Happy or Lucky? Learn English with Simple English Videos

6,558 views ・ 2015-04-08

Simple English Videos


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

00:03
What are you watching? The Blue Detective. Oh I love this movie.
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It has a happy ending. Don't tell me!
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In some languages being lucky and being happy
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is covered by the same word, but not in English. You're very happy today. Yes, the Phillies
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won last night. It's his favourite baseball team.
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Happiness is a positive emotion. If we're happy, we feel or show pleasure.
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Carter. Carter's a very happy dog. How do you know? Well, look at his tail wagging.
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Happiness can come with luck, but not always, because luck is something different. If we're
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lucky, we have good fortune. Gamblers need good luck.
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01:09
We didn't win the lottery. I don't know why you spend money on those tickets. One day
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we're gonna be lucky. I want a pay raise. We all do. And I want
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a company car. We all do. And I want more vacation time.
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Jay, you're lucky to have a job. Get back to work.
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So we can be lucky without being happy, and happy without being lucky.
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Do you think we'll get the contract. I think so. My fingers are crossed. Why?
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Well, crossing your fingers is good luck. No, I mean why do you think we'll get the
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contract. Because we're the best. A superstition is a belief that something
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will bring good or bad luck. So people might cross their fingers. They
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might have numbers they think are lucky or unlucky.
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And they might have objects and things that they believe are lucky.
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02:25
It's grammar time. A toast to the bride. Happiness! These are the adjectives and these are the
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nouns. They're both uncountable nouns. When we're talking about happiness in general,
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we don't use an article so this is wrong. And because it's an uncountable noun, we might
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talk about a bit of luck, or a stroke of luck, or not having much luck.
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I'm trying to open this jar but I'm not having much luck. Let me. Thank you.
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03:06
OK. Let's look at some more uses. 'Happy' is a versatile word because you can use it
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in lots of contexts. We use it to say how satisfied we are with
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something, or not. So what do you think of my report? I'm very
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happy with the beginning, but not so happy with the conclusion. What's wrong with it?
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We use it to say we're willing to do something. Do you need a hand?
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Yes, can you set the table? I'd be happy to. Thank you.
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We can use the word 'happy' to congratulate people when nice things happen.
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OK, bye. So? I got the job. Oh, fantastic! Yeah! I'm so happy for you.
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And of course we use 'happy' to wish people happinesss on special days and holidays.
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Now we can also wish people luck as well when we hope they'll be successful.
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What time is your job interview. Two o'clock. I think I'll put on a tie. Yes, good luck.
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Thanks. Good luck! Missed!. Ah, hard luck!
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In British English we say 'Hard luck' or 'Tough luck' when someone is unsuccessful. It expresses
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sympathy. That was lucky! Oh that wasn't luck. That
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was skill. Yeah, right. OK, one last expression before we stop. We
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all know people who are happy and people who are lucky.
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But do you know anyone who is happy-go-lucky. It means cheerful, optimistic, carefree.
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So it depends on your point of view. If we say someone's happy-go-lucky we can mean they're
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pleasant to be around. Or we can mean they annoy the heck out of
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us because they are so damned happy. And that's it. Here's wishing you all good
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health, good luck and lots of happiness.
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