Shadowing Practice: I use these words every day: Daily English Vocabulary - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Stop dragging your feet.
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Stop dragging your feet.
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Come on.
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If I said this to you,
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would you know what I was talking about?
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Well, never fear.
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In today's lesson, you are going to learn 10 common everyday English phrases that I use and you can too.
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Hi, I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com.
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And like always, I have created a free PDF worksheet with all of today's important expressions,
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definitions, sample sentences, and at the bottom of the worksheet,
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you can answer Vanessa's challenge question so that you never forget what you've learned.
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You can click on the link in the description to download this free PDF worksheet today.
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It is my gift to you.
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All of today's important everyday phrases are about chores.
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Do you know what chores are?
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Chores are the activities that you do usually to make your house a clean and tidy place.
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These are necessary, but not always fun, right?
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But it's a necessary part of life.
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So we're going to talk about 10 of those today and two bonus phrases.
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Usually I don't add bonus phrases to these lessons,
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but today you have two bonus phrases.
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All right, let's get started.
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The first phrase that I use every day is this,
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to make the bed.
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After I wake up, I try really hard to make the bed.
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Do you make the bed?
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I think this is a typical thing that parents tell their children.
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Don't forget to make your bed.
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At least that's how it is culturally in the US.
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I don't always make my bed,
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but let me tell you,
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when I make my bed, my bedroom feels clean.
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It feels ready to go on to the next step,
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the rest of my day.
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Let me know in the comments if you make your bed every day.
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The second phrase I use every day is to get dressed.
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Every day I choose what I wear and then I get dressed.
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This usually depends on the weather,
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what activities I'm doing that day,
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and what I have clean.
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If there is a pile of dirty laundry,
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well, I don't have many choices for what I'm going to wear,
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so I need to get dressed with the clothes that I have available.
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Phrase number three is to pack a lunch.
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Every morning, my husband packs my son his lunch.
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Is this something that's common in your country?
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In the U.S at school, there are two options.
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You can eat the school lunch,
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the lunch that the school provides,
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or you can bring your own lunch.
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And if you bring your own lunch,
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you first need to pack your lunch.
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This is similar to the phrase to pack a suitcase suitcase.
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When you go on a trip, what do you do?
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You need to pack a suitcase.
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Well, same for a lunch.
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You need to pack a lunch if you're not going to get the lunch that the school provides.
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And this is pretty common in the US
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that a lot of kids will pack a lunch and bring it to school to eat.
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You might even do this at the office.
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In fact, a lot of people do this at the office.
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It's expensive to go out to eat every day for lunch.
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So maybe you you don't even have enough time to do that.
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So a lot of people who are going into work will pack a lunch
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so that they can eat it during their lunch break.
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Phrase number four is to throw clothes in the washer.
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Now, are we really throwing clothes like a baseball?
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Not really.
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This verb just implies that we're doing it quickly without much thought.
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So clothes washing is my job.
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It is my job to wash the clothes in our house,
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and it is my husband's job to do the dishes.
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We'll talk about that later.
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This is a pretty good split because they are both big tasks that need done all the time.
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So when it is time for the clothes to get washed,
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what do I do?
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I put everything in the laundry basket,
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and I throw the clothes in the washer.
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Just a little note, you can say washing machine.
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I'm going to throw them in the washing machine.
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This is absolutely acceptable and we just have two options,
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the washer or the washing machine.
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Phrase number five that I use every day and it might apply to your country or it might not.
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It is to move clothes to the dryer.
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A lot of countries don't use a dryer.
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Instead, you hang up your clothes.
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But in the US, it is most common to have a dryer.
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So this is one of the tasks of doing laundry.
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You need to throw the clothes in the washer.
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And then when the washer is done,
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you need to move the clothes to the dryer.
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Unfortunately, this is something that I often forget.
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So overnight, the clothes are sitting wet in the washer.
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And when I go to bed and I'm laying in bed,
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I sometimes remember, I forgot to move the clothes to the dryer.
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and I scurry out of bed and put the clothes in the dryer because they might get moldy or stinky.
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It's just not good for the clothes, right?
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You need to dry them quickly after you wash them.
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And after you have washed the clothes,
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dried the clothes, now it's time to fold and put away the clothes.
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I want you to notice the pronunciation of this word that I have said a lot over the last few minutes.
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Clothes, clothes. Do you hear clothes?
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Nope.
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In American English, when we're speaking quickly,
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that TH is really cut out completely.
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It sounds exactly like close the door.
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Close the door, I'm putting on my clothes.
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Exact same pronunciation when we're speaking quickly in American English.
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I think this is good news, right?
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Because clothes with the TH is really hard to say.
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So in this instance, you have an easy pronunciation that is actually accurate.
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It's how we pronounce it.
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So back to our phrase,
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after you dry the clothes,
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you need to fold them and put them away in the closet,
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in a drawer, somewhere where they go.
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You need to fold them and put them away.
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The seventh vocabulary phrase that I use every day,
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and you can too, is to tidy up.
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This is a lovely phrasal verb that is something you probably should do a little bit every day.
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We could say at the end of the day,
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my whole family helps to tidy up the house.
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There are probably books on the couch, food on the table.
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I don't know what else my kids leave laying around,
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blanket stuffed animals, toys, backpacks.
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We all help together to tidy up the house.
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This is not washing and scrubbing and actually making something clean.
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Instead, this is getting all the items away where they belong.
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You are putting things back in the place where they go.
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You are tidying up the house.
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In my opinion, this is something important to do as a whole family.
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It's not just the adult's job to tidy up the house.
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It's a good habit.
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Teach your kids to tidy up at the end of the day.
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It's not always fun.
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It usually takes double or triple the length of time,
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but it's an important skill to learn.
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The next two phrases have to do with a job that is not mine.
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Thank goodness.
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The first one is to do the dishes.
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that we use the verb do with dishes.
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Do the dishes.
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Every night at the end of the night,
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Dan does the dishes and I'm so grateful.
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And he is grateful when I do the laundry.
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So here we're going to talk about washing the dishes,
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which you can also say,
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but usually we just use this general verb to do the dishes.
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It encompasses scraping the food off the plates,
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cleansing the dishes, making sure that they're acceptable.
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Maybe you even do the next phrase if you're lucky.
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Phrase number nine is to load the dishwasher.
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I know that not everyone has a dishwasher.
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Some countries have one and they just don't even use it.
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Culturally, it's not a thing.
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But in the US, it is extremely common to have a dishwasher.
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So when you are using your dishwasher,
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you would say, I am loading the dishes into the dishwasher,
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or I need to load the dishwasher.
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This is something that happens at the end of the day for us.
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While I'm giving my kids a bath,
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Dan is doing the dishes and loading the dishwasher.
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That way, after the kids have gone to bed,
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all of our chores are done.
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Ah, such a wonderful feeling.
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Our final 10th phrase before we talk about are two bonus phrases,
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is not a specific chore.
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It's something that unfortunately happens often.
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Doing chores is not really the most fun activity, right?
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So you might drag your feet.
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This means not literally dragging your feet.
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Instead, this means that you're just delaying and delaying, you're procrastinating doing chores.
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I do this all the time.
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You probably do this all the time too.
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Isn't it amazing that when you have a chore that has to be done,
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all of a sudden other things look so much more exciting.
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Oh, I could be doing all these things instead of this chore I don't want to do.
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So don't drag your feet,
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just do that chore, get it done and you'll feel so much better.
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Are you ready for our two bonus phrases?
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I love these.
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The first bonus phrase that I use every day in my life,
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and you can too, is to pitch in.
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We often use this verb pitch when talking about baseball.
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There is a pitcher who throws the ball or he pitches the ball.
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And it's kind of a similar idea.
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If you pitch in, you are participating and the pitcher in baseball is throwing the ball and it begins the game.
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So in this expression, with this expression,
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you can use this in daily life by saying something like this.
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When everyone pitches in, it just is so much easier to get chores done.
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Or I try to encourage my children to pitch in every day to tidy up the house.
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It's necessary.
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It's something that has to be done.
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So if everyone pitches in, it's easier.
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And the second bonus phrase is kind of similar.
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It is to pull your own weight.
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My weight, pulling my weight.
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What do you think this means?
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Take a look at this sample sentence and I want you to guess what you think it means.
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Everyone in this family needs to pull their own weight.
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This is a phrase I might say if my kids complain about doing chores.
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Mom, I don't want to do this.
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No, we're playing.
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No, I don't want to do that.
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Nope.
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I could say everyone in this family needs to pull their own weight.
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And this simply means you're doing your share of the responsibilities, your fair share.
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This is probably not divided equally because children can't do an equal amount that adults do,
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but you are doing your fair share.
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You need to pull your weight.
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This means according to your abilities, your weight.
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It's not your physical weight, but your capabilities.
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My children are capable of tidying up their toys.
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They're capable of putting the dishes in the dishwasher, loading the dishwasher.
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They're capable of putting their clothes in the laundry basket they're capable of some chores,
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so they should pull their own weight.
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Now you can also use this if someone is not pulling their own weight.
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So let's imagine that in your relationship,
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the person that you are living with is not doing the same amount of chores as you,
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and you think something is not working here.
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You could approach them and say,
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Hey, I really feel like you're not pulling your own weight.
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I'm feeling stressed.
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I have too many responsibilities.
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Can you work with me to figure out how you can pull your own weight
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so that I can feel more relieved?" Well, great.
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What a wonderful conversation.
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Hopefully they will be open to that
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and able to relieve you of some chores so that you can all contribute fairly to all of the chores.
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Well, great work.
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You just learned 10 important phrases that I use every day about chores plus two bonus phrases,
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two fun ones, and I want you to be able to use these in daily life.
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So in the comments, tell me,
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does everyone in your house pitch in and do chores together?
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Or do they all pitch in and at least do some chores?
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And if not, maybe it's time to rework some things so that everyone is pulling their own weight.
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Let me know in the comments and don't forget to download today's free PDF worksheet.
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I make these worksheets for you every week and they include all of today's chore expressions,
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definitions, multiple sample sentences, including ones that I don't mention in this video,
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but they are available in the worksheet.
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And at the bottom of the worksheet is Vanessa's challenge question
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so that you can never forget what you're learning and you can review and practice these phrases.
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That is the goal so that you never forget them.
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You can click on the link in the description to download this free PDF worksheet today.
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It is my gift to you.
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Well, thank you so much for learning English with me
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and I'll see you again next Friday for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel.
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Bye.
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But wait, do you want more?
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I recommend watching this video next where you will learn some important everyday phrases for the end of the day,
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including I just love to kick back.
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What does that mean?
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Am I a soccer player who likes to kick?
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Nope.
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Well, you can watch that video and find out what it means and I'll see you there.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will explore commonly used English phrases that revolve around daily activities or chores. By focusing on these practical expressions, you will enhance your everyday vocabulary and improve your speaking skills. You will learn phrases like "make the bed" and "pack a lunch," which are integral to daily life. These phrases will not only help you communicate better but also assist you in sounding more natural during conversations. To facilitate your learning, a free PDF worksheet is available for download, featuring definitions and examples to reinforce your understanding.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Make the bed: To arrange the bedclothes neatly after waking up.
- Get dressed: To put on clothes for the day.
- Pack a lunch: To prepare meals to take with you, typically for school or work.
- Drag your feet: To be slow or reluctant to do something.
- Chores: Regular tasks or activities that need to be completed to maintain clean living conditions.
- Clean and tidy: A well-organized and neat space.
- Choose what to wear: To select clothing based on personal preference or occasion.
- Available clothes: The clothing you currently have that is clean and ready to wear.
Practice Tips
To make the most out of this vocabulary lesson, practice your English speaking skills using shadowspeak techniques. One effective method is to engage in shadow speech, where you listen to the phrases and repeat them aloud in real-time. Pay close attention to the speed and tone of the speaker, mimicking their intonation and rhythm. Since the pace in this video is conversational, try to emulate it while incorporating the new vocabulary. Begin by listening to each phrase, pausing the video after each to practice. Eventually, aim to recite the phrases as the speaker does, enhancing your fluency and confidence in everyday conversations.
For those preparing for the IELTS speaking practice, using these common phrases can significantly boost your conversational skills. Incorporate them into your responses during practice sessions, and you will notice an improvement in the natural flow of your speech. Don't hesitate to challenge yourself by creating sentences that use these phrases in different contexts. This way, you reinforce both comprehension and speaking abilities, aiding your overall language development.
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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