Top 5 Phrases Your English Teacher Will Never Teach You

Learn some American English phrases your American professor won't teach you

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Lesson Transcript

Ryan: Top 5 Phrases Your Teacher Will Never Teach You

Chihiro: Hi everyone! I'm Chihiro and welcome back to EnglishClass101.com. This lesson is going to be a fun one!

Ryan: Because we will go over some phrases that your teacher might not have taught you in class!

Chihiro: Now, we don’t want you to get the wrong idea, you won’t find any swear words here because well, we’re not allowed to and we don’t want to offend anybody. So…

Ryan: No, just some English words and phrases that are just a little too slang to be introduced in the classroom.

Chihiro: But, nevertheless, these are words you’ll encounter a lot in English.

Ryan: In the States you’d probably hear them all the time.

Chihiro: Yeah, they’re that common.

Ryan: So if you’ve been wondering what certain utterances were, you’re listening to the right lesson!

Chihiro: The first one we’ll go over is

Ryan: ain’t

Chihiro: ain’t?

Ryan: ain’t

Chihiro: ain’t what?

Ryan: Ain’t this word a tricky one.

Chihiro: Haha, good example sentence. Ain’t stands for hasn’t, haven’t, aren’t isn’t, am not, don’t, doesn’t, didn’t. You’ll hear people replace all those words with ain’t from time to time.

Ryan: Yes, it’s not used in formal language, so don’t use it in formal situations, but you will hear many people using it. You also hear it in songs, as well as in common expressions. Chihiro, tell us some.

Chihiro: (gasp) Say it ain’t so!

Ryan: You mean say it isn’t true... right?

Chihiro: Right. And it ain’t over ‘til the fat lady sings.

Ryan: Or, it isn't over until the fat lady sings, meaning you can’t know the outcome until it’s over. One more Chihiro,

Chihiro: We ain’t done yet.

Ryan: Which means means we haven't finished yet. Be careful if you decide to use this one. If not used correctly, you can look uneducated.

Chihiro: Right, it depends on the crowd you're with, but listen for it, you might hear it.

Chihiro: Okay, Let’s move onto the next slang. What is it Ryan?

Ryan: My bad.

Chihiro: Ahh, common. What does it mean?

Ryan: Well, it’s a light way to make an apology, that’s not as heavy as the word sorry itself.

Chihiro: Right, so it’s now a common way to admit your mistakes. Ryan, quit playing with your iphone!

Ryan: Oh, my bad! Chihiro, you just stepped on my foot!

Chihiro: Oh, my bad. Ryan, you're blocking the screen!

Ryan: Uh, my bad!... okay...I think the listeners understand now. Let’s have the next one. Chihiro?

Chihiro: call

Ryan: And the word has nothing to do with the telephone or shouting to somebody.

Chihiro: If I say... good call

Ryan: That means good decision.

Chihiro: Or if I say... your call,

Ryan: It means it’s my choice on what to do.

Chihiro: And if I say... phew! Close call,

Ryan: It means something bad was about to happen, but in the last second it didn’t.

Chihiro: Right. So call has many uses in this sense and it's hard to pinpoint the meaning. If you remember that it can be used in many phrases, you might be surprised to how often it comes up.

Ryan: Now, let’s talk about some words to call a friend.

Chihiro: Okay, how about buddy

Ryan: and pal

Chihiro: or mate

Ryan: All those words can be used to call a friend... well friend! Here are some words to call a couple;

Chihiro: Bonnie and Clyde

Ryan: Or partners in crime.

Chihiro: I like that one.

Ryan: Or if you want to refer to your own significant other, you can the person your better half. So, as you can see, there are many terms to call people who are close. Which ones do you use Chihiro?

Chihiro: I like the terms buddy and partner in crime. I think those are cute. But mainly I just use the word friend.

Ryan: I like ??? Okay Chihiro, let’s talk about one more slang term

Chihiro: Let’s talk about a word that gets thrown around a lot. Cool

Ryan: And what does it mean?

Chihiro: Well, it has so many meanings, for example if I say something like... cool apartment! It could mean that I think your apartment is nice.

Ryan: Or if I say he’s cool, it doesn’t mean that he's a cold person, but it actually means he's a good person.

Chihiro: If I say cool as a response to a statement, I could be agreeing with the other person.

Ryan: Right, you’ll hear this one a lot, so it’s good to keep it in mind.

Chihiro: Okay, Ryan, I think that just about does it for this lesson.

Ryan: Of course there are so many more terms that are used among speakers, but we tried to keep our selection very neutral and as common as possible.

Chihiro: Yeah, keep your ears tuned for slang terms outside, and see if you can figure out what they mean.

Chihiro: We’ll see you next time.

Ryan: Bye for now!

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