Shadowing Practice: 50 Important Verbs in English for Daily Conversation - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Vanessa: Hi, I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com. What's this? What do you do with this? Let's talk about it.
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Next, you need to whisk the ingredients, and then, don't forget to brown the meat. "Huh? To whisk? To brown? Isn't brown a color?" Well, don't worry. Today, you are going to learn 50 common action verbs that you can use in the kitchen to help you never forget what you are about to learn. You can download this free PDF worksheet that I have created for you, my lovely students with all of today's verbs, definitions, and sample sentences. Plus, you can answer Vanessa's challenge question at the bottom of the free worksheet. Click on the link in the description to download the PDF today.
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Let's get started with our first category of action verbs in the kitchen.
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The first category are kitchen verbs that are also nouns. You can learn two things for the price of one. I blend ingredients in a blender, maybe to make a smoothie. My husband grinds coffee beans in the grinder.
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Are you ready for this one? I toast a piece of toast in the toaster.
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Oh my goodness, I toast a piece of toast in the toaster. Unfortunately, I don't have any bread in my house today, but you can imagine what this does. I toast a piece of toast in the toaster.
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I peel a carrot with peeler. I grate the cheese with a grater.
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Notice that the T in grater sounds like a D in American English. This is very common that a T between vowel sounds will sound like a D. I grate the cheese with a grater.
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I strain my food with a strainer. Or you can say, I strain my food through a strainer.
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I open the can of tomatoes with a can opener.
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I whisk the pancake batter with a whisk. Notice that the H is silent. It only sounds like whisk.
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I use a mixer to mix the ingredients. I don't have a mixer, I always mix ingredients by hand.
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I baste the turkey with a baster. I freeze meat in the freezer.
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When I want to grill meat, I use the grill. In the US, we say to grill more often than to barbecue. I don't usually say, when I want to barbecue meat, usually, I say, when I want to grill meat, I use the grill. I chop the carrot. Or you could say, I slice the carrot thinly. We also use to slice for bread. I slice the bread.
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I taste the sauce before I add more spices. I bake cookies in the oven.
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Or, I roast a chicken in the oven. I use the tea kettle to boil some water.
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I let the sauce simmer over low heat. I heat up my food in the microwave. But we can also use a fun word, to nuke. I nuke my food in the microwave, nuke it.
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I nuke my food in the microwave. I fry bacon and eggs for breakfast.
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When you fry, usually, you use a lot of oil. Or you can say, I saute my vegetables for dinner.
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This usually uses less oil, to saute something. I brown the meat before I add the spaghetti sauce. I brown the meat. The word brown can be an adjective. My hair is brown. But, it can also be a verb, to brown meat. This usually means that you don't completely cook it, but the outside is brown, and it's ready to be added to the dish and cooked a little more, to brown some meat.
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I steam my vegetables for dinner. And what's this called? This is a steamer basket.
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I use a steamer basket to steam my vegetables. I pour the sauce on the spaghetti.
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I spread butter on the bread. As I said, I have no bread in my house right now, I'm sorry, but here's a picture. I spread butter on the bread.
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My son likes to sprinkle cheese on his spaghetti. The word sprinkle is also a noun. "It's this?" Hmm, these are sprinkles. Usually, you add them to a cake, or maybe to cupcakes. These are sprinkles. You could sprinkle sprinkles on a cake, or you could sprinkle cheese on your food.
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I like to add salt and pepper to my food. But, do you know something strange? Ever since I had my first son, I don't like pepper anymore. If a dish has a lot of pepper, usually, I don't like it. But before having children, I didn't care. Very strange.
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Let's talk about some verbs for cleaning up the kitchen.
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At the end of dinner, we clear the table. We pile up the dirty dishes in the sink.
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I scrape the leftover food into a bowl to give to our chickens. They'll be so happy. I scrape the leftover food into a bowl to give to our chickens. I scrub the food off of the dish, but if I can't clean it well, then I need to soak the dish. This means I put hot, soapy water in the dish, and I let it sit for one hour, maybe overnight, and it helps me to clean the dish better. I let the dish soak. Do you have a dishwasher? If you said no, you need to squirt some dish soap onto a rag. And, I'm sorry, you need to do the dishes by hand. Whoa, I had lots of water in it. You need to do the dishes by hand. Do you do the dishes by hand at home?
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When I'm done washing a dish by hand, I let it dry. I let it dry on the drying rack. Or we can say, I let it air-dry. And in fact, we can say the same thing for your hair. After you take a shower, you can use a hair dryer, or you can let your hair air-dry. This is generally better for your hair, but not everyone does it. You can let your hair air-dry, or you can let a dish air-dry.
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When the dishes are all done, I stack them on the shelf.
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Do you have a dishwasher? You're pretty lucky. You can load the dishwasher, and when it's done, you can unload the dishwasher. The dishwasher sterilizes the dishes. If you had raw chicken or something that's not so good on your dishes, don't worry, the dishwasher will sterilize your dishes. After I unload the dishes, I need to sort the silverware; forks, spoons, knives, and chopsticks. Our final category is generally cleaning the kitchen. My mom always told me, "You should clean as you go." To clean as you go means to clean while you're cooking. If you're waiting for the water to boil, well, you can wipe the counter. Great, do you clean as you go?
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When I'm done cooking, I try to tidy up. To tidy up makes things look neat. I try to tidy up.
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After dinner, I put away the leftovers in a container. Do you know what this type of container is called? Well, I'm going to leave it a mystery. You should watch this video that I made about many, many kitchen words right here in my kitchen. I squeeze the water out of my sponge, or my rag so that it doesn't drip. I squeeze the water out of the sponge.
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I wipe down the sink when I'm done. If my children have made an incredible mess, I sweep the floor with a broom. Notice, you cannot say, I broom the floor with a broom. Nope, you should say, I sweep the floor with a broom.
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Or if we ate spaghetti, and there is sauce everywhere, I mop the floor with a mop.
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If there is something I can't give my chickens, I dump it in the trash, and my husband takes out the trash. My husband takes out the trash when it's full.
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And finally, I pump some soap onto my hay hands and wash them.
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Congratulations on learning 50 common kitchen verbs. Don't forget to download the free PDF worksheet for this lesson. There's a link in the description so that you never forget any of these wonderful verbs. And now, I have a question for you. Would you rather cook dinner or clean up? Let me know in the comments, and I will see you again next Friday for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel. Bye. The next step is to download the free PDF worksheet for this lesson. With this free PDF, you will master today's lesson and never forget what you have learned. You can be a confident English speaker.
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Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for a free English lesson every Friday. Bye.
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Kitchen Vocabulary in English
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Why practice speaking with this video?
This engaging video on key action verbs used in the kitchen provides an excellent opportunity to practice speaking in a real-life context. By focusing on vocabulary that is commonly encountered during daily cooking and cleaning activities, learners can significantly improve their English pronunciation and fluency. Speaking along with the video allows you to experiment with new verbs while picking up the rhythms and intonations of native speech, making your learning process more efficient and enjoyable. Additionally, the challenge questions encourage you to think critically about the vocabulary, further enhancing your IELTS speaking practice and conversational skills.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
The content within the video is rich with useful phrases and grammatical structures that can enhance your speaking skills:
- Imperative verbs: Phrases like “whisk the ingredients” and “brown the meat” demonstrate how to give clear instructions, a valuable skill for effective communication.
- Progressive forms: The speaker often employs progressive verbs such as “mixing” and “baking,” which are essential when discussing ongoing actions in cooking.
- Questions and responses: The conversational tone, including questions like “What do you do with this?” encourages interactive speaking practice, promoting a more dynamic form of learning.
- Descriptive phrases: For instance, the phrase “I let it air-dry” not only provides context but also introduces learners to more nuanced ways of talking about actions.
Common Pronunciation Traps
As you practice speaking, it’s important to be aware of potential pronunciation challenges:
- Words with a silent letter: The word “whisk” has a silent ‘h’, making it essential to pronounce it correctly without overemphasizing the ‘h’ sound.
- American English nuances: Notice the T in “grater” sounding like a D in American English. This exemplifies the softer pronunciation in certain accents that may differ from other English dialects.
- Dual-function words: The word “brown” serves as both an adjective and a verb. Understanding context is crucial for proper pronunciation based on its usage.
- Dynamic verbs: Words like “nuke” may be informal, but being familiar with colloquial terms can enrich your conversational skills, making you sound more natural in dialogues.
By focusing on these aspects as you shadow and practice speaking along with the video, you'll not only grasp essential kitchen vocabulary but also significantly enhance your overall confidence and proficiency in English. This method of learning—relying on shadowspeak techniques—will serve you well in both personal encounters and formal assessments like the IELTS.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have created · have made · have learned |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | be added · is called |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should clean · should watch · should say |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will sound · They'll be · will sterilize |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.