I use these words every day: English Vocabulary Lesson

Speaker 1: We need to make a game plan. If I said  

this to you, would your heart start to beat really  fast because you have no idea what to say? Well,  

don't worry. Today I'm going to help you level up  your English vocabulary. You are going to learn 10  

important English expressions that I use every  day, and you should too. Hi, I'm Vanessa from  

speakenglishwithvanessa.com. And like always,  I have created a free PDF worksheet with all of  

today's 10 important phrases, definitions, sample  sentences. And at the bottom of the worksheet,  

you can answer Vanessa's challenge question  so that you never forget what you've learned.  

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 the first  phrase that I use every day, and you should  

too. I'm going to tell you the phrase to get  done and then I'll tell you a sample sentence.

I want you to guess what you think it  means. This is kind of like a little test,  

but it's also really useful because in the  real world you're going to hear expressions  

and phrases used in conversations. And you're  not going to have a teacher unfortunately,  

in your ear telling you that's what this  means. So I want you to use the English  

that you already have, your powers of deduction,  of guessing what you think it means in order to  

figure out what it actually means. And I think  you'll be surprised that you actually know more  

English than you think you do. So our first  expression is to get done. Let me give you  

a sample sentence. I have so much to get done  today. Well, what do you think this means? It  

simply means that I have a lot I need to finish  today. But this is a lovely expression that can  

help you to level up your vocabulary because  you could say, I have a lot to finish today.

It's okay, we understand what you're  saying. But if you want to level  

it up, you can use this phrase, I have a lot to  get done today. Let me give you another sentence.  

I think I can get it done before I leave for  work today. Did you notice that I split this  

expression with the word it? I think I can get  it done before I leave for work today. Here it  

is the project that I'm working on, I think I  can get it done. We could say, I think I can  

finish it before I leave for work today. But  you know what? You're here to level up your  

vocabulary. Use this phrase and say, I think I  can get it done before I leave for work today.  

Phrase number two that I use and you should too  is a pretty fun one, to get my ducks in a row.

Well, if you have been following my channel  for a while, you know that I have chickens  

right now. I think we have 15 chickens in my  backyard, but do I have ducks? Do I need to  

get my ducks in a row? Actual ducks? No. Take a  look at this sentence and try to guess what you  

think this means a figurative sense. I need  to get my ducks in a row before I start my  

day. Do I need to go out to the farm and line up  those ducks before I start my day? No. Instead,  

we can use this in a more figurative sense to  mean you're organizing the tasks before you get  

started, because most busy days or big tasks need  a lot of prep work. Prep work means preparation,  

so you can't just jump in otherwise you  might waste your time and not be efficient.

So you need to get your ducks in a row before you  get started. Let me give you another example. If  

you want to move to the US, you are going to need  to get your ducks in a row before you apply for  

a visa. If you've applied for a visa to the US  or another country, you know it's an extremely  

complicated process. You're going to need the  right paperwork. It has to be notarized, it has to  

be translated. It's a hassle. So before you walk  into the visa office, you need to get your ducks  

in a row. You need everything to be organized  before you get started. Expression number  

three that I use every day is a game plan. Is it  because I love playing games all day? No, I wish.  

That would be great. Take a look at this sample  sentence and see if you can guess what it means.

My game plan is to start with the most important  tasks that need to get done. Well, we used a great  

expression, to get done. But here, my game plan  is, you can get the sense that this is my plan  

for the day. I have a lot of things that I need  to get done. I need to get my ducks in a row, so  

I need to have a plan. But you don't want to just  say plan. It's okay, but it's not great. You're  

here to level up your English vocabulary, so you  can say game plan. My game plan is to get the most  

important things done first. You can use this also  in the workplace. If your team is having a meeting  

about how to accomplish a certain project, you  might ask, "All right, what's the game plan?"  

And you're asking the manager or whoever's in  charge, what are the steps that need to get done?

What is the overall plan? What's the game plan?  Or maybe you're the manager that needs to tell  

everyone else the game plan, you can use this  great expression. You can just say, "All right,  

this is the game plan, first we're going to do  this, then this." Lovely expression. So after  

you've created a game plan, now you need to  use this expression to deal with. Take a look  

at this. I need to deal with this bill that I got  in the mail and I'm probably going to be on the  

phone for a long time. No one likes to do this.  Let's take a look at how this was used, I need  

to deal with this bill that I got in the mail. Do  you think I'm looking forward to talking on the  

phone and figuring out what the problem with this  bill is? Absolutely not. This is my nightmare.

I do not want to have to deal with this bill,  but unfortunately we have to do some things  

that we don't want to do. So I have to deal  with the bill. This means I have to solve a  

problem and figure out why did I get this bill?  I shouldn't have gotten this bill. I have to deal  

with it. Usually the nuance with this expression  is that it's something that I don't want to do,  

so you might even use it like this. At  my old job, I had to deal with a lot of  

angry customers. Unfortunately, for some jobs,  especially in customer support you are hearing  

from customers who are unsatisfied.  So you have to deal with, you have to  

figure out how to help angry customers. It's  a difficult job, but someone's got to do it.

Expression number five that I use often and  you should too, is to get it over with. Make  

sure all of the words are included in this  expression, to get it over with. Take a  

look at this sample sentence. I hate having to  wait on hold to talk to someone on the phone,  

but I just have to get it over with. It's not  something I'm looking forward to, so what is my  

mental approach? Well, I just need to do it,  but instead of saying, I just need to do it,  

you can use this lovely expression. I just need  to get it over with. The phrasal verb to get it  

over with means that there is an unpleasant task  that you just need to do, and that's part of life.

Expression number six that I use often and you  should too, is to put off doing something. It's  

so true. Take a look at this sentence. I put  off calling the company for a whole week and  

it only took five minutes. Has that ever happened  to you? You're dreading doing a task all week or  

for a long time, and then when you finally do  it it just takes a few minutes. What a relief,  

that has happened to me so many times when I  am calling a company about a bill or a problem,  

I don't want to be on hold. I don't want to  explain the problem. And then when I do it  

just takes a few minutes and it's done. It's like  a weight has been lifted from my shoulders and  

that is what this phrase means, to put off  something. It means you're delaying something,  

but usually it has to do with  procrastination. It's not a  

good thing to put off doing something.  Let's take a look at another example.

I put off scheduling a dentist appointment  for myself and now it's too late because I  

have a cavity. If I had gone the dentist  earlier, maybe they would've cleaned my  

teeth or warned me that a cavity was starting to  form. But because I put off going to the dentist,  

now I have a problem. Sometimes we just  put off things though. It's the way it  

is. Expression number seven that I  use every day and you should too,  

is to call around. Take a look at this sample  sentence. I need to call around and find  

someone who can fix our washing machine.  Another task that I always put off. Here,  

I am needing to call multiple companies usually  to see are they available, what are their prices  

and are they a good fit for the problem? Can they  actually fix the problem? You're not just calling  

one company to see if they'll fix the problem.  You're calling multiple companies. You're calling  

around to see who can actually fix the problem,  at the right time at the price that you want.

You can also use this with your friends. You  could say, I called around to all my friends  

to see if anyone was available this afternoon  to hang out. You're just calling your friends,  

multiple friends, maybe sending them texts  like we do these days and you're seeing if  

they're available to hang out. Very casual.  Great. All right, let's go to the next phrase,  

phrase number eight that I absolutely use all the  time and you should too, is to head out. Head out,  

what? I love these figurative type phrasal verbs.  Take a look at this sentence. I need to head out  

to run some errands, like go to the bank and  the post office. I need to head out and this  

simply means to leave. You are going somewhere.  I need to head out to the bank. I need to head  

out to the post office. You can also use this  in daily life just as a way to say goodbye.

You might say, "I'm heading out. See you later." I  use this all the time and it just means I want to  

let you know that I'm leaving the house, so if  you call for me, "Vanessa, where are you?" You  

know that I'm not here. I'm heading out. See you  later. Great. Phrase number nine that I use every  

day and you can too, is to pick up. I'm not  talking about physically lifting something,  

instead, take a look at this sentence. I'm  going to pick up some groceries before I pick  

up my kids from school. Here we're talking  about bringing something home. I'm bringing  

groceries home and I'm bringing my children home.  It doesn't matter if you buy them like groceries  

or if they're just people and you're putting  them in your car, here we are talking about  

bringing something home. You can use this to talk  about meals too, so if you're getting pick up,  

which is a noun, I'm getting pick. You might  also say, I'm picking up dinner on my way home.

I'm picking up dinner, that means that you're  going to get the dinner from the restaurant and  

bring it to your house. I'm picking up dinner on  my way home. Great. Phrase number 10, our final  

expression for today that I use every day and  you can too, has to do with an ear, to play it  

by ear. Are we playing with our ears? No. Take a  look at the sample sentence. I was going to meet  

my friends at the park today, but it looks like it  might rain so we're going to just play it by ear.  

This really has nothing to do with ears. Can you  guess what this means? It means we're just going  

to see how it goes. It might rain and then we'll  cancel. It might not rain, and then we'll go.

We need to be flexible, let's just play it by  ear. I use this all the time whenever I meet up  

with my friends who have children. When you have  children, things change all the time and you need  

to be flexible. So if your child wakes up and  they're feeling a little bit sick, you message  

your friend and say, "I don't know if we can  meet up later today. Let's just play it by ear,  

and I'll let you know how he's feeling later  today." This is so common. I use this all the  

time, and you should too. Well, congratulations  on learning these 10 phrases that I use every day,  

and you can too now. Don't forget to download the  free PDF worksheet with all 10 of these phrases,  

definitions and sample sentences. Plus, you  can answer Vanessa's challenge question at  

the bottom of the worksheet so that  you never forget what you've learned.

You can click on the link in the description  to download that free PDF worksheet today. It  

is my gift to you. Well, thanks 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 where you will learn some more  

phrases that I use every day, including  a sarcastic phrase. It's too bad that,  

would you like to use this in English? Well, I'll  see you in that video to find out how you can.