Express Yourself in English: Advanced Vocabulary Lesson

Vanessa: What is the number one thing that you can  

do to express yourself completely when you speak  in English? It is expand your vocabulary. And  

congratulations, that's what you are about to do.  Today you are going to learn 10 important daily  

life expressions in English that I used and my  husband Dan used in our conversation video about  

work and our jobs. And by the end of this lesson,  you're going to be able to use them yourself. Hi,  

I am Vanessa from speakenglishwithvanessa.com, and  like always, I have created a free PDF worksheet  

with all of today's important vocabulary  for daily life about your work and job.  

And at the bottom of this free worksheet,  you can answer the quiz to test yourself  

and see if you can really use these vocabulary  words in the best way possible. You can click  

on the link in the description to download that  free PDF worksheet today. It is my gift to you.

Let's get started with our first important English  phrase, which is to have no say in something,  

to have no say in something.  Well, before I explain it to you,  

we're going to watch an original clip  from the conversation where we used  

this phrase. Let's take a look at that clip,  and then I'll explain it to you. Let's watch.

Dan: Well,  

my first job was a paper route, which is  where you take the newspaper and you go  

and deliver it to your neighborhood. Now,  I'm pretty sure that this was probably a  

job that my dad said, "Hey, the boys  need a job. Get them a paper route."

Vanessa: Okay.

Dan: And so  

I had no say in this, and I was  probably... I think I was 12.

Vanessa: Okay.

Dan: 12 or 13, so I was kind of young.

Vanessa: In this clip you saw Dan say,  

"I had no say in choosing this job."  Can you guess what that means? Well,  

it means that he had no power in this choice. The  choice was made by someone else. I had no say in  

choosing this job. I just did it. Let's take  a look at another example. When I was a kid,  

I had no say in what I wore because my mom always  dressed me. Here, you get the idea that I didn't  

choose my clothes, my mom chose my clothes. So we  could swap out the word choose and say. We could  

say, "I had no choice about what I wore," but you  want to use this advanced wonderful phrase, right?  

I had no say in what clothes I wore. All right,  let's go back and watch that original clip again,  

and I think you'll be amazed that this time, you  can understand the context even more. Let's watch.

Dan: Well,  

my first job was a paper route, which is  where you take the newspaper and you go  

and deliver it to your neighborhood. Now,  I'm pretty sure that this was probably a  

job that my dad said, "Hey, the boys  need a job. Get them a paper route."

Vanessa: Okay.

Dan: And so  

I had no say in this, and I was  probably... I think I was 12.

Vanessa: Okay.

Dan: 12 or 13, so I was kind of young.

Vanessa: All right,  

let's go on to important phrase  number two, which is to be paid  

under the table. Let's watch the original  clip, and then I'll explain it to you.

Because you were 12 years old, this is  under the age that you typically work.  

So were you paid under the  table, or how did that work?

Dan: No, I don't  

think we were. I don't remember the details of  getting paid. I remember it was not very much.

Vanessa: Were you motivated  

by money at all at that point? Like, "Oh, I get  a job, I get some money, I can buy some toys"?

Dan: Yes. Yes,  

I was. I do remember that with  that money, I bought a Nintendo 64

Vanessa: In this clip I asked Dan,  

were you paid under the table? Does this mean  that the boss actually passed the money under  

the table? No, this just means that he was paid  illegally. When you pay someone under the table,  

it's usually because maybe they are too young  to work, maybe they are an illegal immigrant and  

they don't have the documentation to legally  pay them, or maybe it's just a job where we  

usually pay someone under the table, like if  you are walking someone's dog or babysitting  

someone's kid. Usually we don't fill out  taxes for those types of jobs even though  

it's technically illegal. So we could say  this, "When I babysat the neighbor's kids,  

I was paid under the table." And you know what,  even though it's illegal, it's pretty common,  

and in my opinion, it's not a big deal. What do  you think? All right, let's watch the original  

clip so that you can have a better idea of the  context to pay under the table. Let's watch.

Because you were 12 years old, this is  under the age that you typically work.  

So were you paid under the  table, or how did that work?

Dan: No, I don't  

think we were. I don't remember the details of  getting paid. I remember it was not very much.

Vanessa: Were you motivated  

by money at all at that point? Like, "Oh, I get  a job, I get some money, I can buy some toys"?

Dan: Yes. Yes,  

I was. I do remember that with  that money, I bought a Nintendo 64.

Vanessa: All right, let's go to our  

third important English phrase, which is actually  two, but they have a similar meaning. The first  

one is to be on it, and the next one is to be on  my A game. Let's take a look at the original clip.

Dan: In general, I think I would choose  

a workplace because I like to be really active.  So my job now, I'm teaching children, elementary.  

So when I'm in a classroom I got to be really  moving on top of it, and basically on my A game.

Vanessa: In this clip, Dan said,  

"I need to be on it. I need to be on my A game."  Can you guess what this means? Well, if you have  

ever been a teacher in a classroom, you know that  if you are not completely prepared and completely  

organized, those kids will run over you, so you  need to be on it. You need to be on your A game,  

and this means you need to be doing your best  to do it really well. Let's take a look at  

another sentence. I'm so proud of this project.  I really brought my A game. I was on it. Here,  

you can see that. Instead of saying, "I was on  my A game," I said, "I brought my A game." And  

it has the same idea that I am just doing my  best. I'm so proud of this project. All right,  

let's watch that original clip again so that  you can hear these two important phrases.

Dan: In general, I think I would choose a workplace  

because I like to be really active. So my job  now, I'm teaching children, elementary kids,  

so when I'm in a classroom I got to be really  moving on top of it, and basically on my A game.

Vanessa: Let's go on  

to important phrase number four,  which is to be in a rut. This is  

a good comparison to our previous phrase,  to be on it, to be in a rut. Let's watch.

Dan: At home,  

I don't get that same energy. I just  kind of fall into a... Maybe a rut  

is kind of too dramatic of a word, but I  can more easily get into a rut at home.

Vanessa: So you feel  

more motivated when you're on the location?

In this clip, you heard Dan say, "I can get into  a rut at home." If you've ever worked from home,  

maybe you felt like this too. You need to  be around other people and out in the world.  

Sometimes if you're at home too much, you can get  into a rut. What is a rut? A rut is kind of like a  

hole or a ditch. If you are in this hole, in this  ditch, it's not a good place to be, so you need  

to figure out a way to get out of that rut. Let's  take a look at another sample sentence of how you  

can use this related to your English learning. You  might say, "Vanessa's English lessons help me to  

get out of a rut in my English learning journey."  Maybe you are feeling bored or uninspired or  

uninterested in English, and then you open  up YouTube and you watch this English lesson,  

and you feel energized and excited about learning  English. So I hope that this lesson is helping you  

to get out of a rut if you were in a rut before.  All right, let's watch the original clip again.

Dan: At home,  

I don't get that same energy. I just  kind of fall into a... Maybe a rut  

is kind of too dramatic of a word, but I  can more easily get into a rut at home.

Vanessa: So you feel  

more motivated when you're on the location?

Let's take a look at the fifth  important English phrase,  

which is to be with it. With what? Well, let's  take a look at the original clip to find out.

Dan: I had to hire basically baristas,  

and so the criteria I mainly looked for  was, were they cheerful and presentable,  

and did they seem with it, as in would they  be on time? Can they follow directions and  

orders? And then of course, I always ask  them about their previous experience,  

and usually with the most recent job they  had, I ask, "Why did you leave that job?"

Vanessa: In this clip,  

we said, "Did they seem with it? Could they  be on time and follow orders?" What does it  

mean? Did they seem with it? With who? With  what? Well, when you are hiring someone,  

you want to make sure that they are able to think  and understand quickly. So instead of saying,  

"Does the new employee have the capability of  thinking and understanding quickly"... Okay,  

that's fine, we understand. Or you can just  shorten this and say, "Is the new employee with  

it?" And it here is that sense of being able to  think and figure out problems. And they are here  

in the moment. They're not distracted and thinking  about other things. That is not being with it. So  

it's possible, maybe when you were in high school,  maybe you were not with it. You didn't study well,  

you didn't pay attention in class, you always were  missing assignments, you were not with it. And  

then as you got older and either went to college  or got a job, you realized, I need to be with  

it. This is an important skill. So hopefully you  have been able to grow that skill over your life.

Let's take a look at the original clip that  used this fun expression, to be with it.

Dan: I had to hire basically  

baristas. And so the criteria I mainly looked  for was, were they cheerful and presentable,  

and did they seem with it, as in would they  be on time? Can they follow directions and  

orders? And then of course, I always ask  them about their previous experience.  

And usually with the most recent job they  had, I ask, "Why did you leave that job?"

Vanessa: Our sixth important expression,  

that's a tricky word to say, sixth important  expression is to be taken. Well, I could take  

something, but this was used to talk about Dan.  Dan is taken. Did somebody steal Dan? Oh no,  

they kidnapped my husband. No, that's not  what we're talking about here. I want you  

to watch the original clip and guess what  do you think to be taken means? Let's watch.

Dan: Also for that coffee shop, most of the people  

who worked there were women, and so I had to kind  of be a little careful who... That made actually  

hiring guys harder just because a lot of times if  you get a guy who's single and giving off these  

signals, then it just ends up building this kind  of tension and drama. And so I was the married  

guy there. And Dan's taken, it doesn't matter,  whatever. I gave them relationship advice, but-

Vanessa: You just heard Dan say, "Dan is the married  

guy. He's taken." Well, here, our clue is married  guy. Does this mean he is romantically available  

and looking for a girlfriend? Well, I hope not.  He is taken. That means his heart is taken by  

someone. By who? Me. So if you are in a romantic  relationship with someone, you don't have to be  

married, but if you're in a romantic relationship  with someone, you can say, "I'm taken." Oh, and  

this means you're not looking around for someone  else. Your heart belongs to someone else. It could  

be seen as kind of a possessive word, right? Take,  he took my heart. But really, we usually use this  

as a very romantic phrase. I'm taken. Someone  has taken my heart. It can be a very romantic  

thing. So in the conversation, Dan was explaining  how there were a lot of women who worked at the  

coffee shop where he worked, and a lot of times  those women would ask him for relationship advice.

They had boyfriends and they wanted to know,  "Dan, how can you have a good relationship with  

Vanessa?" And in fact, one time... This is so  sweet, I think. One time one of the employees  

brought a notebook, and they said, "Dan, give  me your relationship advice. I'm going to write  

it down." I thought this was so sweet. So  he was the one who was just there to work  

with them, be the boss, and maybe give some  relationship advice on the side. All right,  

let's watch the original clip so that you  can see how this phrase to be taken was used

Dan: Also  

for that coffee shop, most of the  people who worked there were women,  

and so I had to kind of be a little careful  who... That made actually hiring guys harder  

just because a lot of times if you get a guy  who's single and giving off these signals,  

then it just ends up building this kind of  tension and drama. And so I was like the married  

guy there. And Dan's taken, it doesn't matter,  whatever. I gave them relationship advice, but-

Vanessa: 

The seventh important vocabulary expression  is to take for granted. This is a really  

important phrase that I want to make sure  that you understand both in English and the  

meaning for your life in general. So let's  watch the original clip so that you can see  

how it was used. You get the same vacations  as our children because you have the same  

schedule and all of that. So you're able to  take care... You take the kids to school and-

Dan: Yes.

Vanessa: ... manage their school life,  

which as parents know, managing your  children's school life is a big deal.

Dan: Yeah,  

that's something that I kind of  take for granted, because yeah, I  

take Theo to school with me. Nobody has to drop  him off or anything because he just goes with me.

Vanessa: In this clip,  

you saw Dan say, "Taking our children to school is  something that I take for granted." Do you think  

that Dan is grateful that he can take our children  to school every day? No, he doesn't really think  

about it much. But when he reflects, he realizes,  oh, this is something I should be grateful for.  

So this phrase, to take something for granted,  is something that you should be grateful for,  

but usually you don't even think about. And there  are so many things in our modern world that we  

just take for granted that our ancestors  or other people in the world would be so  

grateful. For example, free English lessons on  YouTube. Can you imagine our great-grandparents,  

if they had the opportunity to learn English  for free on the internet, first, they would say,  

"What's the internet?" But also this is such an  incredible tool that we just think is so normal,  

but it's something we should  be grateful for all the time.

So this is something that I try to  do. I'm not always successful at this,  

but when I realize that I am  taking something for granted,  

maybe that is the opportunity to work from home,  maybe that is someone special in my life that  

I haven't thanked for a while, I try to stop for  a moment and be grateful. Wow, I'm so glad that I  

get to work from home. My baby is napping in the  other room, my kids are playing happily outside,  

and I can still be your English teacher.  I'm so grateful for that. I don't want to  

take that for granted. So if there is something  in your life that you are taking for granted,  

or someone who you are taking for granted who  is important and special and you haven't thanked  

them recently, this is my little life challenge  for you, I challenge you to thank that person,  

or in your mind, be grateful for the opportunity  that you have that you're taking for granted. All  

right, let's go and watch the original clip  so that you can see how this phrase was used.

You get the same vacations as our children  because you have the same schedule and all  

of that. So you're able to care...  You take the kids to school and-

Dan: Yes.

Vanessa: ... manage their school life,  

which as parents know, managing your  children's school life is a big deal.

Dan: Yeah,  

that's something that I kind of  take for granted, because yeah,  

I take Theo to school with me. Nobody has to drop  him off or anything because he just goes with me.

Vanessa: The eighth important English expression  

that we're going to talk about today is to seek  out something. This is a great phrasal verb,  

and I want you to see how it was used in the  irregular past tense in this clip. Let's watch.

Dan: We are able  

to do it because we have flexible jobs  that we've sought out. We've also gone  

through a lot of transitions in our  life where, oh, this isn't working,  

this is terrible. Then you're reworking  stuff, and then you get into a better place.

Vanessa: Yeah, I do feel like-

Dan: You got to be able to  

be willing to change directions like that as well.

Vanessa: In this clip,  

Dan said, "We sought out non-traditional  jobs," sought. Wow, sometimes English is  

just so weird. The original phrasal verb  is to seek out, but in the past tense,  

we say sought. Notice that the G in the H are  completely silent. Why is there a G and a H? I  

don't know. Why don't we just say seeked? Beats  me, but here we are. This is an irregular past  

tense verb. We sought out non-traditional jobs.  And the idea of this is that we were actively  

looking for something. It didn't just magically  happen. It didn't just fall in my lap. No,  

we tried to seek out non-traditional jobs so  that our life could be more flexible. And I  

know this is something that not everyone can do.  It's a real privilege to be able to seek out a  

specific type of job that you want to have, but  this is a great phrasal verb that you can use.

What is something that you're seeking out? I  sought out online English lessons, and here I  

am. I was looking for you, Vanessa. I'm so glad  I found you. I'm so glad you did too. All right,  

let's watch the original clips so  that you can see how this was used.

Dan: We are able to do it because we have flexible that  

we've sought out. We've also gone through a lot  of transitions in our life where, oh, this isn't  

working, this is terrible. Then you're reworking  stuff, and then you get into a better place.

Vanessa: Yeah, I do feel like-

Dan: You got to be able to  

be willing to change directions like that as well.

Vanessa: The ninth important  

English expression is a fun one, roundabout,  roundabout. We're not talking about when you're  

driving and you go around a circle. That's called  a roundabout. That is not what we're talking about  

here. Take a look at the original clip and see if  you can guess how we used roundabout. Let's watch.

If you're trying to do a million  things at the same time, at the end,  

you're just going to feel frustrated. At least  that's how I feel. I got nothing done because I  

was trying to do everything at the same time. So  I'm constantly trying to simplify my life because  

there's lots going on. So anyway, that's the  roundabout answer for this very tricky question.

Dan: In other words,  

you just got to figure it out somehow.

Vanessa: Yeah.

Dan: There's not a one size fit all answer.

Vanessa: In this clip you heard us say, "That's  

my roundabout answer for this tricky question."  Do you think that we answered the question  

directly? No. Instead, we went a  little bit here, a little bit there,  

maybe wiggled a little bit in the middle.  That's my roundabout answer. So here,  

we were just acknowledging, I know that  I didn't answer the question directly,  

but I hope you understood in the end. That was my  roundabout answer. I'd like to give you another  

example with kind of a fixed phrase that we often  use. Take a look at this. In a roundabout way,  

he was trying to ask her on a date. So maybe we  can imagine he feels a little uncomfortable about  

asking her on a date and he doesn't want to say,  "Hey, would you like to go on a date with me?"

So in a roundabout way, this is a  fixed expression that we often use,  

in a roundabout way, he was trying to  ask her on a date. Maybe he said, "Oh,  

my weekend is not very busy. Oh, what are you  doing this weekend? Oh yeah, well, I was thinking  

about going to this restaurant. Well, what about  you? Do you like fish? Do you want to go?" Okay,  

this is very roundabout. Sometimes it works,  sometimes it doesn't, but in a roundabout way,  

he was trying to ask her on a date, not  directly, in a roundabout way. All right,  

let's watch the original clip so that you  can see how this fun expression was used.

If you're trying to do a million  things at the same time, at the end,  

you're just going to feel frustrated. At least  that's how I feel. I got nothing done because I  

was trying to do everything at the same time. So  I'm constantly trying to simplify my life because  

there's lots going on. So anyway, that's the  roundabout answer for this very tricky question.

Dan: In other words,  

you just got to figure it out somehow.

Vanessa: Yeah.

Dan: There's not a one size fit all answer.

Vanessa: And our 10th and final  

important English phrase is on the table. Well, we  already talked about being paid under the table,  

but here, on the table. What could this mean?  Let's watch the original clip to find out.

For now, maybe in your life, if you're feeling  really stressed by this work-life balance, lay  

everything out on the table. What is necessary?  How can I cut back so that I feel more balanced  

and happy? I think you owe it to yourself, you  owe it to your family, and yeah, you'll just be  

a better person for it. In this clip, you heard me  say, "Lay everything on the table and see what you  

need to do to have more work-life balance." Do I  think that you should empty your pockets and your  

purse and put all of those items on the table? Not  literally, but figuratively, you should do that.

So you should put on the table, do I need  this expensive car? Do I need to live in  

this neighborhood? Do I need to purchase these  things? Do I need all of these various things in  

order to make my life the way that I want  it? And maybe your answer is going to be,  

you know what? I think I can sell my car  and get a really cheap car. Maybe I can  

move to a cheaper neighborhood and be close to  my parents and they can help take care of my kids  

instead of paying for an expensive daycare.  Then I can have a better work-life balance,  

less expenses, and maybe work less  too. Okay, here, you are really  

deeply considering all aspects of your life.  This is a pretty deep and heavy thing to do.

But if you're feeling like your work-life balance  is absolutely not what you want it to be, well,  

it's important to put everything on the table.  We could say put everything on the table or lay  

everything on the table. So you might even use it  in a workplace situation by saying something like  

this, "I laid everything on the table when  I told my boss that I wanted a raise." You  

really explained all the situations, all of your  personal benefits, all of your accomplishments,  

everything that you bring to the company, all  of the successes and the progress. You put  

everything on the table. You laid everything  on the table and hoped that your boss would  

recognize that you're valuable and give you a  raise. So here we're talking about figuratively  

seeing all of those accomplishments.  All right, let's watch this final clip,  

and I want you to hear how this was used  in the original conversation. Let's watch.

For now, maybe in your life, if you're feeling  really stressed by this work-life balance,  

lay everything out on the table.  What is necessary? How can I cut  

back so that I feel more balanced and  happy? I think you owe it to yourself,  

you owe it to your family, and yeah,  you'll just be a better person for it.

Well, congratulations on learning these 10  important English phrases for daily life so that  

you can talk about your work and job. And now, I  have a question for you. Remember that fun word,  

to be taken? Let me know in the comments, are you  taken? Let us know in the comments. I can't wait  

to see what you have to say. And don't forget  to download the free PDF worksheet with all  

of these important expressions, definitions,  multiple sample sentences. And at the bottom  

of the worksheet, you can answer the quiz. Test  yourself and see if you've really learned these  

10 important phrases. You can click on the  link in the description to download that free  

PDF worksheet today. It is my gift to you. Well,  thank you so much for learning English with me,  

and I'll see you again next Friday for a  new lesson here on my YouTube channel. Bye.

But wait, do you want more? I recommend  watching this video Next. This is the full  

conversation lesson where Dan and I talked about  our jobs, including Dan's first job where he did  

something not very nice. You can find out what  it is in that video, and I'll see you there.