ENGLISH MADE EASY 🇬🇧 | Vocabulary That INSTANTLY IMPROVES Your Fluency

Hi there. This is Harry. And welcome back  to Advanced English Lessons with Harry,  

where I try to help you to get a much better  understanding of the English language.

So this is an advanced English lesson. And in  this advanced English lesson we're going to  

look at vocabulary specifically related to your  free time and leisure. And a lot of these words  

and phrases and expressions are really great for  those proficiency exams that you might be doing,  

particularly if the examiner asks you to talk  about your leisure time or your free time,  

and you might want to use some of these  words or know how to start a conversation.

Or indeed, if you're writing an essay relating to  leisure or free time. Of course, you can include  

these adjectives and nouns and other expressions  that you'll get in this particular lesson.

Okay, let's get started. So you're not  yourself when it sometimes you know and very  

well the English about your own profession.  Whether it's i.t or medicine or economics,  

whatever it might be. And you don't usually have  any problems talking about that. But when students  

come to me at first the I always hear that  they have problems getting started in social  

conversations. Ordinary conversational English.  Particularly where they want to talk about the  

weekend. And this is often a topic that people  use to break ice before and after a meeting.

So.

They could be asking you

about the weekend that's coming. They  could be asking you about the weekend  

that's just been. So they'd be asking  you, what did you do for the weekend?  

What are you going to do this weekend?  Or another very useful expression is,  

are you getting up to anything this  weekend? Or what did you get up to

Last weekend. So it's a really useful

expression. So

or indeed any plans for the weekend. Yeah. So  looking ahead, any plans for the weekend. So  

it's a way to start a conversation. Well  yeah. I thought we would go here or what  

did you do for the weekend? What did you get  up to? We just hung about with some friends,  

or we visited the old folks or,

We spend some time in the park. A gang of us got  

together. So it opens up all sorts of  aspects to start a conversation. So.

What did you get up to?

what do you do or what do you usually  get up to at the weekends? Have you  

any plans for this weekend? So  all different ways in which you  

can enter into that conversation  by just using simple expressions.

Now, if we're looking at  particular adjectives that  

we want to use to describe some of our leisure  activities, well, here's some that you can use.

Rewarding. Time consuming. Fruitful.

Lucrative. Absorbing. So let me give you an  example of how you might use them and what they  

mean. Rewarding is not financial because it could  be. But when you're using a spending your leisure  

time or free time, rewarding is something that  gives you some benefit. So perhaps you've decided  

to help the kids in the school to practice  tennis, or you're going to coach an underage  

football or rugby team, or netball or basketball,  whatever it might be, you're going to spend some  

of your free time and giving that freely to  kids, and you could say yes, really rewarding.

I mean, the kids get great fun out of  it. They listen to you and most of them,  

they listen to any tips that you give them.  And then of course, when they have a game,  

they win. Well, just to see the look  on their face, that's reward enough.  

So something very rewarding, something that  we like doing, something that gives us fun.

And to be honest, it gets  you away from the humdrum,  

the ordinary life in the office, all  the pressures that you might have.

Time consuming. Well, lots of activities. Even  though it's a free time and a leisure time,  

they can be time consuming. Oh, I'm really sorry  I agreed to go on that committee in the tennis  

club. My God, it takes up so much time. It's  very time consuming. And now we only have a  

meeting every month. But between meetings,  the amount of work and emails you get, you

So an activity that takes up more time  than you had intended. More time that  

you had wished can be time consuming. Your  partner might say, well, I wish you really  

wouldn't play golf so often. It's so time  consuming, and anybody who's played golf  

will know very quickly that it's not just the 3  hours or 4 hours you spend on the golf course.

It's of course, the hour to get there, the hour to  get home and the hour and the bar afterwards. So  

you have to be really, really careful. And it is  a game that can be absorbing and time consuming.

Fruitful. Well, again, fruitful is a little bit  like rewarding at when you've got a fruitful free  

time or leisure activity, then it gives you  some benefits. Oh. That was a really fruitful  

weekend. And so we like to get away from  the city at the weekends, we'd like to go  

and visit just this. Cities around the country  that we don't really know. What little towns.

It's really good to get some time in the  countryside, to get the time in the fresh  

air. Bit of hiking, a bit of walking, even a bit  of cycling. We bring the bikes with us and yeah,  

it could be really, really fruitful and  beneficial, so some benefit from it.

Lucrative while now lucrative is really is as  something that might give you some financial  

gain. Okay, so perhaps your leisure activity is  going around car boot sales, looking for bargains.  

And if you've got a keen eye for a bargain,  well, you might pick up a bit of jewellery,  

costume jewellery, an old watch that  has some value. And if you spot that,  

it's going for a real bargain in the car  boot sale or the the market will, then you  

can pick it up and then you can hold on to it,  clean it up and sell it for a bit of a profit.

So that can be very lucrative.

So at leisure, activity in your free time can be  not only rewarding in the time that you spend,  

but quite lucrative. If you happen to pick  up something that's worth a lot of money,  

and a lot of people spend time going around  antique shops and then looking for a real bargain  

and a clock, or a vase or a set of China that  they might find or believe has some real value.

And in that case, you can describe  that activity as quite lucrative.

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And then finally absorbing, well, lots of  activities that we have in our free time can  

be absorbing. And it's not just about taking up  the time. It could be cooking can be absorbing.  

It's a real great pastime. You learn new  recipes, you can entertain your friends,  

you can feed your family, but it gives  you great understanding of value.

How to use proper food, perhaps how to cook  healthy and so. And that way it can be absorbing  

or visiting the theatre on a regular basis can be  absorbing when you're looking at new plays or old  

plays reenacted, and that can be really absorbing.  What I find absorbing is a good book, and I like a  

really good detective book, and in my free time  I'm always reading lots of different authors,  

different books, and if I get a book with,  you eight or nine hundred pages and, you know,  

after 30 or 40 pages, this book is going to take  up your your time, it's going to absorb your time.

But it's really rewarding because you  enjoy it. So that for me is a good

activity, good leisure time  that I feel and find absorbing.

Okay, so there are adjectives to describe  that free time, that leisure time  

rewarding, time consuming, fruitful,  lucrative and finally absorbing.

Now let's just look at some nouns  and some collocations of nouns.  

How we describe people in their  leisure time or their free time.

So these words will all describe the way  that people spend the leisure time. Some  

of these you might have heard,  for example, Culture Vulture,  

couch potato and dabbler. These people are  under doer dog. Some of them are quite informal.

Let me give you an example of that.

A culture vulture. Well, somebody who loves  to go to the art galleries loves to go to  

museums. In fact, will go to anything  connected with the old world history,

Or.

Some contemporary artists or whatever  it happens to be. They're going to be  

there on the on the Monday morning when they  come in to work. They want to tell you, oh,  

I visited this museum. You really should go or  I visited this exhibition. That's amazing. Oh,  

I saw this advertised and I thought  it would be great. So off they go.

So if they really go to all of these exhibitions  and museums and are constantly talking about it,  

then you could describe them  as real culture vultures,  

like a vulture is a big bird that eats everything,  

and culture vultures. Somebody that would devour  all the culture that you can throw at them.

A couch potato, on the

other hand, is somebody who sits  on the sofa and watches TV morning,  

noon and night. So when you ask them what they  did for the weekend, nothing much. I watched  

the football on Saturday, and then there's  a good movie on Saturday evening. On Sunday  

I watched some of the Netflix programs.  So they don't really move from the sofa.

They get a couple of beers, a takeaway, pizza,  

whatever it is. Maybe it's a good way to  spend the time. And these people we refer  

to as couch potatoes, they just sit there  like a vegetable on the couch of the sofa.

A dabbler, a dabbler. Somebody does a  little bit of this and a little bit of  

that. They don't really spend a lot  of time or a lot of years at any one  

particular pastime or leisure activity,  but they dabble in different things. He  

dabbles in a bit of painting. He likes  to paint, but he doesn't do it so often.

He likes to dabble in photography. When he  goes out for a walk, he always takes his  

camera. He dabbles a little bit in collecting  little antiquities. So nothing so expensive,  

but things he can pick up from  time to time in some shop.

all sorts of aspects. So when they've got  the hand into lots and lots of activities,  

you could describe them as a bit of a dabbler.

And a doer is somebody who just likes to be  active. Oh, he's a real doer. He never sits  

still. At the weekends he's off cycling,  he's off hill walking. He's painting on a  

Sunday. He's got his theatrical work to  do. He’s part of a theatrical society.,  

they’re either rehearsing for a play or  performing a play. He never sits still.

He's a real doer. Somebody who likes to do.  Somebody likes to be doing something. Okay,  

so there nouns that we can use to describe  very informal ways of describing things and the  

activities people like to do. So. Or culture  vulture, a couch potato dabbler and a doer.

Now, when we're talking about  activities or leisure time or  

free time, one of the most common expressions

verb phrases that you will hear is I like to

or I like doing. Okay. So what is  the difference now, in my opinion,  

there's very, very little difference.  If I said I like to collect stamps,  

I like I like collecting stamps,  I like to swim, I like swimming.

There is really, really no difference between  the two. I like to or I like doing something.

If I said to you, I like to go to the cinema  at the weekend, or I like going to the cinema  

at the weekend. Now, I like to go to the  cinema, it could mean it's really a pastime  

that I love. I like going to the cinema. I don't  see any difference in that. It means the same.

I like to get up, go out, go into the  cinema, grab my popcorn, grab my soft  

drink and sit and watch the movie. I like  going to the cinema or I like to go to the  

cinema. Really? Really. No difference at  all. But as I said, when you look at the  

grammar books, you will see that they often make  a distinction, but it really isn't so important.

And these stative verbs often.

Have.

This meaning it's the same as  hate. I hate eating alone. Or  

I hate to eat alone. Is there a difference?

Not really. Yeah. Okay, so just remember that  you'll see some differences and other people  

may argue with you. All you have to use I like to  do or like doing. There isn't really a difference.

Now that some other expressions that we can  use when we're talking about leisure activities

To be into something. So if you're into something,  

it means you're really like  it. Or he's really into judo

or she's really into ballet. I mean, she  loves it. She loves getting ready and going  

there too. So to be into something  means to to love it or to get to be  

fascinated with it and might not  last long, but it is a particular

pastime.

And we are talking about leisure activities.

And the same way you can be fond of something,  it doesn't mean you actually love it. Yeah. Oh,  

he's fond of football. He likes  getting out with his friends. Now,  

it might not be so good, or she might  not be so good. But it doesn't stop  

them going and playing and spending time  with their friends. Okay, so I'm fond of.

Or you could be fond of pottery. You  go with your friends because it's it's  

interesting. It's fun. You can make some  funny things. You make mistakes, but.

You get used to doing something modeling  with clay, and you come home with something  

nice that you can present, or you can  paint and glaze and present it as a  

present for somebody's Christmas or birthday,  whatever it might be. So you're fond of that.

Now. If you have a real passion for  something, you can be hooked on it all.  

He started playing golf with his friends  a couple of months ago, and to be honest,  

now he's completely hooked on it. Every weekend  he tries to get out for a game of golf is always  

going to the sports shop, always coming back  with some new club, some new piece of equipment.

Yeah, he's completely hooked on it. So when you're  hooked on something, you love it. You can't stop  

thinking about it. You're always talking  about it and it's an activity that really

gets or grabs your attention. Okay, so  you can be hooked on music. Of course  

you can be hooked on making your own  clothes. Whatever it happens to be.

It's just a passion that you happen to have.

And again, the next one is to be  passionate about. So to be hooked on it,  

to be passionate about really is the same  thing. Hooked on as a little bit more

informal in the sense that you  you're hooked. It occupies all  

of your thoughts and all of your time.  To be passionate about something doesn't  

necessarily mean that it takes up all of  your time, but you really do enjoy it.

You can be passionate about reading.  You can be passionate about the theatre.

So you you really spend time when you  have it with that particular activity.

To have a go at something. Well, when we use  this expression to have a go with something,  

it usually means you haven't done it before.

But you want to try it. So somebody  invites you to go skiing. We're going  

skiing next weekend for a couple of days.  Would you be interested in going? Look,  

I've never really skied before. I'm not so  sure, but you know what? I'll have a go. Yeah,  

and to have a goal means to try. You  might be successful. You might not.

You might spend the two days sitting on your  bottom. But, you know, at least you had a go  

at it. So to have a go at something means to try  it. To see, do you like it. To see, is it worth

pursuing as an activity or as a  particular sport or a leisure time.

And then once you've had a go at something,  

you might take it up. So to take up  something means then to really start,

Doing that activity in a more thoughtful  way. Okay, so to take up boxing. So you  

tried it. You like it to keep you fit.  So you decided to join the boxing club.

To take up cycling, and you joined a cycling club,  

and you go out every weekend when the weather's  good for 30, 40, 50km cycle. To take up.

So any new activity, any new  leisure time that you start,  

we can use the expression to  take up that particular activity.

So we can use these expressions. Sent to be into  something means to to really like it in a, in a,  

in a deep way. To be fond of something  just. Yeah, it's not about loving it,  

but yeah, you enjoy it. To be  hooked on something means, yeah,  

it's really got you. Yeah. To be passionate  about something, you really love it deeply.

To have a go at something you'll try anything  to see it is. It's something you like. And then  

if you do, you might take up that particular  activity. Okay. So they're expressions that  

you can use when starting an activity or if you've  already started an activity, what it means to you.

Now, when we're talking about  leisure time or activities,  

we often use adverbs of frequency. Okay,  so these are I'm sure you've heard these,  

but I just give them to you  one more time so you can have

always.

Sometimes. Usually.

And these are just as I said, adverbs of  frequency. So when you're talking about  

your activities or your leisure time.

And so you can use them, for example.

I always go for a cycle on a Saturday. I sometimes  

play golf with my father. I usually  go to the gym twice a week. Okay,  

so these are frequency adverbs of frequency.  Telling somebody how often you do something.

I only watch football at the weekends.

He goes to the gym whenever he can. I don't  socialise as much as I would like. Okay,

So all again,

telling people when we do it, how often we do it,  whether it's all of the time or sometimes or not,  

or perhaps rarely. So if you get married and you  know, those sort of activities stop because you've  

started a family, then you might use adverbs  of frequency which say rarely or not often.

Okay.

Now let's explain the difference between play  do or go. They often get confused by students.

So usually when we talk about play,  it's about a sport or a game. So,

use play for team sports. He plays  football with his friends or he  

plays tennis with his work colleagues.  And usually about playing, it's with  

the balls up to play football,  to play tennis, to play rugby.

When we do something, it's usually  about a hobby. Okay. So we we do  

hobbies and they usually individual  not always but usually individual.

My brother likes doing DIY so do it yourself DIY.

do. Plus the particular hobby  or the individual sport.

And then when we use go, it's usually  about activities and often followed  

with that I enjoy. I like to go shopping. I  like to go swimming. I like to go cycling.

I like to go fishing. Okay,  

so go. Plus a particular activity  usually followed with that I n.

Okay, so there's the difference with play.  Play a sport. Do do an activity like woodwork,  

carpentry or to do up a house to do  or cars and then go plus an activity,  

go swimming, go fishing whatever it might be.

Go cycling usually that I and G

okay, so we've looked then at all aspects to do  with leisure activity free time. We've looked at  

certain adjectives that you can use, certain  nouns you can use expressions and phrases,

About the adverbs of frequency that  we often use when we're talking about  

our leisure time and our activities, whether  they're sporting or just general activities,  

where we go to the theater, whatever it might be.  However you spend your free time or pastime as  

somebody might refer to it. So the best thing to  do is to look at this again, listen to it again.

And if you have any questions about words  or expressions of verbs or sentences that  

you might like to use, and you've got some  doubt. Tried to practice them and they've  

got any mistakes and you want to contact me. And  you can do so on www.englishlessonviaskype.com.  

And I'll come back to you with  your answers very, very quickly.

This is Harry thanking you for watching and  listening and join me for the next lesson.