Shadowing Practice: Advanced (C2) Phrases to Build Your Vocabulary - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

Let's learn some advanced C2 phrases to help you build your vocabulary.

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Let's learn some advanced C2 phrases to help you build your vocabulary.

And C2 is just Cambridge's highest level qualification and is really just proof that you are a highly competent speaker.

And I am going to teach you some advanced phrases

that I think are common and I'm going to tell you the meaning,

talk a little bit about how these phrases are used,

and I'm also going to teach you how to correctly pronounce these phrases because If you're going to use them,

you want to make sure that you are saying them correctly.

And if you enjoy building your vocabulary,

please subscribe, turn on notifications.

That way I can become your teacher.

My name is Wes.

The channel is Interactive English.

It's all about trying to help you reach your fluency goals.

So let's begin with our first phrase,

which is clear the air.

So to clear the air means to remove the bad feelings between people.

And You might use this if you have a couple of friends who are unhappy with each other,

or maybe some family members,

and there are just some bad feelings.

And then someone else, the person who wants to get those feelings removed,

that's the person who's going to use this phrase.

So if I have a couple of friends that have been arguing,

and there are some bad feelings,

and I and the one who wants them to make up,

then I might tell them,

you know, it's time to clear the air.

We really need to clear the air and we need to just remove these bad feelings.

Now, as far as pronunciation goes,

the one word that I want to focus on is the article the.

And you notice how I just pronounced it then.

I said it with the schwa sound,

which is an uh sound.

And it's definitely weaker, the.

And typically, people might say the before a consonant sound the cat, the dog.

If the article comes before a vowel sound,

then people may say the, the elephant, the air.

Now, I will say that people in the United States,

which is where I'm from,

may not follow this rule,

and they often use the before either a consonant or a vowel.

However, in a phrase like this,

which is fixed, and you hear these words together,

in this case, you are going to say the clear the air.

Don't make me join the army, okay?

I'll cut off a tow.

What?

Okay, okay.

We are just going to clear the air.

And then we have trial and error.

And this is a way of solving a problem by trying a number of different methods

and then learning from the mistakes that you make.

And I think often this phrase is used when talking about science

because perhaps somebody is doing an experiment

And you could say it's just a matter of trial and error before we get the result that we want.

I also want to tell you that people may use this phrase with the word process.

And somebody could say it's a process of trial and error.

These words are frequently used together.

A process of trial and error.

And I could say that,

well, learning new vocabulary, it's also a process of trial and error.

Because you're learning these phrases.

You're going to try to use them in context.

You may make mistakes, but that's okay.

You'll learn from those mistakes,

and then you keep practicing until these phrases are a part of your speaking vocabulary.

For pronunciation, what I would tell you is that with and,

I'm going to reduce it so it just sounds like n, trial and error.

And then error is a little challenging on its own.

The word has two syllables,

has those two R sounds remember that the stress is on the first syllable.

Error.

Trial and error.

And I can tell you,

relationships are just trial and error.

Something else that's a little bit of trial and error is pronunciation.

And that's why I've been talking to you about how to correctly pronounce these phrases.

But a great way to practice and learn from your mistakes is by using the pronunciation app Elsa Speak,

who was kind enough to sponsor today's lesson.

To tell you the truth,

I actually heard about this app from you.

I've had students tell me that they've been using ELSA Speak to practice their pronunciation and speaking,

and that's when I decided to see what it's all about.

So I downloaded the app and I started exploring.

And there's a lot of cool things that you can do with ELSA Speak.

You can You can practice linking sounds or dropping consonants,

the schwa sound, and all of this is really going to help you fine-tune your pronunciation skills.

You can even practice the pronunciation of different words and phrases,

such as the ones we've been talking about.

So if I put in trial and error.

We can then listen to the phrase trial and error and then you can practice trial and error.

Alright and you can see you get instant feedback and that's going to help you make adjustments,

learn from your mistakes and continue to improve your pronunciation.

And right now when you click on the link below and download the ELSA Speak app,

you can get seven days of the Pro membership for free.

But you can also use my discount to get 85% off the ELSA Speak lifetime membership or 40% off a one-year membership.

So check out those links and the discount down in the description

if you would like to improve your pronunciation and sound just like a native speaker.

Now let's get back to those advanced C2 phrases to help you build your vocabulary.

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And the next phrase that I have for you is to be at odds over or to be at odds with.

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You can follow it with either of those prepositions.

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This just means to disagree or be different from something.

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So I could say my siblings and I are at odds over the family estate.

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We just disagree.

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Or I'm at odds with his version of the story.

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Okay, my version is different.

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So as far as pronouncing this phrase,

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I want you to look at that word at.

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Okay, typically it would end with a stop T,

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but in American English, because I'm from the United States,

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that T comes between two vowel sounds,

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so I am going to pronounce it as a flap T,

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which is going to sound a little more like a soft D.

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And then I'm going to take that soft D and link it with the vowel sound in odds. At odds.

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So you should hear that flat T,

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and then it's getting linked with the vowel sound in odds.

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I'm at odds with his version of the story.

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Some people say your immigration policy is at odds with your jobs program.

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How would you respond to that?

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Then there's beyond a doubt,

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or beyond a shadow of a doubt.

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And in this case, you are just expressing certainty that something is true.

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I could say, I think it's beyond a shadow of a doubt that the earth's climate is changing.

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In law, you may hear someone say, beyond a reasonable doubt.

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And this just means that the argument presented shows that someone is guilty,

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and it just must be accepted as fact.

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So a person might say,

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we have shown that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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In order to correctly pronounce this phrase,

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keep in mind that the article is just going to be pronounced as the schwa sound.

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It's just going to sound like a,

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and then we can do some linking and link some consonants with that schwa sound.

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Beyond a shadow of a doubt.

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So two things beyond a of a,

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beyond a shadow of a doubt.

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So hopefully you can hear that linking occurring.

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Beyond a shadow of a doubt.

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Beyond a shadow of a doubt.

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I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that Clark Kent loves Lois Lane.

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The next phrase is one that I use quite often and that is play it by ear.

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I really like this one.

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It means that you are deciding how to handle a situation as it develops instead of acting on some,

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well, previous plan that you had.

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So I think I would often use this when traveling

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that I like to have an idea of what I'm going to do,

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but I also want to be able to change those plans as the day develops.

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So I could say, yeah,

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you know, let's just play it by ear.

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I know we're gonna try to do these things,

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but you know, we can make some changes if necessary.

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We'll just play it by ear.

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And when it comes to pronouncing this phrase,

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there's also some linking going on.

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The final consonant sound in play can get linked with the vowel sound in it.

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Play it.

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Play it.

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Let's play it by ear.

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So when are you getting back from Florida?

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Oh, I don't know.

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Play it by ear.

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Why?

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Go with the flow.

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This means to do what other people are doing

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or just agree with other people simply because it's the easiest thing to do.

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So you may hear somebody tell you,

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hey, you should just relax and go with the flow.

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Or I could talk about myself and say,

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I'm just gonna go with the flow.

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I really don't have a strong opinion about things.

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I just want to do what's easiest,

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so I'm just gonna go with the flow.

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And when saying this phrase,

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keep in mind there are some overlapping sounds, those THs.

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So that final TH in with is going to overlap with the beginning TH in the.

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The only difference is that in with,

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that TH is voiceless, and in the, the th is voiced.

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So when you're pronouncing this,

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those sounds will overlap and you're really going to say that voiced th.

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Go with the flow.

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Go with the flow.

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I'm going to go with the flow.

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I'm done complaining.

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I'm evolving.

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Just going to go with the flow.

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Then we have the phrase to put one's foot down.

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And this just means to use your authority to stop something from happening.

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And often I think people would use this phrase in the first person,

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talking about something that's happening at that moment,

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in which case they're going to use the continuous tense,

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I'm putting my foot down.

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So think about somebody who is more of an authority figure,

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like parents would say this to their child.

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If they want to go out to some party and the parent doesn't want them to go,

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they could say, no, you're not going to that party.

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I'm putting my foot down.

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I'm using my authority to stop this from happening.

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I'm putting my foot down.

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There are two things that I want you to keep in mind when pronouncing this phrase.

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The first is that if you're saying it in the continuous tense,

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the T in putting comes between two vowel sounds.

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So again, being from the United States,

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I am going to use a flat T,

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so it'll sound like a soft D.

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I'm putting my foot down.

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The other thing I want to say is that foot down.

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There's some co-articulation going on because the position of your tongue when you say foot,

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all right, that stop t,

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your tongue is going to be at the top part of your mouth.

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But then when you move into saying down,

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your tongue with that d sound is also going to be at the top.

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So you're not going to touch it twice and say them as two different words,

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you're really going to say foot and then move right into that d sound in down.

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Foot down, foot down, and your tongue is really just coming up to the top part of your mouth one time.

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Foot down.

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I'm putting my foot down.

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Come on you guys.

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I'm putting my foot down.

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Either the dog moves out or I do.

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Then there's down the drain,

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which is, it's not a good phrase because it means that work or money has just been wasted.

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So if I were to say,

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all that work down the drain,

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that the work was, well,

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it wasn't used, it was wasted,

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maybe it was destroyed, just down the drain.

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Or the money that I won went right down the drain.

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Okay, I used it all up, probably carelessly.

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It's gone now, and it just went right down the drain.

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The pronunciation of this phrase, it's pretty straightforward.

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The only thing I would say is that the article is going to be pronounced with that schwa sound, the.

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It's that weaker sound, down the drain.

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I bought you a ticket for the MyPad raffle, Dad.

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Oh, that's tooth fairy money down the drain, sweetie.

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I never win anything.

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Next is to come under fire.

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And this just means to be criticized.

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And really, someone or something comes under fire.

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I could say the government has come under fire after the failed response.

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People are angry, they're upset,

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they're criticizing the government, so the government has come under fire.

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Or the CEO has come under fire after the latest scandal.

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Again, people are angry and they're criticizing and someone has come under fire.

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Now, when pronouncing this phrase,

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again, there's a little bit of linking going on

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that final consonant sound in come is going to get linked with the vowel sound in under.

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Come under.

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Come under fire.

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Take a look.

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Cam Brady has come under fire.

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Getting it on with this one.

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Shana St. Croix, a former professional cheerleader.

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The next one.

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And it's also one of my favorite phrases from this lesson.

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And that is jump to conclusions.

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And what this means is that someone is just guessing the facts about a situation without having enough information.

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And you would say someone is jumping to conclusions.

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Often I think people may use this with not.

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In that case, you're telling someone,

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let's not jump to conclusions.

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Let's not guess until we get more information.

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So I could say, let's not jump to conclusions.

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We need more evidence that is beyond a shadow of a doubt.

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So in the meantime, let's just not jump to conclusions.

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For pronunciation, the only thing that I would say is that preposition to.

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It can either be pronounced to,

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but sometimes it's pronounced with that schwa sound,

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and it's going to sound like to.

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And often I think you will hear people say to when they're using this phrase,

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jump to conclusions.

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Okay, I'll say it slowly again so you can hear that to.

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Jump to conclusions.

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And then when I say it quickly, jump to conclusions.

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So it's a very subtle difference,

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but I'm still using that schwa, jump to conclusions.

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This was stolen from there.

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We're accessories to a federal crime.

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Let's not jump to conclusions.

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A lot of things start with you.

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Then there's out of one's depth.

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And this means that a person is not having the knowledge,

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experience, or skills to deal with a particular situation or subject.

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I think you would often hear somebody saying this phrase to another person,

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in which case they're saying,

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look, you're out of your depth.

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It's too difficult.

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You don't have the experience or the knowledge.

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You're out of your depth.

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A few things when it comes to pronunciation.

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Out of.

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So that T, again, it comes between two vowel sounds,

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so I'll pronounce it as a flat T,

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and then I will link it with the vowel sound in of.

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Out of.

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Out of.

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And then just keep in mind depth.

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It ends with that voiceless TH.

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It's very slight, but you should pronounce that voiceless TH.

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Depth.

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Out of your depth.

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Out of your depth.

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I know what I'm doing.

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You don't.

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You're out of your depth, Ruth.

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And I'm not going to let you drag Jonah down with you, okay?

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And then there's to do someone or something justice.

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And this just means to be accurate or fair by representing someone or something as that person or thing truly is.

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And let me give you a couple of examples.

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I think it'll make more sense.

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So this phrase is often used in the negative and with the pronoun it.

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Doesn't do it justice.

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So it's like I'm talking about a situation and then saying that it's just not an accurate representation.

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like the the book is

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so much better than the movie the movie doesn't do it justice

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or the Grand Canyon is breathtaking pictures don't do it justice

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that pictures are just it's just not a fair

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or accurate representation of the Grand Canyon you really got to go there the pictures they just don't do it justice.

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So when you say this phrase,

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if you're using the pronoun it,

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then there's going to be some intrusion.

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Intrusion is when you are adding a sound in between two other sounds.

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So in this case, we're going to add a slight W sound between do and it. Do it.

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This allows us to link those two vowel sounds together.

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It doesn't do it justice.

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It just doesn't do it justice.

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It doesn't do you any justice, I'll tell you that.

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You always said you like my nose.

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I love your nose.

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It's real big up there.

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So I hope that I have demonstrated,

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beyond a shadow of a doubt,

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that these phrases are useful.

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And I truly think that when you are learning advanced phrases like these,

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you are not out of your depth.

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You have the experience, you have the knowledge,

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you just need to learn them and just get a little practice using them.

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But I do not want to jump to conclusions.

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Only you can tell me how much you understand and how much you have learned,

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and I would appreciate it if you let me know down in those comments.

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If you enjoyed the lesson and you learned something new,

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please hit that like button.

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As always, thank you so much for watching,

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and I will see you next time. So long.

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Shadowing Practice: Advanced (C2) Phrases to Build Your Vocabulary - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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Key Vocabulary & Phrases

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What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing Practice: Advanced (C2) Phrases to Build Your Vocabulary - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

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About This Lesson

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

Practice Tips

What is the Shadowing Technique?