2 HOUR English Vocabulary Lesson: Political Vocabulary MASTERCLASS

Welcome to this two hour  English vocabulary master class.

In this master class, we are going  to use the topic of politics.

You are going to learn important  political vocabulary and you're  

going to learn important everyday  vocabulary using political news.

Welcome back to JForrest English.

Of course, I'm Jennifer.

Now let's get started.

First, in this master class, let's  focus on important political vocabulary.

Nonpartisan is an adjective that means not a  

member or connected within  a group or political party.

The Community Center is hosting a  nonpartisan forum to discuss local issues.

So this forum is not related  to a specific political party.

The opposite of that is partisan.

This is also an adjective and it's strongly  supporting a person, principal or political party.

The audience was very partisan and  refused to listen to her speech.

And that's why I said this  lesson is nonpartisan because  

it's for everyone regardless of political beliefs.

So if you're excited to learn  this vocabulary, put let's go.

Put let's go 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.

So we have nonpartisan, partisan,  and there's also bipartisan.

Have you heard this before?

This is an adjective, and it's supporting  by or connected to two political parties.

And that's the word by which represents 2.

The government released a  bipartisan public health campaign,  

so this campaign was supported by or  connected to two political parties.

Now.

Technically, try partisan,  

which means three, or quadri partisan,  which means 4, and you can keep going.

Technically, those terms exist, but they're  not widely used, at least in North America.

Our long standing nonpartisan tradition  is to make decisions objectively,  

based only on the best available evidence.

There are concerns that highly partisan volunteers  could try to intimidate voters this year, but.

This is a bipartisan bill that  authorizes more than $7 billion  

so that initiatives like Feed the  Future endure well into the future.

Now let's quickly review the  politics because I hear students  

using this word incorrectly because of  the grammar of the sentence structure.

Politics is a noun.

This means the activities of government,  but it also means an area of study.

For example, Maria is studying politics.

The area of study.

She's studying politics at university.

Or perhaps you're at the dinner table  

and someone could say let's not discuss  politics, the activities of government.

Let's not discuss politics at dinner.

Now, don't confuse this with the word  political, which is an adjective.

This means relating to politics, but  it also means interested in politics.

And did you notice that the noun has?

That's on it.

If you follow my channel and if you're  new here, make sure you subscribe.

If you follow my channel, you'll  know that I use political articles,  

news articles related to the study of  politics to teach you my students English.

But the lessons are non partisan.

The focus of the lesson is teaching  you vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation.

It's not to support or comment on a political.

Party.

Or interest.

So remember, you can say Jasper's  very political as the adjective or  

you can say Jasper's interested  in politics, the study the noun.

And of course you already know politician.

This is a noun and this is a member of  a government or lawmaking organization.

Ahmed is a politician.

Don't forget that article because this is a  job title and we use articles with job titles.

Ahmed is a politician, but most of  his life he wasn't very political.

I wrote about politics, economics,  and corporate affairs, and I could  

have chosen to specialize in any of those fields.

I wasn't really political, I  was just a French horn player.

One newspaper from the early  1900s quoted a politician who  

said the Modi's had always been  loyal to the British Empire.

Now let's talk about a constituency.

This is a noun, and it's a body  of voters in a specific area.

And these voters, they elect a representative.

But remember this word constituency.

It refers to the whole body as one unit.

The politician worked hard to address  the concerns of his constituency.

You could also say his constituents.

So notice we have constituents  or the plural form constituents.

This is a noun.

And it is simply.

Referring to all voter or voters  in the plural in a specific area.

So I could say I'm one of your constituents.

I one of the people who can.

Vote for you if I choose.

Because I'm in this specific geographical area  

or a politician could say my constituents  will be pleased with this new initiative.

The constituency that he or she was  running for an office to represent.

Now, in states where judges are popularly  elected, they have constituents.

Now let's review some comments vocabulary,  

and I want you to pay attention  to the sentence structure.

She voted in an election.

So notice you vote in and  then an election, an election.

That's the noun form she voted for.

Amen.

So you vote for a person, you vote in an election.

And of course the verb is vote.

So you conjugate that based on your  subject, Comet is running for mayor.

Notice you can run for a political  position, in this case mayor.

You don't need an article here in front of  mayor because mayor is considered a proper noun.

You could also say Ahmed is a candidate for mayor  or Ahmed is campaigning for the position of mayor.

You could add the position  of but you don't need to.

So you could just say Ahmed  is campaigning for mayor.

So nearly a third of these  students voted in an election.

But they all, just for some reason,  voted for the war and he starts running  

for mayor and getting and doing  really, really well in the polls.

It is just as illegal to make a  foreign donation to a candidate  

for mayor as it or a sheriff  as it is for the presidency.

So let's say it's election night  and all of the constituents voted  

for their party of choice, their  person of choice, and guess what?

Ahmed won the election and  it was a landslide victory.

This means that Omet won by a large margin.

So the margin means the number  of votes for or against.

In this case, a large margin  could be 70% of the votes were 4.

Omet and 30% were against him.

You could also say a clear  margin using that word clear.

You could say it was a.

Clear cut victory.

Nobody can say that the results aren't conclusive.

7030 that's conclusive.

Ahmed won.

You could say it was an underdog victory.

This means that nobody expected Ahmed to win.

He was the underdog.

You could.

Also say it was an upset.

An upset.

This means that everyone  expected someone else to win.

It was an upset.

But now let's say that Ahmed lost the election.

We could also say it was an upset,  

but in this case everyone expected  Ahmed to win, but he didn't.

We could say it was a narrow defeat,  or you could say it was a close call.

This means that Ahmed lost, but by a small margin.

So maybe it was 51 to 49.

That would be the smallest margin possible.

You could say it was a crushing defeat.

This means Ahmed lost by a large margin.

So 70% of people didn't vote  for Ahmed, only 30% did.

It was a crushing defeat, keep in mind.

That you can use this vocabulary about.

Winning and losing for sports  recruitment or any competition.

Germany's leading far right party  suffered a narrow defeat in regional  

elections in one of its strongholds.

It was a close call.

I mean, things almost didn't workout.

King Ben Haddad the first attacks from around  Damascus, what today would be known as Syria,  

forcing the north to retreat in crushing defeat.

Now let's talk about to impeach  a politician's nightmare.

This is a verb, and it means to  formally accuse a public official  

of a serious crime in connection with their job.

Did you know that in history, three  US presidents have been impeached?

This means three US presidents have been accused  of a serious crime related to their position.

Can you name one out of the three?

Well if you follow my learn English  with the news lessons, I'm sure you can.

So put one of those names in the comments.

So three have been impeached accused, but 0  presidents have been forced to leave office.

You could also say that 0 presidents have  

been removed from their position  as a result of the impeachment.

Now notice here impeachment is the noun form.

It's talking about the accusation as a noun.

If a politician is forced to leave office or  removed from their position, this means fired.

But we only use that term  in non political positions.

So in a non political position  you would say Yevgenya was fired.

She's an employee and the company or the boss.

Fired her.

But for political positions, you can say removed  from office or forced to leave their position.

So three US presidents have been impeached,  0 have been forced to leave office.

But did you know that former President  Richard Nixon, he stepped down,  

he resigned before he was officially  impeached For a non political position.

You would use the word quit or you can  use resigned, but quit is more common.

Yevgenya quit 3 presidents have been impeached,  Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and Donald Trump.

Trump is likely to be the  first to be impeached twice.

Whether they're removed from their position  or if they're otherwise discipline due  

to concerns about harassment, bullying,  retaliation, or hostile working conditions.

Well anyway, it got a lot better  and by the time I stepped down.

We had the Internet, but while running,  you know, at high speed, it was marvelous.

I mean, we were awash in cash.

I just mentioned former President Richard Nixon.

Let's review the word incumbent.

This is a noun and it's the current  holder of a political office or position.

The incumbent president.

The current president isn't  running for re election.

That's a story I did a learn English with  the news on, so make sure you watch it.

So subscribe if you haven't already.

Now let's review to lobby.

This is a verb and is to try to influence  a politician or public official.

The company spent millions on lobbying efforts,  so in this case it's being used as an adjective.

It describes the efforts the incumbent  president, the current president,  

faced impeachment accusations of a serious crime.

Here it's the noun form for  secretly meeting with lobbyists.

So right here, the word is a noun.

A lobbyist is someone who lobbies.

How about this word?

Filibuster.

Filibuster.

Isn't that fun to say?

Filibuster.

Say it out loud.

Filibuster.

Do you know what this is?

Well, it's both a verb and a noun,  

and it's a long speech that someone makes to  delay or prevent a new law from being made.

She filibustered the bill.

So here it's a verb, and it's in the  past simple form, the filibuster.

So here it's a noun.

The filibuster lasted for over 10 hours.

Remember a long speech?

Filibuster.

And yes, it's a filibuster.

The filibuster is on.

Now let's focus on everyday  vocabulary using political news.

Of course, Joe Biden is the president,  

but did you know that he quit the presidential  race and he will end his term in January 2025?

Now let's review the news article  that discusses his decision to.

Quit first.

I'll read the headline inside Biden's historic  decision to drop out of the 2024 race.

So first, let's take a look at this phrasal verb,  

because it's very important  to understand the story now.

You drop out of something.

This means that you withdraw from, you leave.

You officially and formally withdraw or leave.

You drop out.

So Biden is no longer running for presidency.

He dropped out.

We commonly use this with education as well.

For example, Mark Zuckerberg dropped out of.

So notice you need this additional  preposition of when you identify the  

location of university of College of his program.

Or you can also use it in a race or competition.

Now, if you don't specify the location,  

you don't need to use the preposition of Mark  Zuckerberg went to Harvard, but he dropped out.

I don't need to say of Harvard of University,  

because I already set the  context, so it's obvious.

So you only include of if you use the  race competition or school program.

The meaning is the same to withdraw or leave.

Just important.

We don't use this for the workplace.

If you leave your position permanently, you quit.

You don't drop out.

For example, I quit my job at Facebook  because we're talking about Mark Zuckerberg.

So I permanently left my  job and I voluntarily left.

It was my decision to leave.

Now the past simple of the verb to quit is quit.

Last week I quit my job at Facebook.

So you can use drop out for school programs,  education programs, a race or competition,  

but you use the verb to quit  when it comes to employment.

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

You can find the link in the description.

Now let's continue with our lesson.

U.S.

President Joe Biden has ended  his re election campaign.

So notice how they add re election campaign  because he had already been elected.

He's currently president.

So we add re in front of a  verb when the action is again.

So he's campaigning again.

And notice that pronunciation.

We have a strong E sound, a long E re re election,  re election, repeat after me re election.

You might be thinking right now,  I'll need to re watch this lesson.

I'll need to watch this lesson again  because you're learning so much.

You need to re watch it and  that's exactly what you should do.

U.S.

President Joe Biden has ended.

Notice this is the present perfect  because it's a completed pass action.

He ended it yesterday or three days ago.

So it's a completed pass action, but there  is a result in the president present.

So now, so now we will have a new candidate.

So he has ended his re  election campaign and endorsed.

Now this is a mistake I see students make.

If you have the same sentence and  you have one action and you have  

a specific verb conjugation, the present perfect.

If you have and your next verb needs to  have the same conjugation previously,  

because you read this as two actions, President  Joe Biden has ended his re election campaign.

Joe Biden has endorsed Vice President Kamala,  but notice here they didn't include the has.

So if it's an if there's an auxiliary verb,  

you can drop it, but it's always  correct to include the full verb.

So if you're not sure, then just include  the auxiliary verb and has endorsed.

When you endorse someone or something, it means  you publicly support that someone or something.

So if a celebrity endorses a product,  they publicly support that product.

They say, I really like this drink,  for example, they endorse that drink.

So Joe Biden has endorsed Vice President Kamala  

Harris to succeed him as the  Democrat Democratic candidate.

When someone Kamala Harris When  someone succeeds someone else,  

it means that they take over  that person's position or role.

So Kamala Harris is taking over Joe  Biden's role as Democratic candidate  

in an extraordinary decision that up ends an  already dramatic race for the White House.

Upend.

This is a verb.

Upend.

Repeat after me.

Upend that means to drastically change or disrupt.

So it has more of a negative feel to it.

Now the verb is conjugated in this  subject because it has an S here.

So it's conjugated in the present  simple third person singular and  

is conjugated with in an extraordinary decision.

So a decision it top ends  an already dramatic race.

You can use this in many situations, most likely  at work, but also in your personal life as well.

You might say the PM quit.

PM is short for project  manager is a common acronym.

The PM quit, remember quit, permanently left the  position, but it was also a voluntary decision.

The PM said I quit, the PM quit and it  completely upended our project timeline.

It disrupted or dramatically  changed our project timeline.

Now remember, upend is a verb.

So here I have it in the past,  simple upended because it's in an Ed.

You need that ID at the end upended.

Repeat after me upended very good.

Mr.

Biden 81.

This is his age rather than saying who is 81,  you can just put the number here with two commas.

Mr.

Biden 81 said in a Sunday written statement  

that it was the greatest honor  to serve but his withdrawal.

So notice this is the noun form  before we saw two withdraw,  

that is the verb, but withdrawal, withdrawal.

Repeat after me withdrawal, his withdrawal.

This is the noun.

There is a noun form for the verb  withdraw, which is withdrawal.

Now, if that isn't the case,  for example, the verb drop out,  

you can just take that verb and put it in the  ING, but have a possessive his dropping out.

Or we can use the verb to withdraw his draw,  withdrawing but his withdrawal, the noun form.

But here we're treating this as a noun,  

but his dropping out was in the best  interest of my party and the country.

Notice that some words have quotations around it.

It means that these two words were in the  written statement and they're directly quoted.

So Joe Biden said the two words greatest honor.

He also said in the best interest  of my party and the country.

So he said these words directly  in the written statement.

The other words he did not say  directly in the written statement.

So that's how we know as the reader that these  words are coming directly from Joe Biden.

Let's practice this sentence structure in  the best interests of someone or something,  

and notice the sentence begins with something to  be in the best interest of something or someone.

So it's always important to understand the full  

sentence structure so you know how  to confidently use these expressions.

So here you can say it's it is.

It's in the best interest of.

We always use interest in singular.

So it doesn't matter if the noun is plural.

This is an idiomatic expression in the  best interest of someone or something.

It's in the best interest of my students  you to subscribe to subscribe to my channel.

So make sure you subscribe right now.

And why is it in your best interest?

Because my channel will help you  improve your English for free.

So make sure you subscribe.

Now you could also say it's in your best interest.

If you are talking to one person or a group  and you want to address them more personally,  

it's in your best interest to subscribe.

Of course, you can change the verb to whatever  you want, but notice here we have the infinitive.

You can also start with a gerund expression.

So in this case, I can say subscribing in  the article, it's withdrawing, dropping out.

In this case, subscribing  is in the best interest of.

So this is your idiom that you need to  remember to be is in the best interest of  

and then someone or something, my students,  if you agree that that it's in your best  

interest to subscribe or students  best interest to subscribe,  

then put that's right, put that's  right in the comments below.

And notice there are three different  ways to communicate this one idea.

This is often the case in English.

Get comfortable with one, practice it.

And then when you're comfortable with it,  you can practice other structures as well.

But don't feel like you need to learn all  these different ways at the same time.

Just take it one step at a time and  that's why I'm here to help you.

So again, put that's right in the comments.

The announcement, the announcement  that Joe Biden has dropped out.

We can use the present perfect because it's a  

completed pass action with  a result in the present.

The announcement caps a  tumultuous period in US politics.

The verb to cap means to conclude the  announcement concludes a tumultuous  

repeat after me tumultuous, tumultuous  a tumultuous tumultuous is an adjective.

It means full of confusion, change or uncertainty.

So it's describing the period,  this time in US politics.

It's a tumultuous period, which began  

with his sometimes incoherent debate performance  against Donald Trump on July or June 27th.

Incoherent means not clear or sensible.

So you could say her explanation was incoherent.

Hopefully you're not thinking  that this lesson is incoherent.

It's not clear to you, or my  explanations aren't sensible.

They're not easy to understand.

I explain tumultuous in such a confusing  way that to you it's incoherent.

So we, I know many of my students might  think well, my English is incoherent,  

but we don't generally use this  because someone might make a mistake.

It's because I did such a bad job  of explaining the word tumultuous.

It's a simple explanation, but I explained it in  a very complicated way, a very ineffective way.

You could describe my explanation as  incoherent, which would be frustrating for you.

Now, we also use this if people are in  a really difficult emotional situation.

So I might be so upset that I tried to  explain something to you, but it's incoherent.

My words aren't coming out clearly  or sensibly because I'm so upset.

She was so upset that she was incoherent.

Now they're saying that his debate  performance was sometimes incoherent.

So sometimes he was not clear or sensible.

Mr.

Biden says he will remain president until January.

Remember, he is currently president, but currently  there is also an election for the next president.

He was a candidate for that election to be  the next president, but he has dropped out.

So now he is no longer the  candidate for the next president,  

but he is the current president,  which will be until January.

Miss Harris 59.

So remember, this is how we state someone's age  

rather than saying who is 59, just Miss Hera,  59, said that she was honored to be endorsed.

Remember what endorsed means publicly supported,  

now here to be endorsed because  she's receiving the endorsement.

So it's passive.

Miss Harris was endorsed by Joe Biden.

That's the passive Joe Biden endorsed  Miss Harris, so that's the active.

So that's why here we have to be endorsed.

I wrote the passive and the active there for  you to see adding she would earn and win this  

nomination because remember, they're still in  process of of nominating candidates for president.

So she has to earn and win this nomination.

While Miss Harris has been  picking up endorsements.

So here to pick up endorsements,  

it means receiving endorsements  from many big figures in the party.

So big figures.

This represents prominent people.

She's a big figure.

She's a prominent person.

Notice here they use the word endorsements.

Endorsements in the plural.

This is the noun form.

So if you endorse someone, it  means you publicly support them.

And then an endorsement is seeing it as a  something the public support the endorsement.

So you might ask someone,  can I have your endorsement?

That's the same thing as can you endorse me?

So you can use the noun or the verb,  but the sentence structure would change.

I wrote those two examples, one with the  noun form and one with the verb form.

Now, although we use endorsement a lot  in a competition, to say you support  

one person in a competition, you can also  use it just to say you support someone.

You support me and my channel and this  YouTube video and you can endorse me.

You can show your endorsement by liking this  video, subscribing, sharing it with your friends.

So if you endorse me, can you endorse me?

Can I have your endorsement  put absolutely in your chat,  

in the chat to say you publicly support  me and I would greatly appreciate that.

So please, can I have your  endorsement put absolutely  

in the chat if you're willing  to give me your endorsement.

And thank you very much.

I take that seriously.

She is yet to be officially nominated.

So notice how they have She is  yet to be officially nominated.

There's another common  sentence structure for this.

You can say she hasn't been  officially nominated yet,  

but it's very common to say she is yet to be  officially nominated and that the official  

nomination, and that may not happen until  the Democratic National Convention in August.

In the wake of Mr.

Biden's decision, what's his decision to drop out,  

right to drop out of the race or if you don't  specify the something, just to drop out.

Mr.

Trump declared the president was not fit to run  and is certainly not fit to serve in the wake of.

So if you use this expression,  you have to use it correctly.

You need in the wake of and  then something, in this case Mr.

Biden's decision.

And this means following his decision  or as a result of his decision.

But remember in the wake of, in the wake of,  

repeat after me, in the  wake of, in the wake of Mr.

Biden's decision.

So after following, Mr.

Trump declared now it's important  to understand alternatives.

For example, declare is an alternative.

To the verb say.

But to declare means to say  something firmly, firmly or publicly.

So he didn't just say it, he  declared it, which sounds stronger.

He said it firmly, Mr.

Trump declared, said firmly.

The president, Joe Biden, was  not fit to run in this case.

To run means to run for future presidency  because you run for a public position,  

which means you want that position.

You are officially a candidate for that position.

So that's what this to run means.

It means to run for president, the  next president, and here not fit.

Not fit.

To.

Run for president, not fit to serve to serve  as president, his current role as president.

If you're not fit to do something,  

it means that you're not suitable or  it's not appropriate for whatever reason.

So you hear this a lot in a workplace environment.

She's very experienced, but she's not a good fit.

Notice here I use the noun form.

She's not a fit, and then  an adjective is a good fit.

If I use the verb form, I would say, but she's not  fit for this position, not fit for this position.

So it means that the position  is just not suitable for her.

It's not appropriate for her.

Maybe is she doesn't have the  specific skills or personality needed.

So hopefully you think that I'm  fit to be your English teacher.

I'm suitable and appropriate.

Hopefully you think that because you  already gave me your endorsement, right?

Hopefully you did by saying  absolutely in the comments.

Other senior Republicans joined him,  

him being Donald Trump, because  Donald Trump is a Republican.

Other senior Republicans  joined him in their criticism,  

the Republican Party's  criticism, and called on Mr.

Biden to leave the White House immediately.

So remember, he's currently president.

So they're saying he should leave the White House,  

he should no longer be president, not  just the Democratic candidate candidacy.

So he said, I'm not going  to run for future president.

But the Republicans are saying  he should leave immediately.

Immediately means right now, not tomorrow,  not next week, not in January, right now.

And here called on.

So the Republicans called on Mr.

Biden to leave the White House immediately.

So it means they formally or publicly  demanded that he leave the White House,  

that he say I will no longer be president.

Mr.

Biden had faced intense scrutiny  since his debate performance in June.

Less than two weeks ago, he hosted a high  profile summit with NATO leaders in Washington.

The occasion, the occasion being the high  profile summit with NATO leaders in Washington.

All of this is represented as the  occasion, the occasion, the event.

You could say as well, the  occasion did little to calm nerves.

So notice this pronunciation that L is silent.

It's calm om om calm.

Calm did little to calm nerves means  that the something, in this case,  

the occasion, the event didn't  reduce anxiety, tension, nervousness.

All of that would be nerves.

So to calm nerves means to  reduce anxiety, tension,  

nervousness or other similar negative emotions.

But in this case, the event didn't do it.

It did little to calm nerves  

within his own party, with him mistakenly  introducing Ukrainian President Zelensky  

as President Putin and appearing to refer  to Miss Harris as Vice President Trump.

So these are two examples as to why  the occasion did little to calm nerves.

The focus will now be on the party's National  

Convention, which is scheduled  to start on August 19th.

Remember to always pay attention to  your prepositions because they're  

specific to verbs or idioms or sentence structure.

In this case with the verb or  in this case noun, the focus.

This is a noun form the focus, but  you can use it as a verb to focus.

You need to focus on your sentence structure.

The focus of this lesson is  on on sentence structure.

So you need that preposition on and notice  you can use focus as a noun and a verb.

I wrote those two examples today.

We'll focus on sentence structure.

And this is at the end of our lesson,  so I could put this in the past.

Simple.

Today we focused focused with a soft T.

We focused on sentence structure.

Yes, we did.

And to use it as a noun form, the focus  of this lesson is on sentence structure.

Again, because I'm sharing this at the very end  of the lesson, I could change my verb to the past.

Simple.

The focus.

Sorry, this should be of the focus of  this lesson was on sentence structure,  

so you could have these in the  future, present, simple, or the past.

Just remember to change your verb  tense depending on the time reference.

And don't forget to look at sentence  structure and look at prepositions.

And that is the end of the article.

So now I'll read the article from  start to finish and you can focus on  

my pronunciation Inside Biden's historic  decision to drop out of the 2024 race.

U.S.

President Joe Biden has ended his re  election campaign and endorsed Vice  

President Kamala Harris to succeed  him as a Democratic candidate in  

an extraordinary decision that up ends an  already dramatic race for the White House.

Mr.

Biden, 81, said in a Sunday written statement  that it was the greatest honor to serve.

But his withdrawal was in the best  interest of my party and the country.

The announcement counts a  tumultuous period in US politics,  

which began with his sometimes incoherent debate  performance against Donald Trump on June 27th.

Mr.

Biden says he will remain president until January.

Miss Harris, 59, said that she  was honored to be endorsed,  

adding she would earn and win this nomination.

While Miss Harris has been picking up  endorsements from many big figures in  

the party, she is yet to be officially nominated,  

and that may not happen until the  Democratic National Convention in August.

In the wake of Mr.

Biden's decision, Mr.

Trump declared the president was not fit  to run and is certainly not fit to serve.

Other senior Republicans joined him  in their criticism and called on Mr.

Biden to leave the White House immediately.

Not just the Democratic candidacy, Mr.

Biden had faced intense scrutiny since  his last debate performance in June.

Less than two weeks ago, he hosted a high  profile summit with NATO leaders in Washington.

The occasion did little to calm  nerves within his own party,  

with him mistakenly introducing  Ukrainian President Zelensky as  

President Putin and appearing to refer  to Miss Harris as Vice President Trump.

The focus will now be on the  party's National Convention,  

which is scheduled to start on August 19th.

Now, let's keep going and focus on news headlines  

that discuss the debate that took place  between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

Now let's review our first headline.

This might be a little small  depending what device you're using,  

but don't worry because I have it bigger on  the next slide, which I'll share with you.

But let me read this to you and I want  you to let me know in the comments.

If you're watching live, that's awesome.

And if you're watching the replay still,  

I want you to let me know in the comments  which words you don't understand.

Is there anything about the grammar or  maybe you're not sure about pronunciation?

Let me know what you want  to review in the comments.

And I've chosen some vocabulary that I think will  be very helpful for you to add to your speech.

So the headline is Harris.

Harris is, of course, Kamala Harris,  one of the candidates for president,  

and she will be participating in the presidential  debate, which takes place tonight, September 10th.

Harris relents on muting debate microphones.

This text is.

Quite small.

Don't worry, I'll show it to you.

Larger.

The vice president, Who is Kamala Harris?

The vice president made an unsuccessful push to  

have Donald Trump's microphone left on when it  wasn't the former president's turn to speak.

OK, so let me know which words you don't  understand, what doesn't make sense to you,  

what confuses you, and we'll review this together.

Now, I am very happy that Meerkat Lover  2004 wants to know what relents means.

Because I figured, I figured,  I knew I had an idea.

I figured my students wouldn't  know what relents means.

So let's review that.

OK, so this is the first choice here.

Harris relents on muting debate microphones.

Now another student wants to know  what does the word Harris mean?

This is very important.

The name of this woman is Kamala Harris.

Harris is her last name just  like my name is Jennifer Forrest.

But in news headlines, often  they just use the last name.

So if someone was talking about me, they would  say Forrest, but her last name is Harris.

OK, so let's talk about relents.

Now to relent.

This is a verb, so notice that conjugation.

It's in what verb tense?

What verb tense is this everyone Harris relents.

What verb tense?

You can put it in the comments  to relent on something.

This is a verb and it means to finally  agree to do something or accept something,  

but that you have been resisting or opposing.

So basically this means at first  you said no, I'm not doing it,  

but then you relent and you  say OK fine, I'll do it.

So you change your stance,  you change your opinion,  

you change what you agreed to or accept it.

For example, I told my kids they  can't watch the debate, so I said no.

For whatever reason, it's too  late or I don't want them.

It's too mature or adult for them.

I don't want them watching it.

So I told my kids they can't watch the debate.

But in the end I relented.

I relented, which means I change my opinion,  I change my mind, I change what I said.

So it means my kids can watch the debate.

Because I relented, I relented.

Remember, this is a verb,  so you need to conjugate it.

And who knew what Harris relents?

What's that verb tense?

We have some answers here, Lugio said.

Present simple, exactly Roosevelt,  

present simple third person exactly because  Harris represents Kamala Harris, a woman.

She relents.

She relents.

And don't forget you have to add that as  on 3rd person singular and Pete said given.

Exactly.

Relent is another way of saying given.

Given.

I gave in, I gave in.

So it means I finally said yes to something  I originally said no to or the opposite.

I say no, but I originally said yes.

Vasily wants to know what muting means.

OK, so if I mute my microphone, that  would be if my microphone were muted,  

it means the sound of my microphone is turned off.

You cannot hear it.

So this means that originally Kamala Harris  

wanted the microphones to be  muted, but then she relented.

She changed her opinion.

OK, now let's move on.

What other words don't you understand from this?

Let's review it.

Oh, and of course, if you're liking this  lesson, well then hit like subscribe.

So you're notified every time I post a new lesson,  

a live lesson or a regular lesson  and put yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

So I know you like the style of lesson because I  

want to make sure I'm creating  lessons that are helping you.

So let me know if you like this lesson.

OK, so our next we know Harris  relents on muting debate microphone.

So notice you relent on doing something.

You need that gerund verb after  on because on is a preposition.

The vice president, who is Kamala Harris?

The vice president Kamala  Harris made an unsuccessful  

push to have Donald Trump's microphone left on.

If the microphone is left on, it  means you can hear the sound from  

the microphone when it wasn't the  former president's turn to speak.

So let's review push to have.

But notice here it's a noun because you have  all push to have, an unsuccessful push to have.

So push in this context is a noun all push.

But this is commonly used in the  verb form to push to do something.

When you push to do something,  it you make a strong effort or  

attempt to achieve or influence  something, so you might push.

To.

Have live lessons every day.

How could you do that?

Will you constantly send me an e-mail saying  Jennifer you should have a live lesson every day?

So by you trying to influence  my decision, you're pushing.

You're.

Pushing to have a live lesson every day.

Now let's look at this example.

I pushed to watch the debate because remember  my kids, I said, no, you can't watch the debate.

So this could be my child saying I pushed to watch  the debate so the child could say please, please.

But I really want to.

It's important for me to learn  this information, please, please.

So it's trying to influence me to achieve this.

Now you could also say I pushed someone.

I pushed my mom to let me watch the debate.

I pushed Jennifer to post live lessons every day  

so you can push or push someone  to do something, Yousef said.

And everyone comment using these examples,  

this is the best way to practice so you  permanently remember this information.

And I am happy to give you feedback  as well to as many students as I can.

I push myself to dedicate my  time to learn more from you.

Well, that's very nice.

So you push yourself, you encourage yourself, you  influence yourself, you push yourself, Ricky said.

I push myself to speak because remember,  you need the infinitive to do something.

I push myself to speak English every day.

That is an excellent example.

Great job, Ricky, keep doing it.

OK, so let's keep going everyone.

And we have a different headline.

So here on the left, we have Kamala Harris, who is  currently the vice president of the United States.

Remember, it's the United States.

It's an exception.

Countries don't have articles, Canada,  

France, Germany, but the United  States, you need that article.

And then, of course, on the right, we  have former President Donald Trump.

And tonight, September 10th,  they are having a debate, debate.

OK, so this headline reads no hot mic moments.

What else to know about the Harris versus  this V with a period represents versus  

versus Trump debate.

So Harris versus Trump, Harris against Trump.

Here's where the saga on microphone muting landed.

We're actually going to look  at this small font below.

But if there's something you  don't understand in this headline,  

let me know and I will answer that for you.

OK, before we move on, I really  like this example from Theophil.

Parents push their children, it's just  their children, their children know as  

their children because there is all ready  for plural their children to study hard.

Exactly, exactly.

And I push my students to learn more  advanced vocabulary, but I do it in  

a way to help you because I teach it to  you fully and I'm here to support you.

Very nice examples, everyone.

I love it.

OK, so here's where the saga  on microphone muting land it.

Do you know what a saga is?

This is used a lot in books movies.

You might think of Lord of the  Rings or Star Wars or Harry Potter.

You could consider that a saga a saga.

This is a noun.

You can identify nouns because they have  an article in the headline is the saga.

But here I just wrote a saga because means  any and the is a specific saga a saga.

Notice that pronunciation.

I've said it many, many times.

A saga is a long, complicated and often  dramatic series of events or stories.

And that's why I referenced the three,  the three that I know of the longest,  

most complicated and dramatic stories, Harry  Potter, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars.

Which saga are you familiar with?

There are, of course, many, many, many more.

Which saga are you familiar with?

But you can use this in your day-to-day life.

For example, the renovation  project turned into a saga.

So it was supposed to be simple.

They were just going to redo their counters.

So the counter is where you you put your plates,  

you put your cutting board, it's  the surface in your kitchen.

So it was supposed to be simple,  

but then it turned into a a saga turn  into means became it became a saga.

It became long, complicated, dramatic maybe.

There were a lot of problems, a lot of issues.

It was a lot more expensive than they expected.

It took a lot more time than they expected.

It turned into a saga, or this  is often used in the media.

The media followed their Liga legal  saga, their legal saga for weeks.

So there might be a celebrity  couple and they're getting divorced,  

but it's a long, complicated, dramatic divorce.

You can refer to the divorce as a saga, OK?

Muhammad said their relationship  turned into a saga exactly.

But remember Muhammad, it's turn into.

So you need that preposition into and  then you have to conjugate your verb turn.

So this would be in the past simple.

Their relationship turned into a saga.

OK, someone asked about what a hot mic is.

Yes.

OK, so first of all, a mic is short  form for microphone native speakers.

We like to take long words and shorten them.

For example, most native speakers don't  actually say renovation, we say Renault,  

we don't say microphone, we say Mike.

This is a mic.

It's a very good quality mic because I want you to  have a great experience listening to my lessons.

So hopefully you think the quality of the  sound is very good because of this mic.

Now a hot mic, this is not important vocabulary  

for you in your day-to-day speech,  but just to understand the headline.

A hot mic is an active mic.

So right now my mic is hot.

This is important because imagine at the  beginning of a debate and I'm talking  

to someone beside me, but I  didn't know my mic was hot.

I didn't know my mic was active, was turned on.

The audience can hear what I'm saying, but I  didn't know they could hear what I was saying.

So a hot mic is just an active mic.

A muted mic means there's no sound.

It's on mute.

OK, excellent questions everyone.

Now you know what a saga is.

So let's keep going because  let's look at the word landed.

This is very commonly used, but look at  the sentence structure where something  

in this case where the saga on microphone  muting all of that represents something.

So where something or where someone landed.

So this to the word landed means to  reach a particular point or conclusion.

For example, in a business context,  you could say where did the board,  

the board of directors which native  speakers shortened to just the word board?

Where did the board land on the salary increases?

Because grammatically you land on.

Something.

So in this case the something is salary increases.

This is basically asking  what did the board decide?

What was their final conclusion  about the salary increases?

What was their decision?

What was their position?

Where did they land?

You can absolutely use this in  a everyday social situation.

For example, my friend could ask me.

Imagining I'm a child, my friend could ask me.

Where did your parents land on the debate?

So what did your parents decide?

What was their final decision?

Where did your parents land?

Oh.

They said I can't watch the debate or my  parents relented so I can watch the debate.

They originally said no, but  then they changed their opinion.

They relented.

OK, so maybe remember you wanted to to  push me to post live lessons every day.

So you might ask a fellow  student, where did Jennifer land?

Where did Jennifer land on the live lesson?

Is she going to post them daily, Yes or no?

What was her decision?

All right, everyone.

And exactly, Roosevelt, Mike  is short for microphone.

OK.

And Hafiz, The Twilight Saga.

Absolutely.

That is a great example of a saga.

Very nice.

All right, everyone, Manuel asked.

Landed the conversation.

It is over.

Land it.

Yeah, you could say we landed the conversation.

We reached a particular point or conclusion.

But you could ask where did the conversation land?

So what was the final result or conclusion of it?

Did you reach a a consensus,  an opinion, a decision?

For example, where did the conversation land?

How did the conversation land?

You could ask that as well.

All right, everyone, excellent job.

And now let's continue on.

We have a new headline.

Do you recognize the man on the right?

Who knows the man on the right?

It's Elon Musk, of course, and  the man on the left is former  

President Donald Trump who will be  taking part in the debate tonight.

The presidential debate  tonight being September 10th,  

depending on when you watch  this, watch this lesson, OK?

Muhammad said today, Trump's  debate will turn into turn into,  

don't forget that, into turn into a saga.

That's a great example and is possible.

The debate could turn into a saga.

It could turn into a long, complicated dramatic  story or event rather than just a debate.

That's absolutely possible.

OK, great example, everyone.

Now everyone knows it's Elon Musk.

Very good.

So let's read this headline together.

This is from technology magazine.

Tech Futurists.

Do you know what the word tech is?

Anyone know?

Tech tech futurist hash out Harris versus Trump.

Notice here there's AVS.

Before we just saw AV.

Both of them are short form for versus.

You can just have the V or the VS.

They're both acceptable short forms versus  Harris versus Trump, Harris against Trump.

And the small text, which  we call the subtext says.

At a conference in San Francisco Thursday,  

tech wonks aired out their unease  about the upcoming election.

OK, so Roosevelt said.

Tech.

Is a short word for technology.

Exactly.

And my smart students,  everybody knows this already.

Well then I didn't need to teach this  to you because this is my first point,  

but I just wanted to make sure everyone knew.

So technology tech notice that K sound tech tech.

So it's very common to just say I work  in high tech, I need tech support.

I bought some new tech native  speakers just use the word tech.

But my smart students, you already know this.

Everybody knows this.

Awesome.

OK, so Ricky wants to know  the meaning of hash out.

And I saw some other students  who also wanted to know that.

And don't worry because  that's my next word for you.

So tech futurist, hash out.

So to hash out, this is a phrasal verb.

The main verb is hash, and  then the preposition is out.

So you would conjugate the verb hash.

This means to discuss something thoroughly,  

and it's usually because you want to  reach an agreement or find a solution.

So you might say, let's hash out the  details of the contract before we sign it.

So absolutely Svetlana means discuss,  but just remember it sounds like to  

discuss very thoroughly, thoroughly  means completely, 100% in depth.

And also the point is to reach  an agreement or find a solution.

So here they want to reach  an agreement on the details  

of the contract and they want to hash it out.

So discuss it thoroughly in detail.

All right.

And and re asks.

Yeah, docs.

Exactly.

This is another great example  of a shortened word in English.

Docs is short for documents,  but because it's plural,  

we keep that as you could also  say the doc, I sent you the doc,  

I sent you a doc and it's singular, but  I sent you the doc, the docs, the docs.

OK, so that's plural.

Great example.

And Farshad, exactly to hash out, to  discuss thoroughly, to discuss thoroughly.

So in an everyday context,  you and your your friends,  

your family, you could hash  out your vacation plans.

It just means you discuss them thoroughly.

But you want to reach a decision.

So you want to decide where are we going?

How are we getting there?

What are we going to do?

OK, excellent job everyone.

Oh, Youssef asked about unease.

And we will talk about that.

I have that highlighted as well.

So just one second and then we'll talk about that.

OK.

And we will also talk about wonks and aired out.

Don't worry, I know what  words you won't understand.

All right, let's so let's move on.

What do we have?

Tech wonks.

Do you know what a wonk is?

That's a weird word.

Repeat after me.

Wonk Wonk wonks, wonks, wonks.

Because it's in the plural.

All wonk.

This is a noun.

This is a person who likes to  think about or study something  

but who spends a great amount of time doing it.

So I understand you like studying English, you  like studying English grammar, but to qualify  

as a walk it would mean you spend a great amount  of time, far more time than the average student.

So you have to study it 10 times more than  the average student to be considered a walk.

But for example, he's a grammar wonk and  we'll talk about verb conjugations for hours.

So yes, you enjoy learning about English grammar,  

but do you spend 10 times more  time than the average student?

Do you obsess about it and think about it  and want to talk about it all the time?

So don't call yourself a wonk simply because you  like thinking about or studying certain topics.

You have to really be obsessed  with those topics and spend the  

majority of your time on those  topics to be considered a wonk.

So what about you?

Would you consider yourself a wonk?

Remember, you have to be obsessed.

Spend way more time than the average student.

It's OK if you're not a wonk.

I don't think you need to be a wonk to  get amazing results or to become fluent.

OK, so let's move on and talk about aired out.

So to air something out, in this  case, the something is there,  

unease about the upcoming election,  That's the something to air something out.

This is a phrasal verb.

The verb is air.

The.

Verb is air.

Let me repeat that.

The verb is air and then the preposition is out.

So you have to conjugate the  verb air as you see it here.

It's in the past now.

This means to bring issues, thoughts or  feelings into the open for discussion.

But generally these are thoughts,  

issues and feelings that you don't  share with the average person.

So for example, we went to couples  couples therapy to air out our issues.

So my partner and I, we wanted to to share our  feelings, but we wanted to do that in a Safeway.

So when you air out your feelings  with your your mother, your father,  

your sister, your brother, your  husband, your wife, your best friend,  

you would tell them how you truly feel your true  emotions for the purpose of discussing them.

So we often use this when there is some negativity  involved, when there's upset feelings involved.

So that's why it's with unease because  unease means it's more of a negative.

So let's look at that unease.

Now notice here this is a  noun because it's ones unease.

There unease there is the possessive,  

but unease is a noun and it's feelings  of discomfort, anxiety or worry.

So elections often produce unease in society.

Elections often produce result  in, create feelings of discomfort,  

anxiety or worry because it's a big change.

An election is a big change, and change  means uncertainty, and it creates unease.

But you may be more familiar  with the adjective I feel uneasy.

So uneasy is the adjective.

Unease is the noun.

I feel uneasy about my exam.

So if you say this I feel uneasy about  my exam, it means you have feelings of  

discomfort, anxiety or worry, which is  absolutely a normal feeling to have when  

you're taking an exam or going to a job  interview or you're speaking in public.

So don't worry if you feel uneasy  or you have unease, you have unease.

Just remember, unease is a noun  and uneasy is an adjective.

So different structures, different grammatical  structures, but the meaning is the same.

All right, Here's a great example.

She's a wonk music, but you  want to change the order.

So it's the something and then a wonk.

She's a music wonk.

I'm a grammar wonk.

She's a music wonk and sings songs all the time.

Exactly.

Now, because it's she, you  need to add that S to sing.

She sings because she in third person singular.

You need to add that as but excellent example.

That's a great example.

She's a music wonk.

The average person listens to  30 minutes of music per day.

I made that up.

I have no idea if that is true, but let's say  

the average person listens to  30 minutes of music per day.

She listens to five hours of music per day.

She's a music wonk, all right,  

Kumari said.

I, I have unease or I feel  unease about speaking to people.

So unease is a noun.

So you need, you have a son  object I, but you need a verb.

So you can have this noun.

You can feel this noun.

I have unease about speaking to  people, and that's totally normal.

Just don't let your unease prevent  you from taking action, OK?

Raymond said.

When you feel uneasy, exactly the adjective.

When you feel uneasy, it's good  to have someone to air out.

Yes, exactly.

To talk.

This is such a great example, Raymond, to  talk about your feelings of discomfort,  

feelings that normally you  don't discuss with people.

Excellent example, really.

Nicely said.

Yeah, Svetlana, you can absolutely say I  feel uneasy because that's the adjective.

I feel uneasy about speaking to people.

Exactly.

Very nice.

Abdurizak said I am a wonk to learn English.

Very nice.

Now you might say I am an English wonk.

So have the noun and then just add wonk.

So I'm an English wonk.

So wonk is your noun.

Excuse me, Wonk is your noun.

And then English can form or can function as  the adjective to describe what type of wonk.

I'm an English wonk.

I'm a music wonk.

I'm a movie wonk.

I'm a tech wonk.

I'm a finance wonk, so you would have the this  topic, the subject and then add the word wonk.

Very nice.

MU and Disa said I feel uneasy.

Exactly.

I feel uncomfortable feelings of discomfort.

I feel uneasy when anyone asks  me too many personal questions.

Exactly.

Excellent, excellent example.

Really nice OK air out could be it's not exactly  the same as to vent, but it's they're closely  

related but they're not exactly the same, but  they are closely related Yes I am a YouTube wonk  

exactly excellent job very nice OK, let's continue  to our next headline so Harris, remember this  

woman in the picture is Kamala Harris Harris is  her last name she's currently the vice president  

and she is running for president which means she  wants to become president tonight, September 10th.

There is a debate, a presidential  debate, and the election is in November.

Harris hires rule vote director in bid  to cut into Trump's battleground margins.

Rule voters in just a handful of states could  swing the outcome of the November elections.

OK, which words don't you understand?

Which words would you like  to review in more detail?

Well, let's see which ones I chose for you and  

then put what other words  you want in the comments.

OK, the first word I chose for you is higher.

I think you already know this word, but I want  to just quickly touch on the sentence structure.

So to hire someone.

So hire is the verb.

That's why you have the S here,  because it's in the present.

Simple.

This means to give someone a job.

The company hired me.

You hire someone.

Hire is the verb.

In this case, it's the past.

Simple.

The company hired me because of my  impressive communication skills,  

Because I'm an English wonk, remember?

OK, now the other way this is commonly  used is to use the structure to be hired.

I was hired.

I was hired, which means someone  gave you a job, you received a job.

So just remember that important distinction there.

OK, bid, everybody wants to talk about bid.

Oh wow.

And don't worry because we are going to talk  about bid and we are going to talk about cut into.

OK, so let's look at our next one in a bid 2.

So when you see a word like bid, the  first thing you need to ask yourself is.

What is the expression?

Am I just looking at the word bid or is this  

an expression that requires  other grammar to go with it?

Because we need in awe bid to do something.

Now in the headline there is no article  because in news headlines they omit  

articles because the purpose of a headline  is to be as short as possible and articles.

The word awe is only there for grammar.

It doesn't have any meaning and native speakers  

understand it without the article,  but grammatically it is required.

OK, so it's in a bid to do something.

Bid in this case means attempt.

So you can say in an attempt or in  an effort to do or achieve something.

So for example, the company launched, which  means they made public for the first time  

the company launched a new product in  a bid to increase its market share.

So in an attempt to in order to, to,  to do this basically OK in a bid too,  

but this is a formal or technical word choice.

You can absolutely use this in a more professional  

context if you're talking to your  colleagues in a professional way.

And you will hear this a lot in the media,  

specifically in a professional  or more formal context.

But for you, in your everyday speech, you would  say I'm improving my English to get hired.

Which means in order to get hired,  

you would not say I'm improving  my English in a bid to get hired.

That sounds unnatural because in a bid to is  only used in a more formal or technical way.

So make sure for your everyday use you simply  say I'm improving my English to get hired.

You can say in order to get higher, but  native speakers generally don't use in order.

We just say I'm improving my English to get  so the infinitive to get higher to get a job,  

to get a promotion to pass my IELTS,  to move to an English speaking country.

So you can complete the sentence, I'm  improving my my English, give me an infinitive.

After that, to practice this, I'm improving  my English, give me an infinitive.

All right, now let's move on to our next one.

Cut into Some students wanted to know about this.

To cut into this means to reduce or to encroach.

You probably don't know what  the word encroach means.

It means to slowly take control or possession.

The easiest way to imagine this is,  let's say I have a garden right here  

and there are weeds on the outside of the garden.

OK, but the weeds are encroaching.

They're encroaching on my garden,  

so the weeds are getting closer and  then they're taking over my garden.

And soon if I don't do anything,  

my whole garden will be weeds because  the weeds encroached on my garden.

So the word encroach is commonly  used even in a day-to-day speech.

If I'm sharing a desk with someone and then all of  a sudden the all these papers are from the other  

person, but they're on my side of the desk, I  could say your things are encroaching on my space.

So you brothers and sisters, siblings,  roommates will commonly use this to talk  

about someone trying to take over  their space with their own things.

OK, now, but cut into is the  same as to encroach or to reduce.

So remember before we talked about a renovation,  

a Renault, this renovation is  cutting into our vacation fund.

So you have this vacation fund an amount of money.

For.

A vacation, but you have to  take some of that money to  

pay for your renovation because  remember, it turned into a saga.

So that renovation is cutting into,  it's reducing your vacation fund.

So that's what cut into.

So Harris, Kamala Harris hires, she  offers a job to a rural vote director.

This is a job title.

A vote director is someone who just  controls, controls that part of the campaign.

Rural means in the countryside, it's the opposite  of the city, an urban area, a rural area.

Rural is where there are lots of  farms, big properties, less people.

So Kamala Harris hires, gives a job to someone  with the job title rural vote director in order  

to in an attempt to reduce to in a bid to cut  in, to reduce Trump's battleground margins,  

A margin, which I don't have  here, a margin is just how much.

So there's the vote, OK, there's the population.

If Trump controls 50% of  the vote, that's his margin.

So it's the amount that is given to Donald  Trump, the percentage, the share, the amount.

So Kamala wants to get some of that margin.

She wants to reduce it, cut into  it so she has more for herself.

Yeah, exactly.

It's a share.

Yeah, it's a share, a percentage, an allocation.

OK, so let's look at a handful of because this  

is more common everyday that  you can use in your speech.

I don't think well, like I said, in a bid to  is just formal, but you can use in order to.

So a handful of this is a small  number or a few of something.

So you might say I made a handful of mistakes.

It's another way of saying I made a few mistakes,  a small number of mistakes, or I could be  

reviewing ACVA resume and I could say there were  a handful of mistakes, grammar mistakes on the CV.

But just remember, just because a handful  is small, it still can be too many.

So when I say there were a  handful of mistakes on the CV,  

that could be a very negative  thing, even though handful is small.

So it really depends on context.

If a handful of something is a positive thing  or a negative thing, it just depends on context.

OK, Kumari said.

My sister is encroaching on my table.

Please.

Exactly.

So you have your table, but then all of a sudden  your sister's water bottle is on your table.

Your sister's cell phone is on your table.

She's encroaching on your table.

Good example, good example.

OK, so let's look at swing.

This is very commonly used in a political sense,  

but we'll review some examples where  it isn't used in a political sense.

So to swing the outcome or  the results, swing is a verb.

This means to influence or change.

So rule voters, voters who live in non urban  areas, non city areas, rural voters in just a  

handful, a small number of states could change the  outcome or influence the outcome of the election.

Now, in a sports context, the  player's injury could swing the game.

So the player hurt her arm, so now she can't play.

That can swing the game  because without that player,  

the team is not very good, so the team will lose.

So the player's injury changed the game.

It impacted the game, so could swing the game.

Or her decision to change the recipe swung the  results of the baking contest in her favor.

So it changed.

It influenced the results in her  favor, which means positive to her.

Now notice swung is the past simple of swing.

Swing swung.

OK, Kumari said.

I have a handful of chocolates.

Exactly.

I have a handful, so a small number of because you  

can only fit a small number of  chocolates in your hand, right?

Yousef said.

I decide to be English wonk to  swing my English fluency exactly  

to influence to change your English fluency.

Very nicely said.

Now let's focus on your  listening skills of fast English.

We're going to listen to a clip of  President Barack Obama giving a.

Speech.

On a serious topic, but at the end of this speech  

he makes a joke and your English is excellent  if you can understand these clips and the joke.

But don't worry if this exercise is difficult for  you, because as we go on, you're going to improve  

your listening skills, expand your vocabulary,  improve your pronunciation, and practice speaking.

Throughout this lesson, you're going to listen to  a short clip of President Barack Obama speaking  

in a real world setting, and you need to complete  the missing words to complete the sentence.

Now you'll hear each clip three times.

Here's the first listening exercise  you need to complete the missing words.

Let's listen three times.

I've ordered every federal agency to  eliminate rules that don't make sense.

I've ordered every federal agency to  eliminate rules that don't make sense.

I've ordered every federal agency to  eliminate rules that don't make sense.

Did you complete the sentence?

He said.

I've ordered every federal agency to  eliminate rules that don't make sense.

Now let's take a look at I've.

This is a contraction of I  have, so we say it as one word.

I've I've and it's a very  unstressed pronunciation.

Repeat after me.

I've I've I've ordered So notice this Ed  

here is just a soft D ordered  ordered repeat after me ordered.

I've ordered every federal agency to eliminate.

Now here a lot of native speakers will  pronounce to when it's a preposition or  

part of the infinitive like it is here  as a very unstressed to to eliminate,  

to eliminate, repeat after me to to eliminate.

But Barack Obama does not do that here.

He pronounces the full to.

So to is the standard pronunciation and TA is  the unstressed pronunciation that's commonly  

used by natives in natural speech, which is why  it can be difficult for you to understand us.

Now let's look at don't make sense because he  didn't pronounce those final voiced sounds,  

specifically the T don't, don't notice.

He didn't say don't.

He just said don't and then make.

You didn't hear that it was just make make  and that makes the pronunciation smoother,  

which is why it sounds like  we're talking very fast.

Now let's move on and talk.

About the word.

Eliminate grammatically you use  eliminate plus a noun or a gerund  

because you eliminate something and this  means to completely remove or get rid of.

Remember this, it might help you in  the future of this lesson get rid of.

So, for example, we eliminated plastic bags.

This is the something, the noun.

If you wanted to use a verb, remember it's  the gerund we eliminated using plastic bags.

Or you might say Jennifer helps me  eliminate my mistakes, the noun.

Or you could say these lessons  help me eliminate my mistakes.

Again, the noun.

So do you agree with that?

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

Now let's continue on with the speech.

So you need to complete the missing word.

You'll hear it three times.

We've already announced over 500 reforms.

We've already announced over 500 reforms.

We've already announced over 500 reforms.

How'd you do it, This one, he said.

We've already announced over 500 reforms.

So notice another contraction.

We've is a contraction of we have repeat after me.

We've we've we've already announced.

We have already announced.

What's the grammar here?

What Burton's is this?

It's the present perfect and it's being used  because this is a completed pass action.

The 500 reforms that's complete, that's done.

But this is an ongoing time reference.

So it's possible to announce  more reforms that 500.

It can increase and be 505 or 510  in the future because it's ongoing.

Now let's talk about the  word over over 500 reforms.

So how many reforms?

Well, we know it was more than 500, but  we don't know the exact amount because  

when you say over or more than 500,  it might be 501 or it might be 525.

We don't know because it's unspecified,  but it's more than over 500.

Let's keep going.

You need to complete the missing words.

You'll hear it three times.

And just a fraction of them will  save business and citizens more  

than $10 billion over the next five years.

And just a fraction of them will  save business and citizens more  

than $10 billion over the next five years.

And just a fraction of them will  save business and citizens more  

than $10 billion over the next five years.

Did you complete the sentence?

He said.

And just a fraction of them will  save business and citizens more  

than $10 billion over the next five years.

Let's talk about a fraction of them, a fraction of  means, a small number or a small portion of them.

In this case, the reforms, you could say.

I know one.

100 phrasal verbs.

That sounds amazing, right?

100 phrasal verbs.

But then if you add but that's  just a fraction of them.

Them is the phrasal verbs.

It represents the phrasal verbs, but if you say  

a fraction of it means a small  number or a small portion.

So even though 100 sounds large,  

it doesn't sound very large compared  to how many phrasal verbs there are.

Let's talk about the pronunciation of them,  because there's a strong pronunciation which  

is them M, but there's also a weak and  unstressed pronunciation M, them M.

So it's just that vowel sound that  sounds more relaxed and unstressed.

This is another reason why native speakers  can be difficult to understand because there  

are these differences in pronunciation,  especially in natural spoken English,  

which Barack Obama, even though he's  the president in at this time and he's  

giving a formal speech, he  still is a native speaker.

So of course he's going to use  natural pronunciation patterns.

Now let's look at over the next five years.

The word over represents between  now and five years from now.

So that time frame is over.

You could say I learned a lot of  phrasal verbs over the weekend.

So that means the entire time reference from start  to finish and that time reference is the weekend.

This is very commonly used in daily speech.

You could say we discussed how.

To improve.

Our speaking skills over coffee, so you  can do something over coffee over dinner,  

and that means while we were having coffee.

So your coffee has a time reference,  

a time when you started coffee  and a time when you ended coffee.

And that period of time is over coffee.

Let's continue on with the speech.

This is a longer section, and  there are two parts to complete.

You'll hear it three times.

We got rid of one rule from 40 years ago  that could have forced some dairy farmers  

to spend $10,000 a year proving  that they could contain a spill.

We got rid of one rule from 40 years ago  that could have forced some dairy farmers  

to spend $10,000 a year proving  that they could contain a spill.

We got rid of one rule from 40 years ago  that could have forced some dairy farmers  

to spend $10,000 a year proving  that they could contain a spill.

Did you hear all the missing  words He said We got rid of?

Remember I told you to remember that we got rid  of one rule from 40 years ago that could have  

forced some dairy farmers to spend 10, $10,000  a year proving that they could contain a spill.

Got rid of.

Let's talk about the pronunciation here.

We're going to use connected speech where we take  individual words and it sounds like one word.

So I'm going to say got rid.

So notice at the end you can take the word of and  you can make it an unstressed sound and say duh.

So, uh.

Instead of of, uh, but we're taking that D  sound from rid got rid, uh, or got rid of dove.

Dove is the full sound and duh is the unstressed.

And remember that to get rid of means eliminate.

We already talked about that.

Now let's take a look at could have  because we have the auxiliary verb have.

But you can also turn this into an  unstressed of, and the same rule applies.

You can use duh and say coulda, or  you can use dove and say could have,  

could have because you're taking  that D from could coulda could have.

What about this sentence?

We could of eliminated the rule.

This sentence is grammatically incorrect  because the correct sentence is.

We could have eliminated the rule.

Remember that these pronunciation changes changing  have to of only applies to spoken English.

It doesn't apply to written English.

So you can verbally say coulda, but in writing  it's considered grammatically incorrect.

Let's keep going.

Here's the next sentence to complete.

You'll hear it three times.

Because milk was somehow classified as an oil.

Because milk was somehow classified as an oil.

Because milk was somehow classified as an oil.

Did you get this one?

He said because milk was  somehow classified as an oil.

I found his pronunciation was quite clear.

Do you agree with me here?

So let's just look at some vocabulary.

Let's look at classified as.

To be classified as is the  full structure you need.

And classified means categorized  or designated as something.

So you could say phrasal verbs  are classified as advanced.

You need that word as as something as advanced.

Now let's review somehow.

In this context, it means that  the reasoning or the method,  

it isn't obvious or it's difficult to understand.

So how could milk be classified as oil?

That's difficult to understand.

So that's why they used somehow.

You can use this in your daily speech.

You can say she somehow got the promotion.

So just by adding that word  somehow you're questioning,  

you're questioning why or  how she got the promotion.

So it takes a statement that sounds positive  she got the promotion and it actually turns  

it into more of a negative statement by  saying she somehow got the promotion.

Now it's the fun part.

You're going to hear President  Barack Obama make a joke.

So you need to complete the missing words  and you need to understand why this is funny.

Let's see if you can do that.

You'll hear it three times.

With a rule like that, I guess it  was worth crying over spilled milk.

With a rule like that, I guess it  was worth crying over spilled milk.

With a rule like that, I guess it was  worth crying over spilled milk with a rule.

Like that, I guess it was  worth crying over spilled.

So did you complete the missing words?

Did you hear the joke?

Did you understand the joke?

If you did, your English is excellent, he said.

With a rule like that, I guess it  was worth crying over spilled milk.

Before we talk about why this is funny,  let's review some pronunciation points.

So first let's take a look at rule notice.

Here there are two sounds.

We have rue O so that dark L rule rule.

So if I.

Pronounce this fully.

You hear those two sounds rule in  a more unstressed pronunciation.

It won't be as obvious rule rule it's  there, but it's very quick rule rule.

But it is best to make sure  you have those two sounds.

Now let's take a look at spilled, because there's  a difference between British and American English.

In American English, we only use  the word spilled the the spilled.

In British English, there's an alternative  word that's spelled differently because  

it's spelled with AT and it's pronounced that way.

So it's just the end.

In American English it's always spilled the a  soft D, but in British English it's spilt spilt.

So you might hear spilled, you might hear spilt,  

but those final sounds aren't  pronounced fully in spoken English.

In both British and American  English, just like in here,  

you didn't hear the N sound for the  word that, it was more of a that, that.

So you just don't press out that final T.

That and milk sounded like milk.

So did you hear that the final  K sound that was not pronounced.

It was just a mil mil.

So you put your your tongue  in the position of AK mil,  

but you just don't push out that sound mil milk.

All right, now let's talk about the joke.

The style of this joke is  called a pun or a play on words.

So it's a humorous use of one word or one phrase  

that has several meanings or  that sounds like another word.

In this case, you need to know  that there's a proverb in English,  

and perhaps in your culture as well.

The proverb is don't cry over spilled milk.

If you don't know what this proverb is, the  joke probably wouldn't make sense to you.

So this proverb don't cry over spilled milk means  

don't get upset over minor issues or minor  mistakes like spilling a glass of milk.

It's not worth getting upset over.

So you might say I made a grammar mistake when I  

was presenting the report, but  you're very upset over this.

And your friend, your colleague could  say don't cry over spilled milk.

It's a grammar mistake.

But notice here Obama said it was  worth crying over spilled milk.

So Obama is saying that the farmers  should be upset overpaying $10,000 a  

year on something silly like proving  they can contain a milk spill.

Because remember, milk was  somehow classified as an oil.

So now you understand the joke.

Now let's look at was worth crying because  grammatically you need to be worse.

Plus gerund, your verb and ING.

You could say it was worth watching this  class, and hopefully you agree with that.

Now grammatically, you could also  say something to be worth something.

For example, this class was worth  it that it represents something.

What is the something?

Well, this class was worth watching,  so the watching is that it?

Think of everything you've learned so far.

Let's end this master class by learning 14 phrases  

to help you speak like a leader  #1 feel free to ask me anything.

Now notice you're learning a complete  phrase, so pay attention to all the words,  

the prepositions, the articles,  the sentence structure matters.

So notice here we have Feel free plus infinitive.

The infinitive is of course 2 plus the base verb.

Feel free to ask me anything.

This is used as a polite, open-ended invitation.

I'm inviting you to ask.

Ask me whatever you'd like.

Remember, you can change that verb.

I could say.

Feel free to send me the report when it's ready.

This sounds polite and professional.

And remember, it's an open invitation.

You're not required to do this.

It's an option if you say send  me the report when it's done.

This is the imperative and it's  direct and also authoritative.

So to sound polite and professional  and to give you an open invitation,  

I can say feel free to  download the free lesson PDF.

You can find the link in the description.

And this is a real example because I  

summarize everything from this  lesson in the free lesson PDF.

Feel free to download it #2 I look  forward to hearing your thoughts.

So your colleague could say to you, feel  free to send me the report when it's done.

And then when it's done, you can  send it to your colleague and say.

Here you go.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Notice our sentence structure.

Look forward to plus gerund, your verb and ING.

I look forward to hearing.

Don't make this mistake.

Make sure you have the gerund and this  is a polite way to show your interest.

So in this case, your interest  in hearing the person's thoughts,  

their ideas, their opinions, their feedback,  

you could say I look forward to meeting our verb  and ING I look forward to meeting you tomorrow.

Now with this structure, you can also use a noun.

I look forward to our meeting.

That's the noun form.

I look forward to our meeting tomorrow.

What about you?

Are you looking forward to my next lesson?

If you are put yes, yes, yes to show your  interest, show your enthusiasm, put yes,  

yes, yes in the Commons #3 here's my take on it.

One's take on something is  1's opinion on something.

So my take on it is simply my opinion on it.

For example, I just read the  consultants recommendations.

Here's my take on them.

Them because recommendations is plural.

Now when I want to.

Share my opinion My take I can  simply use an opinion in your word.

I think she raised some valid points.

Now I can use this as a question.

What's your take on the report  on the recommendations #4 from  

my perspective Now this is  the same as in my opinion,  

but notice that preposition difference  from my perspective, in my opinion.

So I see a lot of mistakes  when students try to use this.

If someone asks.

You your opinion?

What's your take on it?

You can use this to start.

From my perspective, I think the consultant's  recommendations aren't practical.

So here you can add on.

I think an opinion word even though you  use from my perspective, but it's optional.

And after you share your opinion, you can invite  the other person to provide their opinion.

What about you?

What's your perspective #5  can you help me understand?

This is a polite way to ask for  clarification or an explanation.

Your colleague could say, from my perspective,  the consultant recommendations aren't practical.

You could comment on this  and say I see, interesting.

Oh really?

And then you can add on this expression.

Can you help me understand  your perspective, your opinion?

Can you help me understand?

This is a great expression if  you want an explanation without  

sounding very direct or authoritative or angry.

If someone says, I don't think  we can meet the deadline,  

you can say, can you help me understand why?

Number six, I'll get back to  you with that information.

This is a great one because someone might ask you  

a question or to provide information  and you don't have that information.

You don't know the answer.

Instead of saying I don't know, you can say  I'll get back to you with that information.

You can provide a time reference if you'd like.

I'll get back to you by the end of the day.

So you just gave yourself a deadline.

You could say I'll get back to you in an hour.

Or I'll get back.

To you, ASAP.

What does ASAP mean?

This is a very common acronym.

Put it in the comments.

ASAP.

What's the acronym?

Put it in the comments #7 can you fill me in?

This is a great one.

It's a casual way to ask  for an update or a summary.

You could say to your colleague, I  was on another call this morning,  

can you fill me in on the staff meeting?

Notice here when I specify the  something the staff meeting,  

you have to use the additional preposition  on Can you fill me in on the staff meeting?

This is often used by one  person to request another  

person provide information to someone else.

For example, your boss could say to you,  hey Danica, can you fill Raphael in?

And then if you want to specify the  something you need that preposition on,  

on the new filing system #8 which  one would you like me to prioritize?

You can use this to clarify  which task should be done first,  

which one you should prioritize  when there are multiple tasks.

So you can use this with two  tasks or more than two as well.

So if you have multiple tasks, you  can go to your boss and say Sarah  

asks for help on the report and I  have to finish the presentation.

Which one would you like me to prioritize?

So now, instead of feeling overwhelmed, you know  exactly which task to focus on to prioritize.

You can use this even just to get  advice from someone you trust.

I could say to you, from your perspective,  which one should I prioritize?

So you're not my boss, you're not  responsible for assigning me task.

But I trust you to provide  me with valuable feedback.

Which one should I prioritize from your  

perspective #9 I trust you  have everything you need.

Need.

The word trust is used a  lot in a business context.

This is used to express overall  confidence in someone and their abilities.

So you might come to me and say,  Jennifer, I feel a little nervous.

This is my first time giving a  presentation and I can let you  

know that I have confidence in you and  your abilities and I can say I trust you,  

or I can add on to this and I can  say I trust you can handle this.

So the statement is you can handle this.

Handle means you have the ability to do it.

You can handle this.

Now if I add I trust it's adding certainty.

I'm certain, I know I trust you can handle this.

Number 10.

What can we learn from this?

Such a powerful question.

You can use this to encourage  reflection and analysis after  

a situation, generally a negative situation.

So if something negative happened,  

I didn't get the promotion, you  can say what can I learn from this?

Or I failed my ions, what can I learn from this?

So instead of being upset, angry, mad,  now you're thinking about solutions,  

you're thinking about what you can do differently.

This is a great expression to use  when you're working with a team.

So again, maybe something bad happened.

We lost the client.

What can we?

Learn from this and then you can  start brainstorming things you can.

Do differently so it.

Doesn't happen again.

Now to change the sentence structure, you  could also say, what can this teach us?

So notice you can learn something from  someone or something, a situation,  

but also something the situation can teach  you something #11 I'm happy to address that.

So notice the sentence structure.

We have our verb to be.

I am happy our adjective.

So you need to conjugate the verb to  be and then you have the infinitive.

I'm happy to address that.

And this is used to show a  willingness to do something.

So when your boss asks you to fill Raphael  in, you can say I'm happy to fill Raphael in.

And then remember, if you specify the something,  

you need that extra preposition  on this sales process.

So you're showing your willingness to do this.

This is also a great way to end a  presentation or end communication.

We're happy to answer any questions you have.

So remember that structure to be happy  plus infinitive #12 How can I support you?

This is used to.

Offer support, encouragement, assistance,  but also to ask how that can be done.

Your coworker could be upset and  say I'm so overwhelmed with this  

project so you want to show your support.

You can say how can I support you?

You can add on how can I best  support you as an intensifier  

and then you can even add on your willingness  and say I'm happy to help you in any way I can.

You can use this to offer  assistance to someone as well.

If you know your Co worker is very busy,  

you could say you have a lot on your plate with  this presentation which means you're very busy.

How can I support you #13 I value your input.

This is to acknowledge the importance  of someones opinion or ideas.

So let's use this right now.

How can I make my lessons better?

How can I make this lesson better?

Or how can I make my lessons overall better?

Please share your thoughts in the comments.

I value your input.

And this isn't just an example, it's 100% true.

I really value your input.

I truly value your input.

So please, if there's anything I can  do to improve these lessons for you,  

I want you to love these lessons.

So please put your comments below  because I truly value your input  

#14 I appreciate your hard work on this.

Everyone loves to be appreciated so  you can use this to show gratitude,  

appreciation for someone's work.

You can start by complimenting someone,  the report looks fantastic and then add on.

I appreciate your hard work on this.

Adding that on will make that  person feel really valued.

Or maybe your friend is planning a party for  you and you can say the menu looks amazing.

I appreciate all your hard work on this.

You can Add all your hard work.

To.

Intensify it.

Do you want me to make another lesson like this?

If you do put master class, put master  class master class in the comments below.

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 master class I know  you'll love, so make sure you watch it now.