I use these words every day: English Vocabulary Lesson

Vanessa: Get ready  

to level up your English vocabulary so  that you can express yourself completely.

Hi, I'm Vanessa from speakenglishwithvanessa.com,  

and today you're going to learn 10 vocabulary  phrases that I use almost every day. And I hope  

that you too can integrate them into  your daily conversations in English.

Like always, I've created a free PDF  worksheet with all of these 10 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's my gift to you.

All right, are you ready to get started with the  first phrase that I use every day? Let's do it.

Phrase number one is "like clockwork." Take a look  at this sentence and I want you to guess what you  

think this means. "Every morning at 6:00 AM my  baby wakes up like clockwork." Do you think that  

sometimes my baby wakes up at 6:00, sometimes  8:00, sometimes 9:00? Nope. Every day without  

fail, my baby wakes up at 6:00 AM. I don't  even need to look at the clock. She is like  

a clock. And here, that's what that expression  means "like clockwork." It happens so regularly  

that I don't even need to look at the clock  because she wakes up every day at 6:00 o'clock.

Vocabulary phrase number two that I use almost  every day is "slowly and surely." Notice the  

pronunciation of the word surely. There's no  S-H, surely, but it sounds like that. Surely.  

Surely. Take a look at this sentence. "Slowly and  surely, my two older boys will learn to help get  

themselves ready in the morning." At the moment,  my 6-year-old gets dressed usually by himself,  

but my 3-year-old needs a little bit more  help, especially putting on his shirt. And  

you know what? Slowly and surely, they will  become more independent and be able to get  

ready by themselves. Can you guess what you  think this vocabulary phrase means? Well,  

it means that something is not going to happen  quickly. It will take time. And you know what?  

As a mom of three young kids, it can be really  challenging sometimes to do all of the tasks,  

but I want to appreciate how small and  cute they are right now. Slowly and surely,  

they will become more independent. So  right now, I just need to enjoy them.

Vocabulary phrase number three  that I use almost every day is,  

"I've gotten into the habit of..." Take a look  at this sentence. "Ever since my baby was born,  

I've gotten into the habit of getting ready right  when I wake up." What do you think this means? Do  

I usually wait until after eating breakfast  to brush my hair? Do I usually wait until my  

children are dressed to put on my clothes for  the day? Nope. Instead, right when I wake up,  

I get myself ready first. So we use this phrase  to talk about something that happens regularly.  

I have gotten into the habit of getting myself  ready. It helps me to feel better about the day,  

and I'm not neglecting myself and only taking  care of my children. Instead, I've gotten to the  

habit of getting myself ready first in the morning  and then I'm ready to take care of everyone else.

Vocabulary phrase number four is "put  it off." Put it off. Take a look at this  

sentence. "I have a list of things that I  need to do, but I have been putting them  

off for too long. Today is the day."  Can you guess what this means? Well,  

it means I have been procrastinating or delaying  doing something. I know we are all like this,  

right? "I need to call the bank. I need to make  a cake for a friend's birthday. I need to send  

a message to my students. These things I have  been delaying, I have been putting them off,  

but no longer. Today is the day that I  will check them off of my to-do list."

Vocabulary phrase number five that I use almost  every day is "it's a hassle." There are a lot  

of things that are a hassle in life, but take a  look at this sentence. "For me, driving my son  

to preschool is such a hassle." Here, I've added  the word such to emphasize it. This is a parenting  

duty that I just don't like. It's one of the  things that I don't appreciate, I have a hard time  

enjoying. For me, it's a hassle. And that means  it's frustrating or difficult or annoying. It's a  

hassle to drive my son to preschool each morning,  but I know that it's important, so I do it.

Vocabulary phrase number six that I use almost  every day is "as it turns out." As it turns  

out... And I need something after that. Take a  look at the sentence. I" tried to call the bank,  

but as it turns out, the bank is closed today."  So here we have the difference between what I  

thought would happen and the reality. And  these are situations that happen every day,  

all the time. I wanted to stop putting off  calling the bank. So I did it. I called them,  

and then guess what? They were closed, so I'll  have to do it another day. So as it turns out,  

they were closed. I'll just do it tomorrow.

Vocabulary phrase number seven that I use almost  every day is "go with the flow." Take a look at  

this. "During the week, I try to stay pretty  organized, but on the weekends I like to just  

go with the flow." So when my husband asks  me, "What do you want to do this weekend?" I  

can use this great expression because it means, I  don't know, I have no plans. I'm going to just be  

like a river and follow the water. I'm going to go  with the flow. So I could respond to him and say,  

"I don't know. Let's just go with the flow.  If we feel like staying home, that's fine.  

If we feel like we want to go out, I'm okay  with that too. Let's just go with the flow."

Vocabulary phrase number eight is "that  being said." This is a good one to follow  

number seven. "So I just said I like to go with  the flow on the weekends. But that being said,  

I do sometimes like to have plans for  the weekends." Okay. "I sometimes like  

to organize what's going on on the weekends,  not every hour on the hour, what we're doing,  

but maybe we'll visit a friend or a family  member or go on a hike. That being said..."  

So here I'm saying the opposite. "I like to  go with the flow. Well, that being said..."  

So this is true. It is true. I like to go with  the flow, but I want to give an exception,  

something that's the opposite. "That being said,  I do like to plan some things on the weekend."

Vocabulary phrase number nine that I use  almost every day is "now that I think about  

it." Because in my life there is a lot going  on. I have quite a busy life. You probably do  

too. So whenever my husband says, "Hey, what  are your plans for tomorrow?" I might say,  

"I don't know. I'm just going to go  with the flow." And then I say, "Oh,  

now that I think about it, I forgot that we  have a birthday party to go to tomorrow. Now  

that I think about it." So we can kind  of assume that previously when I said,  

"Let's just go with the flow," I wasn't really  thinking about it. But now that I think about it,  

"Oh yeah, we do have something planned for  tomorrow. We're going to go to a birthday  

party." So this is a great expression to use  when you change your mind or when you realize  

something that you forgot about. "Now that I  think about it, we actually do have plans."

Vocabulary phrase number 10, and our final one  for today's lesson is a fun one, "that's beside  

the point." That's beside the point. So here  we have the point, which is the purpose or the  

meaning of something. And if something is beside  the point, what do you think that means? Take a  

look at this sentence. When my husband asks me,  "What do you want to do this weekend?" And I say,  

"Oh, how about going for a hike? Let's  go for a hike." And he says to me, "Oh,  

but you've been coughing and sick all week. Do  you think you need to relax a bit?" I might say,  

"That is beside the point. I just really want to  go for a hike." So he is presenting some kind of  

evidence that says, "You shouldn't go for a hike.  You should just rest and relax." And I'm saying,  

"I don't care that I was sick last week.  I want to go for a hike. That's beside the  

point. That's not an important reason. That's  beside the point. I just want to go for a hike."

So if you want to push away what someone  has said, dismiss what they've said,  

this is a great expression for you. "Oh, that's  beside the point. I want to do what I want to do."

Well, congratulations on learning these 10  vocabulary phrases that I use almost every day,  

and I hope that you can too. Now, I have  a question for you. I want to know what  

is something that you have gotten into the  habit of doing? Let me know in the comments.  

I can't wait to read to see what you have to  say. Yes, I do read the comments. And yes,  

I love to see how you use the vocabulary  that you've learned in my lessons.

And don't forget to download the free PDF  worksheet with all 10 of these wonderful  

vocabulary 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.

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,  

which includes other expressions that I use  every day, including why sometimes the word  

thanks can be extremely rude. Check out that  video to find out and I'll see you there.