Pratica di Shadowing: 16 Impolite Phrases Only American Say (When We’re Mad) - Impara a parlare inglese con i video

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In your vocabulary, of course you need polite  phrases to order coffee or offer help, but what about impolite phrases you can use when you're  mad, frustrated, or upset? Natives have a lot of these in our vocabulary, and you should know  some too. Today you'll learn 16 impolite phrases Americans use when we're mad. Welcome back to  JForrest English. Of course, I'm Jennifer, and now let's get started. Imagine you're trying to finish a report and your coworker is whistling, and it's really annoying. This is where  you could use an impolite phrase and turn to your coworker and say,"Cut it out." Cut it out. Cut it out.
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Now, by saying this to your coworker, you mean  stop doing something annoying. So again,"Cut it out. I'm trying to finish this report." Notice  grammatically this is the imperative. You're giving it as an instruction. And"Cut it out"  it is the annoying behavior. When I was a kid, my parents used this with my brother and I a  lot, and I'm sure as a parent you might use it with your kids. So if your kids are fighting in the back seat, you might say,"If you don't cut it out, we're  not getting ice cream." Again, it represents the annoying behavior, your kids fighting in the  back seat, and there's a consequence if they don't cut it out. Don't worry about taking these notes.  I summarize everything in a free lesson PDF. You can find the link in the description. Before we go  on, just know these phrases are not slang. They're grammatically correct phrases that natives use in our vocabulary. And these phrases don't contain swear words, which are considered very impolite in  most situations. These phrases can be considered rude, impolite, depending on context. Pay  attention to the examples that I give and also the dynamics of the relationships that I  provide. Our next phrase is"knock it off." This is an alternative to"cut it out." Cut it  out, knock it off, they mean the same thing.
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Knock it off, mullets. So if the person beside you at the movies keeps talking, you could turn to that person and  say,"Knock it off with the talking." Now notice here, I said"knock it off," it is the action, but  I still provided"with the talking." I defined it just in case it's not extremely obvious. You  could say,"Knock off the talking," and the talking represents the something, but it is more  common to use the phrase as"knock it off,""cut it out." If your coworker keeps complaining  about an unexpected assignment, you can use this phrase,"Give it a rest." Give it a rest. Give  it a rest. This means stop talking about or doing something annoying. And you might even add,"Oh  my God, give it a rest," to sound more dramatic.
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Or seriously, you need to give it a rest. That  also sounds more dramatic. And here again, it,"give it a rest," it represents the something  annoying, in this case complaining about an unexpected assignment. Give it a rest.
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Let's say you're playing chess with a  friend, your friend lost and got upset, and is still upset an hour or two hours or even  the next day. You can say,"Let it go." Let it go.
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Stop being upset about something that happened in  the past. So you could say to your friend,"Look, you lost the game fair and square. Let it go." Let it go.
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Notice here I used"fair and square." This  means that your friend lost according to the rules. It was fair. This happens a  lot in workplace situations. For example, you could say to your coworker,"Jamie deserves the  promotion. You need to let it go." So Jamie got the promotion. You didn't. You're mad. But this  happened last month. You need to let it go. And it again represents what you're upset about, the lost promotion. Let's say you're going through a difficult breakup and your friend knows it's a  sensitive topic, but they keep asking you about it. You can say,"Drop it." Drop it. Drop it. Drop it.
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This means stop discussing a subject. And in  this case, the subject is your difficult breakup.
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So you could even add,"I said I don't want to talk  about my breakup. Drop it." Or if your husband or wife keeps saying,"Let's go, let's go to the  party. Let's go, let's go." You can say,"I told you I don't want to go. Just drop it." Again,  stop discussing this subject, which is going to the party. Let's say your colleague is  trying to take control of a project even though you are the lead on that project. You  might say to your colleague,"Back off." Back off. This means stop pressuring, criticizing, or  threatening someone. So in this case, pressuring in the sense of your colleague is trying to tell  you what to do or take control of the project.
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He resigned to get force him to back off. You could say,"Back off. I'm the team lead. You need to back off. It's my decision to make." And  in a general sense, if someone is trying to tell you how to live your life, we use this expression  a lot. It's my life. Back off. Let's say a more junior employee made a mistake and that mistake  caused problems. You could say,"I can't believe you screwed up the presentation." I screwed up.
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So here the expression is,"Someone you screwed  up." So to screw up, this means make a mistake or cause a problem. You could say,"This is  the third time she screwed up this week." So notice here you're talking about someone  else. Maybe you're discussing the performance of someone on your team with your coworker or  your boss. Or you say,"The intern really screwed things up. So I'll just do it myself." And  screwed things up, things is just general, whatever you were working on. If you say to  someone,"You're screwed." You're screwed.
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This means you're in serious trouble and you might  be even satisfied when you say that, depending on the context. So if the client finds out the data  isn't on a secure server, you're screwed. You're screwed. You really screwed up by not putting the  data on a secure server. So remember, screw up, make a mistake. You're screwed. You're in trouble. You're screwed.
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You could use this to refer to a general  situation. So if your car breaks down, stops working, and your phone is dead as well,  so you can't call for help, you might turn to the passenger and say,"We're screwed. We're in  serious trouble. We're screwed." Or you could say,"Screw it." Screw it. So screw it. This  means I don't care about the consequences. So you might say,"Screw it. I'm ordering dessert." You're eating dessert even though you're trying  to lose weight, even though you're on a diet. So the it sounds like your health, your diet, your  fitness goals. Screw it. I'm ordering dessert.
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I thought,"Screw it. I'm eating ice cream." Or screw it. I'm taking the rest of the day off. If you're just having a really bad day  at work, someone screwed up the project, you might need to just leave. Screw it. I'm  taking the rest of the day off. I don't care if I get in trouble. This morning my husband  said to me,"Screw that." Screw that. Which means I refuse to do that or no, I'm not doing that.  But he wasn't talking to something I requested.
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He was talking about a situation.  For example, this flight is cheaper, but there are two stops. Screw that.  Screw that. Let's not book this flight.
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Screw that. So you can use this as a very strong no. So you might say,"We  just got a last minute invite to Jamie's wedding in Australia," and you live in New York,  and you say,"Screw that. I'm not flying halfway around the world." So a very strong  no. But if Jamie is talking to you directly, it would be very rude to say that. So  if Jamie says,"We'd love to have you at our wedding," you would say something like,"Thank  you so much for the invitation, but unfortunately we can't make it." So absolutely, you can use this  impolite phrase to describe a situation, but will you say it to the person? No, unless you're very  rude. Let's move on to mind your own business.
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You may have heard this. It's very common. This  means stop asking about or interfering in my personal affairs. At work, if that same coworker  who is trying to take control of your project says to you,"You should have done more promotion before  the launch," you can say to that coworker,"Mind your own business." This is my project. I told you before, mind your own business.
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Or maybe your brother comments on  the expensive watch you just bought, but in a negative way. You could say,"It's my  money. Mind your own business." Or if you find out your friend was gossiping about your divorce,  maybe you would say to another friend,"She should mind her own business." So notice one's business  has to match the subject. She, her business.
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You, your business. You might say to  someone,"What's your problem?" What's your problem? This means why are you behaving  in a rude, aggressive, or inappropriate way?
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What's your problem? What's your problem?
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I only asked a simple question. Maybe you  would say this to your husband or wife if they're being a little grumpy or if your friend  gets road rage when someone cuts them off. Now, road rage is when you become extremely angry. You  could say to your friend,"What's your problem?
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You need to calm down." Or you could say,"Sarah  criticized every idea I had. What's her problem?" So here, her problem, it belongs to Sarah. Notice the pronunciation of this phrase.
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You've got to be kidding me. You've got  to be kidding me. The word gotta is slang, so that's why I didn't write it. But in spoken  English, that's how it's pronounced. You've got to be kidding me. So this is when something is  extremely frustrating, surprising, or ridiculous.
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So you get to the airport and your flight is  delayed by two hours. You look at the board and you say,"You've got to be kidding me." Or your boss emails you to tell you to work late tonight and it's Friday night and you  read the email and you just reply out loud, not to your boss, just in your office where no  one can hear you. You've got to be kidding me.
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You've got to be kidding me. This next phrase is a useful one. Give me a break. Now, give me, it can sound more combined.  Give me, give me a break. Give me a break.
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Give me a break. This is when you think  someone's excuse or behavior is ridiculous.
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Eleanor, give me a break. You could use this to start and say,"Give me a break." There's no way you  finish all that work in 10 minutes. So you don't believe what someone said. Or you need  to get gas and you get to the gas station and gas prices are up again. And as you're pulling in,  you say,"Give me a break." Again, give me a break.
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This next one was my favorite word when I was 16. Most teenage girls have this in their vocabulary.
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Whatever. Whatever. But you can absolutely still  use this as an adult. And if you're male or female, this is used to dismiss what someone has  said or show that you don't want to argue. So you just want to end a discussion. So if you're  going back to a teenager, a parent says,"If you want to go to the party, you need to clean  your room first." And then the teenager says, "Whatever," and walks away. Typical teenager  parent interaction in North America. Here's one where you don't want to argue. If your friend  insists their restaurant choice is better, you can say,"Whatever. We'll just go to  that one." So you're using whatever to let your friend know that you're not happy, but  you don't want to argue. It's not worth it.
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It's like, whatever. This last one is very dismissive if you say,"Not my problem." Not my problem. Not my problem.
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You're saying,"That's not my responsibility, so I  don't care." And that's why it's very dismissive.
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You can start this and say,"Not my problem. You  should have checked the schedule." So if your coworker says,"I have to work on Friday, but I  have family visiting," and they want you to work on Friday for them and you say,"Not my problem.  You should have checked the schedule." Or if your classmate or coworker forgets their part of a project and asks you to do it, but you say,"Not my problem. You had all week. I did my part. You  need to do your part. Not my problem." Now you can sound natural when you're expressing anger  or frustration. Do you want me to keep helping you expand your vocabulary? Put yes, yes, yes,  yes, yes, yes. Put yes, yes, yes in the comments below. And of course, make sure you like this  lesson, share it with your friends, and subscribe so you're notified every time I post a new lesson.  And you can get this free speaking guide where I share six tips on how to speak English fluently  and confidently. You can click here to download it or look for the link in the description. Here's  another lesson I know you'll love. Watch it now.

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Vocabolario e note di pronuncia per questa lezione

Questa lezione di conversazione di livello B1 si basa sul video “16 Impolite Phrases Only American Say”. Le parole che ritornano più spesso: screwed, screw, phrase, cut, coworker. Questo video contiene 32 frasi e 2321 parole da ripetere con lo shadowing. Il parlato dura 15:58. Chi parla mantiene un ritmo costante di circa 145 parole al minuto, comodo per lo shadowing. Il 86% delle parole rientra nelle 3.000 più comuni dell’inglese; conviene studiare le altre prima di iniziare. 8 delle sue 32 frasi sono domande: un buon esercizio per l’intonazione interrogativa e le risposte brevi.

Vocaboli chiave di questo video

Le 15 parole più avanzate del video, con pronuncia e significato:

ParolaPronunciaSignificato
phrase sostantivo/ˈfɹeɪ̯z/espressione, polirematica
annoy verbo/əˈnoɪ̯/irritare, seccare
impolite aggettivo/ɪmpəˈlaɪt/scortese, maleducato
vocabulary sostantivo/vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/vocabolario
rude aggettivo/ɹuːd/rude, maleducato
breakup sostantivo/ˈbɹeɪk.ʌp/spezzettamento
dessert sostantivo/dɪˈzɝt/dolce, dessert
colleague sostantivo/ˈkɒliːɡ/collega
teenager sostantivo/ˈtiːnˌeɪ̯d͡ʒə/giovane, adolescente
sling sostantivo/ˈslɪŋ/frombola, fionda
criticize verbo/ˈkɹɪtɪsaɪz/criticare
consequence sostantivo/ˈkɑn.sɪ.kwəns/conseguenza
rage sostantivo/ɹeɪd͡ʒ/rabbia, furia
depend verbo/dɪˈpɛnd/dipendere
unexpected aggettivo/ʌnɪkˈspɛktɪd/inaspettato, insperato

I phrasal verb che sentirai

ParolaSignificato
find out verboscoprire
calm down verbocalmarsi, tranquillizzarsi
go through verboattraversare

Frasi da ripetere

Frasi brevi e complete del video che puoi riutilizzare nella conversazione di tutti i giorni:

  • You're giving it as an instruction.
  • This  means I don't care about the consequences.
  • I'm taking the rest of the day off.
  • I'm  taking the rest of the day off.
  • I don't care if I get in trouble.

La grammatica di questo video

Le strutture che chi parla usa di più, con le parole esatte del video:

StrutturaNel video
Forma passiva be + participio passato — conta ciò che accade, non chi lo faare considered · is delayed
Frasi relative who / which + frase — un’informazione in più su una persona o una cosawords, which are · subject, which is
Possibilità con “might / may” might/may + verbo — qualcosa di possibile ma non certomight use · might even add · might say
Verbo + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — i verbi seguiti dalla forma in -ingkeeps talking · keep asking · stop discussing

Pronuncia a cui fare attenzione

Chi parla usa 80 contrazioni e forme ridotte, come you're, don't, I'm. Pronunciale nella forma breve, così come le senti.

  • I suoni “sh” e “zh”: pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, frustration /fɹʌsˈtɹeɪ.ʃən/, invitation /ɪnvɪˈteɪʃən/, instruction /ɪnˈstɹʌkʃən/, interaction /ˌɪn.təˈɹæk.ʃən/
  • Parole lunghe — attenzione all’accento: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, unexpected /ʌnɪkˈspɛktɪd/, confidently /ˈkɑnfɪdəntli/, pronunciation /pɹəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/, imperative /ɪmˈpɛɹ.ə.tɪv/

I suoni difficili per chi parla italiano:

  • /h/ — va soffiata, non è muta: behave /bɪˈheɪv/, halfway /ˌhæfˈweɪ/
  • Consonante finale — senza aggiungere una vocale dopo: phrase /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/, impolite /ɪmpəˈlaɪt/, rude /ɹuːd/, breakup /ˈbɹeɪk.ʌp/, dessert /dɪˈzɝt/
  • /æ/ — più aperta della “e”: vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, classmate /ˈklæs.meɪt/, satisfy /ˈsætɪsfaɪ/, halfway /ˌhæfˈweɪ/, dynamics /dɑɪˈnæm.ɪks/

Come esercitarsi con questo video

  1. Ascolta tutto il video una volta senza parlare e annota le parole che non conosci.
  2. Fai shadowing frase per frase a velocità normale, ripetendo ognuna finché il tuo ritmo coincide con quello di chi parla.
  3. Registrati e confronta con l’originale, facendo attenzione a parole come phrase, annoy, impolite.

Cos'è la tecnica dello Shadowing?

Shadowing è una tecnica di apprendimento delle lingue supportata da studi scientifici, originariamente sviluppata per la formazione dei traduttori professionisti e resa popolare dal poliglotta Dr. Alexander Arguelles. Il metodo è semplice ma potente: ascolti un audio in inglese di madrelingua e lo ripeti immediatamente ad alta voce — come un'ombra che segue il parlante con un ritardo di solo 1–2 secondi. A differenza dell'ascolto passivo o degli esercizi di grammatica, lo shadowing costringe il tuo cervello e i muscoli della bocca a elaborare e riprodurre simultaneamente i modelli di discorso reale. La ricerca dimostra che migliora significativamente la precisione della pronuncia, l'intonazione, il ritmo, il discorso connesso, la comprensione dell'ascolto e la fluidità del parlato — rendendolo uno dei metodi più efficaci per la preparazione alla prova di speaking dell'IELTS e per la comunicazione reale in inglese.

Tecnica dello shadowing: leggi la guida completa passo dopo passo →