Pratica di Shadowing: 5 Daily NATIVE Phrases! | spoken English! | British English - Impara a parlare inglese con i video
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Hi there everyone!
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Welcome to English with Catherine.
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If you're new here, welcome!
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Thank you so much for being here.
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I'm going to share with you today five phrases that we use in native English.
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So what I've done is just been really aware recently of things that we say every day.
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Really kind of basic responses, reactions.
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If you start using these phrases you will definitely sound much more natural.
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less formal much more friendly and easy to talk to.
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I think I've told you before that
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when you come to the UK you will notice that the English
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that we speak is not the English
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that you learnt at school it's spoken English and spoken English has phrasal verbs idioms and many many things like
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little expressions that we just don't use in writing and we don't learn at school generally.
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So here I am making your life easier.
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If you come to the UK and you use a couple of these phrases, you'll definitely fit in.
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Number one is The thing is, The thing is, The thing is,
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We use this all the time and what it means is The issue is,
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the problem is, In British culture we really really don't like to say when there's a problem
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or we don't really like to say no either.
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We're kind of terrified of confrontation and sort of causing a fuss or offending someone.
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So there's so much you need to learn about how to behave here.
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It's just, I mean, I have many more videos.
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Let's just say that.
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So to give you some examples of how to use "The Thing Is" We can say, the flat is so beautiful.
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The thing is, the traffic sound coming from the road really puts me off.
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So here you're saying the flat is really nice.
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Maybe you're looking at a flat, you're wanting to rent it or buy it.
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And you're saying the flat is lovely, but the traffic sounds coming from the road
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is kind of a negative and it's kind of making you not like the flat as much
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It's not a very direct way to express this, It's a typically British way to express this.
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We also use it to soften the blow or reduce the impact or the effect of saying something negative to someone.
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maybe something that is maybe quite offensive or a bit difficult for them to hear.
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For example, when a manager is addressing his employee about a situation, an issue, something that's wrong.
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He could say, "You're doing really well in this job." The thing is, a few colleagues have noticed you've been late a few times this month.
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So this is a good way to bring up a problem with that employee.
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that will not automatically offend them.
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It will give them time to process the information so that they don't
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immediately get offended and look red in the face etc.
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So it's a really good way to soften the blow of that kind of criticism.
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Another example of softening the blow is just saying no to someone in that
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something just isn't possible or isn't logical or isn't rational and you want to say no in the best way.
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For example: The thing is, Karen, we just can't afford to have six swimming pools in the garden.
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We just can't afford it.
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So that example is a bit silly, but you know what I mean.
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It's about saying no, it's about softening the blow.
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That's another expression you've learned today.
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To soften the blow means to reduce the impact or the effect of something negative.
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Number two is...
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Fair enough.
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Fair enough.
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Fair enough.
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So we say this as a response to something that we see as acceptable.
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logical Understandable.
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reasonable.
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For example: I can't come tonight because I'm working late.
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the response would be: "Fair enough." It's very, very common to hear this every day, in conversation, amongst friends or family, and really it's a very useful response.
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Because it's only two words.
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Another example: I'll do the dishes tonight if you do the dishes tomorrow.
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response would be, "Fair enough, great." Great idea.
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Now, we say 'do the dishes', by the way, it means 'to wash the dishes'.
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That's a collocation with 'do'.
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Number three is: What a shame.
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What a shame!
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What a shame.
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So this is another response, but this time it's when someone tells you something disappointing,
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almost sad, annoying for them and you want to respond in the right way.
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Now, if it's something really sad and really serious, you can't say 'what a shame' because you're going to need something a bit more serious and a bit stronger.
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But for example, if someone says to you: My auntie can't come to visit anymore because of the train strikes.
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You can say, "Oh, what a shame !" What a shame.
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That means, "Oh, that's a shame, you know, that's disappointing, that's sad for you." Another example is: "Oh,
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I dropped my favourite necklace in the river when I was bending over the bridge." You can say, "Oh, what a shame." That's a real shame you know, for you.
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So it helps to be understanding, show sympathy for someone.
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It's really nice actually, it's a nice expression, it shows that you care and that you're listening to what they're saying about their problem.
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So use "what a shame" if you want to sound a little bit more native.
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Number four is A complete nightmare.
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A complete nightmare.
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A complete nightmare.
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Thank you.
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Now you'll notice that I'm saying this with quite a lot of drama and energy,
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and that's because it helps to describe a feeling of being angry about something.
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Now in British culture we do love to complain.
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We complain about a lot of things, but this phrase, a complete nightmare, we're usually used to complain about the traffic,
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So a lot of heavy traffic when you're trying to get home after a long day at work, perhaps, you have to drive home and you get stuck in traffic.
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Our roads are notoriously busy.
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We have a lot of cars on the roads.
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So it's very common to get stuck in traffic.
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or We use this phrase to complain about the trains The trains in Britain are notoriously very, very bad.
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Sorry to say that, but they are often cancelled or very delayed and they often don't really give you much warning.
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But I have to say the underground trains in London are absolutely amazing.
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We also use this phrase to complain about queuing.
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Now in British culture, queuing is very important.
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We do always queue and if someone is trying to queue jump, it is always A massive problem.
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So, some examples using this phrase: The trains were a complete nightmare yesterday.
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It took me over an hour to get home when it would normally take me 20 minutes.
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What a nightmare!
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Okay, very dramatic, that's very true.
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But yes, this is very, very common, especially if you just want to describe that annoyance
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that you felt because of the trains it was absolute gridlock on the motorway yesterday It was an absolute nightmare getting home.
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Now gridlock means solid traffic.
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So car, car, car, lorry, lorry, car, lorry, car, nothing moving, Nothing moving.
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And an example for queuing.
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It will be a nightmare tomorrow.
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We will have to queue for hours.
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So here we are here predicting the future and worrying about queuing in the future, which is, by the way, another thing that we do.
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We worry about the future, we're always thinking what's coming, what's coming.
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So it will be a nightmare tomorrow, we will have to queue for hours.
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Number five is: What have you been up to?
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What have you been up to?
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What have you been up to?
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Now this is very common in British small talk.
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When you haven't seen a friend or a colleague or a family member for a while, we often ask this in small talk when we see them.
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And it means: what have you been doing?
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How have you been filling your time?
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Have you been playing tennis?
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Have you been at the pub?
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Have you been doing a new hobby?
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Have you been working too much?
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you then need to answer the question with what you have been doing.
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You don't answer with 'up to' in the answer.
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It's only for the question.
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Okay.
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For example, what have you been up to recently?
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Well, I've been, I don't know, just playing the piano a bit.
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I've been going out for walks.
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I've been spending a lot of time with my sister, but I've been working far too much.
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We also use up to to ask about what someone is doing in the future, so on the weekend typically.
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So what are you up to on the weekend?
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What are you up to on the weekend?
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I use this very often when I'm asking my friends what their plans are, either the same evening or on the weekend
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when I'm maybe going to invite them for a drink or suggest doing something with them.
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I hope you've enjoyed this video about five native phrases.
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Maybe it will make it a little bit easier when you come to the UK and you hear these on the streets, in conversation, in cafes, wherever you are.
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So hit the subscribe button if you feel in the mood to, and I'll see you next week for another class.
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Thank you.
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Per chi è questo video?
Se sei un apprendista di inglese a livello intermedio o avanzato, e vuoi parlare in modo più naturale, come un madrelingua britannico, questo video è per te. Ideale per chi vuole superare l'italiano "scolastico" e integrare frasi usate ogni giorno, soprattutto per comunicare in contesti informali o professionali senza sembrare troppo formale. I tuoi obiettivi? Imparare a "soffiare" le critiche, dire no con tatto e creare connessioni più genuine.
Parole e modi di dire da rubare
Ecco le espressioni chiave del video, pronte per essere usate:
- "The thing is": Significa "Il problema è" o "La questione è", ma con un tono meno diretto. Usato per "amorbidire il colpo" (soften the blow), cioè ridurre l'impatto di una notizia negativa. Esempio: "Il flat è bellissimo, the thing is, il traffico mi disturba troppo".
- "To soften the blow": "Amorbidire il colpo". Una metafora per rendere meno doloroso qualcosa di negativo. Utile in conversazioni delicate, come correggere un collega o rifiutare un invito.
- "Fair enough": (Anche se non approfondito, è un classico!) Significa "Va bene" o "Capisco", usato per accettare un punto di vista senza opposizione. Un must per le discussioni informali.
Come migliorare la pronuncia inglese con questo video
Per imitare la pronuncia britannica di Catherine, concentra ti su due dettagli: l'intonazione e la connessione tra le parole. "The thing is" viene pronunciato con un leggero accento sulla "thing", e la "is" si fonde spesso con la parola successiva (es: "the thing is, we can't..." diventa "the thing iswe can't"). Prova a fare shadowing: ascolta una frase, pausa e ripeterla immediatamente, cercando di copiare il tono e la velocità. Usa un shadowing site o semplicemente il video in loop: questo metodo aiuta a internalizzare il ritmo naturale dell'inglese parlato. Ricorda: l'obiettivo non è essere perfetto, ma essere capito e sembrare "a posto".
Con questi trucchi, non solo migliorerai la pronuncia inglese, ma anche la tua capacità di comunicare con tatto. E se vuoi approfondire, continua a imparare l'inglese con YouTube: video come questo sono un tesoro per chi cerca frasi "vive" e con contesto reale.
La grammatica di questo video
Le strutture che chi parla usa di più, con le parole esatte del video:
| Struttura | Nel video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — un’azione iniziata prima e ancora in corso | have you been doing · have you been filling · Have you been playing |
| Present perfect have/has + participio passato — un’azione passata che conta ancora adesso | I've done · I've told · have noticed |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — qualcosa che succede adesso o in questo periodo | am making · you're saying · you're looking |
| Futuro con “will” will + verbo — una decisione, una promessa o una previsione | will definitely sound · will notice · you'll definitely fit |
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.