Shadowing Practice: Daily English Conversation Practice | How to Talk About Yesterday in English | English Podcast - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Mr. English Channel,
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Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Mr. English Channel,
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where learning English is easy and fun.
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I'm Emily.
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Hey, Emily.
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It is so great to see you today.
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I am really happy to talk to our amazing listeners again.
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Me too, Paul.
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Well, today we have a very special and useful topic for our friends.
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Oh, really?
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What are we talking about today, Emily?
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We are talking about the past.
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Specifically, we want to answer the question,
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What did you do yesterday?
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Ah, that is a classic question.
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We use it every single day when we talk to friends.
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Exactly.
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It is the best way to start a natural conversation in English.
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I agree completely.
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So, Emily, let me ask you first.
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What did you do yesterday?
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Well, yesterday was a busy day for me.
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In the morning, I woke up early at 6 o'clock.
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Wow, 6 o'clock.
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That is very early.
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What did you do next?
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First, I made a hot cup of coffee.
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Then I cooked a delicious breakfast for myself.
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That sounds wonderful.
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What did you eat for breakfast?
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I ate some eggs and toast.
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It was very simple, but it was good.
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Nice.
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You used two great past tense verbs there, made and ate.
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Yes, exactly.
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They are irregular verbs, so they change their form completely in the past.
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That is a great point.
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For example, today I eat, but yesterday I ate.
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Brilliant!
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See?
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It is very simple when you use it in a real story.
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It really is.
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So, what did you do after breakfast, Emily?
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After breakfast, I walked to the beautiful park near my house.
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The weather was perfect.
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Oh, I love that park.
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Did you walk alone or with a friend?
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I walked alone, but I saw many happy people there.
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I also listened to some beautiful music.
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That sounds so relaxing.
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Walked and listened are regular verbs because they end in ED.
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Yes, you're so right.
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We just add ED to the end of regular verbs.
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It is a great rule to remember.
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So how long did you stay at the park?
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I stayed there for about one hour.
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Then I walked back home because I had some work to do.
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Work on a yesterday?
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You are always working so hard, Emily.
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Well, it was just some light cleaning and organizing.
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I cleaned my kitchen and washed the dishes.
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Ah, excellent.
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Cleaned and washed are also regular verbs.
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Yes, they are.
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It felt really good to have a clean house.
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Now, I am curious about your afternoon.
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What did you do after you cleaned the kitchen?
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In the afternoon, I visited my friend Sarah.
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We drank tea and talked for hours.
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Wow, that sounds like a wonderful afternoon.
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Sarah is very nice.
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She really is.
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We talked about our families and our plans for the weekend.
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Did you talk in English or another language?
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Of course we talked in English, of course.
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It was great practice for both of us.
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That is awesome.
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Now, Paul, it is your turn.
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Tell us about your day yesterday.
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Was it busy too?
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Well, my yesterday was a little different from yours.
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It was much more relaxed.
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Oh, tell us more.
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I want to hear all about it.
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In the morning, I did not wake up early.
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I stayed in bed until 9 o'clock.
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Wow, 9 o'clock.
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That's a late start, Paul.
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Yes, it was fantastic.
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I really needed some extra sleep.
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That is fair.
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So what did you do when you finally got out of bed?
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I did not make coffee because I prefer tea.
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So I drank a large cup of green tea.
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Oh, green tea is very healthy.
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Did you cook breakfast too?
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No, I did not cook.
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I just ate a fresh banana and some yogurt.
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That is a very quick and healthy breakfast.
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I like it.
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Thanks.
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After that, I read a chapter of my new book.
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Oh, interesting.
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What kind of book are you reading right now?
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It is a mystery book about a detective in London.
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It is very exciting.
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Wow, I love mystery books.
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You used the verb read there, which is interesting.
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Yes, the spelling is exactly the same
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but the pronunciation changes today I read yesterday I read
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that is a tricky one for beginners
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but a great example good job thanks Emily after reading I
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decided to do some exercise in my living room oh really did you lift weights or do some yoga?
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I did some simple yoga stretches for 30 minutes.
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It helped my back feel great.
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Yoga is so good for the body.
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I should do that more often, too.
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You should.
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It gives you so much energy for the rest of the day.
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So, what did you do for lunch yesterday, Paul?
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For lunch, I ordered some food from my favorite local Italian restaurant.
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Oh, yum!
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What did you order from them?
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I ordered a delicious plate of pasta with tomato sauce.
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It arrived very fast.
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That sounds amazing.
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Did you eat it all?
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Yes, I did.
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It was so delicious I could not stop eating.
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I don't blame you at all.
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Italian food is the best.
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It really is.
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So what did you do in the afternoon, Emily?
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Wait, Paul, we're still talking about your day.
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What did you do after lunch?
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Ah, right.
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After lunch, I watched a very funny movie on television.
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Oh, nice.
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Did you laugh a lot during the movie?
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Yes, I laughed so much.
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It was a great comedy from the 90s.
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Comedies are perfect for a relaxing afternoon at home.
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Exactly.
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After the movie ended, I called my brother on the phone.
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Oh, how is your brother doing?
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Did you talk for a long time?
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He is doing great.
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We talked for about 20 minutes because he was at work.
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It is always nice to connect with family.
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You used called and talked perfectly there.
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Thank you, Emily.
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It's easy when you practice every day.
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If you are enjoying this conversation,
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don't forget to like the video,
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subscribe to the channel, and share it with a friend who is learning English.
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Yes.
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And if you are still listening,
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comment yesterday below to let us know you were here.
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Now, Paul, before we continue with our evening stories,
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I have some incredible news for our listeners.
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Oh, wow!
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What is the big news, Emily?
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I am so curious.
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Remember what we said in yesterday's video about our new Mr. English Telegram community?
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Oh, yes!
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I am so excited about it.
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It is going to help our students meet and practice English together.
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Exactly!
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can ask questions and help each other in English,
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which is amazing for learning.
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Yes, it is.
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And many people asked us when we are launching it.
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Do you have an update?
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Well, guess what?
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We are releasing access for the first group of people today.
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Wow, today?
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That is incredible news.
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How will the rollout work?
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We want to build a strong community,
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so we're letting people join slowly to keep it organized but everyone will get in soon.
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That makes a lot of sense.
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And what about the Mr. English AI feature?
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Oh, yes.
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The Mr. English AI will be there too,
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so everyone can practice conversation anytime they want.
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That is amazing.
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Where can our friends find the link to join?
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We'll make a post right here on YouTube very soon with the links and all the information.
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Perfect.
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Listeners, please comment below if you like this idea and tell us who is going to join.
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Yes, tell us who is excited to participate.
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We want to read all your comments.
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This is truly awesome, Emily.
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But now, let's go back to our yesterday stories.
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Yes, let's do it.
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We need to talk about what we did last night.
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Okay, Emily, what did you do yesterday evening?
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Yesterday evening, I cooked dinner for my family.
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I made a big pot of soup.
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Oh, soup is perfect for the evening.
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Was it chicken soup or vegetable soup?
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It was a chicken and vegetable soup.
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My family loved it and ate everything.
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That sounds so cozy and warm.
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Did you watch television after dinner?
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No, I did not watch TV.
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Instead, I listened to an interesting podcast about history.
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Oh, history.
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That sounds very intellectual, Emily.
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Well, I like to learn new things when I relax.
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It was very interesting.
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That is great.
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Then, what time did you go to bed?
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I went to bed at 10 o'clock and I slept like a baby all night.
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Wonderful!
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Slept is another excellent irregular past tense verb.
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Yes, the base form is sleep
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but the past form is slept perfect now let me tell
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you about my evening yesterday yes paul what did you do
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last night did you go out no i did not go out i stayed home
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and invited a friend over for dinner oh nice did you
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cook something special for your friend actually we did not cook we ordered some delicious hamburgers
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and french fries Wow you really loved ordering food yesterday Paul
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yes I did yesterday was my lazy day for cooking and
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that is okay it is totally okay sometimes we all need
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a break from the kitchen exactly we ate the hamburgers
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and then we played a fun video game together oh a video game Who won the game,
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you or your friend?
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Well, my friend won the first game,
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which was a bit stressful.
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Oh no!
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Did you lose the second game too?
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No. Fortunately, I won the second game,
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so we were both very happy.
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That is great!
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It is always nice to have a friendly competition.
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Yes, it was a lot of fun.
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My friend left my house at around 9 o'clock.
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And what did you do after your friend left? friend left.
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I brushed my teeth, put on my pajamas,
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and went straight to bed.
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Excellent!
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You used the regular verb brushed and the irregular verb went.
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Yes!
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It is very easy to practice when you break down your day like that.
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Let's look at some short and long ways to answer this question for our listeners.
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That is a great idea.
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If someone asks, what did you do yesterday,
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what is a short answer?
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A short answer can be,
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I went to work, and then I relaxed at home.
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Perfect.
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Short, clear, and very easy to understand.
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And what is a longer, more detailed version, Paul?
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A longer version is, Yesterday morning,
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I cleaned my room, and then in the afternoon,
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I met my friend for lunch.
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Wait, Paul.
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Did you say I clean my room for yesterday?
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Ah, you caught me, Emily.
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I made a mistake.
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Yes.
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Remember, we must say I cleaned my room with the ED sound.
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Yes, exactly.
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Thank you for correcting me, Emily.
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I cleaned my room.
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Mistakes are completely normal when we are learning.
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Even native speakers make them sometimes.
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That is so true.
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It is how we learn and get better every day.
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Now, let's talk about negative sentences in the past tense.
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How do we make them?
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We use the word did not,
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or the short version, didn't,
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followed by the normal verb.
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Yes.
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For example, I didn't watch TV yesterday.
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We do not change the main verb.
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Exactly.
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We don't say, I didn't watched,
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we say, I didn't watch.
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Perfect explanation, Paul.
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Let's give another example for our friends.
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Sure.
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Yesterday, I didn't go to the supermarket because I had food at home.
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Excellent!
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I didn't go is correct.
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The word didn't already shows it is the past.
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What about asking questions in the past tense, Emily?
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How do we do that?
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We start the question with the word did.
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For example, did you watch the game yesterday?
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Yes, and just like the negative form,
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the main verb stays in the normal present form.
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Exactly.
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We say, did you watch, not did you watched.
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Let's try another one.
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Emily, did you study Spanish yesterday?
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No, I didn't study Spanish yesterday,
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but I did study a little bit of French.
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Oh, wow.
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French is a beautiful language.
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Good job.
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Thank you, Paul.
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Learning languages is my favorite hobby.
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Let me ask you another question.
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Did you buy anything online yesterday?
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No, I didn't buy anything online yesterday.
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I tried to save my money.
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That is very smart of you.
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Saving money is always a good idea.
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Yes, it is.
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Now, Paul, let me ask you a question.
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Did you drink coffee yesterday?
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No, I didn't drink coffee yesterday.
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As I said before, I only drank green tea.
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Ah, yes, you drank green tea in the morning.
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I remember now.
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Did you listen to any good music yesterday, Emily?
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Yes, I did.
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I listened to some beautiful jazz music while I was cooking dinner.
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Oh, jazz music is perfect for cooking.
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It makes the kitchen feel like a restaurant.
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It really does.
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It makes cooking much more fun for me.
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Did your family help you cook the dinner yesterday?
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No, they didn't help me cook,
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but they helped me clean the table after dinner.
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Well, that is still very helpful.
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Teamwork makes the dream work.
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Yes, exactly.
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I was very happy with their help.
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Let's think about another situation.
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What if yesterday was a rainy day?
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If it was rainy, we could say,
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yesterday it rained all day, so I stayed inside.
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That is a very common situation.
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Rained and stayed are both regular verbs.
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What if you had a bad day yesterday?
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How can you describe that?
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You could say, Yesterday was a difficult day.
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I lost my keys and I missed my bus.
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Oh no, that sounds like a terrible day.
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Lost and missed are good past tense verbs.
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Yes.
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Lost is irregular from lose and missed is regular from miss.
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It is amazing how many past tense verbs we use in just a few simple sentences.
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It really is.
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That is why practicing this topic is so important for our listeners.
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What about a very busy day at work?
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How would you say that, Emily?
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You can say, yesterday I answered 50 emails,
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attended three meetings, and finished my big project.
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Wow, that is an incredibly productive day.
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Answered, attended, and finished are all regular.
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Yes, and notice how we can just connect them with commas to make a nice story.
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That is a great tip.
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Connecting verbs helps the conversation flow more naturally.
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Paul, what did you do with your telephone yesterday?
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Did you use it a lot?
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I didn't use it too much.
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I checked my messages in the morning and then I put it away.
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That is very healthy.
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Sometimes we spend too much time looking at screens.
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I agree.
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It felt good to look at the real world instead of a screen all day.
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Definitely.
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Yesterday, I also spent some time in my garden.
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Oh, really?
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What did you do in your garden, Emily?
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I watered my plants and checked on my small tomatoes.
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They are growing so fast.
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Wow.
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Fresh tomatoes from the garden.
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That is amazing.
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Yes, I love gardening.
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Watered and checked are regular verbs too.
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You have a very active and healthy lifestyle, Emily.
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I need to be more like you.
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Oh, thank you, Paul.
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But your day sounded very relaxing and nice, too.
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It was.
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We both had great days, just in different ways.
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Let's ask our listeners another question to practice.
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Friends, did you study English yesterday?
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I hope the answer is yes.
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But if the answer is no, that is okay.
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Because you are studying now.
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Exactly.
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Every small step is important on this learning journey.
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Emily, did you see any good movies or shows yesterday?
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No, I didn't watch any shows yesterday.
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I preferred to read my history book and relax.
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That is nice.
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Reading is a great way to wind down before sleep.
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It really is.
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It helps my mind relax after a busy day.
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What about your friends?
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Did you text anyone yesterday evening?
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Yes.
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I texted my sister to say goodnight.
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She lives in a different city.
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Oh, that is very sweet.
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Texted is a modern regular verb that we use all the time now.
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Yes, it is.
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Today I text.
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Yesterday I texted.
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Perfect.
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It is funny how language changes with technology.
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It really does.
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New words become past tense verbs very quickly.
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Well, Emily, we talked a lot about our days yesterday.
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It was a lot of fun.
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It really was, Paul.
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I love sharing these stories with you and our listeners.
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Me too.
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It is the best way to practice grammar without getting bored by rules.
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Yes.
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Learning naturally through stories is the secret to success.
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Don't forget to subscribe to Mr. English Channel,
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like this video and leave your comment about our big telegram news.
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Yes, please comment below.
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Thank you so much for listening to us today.
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Goodbye everyone!
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Goodbye everyone!
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See you in the next episode!
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will practice how to talk about your past experiences in English, specifically answering the question, "What did you do yesterday?" Focusing on daily activities, you will learn to form sentences using the past tense. This practice is essential for engaging in natural conversations, making it a perfect exercise for those looking to improve their English speaking skills. By the end of the lesson, you'll feel more confident in discussing your daily routines and past events.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- woke up - the action of starting one's day after sleeping
- made - the past tense of “make”; to prepare or create something
- ate - the past tense of “eat”; to consume food
- walked - the past tense of “walk”; to move on foot
- listened - the past tense of “listen”; to pay attention to sounds
- delicious - a term to describe tasty food
- beautiful - used to describe something that is pleasing to the senses
- perfect - an adjective indicating something that is exactly right
Practice Tips
To enhance your English pronunciation, try using shadowspeak techniques while practicing this lesson. Listen to the conversation in the video and repeat the phrases aloud, mimicking the tone and speed of the speakers. Since the dialogue flows at a conversational pace, take your time and focus on each word.
You may want to break down the sentences into smaller parts to practice effectively. For example, when you come across the phrase “I woke up early at 6 o'clock,” try saying “I woke up” first, before adding “early at 6 o'clock.” This can help improve your clarity and confidence.
Incorporating this into your IELTS speaking practice can be particularly beneficial; by mastering past tense verbs and natural speech rhythms, you'll enhance both your fluency and coherence. Finally, listen and repeat sections multiple times to solidify your understanding and improve English pronunciation. Remember that practice makes perfect—embrace the shadowspeaks method for better results!
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.
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