Learn English Conversation…With MY MOM!

In this video you’ll learn vocabulary, idioms, common phrases…and even some slang.

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Video Transcript:

 

For fluent English, you need vocabulary, common phrases, idioms, phrasal verbs, even slang. In this video, we’re going to study real English conversation to get all of these. We’re sitting down with my mom, we’re working on a knitting project, and you’re going to hear her drop some slang in our conversation. Lots of great vocabulary here, idioms, learn them from my mom and you’ll never forget them. As always, if you like this video, or you learn something new, or if you like my mom, give it a thumbs up and subscribe with notifications. I’d love to see you back. 

When I filmed this, Corona Virus was raging and I was visiting my parents, so we wore masks inside. My mom knit me a hat and we were going to make a pom-pom to put on top but we didn’t know how. 

But you’ve just never–

I’ve just never put a pom-pom on a hat. 

Okay, what do the instructions say? This thing is not self-explanatory. 

If something needs instructions, that’s the opposite of self-explanatory. If something is self-explanatory, that means you can understand it by looking at it, it’s easily understood, it’s clear by looking at how to figure it out, how to do it. If that’s not the case, then you need instructions. A pompom is exactly what you’ll see us make here, an ornamental ball. It’s also used in cheerleading. Let’s see that clip again.

But you’ve just never–

I’ve just never put a pom-pom on a hat. 

Okay, what do the instructions say? This thing is not self-explanatory. 

Okay, see, it says wind the yarn.

Wind the yarn. The word wind is a verb. You wind something. We’ll see that later in the video. Wind. Wind. Wind. Past tense is wound. But these four letters can also be pronounced wind, the natural movement of air. Here it’s wind, wind the yarn, wrap it around this pompom maker. 

Are they both out at the same time? 

Yeah, it looks like it. 

So… And you start here at the base, it looks like. 

Now hold on, there are four of these things. 

Twice there, I used the phrase ‘it looks like’. This means ‘it seems like this is true’ or ‘this will be true’ but it doesn’t have to be something you can see, that you can actually look at. For example, I was talking to my friend Laura on the phone in the fall. We had a trip planned together and because of the virus, we thought we were going to have to cancel. It seemed like we would need to cancel. I said it looks like we’re going to have to cancel. And she said it looks that way. It seems that it will be true, that we’ll have to cancel our trip. I also said, now hold on. ‘Hold on’ is a phrasal verb that means two different things. Hold on, get a grip on something, like a, here, a pencil, hold on. 

It also means wait, stop. And that’s how I mean it here. Now hold on, wait, stop, there are four of these things. I thought there are only two. How does that make sense with the directions? This is a phrase we use on the phone a lot too. ‘Hold on’ means you’re going to pause a phone conversation, ask the person to wait while you quickly attend to something. Can you hold on a second? Could I please get a latte to go? Okay, I’m back, for example.

Are they both out at the same time? 

Yeah, it looks like it.

So, and you start here at the base, it looks like. 

Now, hold on. There are four of these things. Maybe a YouTube video is in order. What do you think? These are about as clear as mud in my opinion. 

Yeah, they’re not very clear right. 

Maybe a YouTube video is in order. ‘In order’ has two different meanings. Here it means appropriate to the situation. The situation, the directions were hard to understand. Watching a how-to video on YouTube was definitely appropriate to the situation. Here’s another example. Someone has just announced their engaged. Someone else might say champagne is in order. 

Maybe a YouTube video is in order. What do you think?

These are about as clear as mud in my opinion. 

Yeah, they’re not very clear, right? 

Let’s study the phrase ‘what do you think’? I said ‘what do you think’ a little stress on the question word, wuh– wuh– stress on the verb think, think, think. And I had some reductions. What do– linked together: what do– what do– what do– the vowel in ‘do’ changed to the schwa, same with you, it became ya ya. Whuh duh yah– whuh duh yah– whuh duh yah– what do you think?

This is a common pronunciation of a common phrase. What do you think? 

What do you think? These are about as clear as mud in my opinion. 

Yeah. They’re not very clear. 

I used the idiom ‘as clear as mud’. This means not clear at all, not easy to understand. Mud is opaque, you can’t see through it, it’s not clear. Something that’s hard to understand is clear as mud. 

These are about as clear as mud in my opinion. 

So she’s holding it like this and she’s wrapping it around here. 

Right.

My mom said ‘wrapping it around’. Wrap around. Wind around. Coil around. Twist around. These all mean the same thing. 

So she’s holding it like this and she’s wrapping it around here. 

Right. 

But then–

I mean, I, apparently, I would say you do the same for each one? But it doesn’t say that. 

I used the adverb apparently. I was describing what to do, what I thought the directions were saying, but I wasn’t sure. The instructions didn’t actually say to do that. It’s what I was guessing based on what I saw in the directions. Apparently means as far as one can know, see, or understand. For example, why did Amanda quit? Apparently, she got another job that is, as far as I know, I didn’t hear it from Amanda, but this is what I heard, this is what I understand to be true.

 But then– 

I mean, apparently, I would say you do the same for each one? But it doesn’t say that.

Which is why I think we should go to YouTube. 

All right let’s go to YouTube. 

Okay, where’s your iPad? 

Isn’t it funny? I make how-to videos here on YouTube but I often don’t think of it when I’m trying to learn how to do something. What’s something you’ve learned how to do by YouTube? My nephew learned how to play the ukulele, and my friend learned how to repair upholstery on her couch. Tell me in the comments what you’ve learned to do on YouTube. So anyway, we found a video, and we started copying what she was doing. 

I mean she really filled it up. 

Yeah. So should I be…

Yeah. 

Okay. I hope we got enough yarn. 

This is kind of fun. Stoney and Sawyer could do this. 

I think you might want the small one actually.

I want a big pompom. I’m like, if you’re going to do a pompom, make it a big pompom. 

Okay. 

What does ‘I’m like’ mean? We use I’m like, she’s like, he’s like a lot when we’re telling the story of a past conversation. It’s equal to saying: I said, she said, and so on. Here’s an example from a YouTube video. She’s like ‘Dad you can’t believe it.’ I’m like ‘what?’ she said I think I’m going to be a geneticist. I’m like ‘what?’ 

I’m like, she’s like. Here, talking to my mom, I’m not retelling a conversation, but we also use this to say our opinion on something, our feelings, my feeling was, if I was going to put a pompom on a hat it might as well be a big one. 

I think you might want the small one actually.

I want a big pompom. I’m like, if you’re going to do a pompom, make it a big pompom. 

Okay. 

I totally don’t understand how this is going to become a pompom, but…

Trust YouTube.

That’s right!

I trust she knows what she’s doing. How full did she end up getting it?

Really full.

Wow, oh wow. Okay. 

Geez Louise.

Geez is an exclamation used to show surprise or annoyance. It comes from Jesus which can offend people when used in this context. Jesus, you don’t have to shout. So instead of that, you can say: geez, you don’t have to shout! Adding Louise, a first name that can be given to women, doesn’t change the meaning. I would say this is a little old-fashioned. Geez Louise, but I still use it sometimes, it’s definitely way less common than just saying geez.

Wow, oh wow. Okay. 

Geez Louise.

Yeah. It’s completely beyond me to understand how this is going to become a pompom.

Completely beyond me. If you say something is ‘beyond me’ that means you don’t understand it. Computer programming is beyond me. Or why she wants to marry him is beyond me.

Yeah. It’s completely beyond me to understand how this is going to become a pompom. People love seeing you guys in my videos, especially dad should be in a video with this crazy Covid hair.

Yeah, that’s what this is. Covid time.

That’ll be obvious because of the masks.

Obvious. This is something that is easily understood, that is clear, it’s very different from using beyond me. If it’s beyond me, I don’t understand it. If it’s obvious, it’s clear and I do understand it, it’s also the opposite of clear as mud,

I really couldn’t believe how much winding I had to do. But eventually I finished that side and had to move on to the other side. I wasn’t quite sure how to move from one side to the next.

Now, did she do it through the middle? 

No, right here. Just bring it around–

Like that?

Right there, yeah.

Okay. 

Now, you’re golden. 

Okay.

My mom used some slang here: golden. It’s literal meaning is made of gold, or gold colored. But in slang, it means fine, or great. Rachel, do you want another drink? No, thanks. I’m golden. Or maybe I’m giving you directions to a movie theater. At the end I say, after that, you’re golden, because there’s a big sign where you need to turn into the parking lot. 

Now, did she do it through the middle? 

No, right here. Just bring it around–

Like that?

Right there, yeah.

Okay. 

Now, you’re golden. 

Okay.

That looks like the same amount that I wound on the first one. 

Okay. 

All right. Now we–

Did you hear that? I used the past tense of wind, wound. Now, I said before that WIND can be wind or wind. In the past tense, WOUND, that’s also two words. We have the past tense of wind, wound, but it’s also pronounced wound, which means to injure someone, or an injury. When you have a word like this that has two different pronunciations and meanings but the same spelling, that’s called a heteronym.

That looks like the same amount that I wound on the first one. 

Okay. 

All right. Now we-

Then we watched what to do next. We cut the yarn, we tied a knot, and released the pompom. My dad will say: it’s bigger than the hat. And he’s going to drop the TH sound in than. This reduction is not all that common, but it’s definitely common to change the AA vowel to the schwa. Bigger than, bigger than, and in this case you’ll hear: bigger nn– bigger nn– listen for that.

It is one big pompom.

That’s awesome, isn’t it?

It’s bigger than the hat!

That’s okay. 

Bigger nn– listen again to that phrase. 

It’s bigger than the hat!

That’s okay. 

Evening it up.

Even up. Phrasal verb. 

To make everything even. 

Should we watch a tutorial on how to attach a pompom? 

I can figure this out. 

Figure out. Another phrasal verb.

As my mom was attaching the pompom to the hat, she was having a difficult time. Listen to how she described the experience of being filmed. 

It’s tough when you’re being filmed, isn’t it? 

Yeah. Nerve-racking. 

If something is nerve-racking, it’s distressing. You’re nervous to do it. There’s pressure to get it right and that makes it more difficult to do. It’s a simple thing to do, but I was filming her. It made her nervous. She felt pressure to do it perfectly for the camera.

It’s tough when you’re being filmed, isn’t it? 

Yeah. Nerve-racking. 

Now we can turn it inside out, and we’re going to just tie a couple of knots here, and hope that holds it on. 

Yeah. Inside out and then we’ll turn it right side out. Isn’t it funny how one is in, and the other is right? I guess you could say wrong side out, but usually, we say inside out.

That’s right, yeah.

And then the opposite of inside out is right side out. Not outside out.

Okay, now we’re going to turn it and see how it looks, and if it looks okay. 

Oh, perfection! It’s so much cuter! And I’ve got my matching scarf. My mom made these stuff for me. Isn’t it great, guys? Gonna keep me warm all winter long in Philadelphia. 

Oh, that’s so cute!

Thanks, mom!

That was a fun little project.

It was very fun.

So much love to my mom for not only making me that hat and scarf, but also for agreeing to be in this video with me. Keep your learning going here with a playlist of my lessons teaching you real English, so many of my friends and family have helped me make those videos. Please don’t forget to subscribe and come back every week for new videos. I love being your English teacher. That’s it and thanks so much for using Rachel’s English.

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