Video lesson#12: To tip or not to tip

To tip or not to tip, that is the question...

At least for Mr Pink, the main character of this clip from Quentin Tarantino´s first movie: Reservoir Dogs.

Watch this little video (with English subtitles) and take a look at the vocabulary below to understand all the money-related vocabulary, all the expressions, jokes and rude language used by these gangsters.

#Note: You might notice how they use the verb don´t with the third person (He don´t/ She don´t) instead of using the correct form (He doesn´t/ She doesn´t). Although it´s grammatically incorrect it´s very common in spoken English, especially in the United States.

Vocabulary

Check: a list showing what you have eaten and how much do you have to pay. It is also called bill in British English.

Tip: extra money given to the waiter in a restaurant to show that you have liked the service.

Buck: a dollar.

To change someone´s mind: to have an idea that you didn´t have before.

To shoot: to fire a bullet.

To cough up: to give money, especially when you do not really want to.

Green: dollar notes (because of their green color).

To tip: to give a tip.

Chick: a young woman.

To make: in this sense, to earn money.

To make shit: to earn a little amount of money.

To quit: to leave your job.

To have the balls: to have courage.

Let me get this straight: expression used when you want to understand or clarify something.

To deserve: to have earned something because of the way you have behaved.

To suck: to move the tongue and muscles of the mouth around something inside your mouth.

Dick: penis

To order: to ask for something to be made, supplied or delivered, especially in a restaurant or shop.

To fill: to put a substance into an empty space.

To be busy: to work hard or to have many things to do.

To starve: to become very weak or even die because there is not enough food to eat.

Minimum wage: the smallest amount of money that employers are legally allowed to pay to their employees.

To deem: to consider or judge in a particular way.

Worthy: deserving respect, admiration or support.

To bust your ass: to work hard.

Bullshit: complete nonsense or something that is not true.

Occupation: job.

College: university.

Non-college graduate: a person who has not gone to college.

To make a living: to earn enough money to buy the things you need to live.

To tax: to make somebody pay a tax (an amount of money paid to the Government).

To be fucked up: to be stupid and not reasonable.

On a regular basis: occurring in regular time intervals.

To sign: to write your name.

To play ball: to cooperate with others.

To type: to write using a machine such as a typewriter or a computer.

The rent: the money you pay monthly to the owner of the house you are living in.

Rambler: a person who enjoys walking on the countryside.

To ramble: to walk for pleasure, especially in the countryside.

Cheap bastard: a man usually of good socioeconomic status that never pays.

Goddamn/goddamned: rude expression used to emphasize what you are saying.

So, what do you think? Should you tip the waitress next time you go to a restaurant?

Leave your answer in the comments

Video lesson#11: Shy

I think is time to start learning some advanced English vocabulary, such as some particular adjectives or phrasal verbs.

For this purpose I have chosen one of my favorite songs, called Shy from the American songwriter Ani Difranco.

As you will see it´s a song about a road trip, a gas station, a motel but mostly is a song about a one-night affair. It includes many words related with hotels and accommodations like housekeeper, motel, pillow, sheet, mattress, etc. It also has a great rhythm and the singer´s voice is clear and easy to understand, so it´s a perfect song to get to the advanced English level.

I have made a huge list of new words below and, as always, I have created a work sheet to fill the lyrics gaps while listening to the song.

I´m sure you know these steps, but once again here they are:

1- Download the lyrics sheet, and go to page 1 where you will find the song´s lyrics with some missing words (gaps).

2- Click this video and listen to the song while you try to fill the gaps with the words that you hear. I recommend listening at least twice to the song.

3- Check your results going to page 2 where you will find the whole lyrics of the song.

4- Take a look at the vocabulary below to understand every word of the song.

5- Listen again to the song, without reading the lyrics and try to understand most of it.

Work sheet Shy Work Sheet

Vocabulary

Shy: nervous and uncomfortable with other people.

Heat: the quality of being hot or warm.

Trick: an action that is intended to deceive someone. In this case is an effect caused by the light making something appear different.

Road: a long, hard surface made for vehicles to travel along.

Crack: a very narrow space between the parts of something.

Sink: a bowl that is attached to the wall in a kitchen or bathroom in which you wash dishes or your hands.

Gas station: a place where fuel is sold for road vehicles.

To bake: to cook inside an oven.

Trash: garbage, waste material or things that are no longer needed.

Curb: a raided edge along the side of a street, often forming part of a path for people to walk on.

Doorway: the space in a wall where door opens, or a covered area just outside a door.

Herd: a large group of animals of the same type that live and feed together.

To have a stake in something: to have personal interest in something.

To let off (someone): to fail to punish someone when the person expects to be punished.

To lead (someone) on: to persuade someone to believe something that is untrue.

Phone booth: a partly enclosed area where there is a public phone.

Veiled invitation: an invitation that is not direct or clearly expressed.

Machine: in this song refers to a device linked to the telephone that records the caller´s messages.

To show up: to arrive somewhere, especially late or unexpectedly.

Front door: the main entrance to a building or a house.

To wince: to show pain or embarrassment suddenly and for a short time in the face.

Housekeeper: a person, especially a woman, whose job is to organize another person´s house and deal with cooking, cleaning, etc. In hotels is the person in charge of cleaning the rooms.

To squint: to partly close your eyes in order to see more clearly.

Pillow: a rectangular cloth bag filled with soft materail, such as feathers or artificial materials, used for resting your head on a bed.

Grin: a wide smile.

Sheet: a large piece of thin cloth used on a bed for sleeping on or under.

Twisted: turned in an awkward way.

Damp: slightly wet, especially in a way that is not pleasant or comfortable.

Matress: the part of a bed, made of a strong cloth cover filled with firm material that makes the bed comfortable to lie on.

To sink: to make something go down below the surface of a liquid.

Fever: a medical condition in which the body temperature is higher than usual.

Bend: a curved part of something.

Where do the days of the week get their names

Today I´m going to start a new label of my posts that it´s going to be called fun facts.

In English, the expression fun fact is used to introduce some interesting, and usually unknown, information. Usually is not important information but something curious or unexpected.

For example, have you ever thought about where the days of the week got their names?

One hint, it has to do with astrology, the planets, the sun and the moon (Saturday, Sunday, Monday). But it´s also related with the ancient mythologies, the Roman Empire and the history of Europe…

You see? It´s something curious but not really important so… it´s a fun fact!

I´ve recently found an amazing Youtube channel from Arika Okrent with many fun facts videos related to the English language, so let´s watch this short video to learn the day´s names and in the future I will post other interesting videos.

Enjoy it!

VOCABULARY

To rule: to control or be the person in charge of something such as a country.

God: a spirit or being believed to control some part of the universe or life and often worshipped for doing so.

Mythology: ancient story or set of stories, especially explaining the early history of a group of people or about natural events and facts, generally including gods, goddesses and supernatural beings or phenomena.

Goddess: female of God.

Video lesson#10: Hotel California

It was about time to listen to the most famous Hotel song, don´t you think?

Originally released in 1976 is the most iconic song of The Eagles, that sold over 16 million copies in the U.S. alone and won a Grammy award in 1978.

It has some enigmatic lyrics that have lead to many theories about the meaning of this song. Is it about dead? Is it a bad trip from LSD or other hallucinogenic drug? Or is it about a small hotel in Pueblo Mágico de Todos los Santos (California) where the author, Don Henley, stayed for some days?

The authors have stated many times that it´s a song about the materialism and excess of the American culture of the 70´s but also “a journey from innocence to experience”.

Anyway,  to learn English with this song follow the usual steps:

1- Download the lyrics sheet, and go to page 1 where you will find the song´s lyrics with some missing words (gaps).

2- Click this video and listen to the song while you try to fill the gaps with the words that you hear. I recommend listening at least twice to the song.

3- Check your results going to page 2 where you will find the whole lyrics of the song.

4- Take a look at the vocabulary below to understand every word of the song.

5- Listen again to the song, without reading the lyrics and try to understand most of it.

Work sheet Hotel California Work Sheet

VOCABULARY

Desert: an area often covered with sand or rocks, where there is very little rain and not many plants. It´s different from the word Dessert which means “sweet food eaten at the end of the meal”

Highway: a public road, especially an important road that joins cities or towns together.

Colitas: in an interview the author, Don Felder, said that “is a plant that grows in the dessert that blooms at night, and it has a kind of pungent, almost funky smell”.  Actually, there is no plant by this name so it seems that it could be a cactus or an eucalyptus.

Shimmering light: a gentle light that seems to move slightly.

My head grew heavy: a way to say that someone is falling asleep so, in a figurative way his head is getting heavier.

My sight grew dim: when your eyes are dim you can´t see very well.

Doorway: the space in a wall where a door opens, or a covered area just outside a door.

Mission: similar to church.

Candle: a stick-shaped piece of wax with a string in the middle of it that produce light as it slowly burns.

Corridor: a long passage in a building or train, especially with rooms on either side.

Welcome: expression used to express that your are pleased that someone arrives to a place

Room: a place inside a building that is separated by walls, floor and ceiling. Also, the amount of space that someone or something needs.

Tiffany-twisted: game of words referred to Tiffany´s jewelry shop. It means that this woman loves luxury and wealth.

Courtyard: an area of flat ground outside that is partly or completely surrounded by the walls of a building

Captain: the leader of a sports team, or the person in charge of a ship or an aircraft. In this song it seems to be used as waiter.

Spirit: a particular way of thinking, feeling or behaving. Also the form of a death person similar to a ghost. And also a strong alcoholic drink. In this song it´s used with the three meanings at the same time.

To live it up: to have an exciting and very enjoyable time with parties, good food and drink, etc.

Alibis: an excuse for a failure, or a proof that someone hasn´t committed a crime.

Ceiling: the inside surface of a room that you can see when you look above you.

Device: an object or machine or a crafty scheme or trick. In this song it refers to how the people that live in this strange hotel they have tricked themselves to live in this prison.

Master´s chambers: a chamber is a room used for a special purpose or the office of someone in a important position. The master is a person who employs a servant or owns a slave. So in this song the master´s chamber is the most important room of the hotel where the master is.

To gather: to come together in a group.

Feast: a special meal with very good food for many people

Passage: a long and narrow part of a building with rooms on one or both sides, or a covered path that connects places

Night man: an overnight guard

To check out: to leave a hotel after paying and returning your room key.

English expressions

Have you ever thought that most of the English you´ve learned at school and high school is seldom used by English natives, especially in their talks?

That´s because people chats and talks are mostly informal and informal English is rarely taught at schools.

For this reason we are going to take a look at some of the most common informal expressions in English and then we are going to play a game to check your knowledge.

Ready? Steady? Go!

English expressions 

What´s up?: friendly greeting to ask someone how they are. Very common; in fact the app called Whatsapp is a game of words between the expression What´s up and the word App, combining both in Whatsapp.

What´s going on?: another friendly greeting with the same meaning.

How´s life?: informal greeting that is the shortening of How is life treating you. It´s a way to show interest about someone´s life.

  

 

For real?: other way to say Sure? or Really?

How come?: expression used to ask how or why something happened.

Count me in: expression used when you want to be included in activity or plan.

Same old same old: expression used to say that a situation remains the same, especially when is boring. It´s a way to express that things are the same and haven´t change.

 

Tell me about it: expression used to say that you feel the same way or have had the same experience.

Says who? used when you are arguing with someone, to show that you do not accept or agree with what they say.

 
  

I couldn´t care less: expression used to emphasize rudely that you are not interested in or worried about something or someone.

Really? expression similar to Sure? or For real?

I need a hand: same as I need some help.

Chill out: relax, don´t worry.

No wonder: it is not surprising.

It´s not a big deal/no big deal: used to say that something is not important

Way to go! expression used to tell someone they have done well.

Take care: expression used as a farewell, advising someone to be cautious.

Shut up! expression used to stop someone talking or complaining.

Shame on you! expression used to tell someone that they should feel sorry for something they did.

There´s no point in: similar to There is no reason.

 

And now, play this game to see which expressions you remember:

One language, three accents

Has it happened to you that, while watching an English movie, you can´t understand a word of some of the characters although you perfectly understand others?

I´m guessing that is has happened, right?

Why? Probably, because of the actor´s nationality and accent.

As you know, there at least three different countries where English is their native language: United Kingdom, United States and Australia. Even though their natives speak English, there are a bunch of differences between their accents, pronunciation and even vocabulary.

To help you dealing with this problem I recommend you to watch this short video comparing the pronunciation and vocabulary of British, American and Australian English.

 

Did you enjoy it? Did you learn something new?

Please, write in the comments below which English do you find more difficult to understand.

For me, without any doubt, the Australian English is the toughest, so if you want to learn more about it watch this video lesson with the famous Australian song Down under (Men at work).

Video Lesson # 9: How airlines earn money

On today´s lesson we are going to watch a video that explains how the airline business works and how airlines earn money with their flights around the world. In addition, it sums up the history of commercial flights, showing lots of interesting facts that explain how airlines work nowadays.

Even though it´s quite a long video (11 minutes), I highly recommend this video to any professional on the air industry, as well as any traveler, because it has many key words used on planes and businesses.

As usual, you have a vocabulary list below and I´ve introduced several questions in the video to check your understanding.

Are you ready for the trip?

Enjoy your flight!

 

VOCABULARY

Economy class: the cheapest and less comfortable seats on a plane, also called Tourist class or coach.

Cabin: the area where the passengers seat on a plane.

Premium cabins: referred to Business class and First class cabins.

First class: the most expensive and highest quality service on a plane

Business class: plane cabin where you get a better service than in Economy class but not so good as First class.

Roundtrip: a journey from one place to another and back to where you started.

One way ticket: a ticket that allows a person to travel to one place, but not to return from that place. A ticket to go and return is called a roundtrip ticket.

Revenue: the income that a company receives regularly.

Caveat: a warning to consider something before taking any more action, or a statement that limits a more general statement.

Non-stop flight: direct flight between two cities without any technical stop nor stopover.

Fare: the price you pay to travel on a plane, train, bus, etc.

Luxury: very expensive.

Route: a way of getting somewhere; a road.

To cut costs: to spend less money.

To figure out: to discover, to solve a problem.

To purchase: to buy.

Employer: a person or company who pays people to work for them.

Employee: someone who is paid to work for a company or person.

Counter: a place in a shop, bank, airport, etc. where people are served, also known as front desk.

Deregulation: to remove national or local government controls or rules from a business or other activity.

Full fare: the most expensive price of a ticket, without any discount.

Discount fare: cheaper price of a ticket due to any type of discount.

Amenity: something that helps to provide comfort, convenience, or enjoyment.

Transatlantic flight: a flight that flies over the Atlantic Ocean. Sometimes they use the term transoceanic flight to refer a flight that flies over any ocean.

Cramped seat: an uncomfortable and not big enough seat.

Video Lesson # 8: Sully (II)

Second lesson about airplanes English with the movie Sully.

I assume that you know how it works, just watch the scene, read the vocabulary and solve the word game on the work sheet

Enjoy

WORK SHEET Sully II work sheet

VOCABULARY

Rumbling: a continuous low sound.

Brace (position): security position on airplanes where you secure yourself putting your head down and placing your hands on the back of your neck in order to protect your head from falling objects and to minimize the risk of broken fingers.

Heads down, stay down: order given to the passengers in case of an emergency landing to minimize the damages on their bodies.

To gush: to flow or send out quickly and in large amounts.

Evacuate: to move people from a dangerous place to somewhere safe.

Life vest/Life jacket: a piece of equipment, like a jacket without sleeves, that is filled with air or light material and is designed to help you float if you fall into water.

Flooding: a situation in which an area is covered by water.

Aft exits: exits on the back of a plane.