30 Minute English Lesson: Vocabulary, Grammar, Pronunciation

Hi, I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com.  

Are you ready to learn a  lot of English? Let's do it. 

I have a little secret to share with you. Over  the last few months, I have been making quick,  

rapid fire English lessons, 10 to 30 seconds  and posting them on various social media  

platforms. Some of them I've posted on YouTube,  but many of these I have never posted on YouTube,  

and I thought, why should my wonderful  YouTube students miss out on these lessons? 

So today is your lucky day. You are going to  improve your English vocabulary, pronunciation,  

grammar, and cultural knowledge with these quick,  

rapid fire English lessons. And like always,  I have created a free PDF worksheet for you so  

that you never forget what you've learned. I  have every single little pronunciation point,  

every vocabulary word definition. All of  this is in the free PDF worksheet. You  

can click on the link in the description  to download that free PDF worksheet right  

now. All right. Let's get started with these  quick, rapid fire English lessons. Let's go. 

Don't say simply no, instead, expand  your vocabulary. Would you like some  

more pie? If you don't want any more pie,  what can you say? "No thanks. I'm full.  

No thanks. I'm stuffed. No  thanks. I can't eat another bite." 

"You're so funny". Do you know some more  ways that you can say you are funny?  

You could say, "You're hilarious. You crack me  up. You're hysterical." These are all great ways  

to expand your vocabulary. Advanced English  expressions you need to know. "Do you think I  

should ask Sarah if she likes my outfit? Well,  only if you want an honest answer. She doesn't  

sugarcoat." Sugarcoat means to make things  sound nicer. "Sarah does not sugarcoat. How's  

your grandma doing?" "She's pretty good, but  I wish she'd eat more. Ever since her surgery,  

she just eats like a bird." To eat like a bird  means that you just don't eat very much. "Do you  

think this will be enough food for dinner? I don't  know. Now that John's a teenager, he eats like a  

horse." To eat like a horse means to eat a lot  of food. It's the opposite of eating like a bird. 

"I thought I would spice things up in my wardrobe,  so I bought some new clothes that are fancier than  

I usually buy." To spice things up means to  make something more exciting. "I was really  

friendly to the new guy at work, but he just  gave me the cold shoulder." The cold shoulder  

means someone is not talking to you because  they're most likely angry at you. It's no good. 

"If you listen to my advice and play your cards  right, you might get front row tickets to that  

concert." To play your cards right  means that you are doing something  

carefully in the correct order. I hope it's  successful for you. Play your cards right. 

Did you know she's pregnant? Oops, I just spilled  the beans. Why did you just show up at my house?  

You know that texting me before you come is a  good rule of thumb, right? Oh, you like my English  

lessons? Wait, are you just trying to butter me  up? Do I know Sarah? Oh, that name rings a bell.  

You only applied to one college? You know it's  not very smart to put all your eggs in one basket.  

I'm going to school full-time, I have two  kids. I have three part-time jobs, man.  

I think I bit off more than I can chew. "I have to practice guitar at least five times  

a week so I don't lose my touch." To lose your  touch means to lose your skill. "I only invited  

a few friends over to my house, but somehow it  got out of hand and 20 people came over." To get  

out of hand means it got crazy. "The weather has  been really rainy lately, so we are going to play  

it by ear if we want to go to the beach or not."  To play something by ear means to be flexible. 

Do you know these words in English? Ballpoint  pen, ballpoint pen. Mechanical pencil, mechanical  

pencil. Dry erase marker, dry erase marker.  Masking tape, masking tape. Sticky notes, sticky  

notes. Ruler, ruler. Compass, compass. Protractor,  protractor. Calculator, calculator. Notebook  

paper, notebook paper. Construction paper,  construction paper. Graph paper, graph paper. Wide  

ruled notebook paper, wide ruled notebook paper.  And college ruled notebook paper, college ruled  

notebook paper. People in college aren't the only  ones who use college ruled notebook paper. It just  

means that the lines are a little bit smaller. Sink basin, sink basin. Faucet, faucet. Or spigot,  

spigot. Hot and cold water handles, hot and  cold water handles. Spray nozzle, spray nozzle.  

Tap water, tap water. Triple A batteries,  triple A batteries. Double A batteries,  

Double A batteries. Notice that in American  English when we say batteries, that T changes  

to a D. Sound. Batteries, batteries. What  are these batteries called where you live? 

English Vocabulary Quiz time. What does it mean  when I say, "My stomach's growling"? A, my stomach  

hurts, B, I'm hungry, or C, I'm angry. What does  my stomach's growling mean? Well, if you guessed  

B, I'm hungry, you're correct. I didn't have  time to eat lunch and now my stomach's growling. 

What does it mean when I say my car was  totaled? Does it mean, A, my car has all  

the latest features or B, my car costs a lot  of money, or C, I was in an accident and my car  

is no longer drivable? What does it mean to say  my car was totaled? It is, I was in an accident  

and my car is no longer drivable. Answer C. What does this expression mean? The grocery  

store is just a hop, skip, and a jump away? Does  it mean, A, the grocery store is hard to get to,  

B, the grocery store is far away, or C, The  grocery store is close by? Three, two, one. If  

you guess C, you're correct. The grocery store is  close by. It's just a hop, skip, and a jump away. 

If you forget to add flour to your cake recipe,  you're pretty much doomed. Doomed. Does it mean A,  

you are in luck, flour is not an essential  ingredient, or B, you can expect a negative  

outcome, or C, you can expect the recipe to  be too salty? Three, two, one. If you said B,  

you can expect a negative outcome, din,  ding, ding. You are correct. You can say,  

"I knew I was doomed when I showed up to my final  exam 30 minutes late. Oh no, you're doomed." 

Speak advanced English. Switch this simple  phrase for this advanced one. The museum was  

crowded. We were packed like sardines. I'm done  with work today. I'm going to call it a day.  

I know that you really didn't do your homework.  Don't lie again. Don't cry wolf. I talked with him  

at the bar, but he hardly noticed me. He hardly  gave me a second glance. I've been thinking a lot,  

but I just can't come up with a good solution.  I've been racking my brain, but I just can't come  

up with a good solution. My house is really clean.  My house is spic and span. I wish that were true. 

My dad gives the best big hugs. My dad gives the  best bear hugs. Isn't that a fun expression? I'd  

like to buy a souvenir, but they're not unique  or well made. I'd like to buy a souvenir,  

but they are a dime a dozen. He's doing his  homework quickly. He's flying through his math  

homework. Go ahead and order the fries. It doesn't  cost much money. It won't break the bank. The  

name of that restaurant doesn't sound familiar.  That name doesn't ring a bell. I won't tell you  

the whole story, but I lost my dog yesterday. To  make a long story short, I lost my dog yesterday. 

Decorating a cake is harder than I thought  it would be. Decorating a cake is easier said  

than done. In the summer, I constantly have  to pull weeds in my garden. In the summer,  

I have to pull weeds 24/7. I didn't think  that I would enjoy jogging every day,  

but it's going well. I didn't think that I would  enjoy jogging every day, but so far so good. 

Let's level up your English. Imagine you just  ate a piece of pizza that was really salty. You  

can say, "I'm thirsty." Well, what's the next  level, you just ran three miles or kilometers  

on a hot day. You can say, "I'm parched". What's  the next level? You've been wandering in the  

desert for three days. You can say, "Oh, I'm dying  of thirst." These are all great English phrases. 

Let's imagine that you just ate a big meal and  what can you say next? "I'm sleepy." The next  

level. You came home from a long day of work, you  could say, "I'm beat". What's the next level? You  

have a newborn baby at home and haven't slept  in weeks? You could say, "I'm exhausted." 

Let's imagine you work at a grocery store and a  customer asks you, "Can I have change for a 20?"  

What in the world does that mean? It means that  they want smaller bills. Maybe they need two fives  

and a 10. Maybe they need 10 ones and one 10. They  want smaller denominations. This is a beautiful  

question to ask. "Can I have change for a 20? Can  I have change for a five?" And they might ask you,  

"Is five ones okay? Is quarters okay?" Or you  could ask, "Can I have change for a hundred?" And  

they'll ask you what denominations you want. This  is extremely important when you're visiting the US  

because sometimes you need cash, but you don't  want a big bill. "Can I have change for a 20?" 

Grammar challenge. Which one is correct? And  sometimes native English speakers get this  

wrong too. I have already eaten today. I have  already eaten today. I have already ate today.  

I have already ate today. Three, two, one. The  correct answer is I have already eaten today.  

You might hear native speakers make this mistake,  but really it should be, I've already eaten today. 

Did you know the name of these two animals  rhyme when they're singular, but not when  

they're plural. Let's see. One goose, one moose.  Five geese, five, is it meese? Nope. Instead,  

the plural is moose. Moose does not change.  Five moose. Sometimes English is just plain  

weird. One mouse, two mice. One ox, two oxen. One  wolf, two wolves. Do you know this strange thing  

about English? One sheep, two sheep. One fish, two  fish. One deer, two deer. One bison, two bison.  

What? Yes. The singular and the plural are the  same word. They don't change and don't add an S. 

English quiz. Which word is correct  in this sentence? "Oh yes, I... your  

apology. I know it was just an accident.  Oh yes, I accept your apology. Oh, yes,  

I except your apology." What? Both of these words  sound exactly the same. So what really matters is  

how you spell them. Which one is correct? It's  this one. "Oh yes, I accept your apology. I  

know it was just a mistake." What about this  sentence? "I like everything on my pizza...  

onions. I like everything on my pizza accept  onions. I liked everything on my pizza except  

onions." The correct answer is I like everything  on my pizza except onions. Spelling matters. 

"You can put your backpack over on the shelf. You  can put your backpack over there on the shelf,  

or you can put your backpack over their on  the shelf." What? Both of these words sound  

exactly the same? Yes. The spelling matters. The  correct answer is you can put your backpack over  

there on the shelf. What about this sentence? "I  really like new song. It's so catchy. I really  

like there new song or I really like their new  song." Which word is correct? It's this one,  

"I really like their new song. It's so catchy." "If you want to bake a cake, you'll need to  

buy more. You'll need to buy more flower or  you'll need to buy more flour." Which word is  

correct? "Well, if you want to bake a cake,  you'll have to buy more flour." Great work.  

Let's look at this sentence. "Let's put one on  each table. Let's put one flower on each table,  

or let's put one flour on each  table." Which one is correct? It's,  

"Let's put one flower on each table." "Can you speak a little louder? I can't  

hear you. Can you speak a little louder? I can't  here you." Which word goes in this spot? If you  

answered hear, you're right. H-E-A-R means  to hear to use your ears. What about this  

sentence? "Can we stop hear and rest for  a few minutes? I'm tired. Can we stop here  

and rest for a few minutes?" If you chose this  first one, you are correct. H-E-R-E means this  

place. "Can we stop here and rest? I'm tired." "I don't know weather or not I should go to the  

party. I don't know whether or not I should  go to the party." Which whether is correct?  

The answer is, "I don't know whether or not  I should go to the party." We often use this  

whether with the fixed phrase, whether or  not when we're trying to make a decision. 

What about this sentence? "Did you check the  weather report? I think it's going to rain.  

Did you check the whether report? I think it's  going to rain." The correct weather is this one.  

This is talking about rain, snow, sun. Did  you check the weather report? Great work. 

Most English learners say these  words wrong. What about you?  

Comfortable, comfortable, comfortable.  Entrepreneur, entrepreneur, entrepreneur.  

Thorough, thorough, thorough. Girl,  girl, girl. World, world, world.  

Squirrel, squirrel, squirrel. February, February,  February. Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday.  

Receipt, receipt, receipt. Thorough, thorough. He is a thorough teacher.  

Through, through. We went through the tunnel.  Though, though. I'm going to go outside even  

though it's raining. Bottle, bottle. In American  English the T changes to a D sound. Can you give  

the baby her bottle? Bottle. Say it with me,  bottle, bottle. Can you give the baby her bottle? 

Colonel, colonel. A colonel is a high  ranking military professional. Mischievous,  

mischievous. After the little boy pulled  the fire alarm, he got in trouble for his  

mischievous behavior. Comfortable, comfortable.  I like wearing sweatpants because they're so  

comfortable. These are squirrels. Squirrel  is an extremely tricky word for English  

learners to say. Can you say it with me? Squirrel, squirrel. The final sound is in  

your throat, -ul, -ul, squirrel. Squirrels like  to eat acorns. Can you also say this word? Very  

similar. Rural, rural. It has many R's and many  L's, rural. The final sound is in your throat,  

-ul, rural. He lives in a rural area away from  the city. A lot of squirrels live in rural areas. 

Can you say these three  words correctly? Warm, warm.  

Warn, warn. Worm, worm. The first two, warm  and warn have an or sound in the middle. Warm,  

warm. And the final word has er sound, worm,  worm. Warm, warn, worm. Butter, butter. Water,  

water. Sweater, sweater. In American English the  T changes to a D sound. Say it with me. "Oops,  

I spilled water and butter on my sweater.  I spilled water and butter on my sweater." 

Which word is pronounced differently? Two of these  words are pronounced the same. We're, where, were.  

Three, two, one. The correct answer is we're  and were are pronounced the same. They're  

pronounced wer, wer. And this word is pronounced,  w-air, w-air? Say it with me, "We're going where  

they were. We're going where they were." Can you say this like an American? "I'm  

going to have some breakfast. I'm going to  have some breakfast." The words going and  

to combined to make going to. I'm gonna have  some breakfast. What about this sentence? I've  

got a lot of work to do around the house today.  I've got a lot of work to do around the house  

today. Got to becomes gotta. I've gotta  do a lot of work around the house today. 

I want to go with you. I want to go with you. The  words want and to become wanna. I want to go with  

you. What about this sentence? You don't have  to clean that up by yourself. You don't have  

to clean that up by yourself. The words have to  become hafta in American English. You don't hafta  

clean that up all by yourself. Let me help you. Can I borrow $20 for dinner? What? 20? Yes,  

the word 20 has a silent T. You should say 20,  20. And we can level this up a little bit more  

by using the American English word bucks instead  of dollars. Can I borrow 20 bucks for dinner? 

I've heard English is difficult to learn. In  American English, this R sound in herd and  

learn is called a colored R. It is very strong.  Imagine you're an angry dog, heard, learn. You  

need to say it strongly like this. Can you say  it with me? I've heard English is difficult to  

learn. I've heard English is difficult to learn,  but I hope this lesson makes it easier for you. 

Can you say this popular tongue twister in  English? She sells seashells by the seashore.  

Let's speed it up. She sells seashells by the  seashore. One more time. She sells seashells  

by the seashore. She sells seashells by the  seashore. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled  

peppers. Notice at the beginning of each of these  words, there is a puff of air. It's a good way to  

practice a P sound, P, P, P. Let's say it again  and do it faster and faster and faster. Peter  

Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Peter  Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Peter  

Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. I did it. English pronunciation quiz. Which two words  

are pronounced similarly? Needed, started,  lived. I'll say it again, needed, started,  

lived. The two words that are pronounced the  same are needed and started. The ending of  

these words sounds like -ed, needed, started.  And that other word lived, lived. It just has  

a final D sound. There isn't the vowel E. Listen  carefully, lived, lived. Needed, started, lived. 

Which sentence am I saying? Don't pet that cat.  She's not berry friendly. Don't pet that cat,  

she's not very friendly. I said, "Don't pet that  cat. She's not very friendly." V versus B. Very,  

berry. With the V sound, your top teeth are  on your bottom lip. Very, very. And with B,  

your lips are together. B, berry, berry.  Can you say this sentence with me? That  

berry is very sour. That berry is very sour. Which word am I saying in this sentence? Listen  

carefully. Go ahead and have a seat. Go ahead and  have a seat. Which word did I just say? I said,  

"Go ahead and have a seat." This has a long E  sound. Look at my lips seat. They're very wide,  

seat. Go ahead and have a seat. What about  that other word? Well, it has a short I, sit.  

Sit. Can you say this challenge sentence with me?  It feels good to sit down in a comfortable seat. 

Hey, do you know what to say next and what not  to say next? "Hey, what's up?" Great. Or, "Hey,  

how's it going?" Great. Or, "Hey, what you doing?"  Great. But never say, "Hey, how do you do?"  

That's too old fashioned and weird in American  English. "Hey, what's the weather going to be  

like tomorrow?" "It's going to rain." Great.  Or "It's going to be rainy." Great. Or, "It's  

going to be coming down all day." Great. But never  say, "It's going to rain cats and dogs." That's  

too old fashioned and weird in American English. "I just found out it's supposed to rain every day  

of my beach vacation. Oh, that's a bummer. Oh,  that's unfortunate. Oh, that's disappointing."  

But never say, "I'm so sorry for your  misfortune." This is weird and old  

fashioned in English. Now you know. Is this  rude in English? If your friend tells you,  

"I lost my luggage at the airport." Can you say,  "Ugh, sorry man, that sucks." Is that rude? In a  

casual situation like this, it's no problem.  You can say, "Ugh, sorry, that sucks." But  

do not say that sucks for important situations. If your friend says, "My dog died." Do not say,  

"Oh, that sucks." Instead, it's better  to say, "Aw, I'm so sorry." Is it okay  

to say this? "That's a shame." Let's say that  your friend doesn't get the promotion at work  

that she really wants. You can say, "That's a  shame. I know how much you really wanted that  

promotion." This is a serious situation and you  are showing that you care. "That's a shame. I  

know you really wanted that promotion."  It's a great way to use this expression. 

What are these emojis in English? Fingers  crossed. I hope you get the job. Thumbs up.  

Awesome. Fist bump. Great job, man. Let's shake  hands. It's a deal. So how did you do? Did you  

enjoy these rapid fire English lessons? I hope  that they brought a smile to your face and some  

knowledge to your mind. Don't forget to download  the free PDF worksheet so that you never forget  

what you've learned in this fun English lesson. If you would like to catch more of these quick  

lessons from me, you can follow me on other  social media platforms like Instagram or  

TikTok where you can catch these fast English  lessons and learn a little bit every day. Well,  

thank you so much for learning English with me,  and I will see you again next Friday for a new  

lesson here on my YouTube channel. Bye. The next step is to download the free  

PDF worksheet for this lesson. With this free  PDF, you will master today's lesson and never  

forget what you have learned. You can be a  confident English speaker. Don't forget to  

subscribe to my YouTube channel for a  free English lesson every Friday. Bye.