How To Speak FAST ENGLISH: A Step-By-Step CONVERSATION LESSON

Today we’re going to study fast English.

In today’s video we’re looking at a conversation I had with friends,

where we made my husband David taste a watermelon, even though we know he hates watermelon.

You’ll hear words to describe qualities of food, whether you like it or hate it, and so on.

As we go, we’ll stop to talk about these terms, and also useful phrases or interesting pronunciations.

This conversation is fast English.

We are all native speakers speaking casually to each other, we’re all friends, this is just the pace of it.

But it is very fast.

Together, we’ll take a few of the sentences

and break them down to figure out how we’re speaking English fast,

and also to figure out why it’s still easily understood by native speakers.

And what you can do to speak fast English and sound natural speaking English.

Uhm, David hates watermelon, he thinks.

I know, but I want to try it again, you said it was the best one you've ever had.

I didn't say that.

So we start here by debating what I said.

If someone says you said something that you didn’t, you can say

I didn’t say that.

I didn’t say that.

The N’T ending can be pronounced several ways.

I think I’m doing a really quick Stop T, I didn’t say that.

I say this phrase pretty quickly, don’t I?

I didn’t say that. I didn’t say that. I didn’t say that.

But it wasn’t too fast.

It was the pace of conversational English.

Let’s listen again.

The clearest longer word was ‘say’.

I didn’t say that.

I didn’t say that.

I didn’t say that.

When you listen to it on a loop,

it’s easier to hear all the pieces you need to simplify, isn’t it?

I did not is ‘I didn’t’.

SAY is the peak of that sentence.

--say --say

I didn’t say that. I didn’t say that. I didn’t say that.

You can even completely drop the T in didn’t, if this helps with the simplification.

You’ll hear it again five times.

Then you try it.

Don’t think about the words, but think about what you hear.

I didn’t say that.

I didn’t say that.

I didn’t say that.

I didn’t say that.

I didn’t say that.

Ok, let’s go back and listen to the beginning of the conversation again.

Uhm, David hates watermelon, he thinks.

I know but I want to try it, and you said it was the best one you've ever had.

I didn't say that.

You said 'one of the best'?

I probably said that it's an amazing watermelon and if you're going to try it again, now is the time time to try it.

So we’ve said a few words to describe food and if we like that food.

David hates watermelon.

We can say ‘hates’.

We can also say 'doesn't like' but it's not as strong and David feels very strongly about watermelon.

David hates watermelon.

I called it an amazing watermelon.

Very good.

Don’t you love amazing food?

We had an amazing meal.

The wine was amazing!

I said It's an amazing watermelon and if you're going to try it again, now is the time time to try it.

Are you just going to have a bite of mine?

- Yeah! - Oh!

So I kept waiting for him to cut a piece of watermelon,

but he didn’t do it because he didn’t want a whole piece.

He decided just to have a bite of mine.

Listen to how I said that.

Oh, you’re just going to have a bite of mine?

Again, I feel like I’m speaking quickly, and I am, but also, that’s just conversational English.

It is fast.

Let’s listen to this one on a loop and see if we can figure out which words are the most stressed,

and where you can simplify.

oh, you’re just going to have a bite of mine?

oh, you’re just going to have a bite of mine?

oh, you’re just going to have a bite of mine?

I hear more stress on OH, you’re, and ‘bite’ and ‘mine’.

oh, you’re just going to have a bite of mine?

oh, you’re just going to have a bite of mine?

oh, you’re just going to have a bite of mine?

oh, you’re just going to have a bite of mine?

Notice how all the words run together smoothly with no breaks.

That’s an important characteristic of American English.

The contraction “you are” to “you’re” is pronounced “yer”.

That’s how it’s almost always pronounced in conversational English, that’s a common reduction.

yer, yer.

Oh yer, oh yer.

oh, you’re just going to have a bite of mine?

oh, you’re just going to have a bite of mine?

oh, you’re just going to have a bite of mine?

The words ‘just going to have a’ we have a few reductions there.

The T in JUST is dropped

We do that when the next word begins with a consonant.

The vowel reduces to the schwa.

IT’s not ‘just’, it’s ‘jus’.

GOING TO becomes ‘gonna’.

HAVE A is ‘have a’.

All of these words are lower in pitch, flatter, and said very quickly.

‘just going to have a’

‘just going to have a’‘

just going to have a’

‘just going to have a’

This is what happens in conversational English.

oh, you’re just going to have a bite of mine?

oh, you’re just going to have a bite of mine?

oh, you’re just going to have a bite of mine?

‘Bite of mine’ becomes ‘bite a’ mine’.

The word ‘of’ is reduced to the schwa, and the T in BITE is a Flap T linking the two together.

Bite of mine, bite of mine.

Again, these changes are typical of conversational English.

They're a part of what helps us make English fast.

A T is a Flap T when it comes between two vowels or diphthongs,

and that's true even in two different words when the T links the two words.

Bite of mine.

oh, you’re just going to have a bite of mine?

oh, you’re just going to have a bite of mine?

oh, you’re just going to have a bite of mine?

Ok, let’s move on. David will try the watermelon.

Will he be convinced that this is an ‘amazing’ watermelon?

What?

No!

It's awful.

No, David was not convinced.

He called it ‘awful’.

I’ve also heard him use the term ‘disgusting’.

What foods do you think are awful or disgusting?

Put them in the comments.

What? I don't get it!

The melon-iness. It's...

Is it the texture? Or the...

No. Just the flavor.

Our friend off camera asked if it was texture or taste.

The texture of the food is how it feels in your mouth, or in your hands.

It can be hard, soft, mushy, crunchy, slippery, smooth, and so on.

Some people might not like a food for its texture more than it’s taste.

David said, in this case, it was not the texture, it was the taste, the flavor.

- Is it the texture? Or the taste? - No. Just the flavor.

It's like uh...

- I don't know. - It's such a good one.

No you guys are crazy.

Like you literally had to spit it out?

Let’s talk for a second about the word ‘literally’ and how it’s used.

In British English it sounds more like three syllables.

Literally. Literally.

In American English it sounds like four, and we flap the T.

Literally.

Literally.

Literally.

Literally.

Now, this word is over used in American English.

The meaning has morphed as a result.

It’s used often for emphasis.

For example, I once heard someone say:

I was so tired, I literally slept all day.

Now, I know that person didn’t sleep all day. She slept a lot of day, certainly she was very tired.

But she did not literally sleep all day.

She did not actually sleep from sun up to sun down.

She slept a lot that day.

So she's using 'literally' here for emphasis.

I can also picture someone saying, “I literally fell out of my chair when I heard the news.”

This would in no way mean that someone did literally fall out of a chair,

it just adds emphasis to say how amazed they were, how caught off guard they were.

I’m going to put a link in the video description to some articles about the word ‘literally’

and how its use has changed and its meaning has changed.

Now, how did I use it?

like, you literally had to spit it out?”

There I am using it to mean ‘actually’.

I’m not just adding emphasis.

I’m asking, you had no other options than to actually, physically spit it out?

He claims he didn’t.

like, you literally had to spit it out?

Can you do it again without spitting it?

I don't want any more try. Ever.

- I'm done trying. - You'll never be convinced again?

No, this is one of the best you've ever had and I had a vomit reaction.

Is there an agreement here?

He said he had ‘a vomit reaction’.

Another way to say vomit is to say throw up, which is a phrasal verb,

which means your food comes back up out of you.

He had a vomit reaction to watermelon.

This guy really hates watermelon.

- It's an excellent melon. - It's a tasty one.

So there we just heard two other opinions, and two other descriptors:

excellent, and tasty.

Everyone else seems to really like this watermelon.

I thought it was a very good watermelon. I only like watermelon really this time of year,

when they're the real sweet, juicy ones. I find, you know, watermelon in the off season to be pretty terrible.

More descriptors: very good, sweet, juicy.

Also, terrible.

In the off season in the US, when they’re imported from farther away.

I'm all in favor of this watermelon.

She is all in favor of watermelon.

She thinks it’s a great one.

We often use the term ‘all in favor of’

when we need to challenge something, or part of something.

For example, I’m all in favor of less screen time for kids, but when we’re flying, I do let him use my iPad.

Or, I’m all in favor of exercising more, but I can’t make myself do it five times a week.

I’m all in favor of--

I’m all in favor of this watermelon.

I am grateful that everyone like the watermelon

I bought the watermelon at the Woods Edge farmstand

which is about a mile from here

It started out as a guy just selling stuff that he grew

sort of greenhouse, greens and vegetables

but now they buy things from the produce auction including from farther afield

So this is a Virginia-grown watermelon but uh, from the produce auction

and I found it pretty delicious

I thought it was good.

My friend Jacob used the phrase ‘farther afield.’

You can also say ‘further afield’.

This means not the nearest, closest, or most obvious place.

For example, we didn’t find a solution to the problem with our preliminary research,

so we’ll have to look further afield.

OR, there isn’t a pet adoption agency in our neighborhood, so we’ll have to look further afield.

As Jacob used it, the watermelon was not grown there on that local farm,

but brought in from somewhere further afield, somewhere else in Virginia.

But now they also buy things from the produce auction, including from father afield.

So this is a Virginia-grown watermelon but from the produce auction and I found it pretty delicious.

I thought it was good.

Two more positive descriptors for the watermelon: delicious, and good.

So let’s review our descriptors. The people who liked it said it was amazing,

one of the best I’ve ever had, excellent, tasty, very good

Words to describe not liking it were: hate, awful, vomit reaction, disgusting, and terrible.

Okay, now this video is not over, but since I’m hungry,

right now, I’m going to ask you for one of your favorite foods.

Put it in the comments below. If there is a recipe is involved,

put a link to a YouTube video where someone is making that.

I love watching YouTube videos of people making food, like Pasta Grannies and Joshua Weismann.

Ok, now that we got that taken care of, let’s review this whole short conversation again.

Notice the descriptive words for food,

and think about how you would talk about your very favorite and least favorite foods in English.

Uhm, David hates watermelon, he thinks.

I know, but I want to try it again. You said it was 'the best one you've ever had'.

I didn't say that.

You said 'one of the best'.

I probably said that. I said it's an amazing watermelon and if you're going to try it again, now is the time time to try it.

Oh, you're just going to have a bite of mine?

- Yeah! - Oh!

What? No!

That is awful.

What? I don't get it!

The meloniness, it's...

- Is it the texture? Or the taste? - No, just the flavor.

It's like a...

- I don't know. - It's such a good one.

No you guys are crazy.

Like you really had to spit it out?

Can you do it again without spitting it?

No, I don't want any more try.

Ever.

- I'm done trying. - You'll never be convinced again?

No, this is one of the best you've ever had.

And I had a vomit reaction.

Is there an agreement here?

- It's an excellent melon. - It's a tasty watermelon.

It's a tasty watermelon.

I thought it was a very good watermelon.

I only like watermelon really this time of the year when they're the real, sweet, jucy ones.

I find, you know, watermelon in the off season to be pretty terrible.

I'm all in favor of this watermelon.

I'm grateful the everyone like the watermelon. I bought the watermelon at the woods edge farm stand

which is about a mile from here.

It started out as a guy just selling stuff that he grew in a greenhouse, greens and vegetables, but now,

they also buy things from the produce auction, including from father field.

So this is a Virginia-grown watermelon but from the produce auction and I found it pretty delicious.

I thought it was good.

That was fun.

I love making food and I love teaching English,

check out this video I made with my friend Laura where we made an apple pie and an English lesson

at the same time.

If you’ve already seen that, please check out another Rachel’s English video

from your suggested videos,

keep this studying going!

I love being here, I love teaching you English,

that’s it guys, and thanks so much for using Rachel’s English.