Let's compare these two sentences.

Tuning in.

So this is the gerund.

It starts the sentence tuning in when others speak  

is key, is important or the most  important to building empathy.

So notice here is key to and then you need  the gerund for this expression as well.

Is key to doing something, in  this case building empathy.

But this is a general statement.

Tuning in when others speak  is key to building empathy,  

but compare that to tune in when I speak to you.

In this case, what verb tense is this?

It's the imperative which is used for instructions  or orders, and students often confuse these.

So make sure you're using the gerund to start  when you're making general statements and the  

imperative which uses the base verb to start  when you're providing an instruction or an order.

TuneIn when I speak to you and you  already know what perspectives is.

So it's great to have that repetition  

because then it gives you more opportunities  to remember and practice this vocabulary.

So perspectives as we learned before a  way of thinking or considering situations  

and it's in my opinion, but from my  perspective, did you remember that?

If not, that's OK because you just  need to repeat it in my opinion,  

from my perspective, all without  having to leave your chair.

So this means all all represents  you can learn about others lives,  

perspectives, feelings without leaving your chair.

So all is the various points  that were mentioned before.

Let's continue.

Get curious, replace judgement with curiosity.

So this is the next thing that you can do  or perhaps you should do to build empathy.

Remember that get means become.

So it's from that transition  from not curious to curious.

And notice the verb tense.

What verb tense is this?

We just talked about it.

It's not the gerund, it's the imperative.

It's the base verb.

Because this article is providing this  as an instruction to you get curious.

That's the advice to you now  to talk about this transition.

You might say I get confused when I read the news  

because there are so many expressions  and words that you don't understand.

So get is to talk about that transition from  

not confused when you first started  reading Not confused, too confused.

But then we use 2B I'm confused  to talk about your current state.

So I get confused.

I am confused and don't worry, that's why  I'm here to help you read the news easily.

So get curious.

Replace judgement again.

This is that imperative because it's  the base verb to start the sentence.

That's how I identify it.

It's the base verb that starts the  sentence, and it's an instruction.

Replace judgement with curiosity.

This is what the article wants you to do.

We can sometimes slip very  easily into judging other people.

What do you notice about the verb slip?

Is it a regular verb?

What is it?

It's actually a phrasal verb, but it  can be difficult to identify phrasal  

verbs when the preposition  is separated from the verb.

In this context, slip into means  to gradually enter a bad condition.

So you might understand from this example, some  fear the economy is slipping into a recession.

So the economy is entering a recession,  

which is a bad condition, but it's doing it  gradually, which means slowly slipping into.

So we can sometimes slip very  easily into judging other people.

So we start judging other people.

Oh, you shouldn't do that.

Why is that person doing that?

Look what they're doing.

Look what they're wearing.

So judging.

But we do it gradually, so we  don't notice we're doing it,  

but then gradually more and more, and  it's a bad condition and we slip into it.

We can sometimes slip very easily  into judging other people especially.

Actually people outside,  outside our normal in groups.

An in Group in this case just represents  the people you normally socialize with.

That would be your in Group,  

the people who are within your normal  circle, your normal social circle.

We use the term social circle  to represent the people.

It can be friends, family, Co workers, neighbors.

Your social circle is the people you normally  socialize with on a day-to-day basis.

Your social circle.

Try to notice when you're judging  someone without really knowing them  

and replace judgment with curiosity  about their lives and their feelings.

So notice here you replace something  judgment with something else.

As advice I could say on your IELTS,  

you should replace basic vocabulary  with more advanced vocabulary.

Like for example saying she  went through a hard time,  

she went through a turbulent time, so  you can replace hard with turbulent.

And this article suggests that you should  replace judgment with curiosity about their  

lives and feelings, especially if they're very  different from you or if you disagree with them.

Like any new skill, it can take time to  master developing your empathy skills,  

so don't go too fast.

The main thing is to be authentic.

Let's review how like is  being used in this context.

Like any new skill, like means similar to  

learning, similar to, and  then whatever the action is.

In this case, learning, mastering,  developing, practicing, whatever  

the action might be similar to learning any new  skill in the same way as learning any new skill.

So like means similar to or in the same way as.

So notice the difference here.

In the same way as you need all of these  words or you need similar to or you can  

just use the one word like let's look  at this example like learning to walk.

So remember, similar to in the same way as  and then the action is learning to walk.

Like learning to walk.

Improving your speaking skills takes a  lot of practice, repetition and patience.

Now notice here my verb is take  and look at how it's conjugated.

It has that S Do you know  why you might be confused?

Because you see the skills and you think, well,  

skills is plural and we only use,  we only add an S with ** *** it.

This is an area that's confusing in  English because you have to ask yourself  

what is this verb being conjugated  with and with gerund statements,  

The entire gerund statement which  is improving your speaking skills.

All of this is the subject of the statement  of the sentence and this is conjugated as it.

So gerund statements are conjugated  as third person singular.

You can think of it as it or this.

This tanks it takes, which is why you add that  as even though the last thing you see was plural,  

that doesn't matter because it's  conjugated as a gerund statement.

Improving your speaking skills takes a  lot of practice, repetition, and patience.

Like learning to walk in the same way as similar  

to like any new skill it can  take time to master developing.

So notice here we have two master doing something.

You could also just say to master something.

So you can use master plus a noun or master plus  a gerund because it's master doing something.

Let's look at these two examples.

She mastered.

This is in the Ed because your verb is to master.

So in the past, simple mastered.

She mastered something public speaking.

This is a noun.

It's a something, but you can use the gerund.

She mastered speaking in public.

So the exact same thing is just  the different sentence structure.

Because if you have a noun or if you start  with a verb, it needs to be the Geron verb.

So that's why it's master  developing your empathy skills.

So don't go too fast.

Take it slow is another way of saying this.

Don't go too fast.

Another expression is take it slow.

Take it slow and in this case the IT  represents whatever the action is.

Take developing your empathy skills slow.

But because we already said  that we replace it with it.

Take it slow.

The main thing is to be authentic.

To be authentic.

Authentic means genuine,  sincere or true to yourself.

So don't try to act fake or don't  try to give people fake empathy.

Just develop it in a way that seems  true to you and how you learn how you  

feel and offer it when it is genuine or sincere.

And right here we can practice an expression that  we learned before, which is something is key.

So instead of saying the main  thing is to be authentic,  

we can replace that and  say being authentic is key.

So notice here we have be authentic.

And then I have my be in the gerund verb  because it's talking about it as the action.

Being authentic is key.

So previously we learned to be key.

Being authentic is key.

You're not required to use that.

And if you don't understand  that change, that's OK.

Just practice this a few more times and  

you can review my explanation  of how to use is key as well.

And then just take it step by step  and you can work on these more  

advanced ways to change your sentence  structure as you feel more comfortable.

And that's the end of our article.

So what I'll do now is I'll  read the article from start  

to finish and you can focus on my pronunciation.

Can you teach people to have empathy?

Have you ever had that feeling when your friend  

is going through a hard time and  you can almost feel their pain?

That's one aspect of an  amazing power We have, empathy.

Empathy is the ability to feel and understand  other people's emotions and perspectives.

At times like that, empathy might come on  without you doing anything to make it happen.

But did you know that empathy is  actually a skill you can learn,  

and that it's really useful in myriad ways?

Listening is a key part of empathy,  tuning in so you really understand.

Try to listen with your whole self, to  concentrate 100% and to hear what's behind  

the words, to check you've really understood  and to show the other person you're listening.

It can be powerful to reflect  back what someone's telling you.

Read stories.

When we read stories, a  character's emotions can feel real.

Tuning into these emotions can help us  learn about others lives, perspectives,  

and feelings, all without  having to leave your chair.

Get curious.

Replace judgement with curiosity.

We can sometimes slip very  easily into judging other people,  

especially people outside our normal in groups.

Try to notice when you're judging  someone without really knowing them,  

and replace judgement with curiosity  about their lives and their feelings,  

especially if they're very different  from you or if you disagree with them.

Like any new skill, it can take time to  master developing your empathy skills,  

so don't go too fast.

The main thing is to be authentic.

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