Shadowing Practice: Learn English With Ariana Grande - Learn English Speaking with Video
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254 sentences
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Ah yeah!
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It's time to have some fun learning English with Ariana Grande!
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So in this lesson we're going to first learn with Ariana's hit song Seven Rings.
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Following that we will teach you with a short and humorous interview with Ariana.
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So every single week we make fun lessons so
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that you can understand fast -speaking natives just like Ariana Grande without getting lost, without missing the jokes and without subtitles.
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Just like Roshan who said
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that after just two weeks of watching our videos he's already noticed improvements in his listening
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and your English is going to improve a ton too.
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All you have to do is hit that subscribe button
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and the bell down below so you don't miss any of our new lessons.
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I'm gonna be a savage
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I like it, I want it, I got it, yeah.
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I want it, I got it, I want it, I got it, I want it.
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Been through some bad shit, I should be a savage.
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The word shit has many meanings, and you probably have heard it many times.
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In cases like this one, it has the same meaning as thing.
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In this way, instead of saying, been through some bad things, Ariana says bad shit.
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By doing this, she gives more strength to her words.
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I have to buy home to New York.
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I'm going standby mac miller died from an overdose ariana acknowledges
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how these tragic situations should have emotionally scarred her for life
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the word is a very common insult for a person usually a woman however
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this word can also be used to empower women
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so in a feminist context it can indicate a strong or assertive woman that might make men feel threatened
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I'm a mother, I'm a sinner, I'm a saint.
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I do not feel ashamed.
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Did you notice how Ariana says this sentence?
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Let's listen to it again.
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When speaking informally, it is very common for natives to remove the auxiliary verb have, and even the subject.
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So instead of saying, I have been through some bad shit, Ariana just says, been through some bad shit.
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I woulda thought it turned me to a savage.
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Woulda is a common slang contraction of the words would and have used in formal speech.
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This type of contraction also happens with other words, such as
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The collocation who would have thought is simply a way to show an unexpected outcome.
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Example If you describe someone as a savage,
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you're saying that that person has a wild and ferocious nature.
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As an adjective, this word could mean cruel or brutal.
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Example After she wrote that article, she received savage criticism.
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Ariana is saying that instead of becoming a sad person because of all the traumas she has experienced,
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she fully recovered and instead became a powerful woman.
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You would use the word rather to express a preference of one thing over another.
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Example, would you rather go to the theater than the movies tonight?
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The phrasal verb tied up means to be kept occupied or attached and it can be used as a synonym for busy.
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Example, she's tied up at the moment and can't see you.
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She refers to the phrase no strings attached.
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This means that something is available without any catch or prerequisite.
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Example, they're giving away a lot of things free iPhone to the winner, no strings attached.
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So Ariana simply means that she would rather be busy with calls, or in other words work, than be busy with a committed relationship with someone.
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It is common for natives in spoken English to remove the final G in gerunds.
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For this reason, you probably noticed that in written songs, natives tend to use an apostrophe instead of the final G.
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Natives write it this way to imitate the way they speak during normal conversations, where for example, instead of saying watching, they say watchin'.
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To be flossy is a slang word that means to show off expensive things.
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If you hear this whole song, you will notice that it is mostly about Ariana showing off her riches.
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Popping is a slang word that means stylish or sexy.
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Here Ariana is referring to Lil Mama's hit song, Lip Gloss.
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Hey, wouldn't you like to be able to understand natives like Ariana Grande?
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Well then our Fluent with Friends course is perfect for you!
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Every week for 48 weeks you will get a lesson following along with the first two seasons of the series Friends.
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Plus you get 20 plus page PDF power lessons, vocabulary memorization software, access to our Fluency Circle global community and so much more!
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What are you waiting for?
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You can try it for free right now with our three -part masterclass.
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All you have to do is click up here
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or down in the description below to learn more and sign up for that.
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My hair, gee thanks, just bought it.
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I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it.
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The word gee is very popular slang that's used in the US.
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It comes from the word geez, which originated as an inoffensive alternative to the word Jesus, as a way to show exclamation.
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English speakers usually modify words when they involve religious figures such as God and Jesus.
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So instead of saying God, natives say gosh.
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And as I've previously mentioned, instead of saying Jesus, they say G or G's.
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Oh gee, I don't know about that.
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Sheldon Lee Cooper, I do not have time for this nonsense.
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Now go put your clothes on, get in the car and let's go to work.
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Alright, geez.
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In this line of the song, Ariana is referring to the fact that she wears extensions,
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that is artificial hair attached to one's natural hair to make it longer.
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A 90s baby catapulted into this cloud of polished pop dust and then six million different personalities
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sang a bunch of harmonies together.
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That's how I would describe myself.
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I love working.
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I get a day off and I'm confused.
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I'm like, I guess I have to do something.
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In this industry, a lot of people can tell you a lot of different things
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and to be different things or to sound a different way, I think that you have to just listen to what's inside instead.
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I think I've kind of learned that the more authentic and genuine it is, the better it will work for you.
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I'll never truly feel like, okay, now I have made it, now I can stop.
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It's going to take such a long time for me to ever reach
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that satisfaction because I I don't know what I would do without music.
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I'm very grateful to be here, and that kind of overpowers any of the negative elements that come with fame, I guess.
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A 90s baby catapulted into this cloud of polished pop dust.
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Someone who was born in the 90s, 1990 to 1999, could be called a 90s baby.
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As Ariana was born in 1993, she calls herself that.
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You can also hear the phrase 90s kid,
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which refers to the generation that was born in the 80s and went through their youth in the 90s.
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Also, it is important to mention that this phrase not only gives information about the decade when a person was born,
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but it also tells you about the characteristics of his generation.
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For example, I was born in 1989, so I am an 80s baby, but it's probably more accurate that I'm a 90s kid.
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If someone or something is catapulted through the air, they are thrown very suddenly, quickly, and violently through it.
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Example.
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He was catapulted into the side of the van.
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The enemy catapulted rocks towards the fort.
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A 90s baby catapulted into this cloud of polished pop dust.
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If you polish something, you rub it with a cloth to make it shine.
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For example, a polished wooden table is bright and it has a smooth shiny surface that reflects light.
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This term can also be used metaphorically to refer to something that has been perfected.
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For example, if you say that you are polishing your technique performance
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or skill at doing something you mean
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that you are working on improving it dust is a fine powder
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which is conformed of very small particles this term is usually used for the substances
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that settle on surfaces over time
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or are blown around outdoors for example a junk shop might be filled with old furniture
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and books all covered with dust
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so by saying this phrase ariana is saying in a quite poetic way
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that she considers herself to be a young girl that has suddenly been thrown into the world of pop music.
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And then six million different personalities sang a bunch of harmonies together.
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That's how I would describe myself.
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Your personality is your whole character and nature.
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In other words, your personality is what makes you you, the characteristics that make you unique.
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Example, she has such a friendly personality.
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Their different reactions reflected their very different personalities.
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A bunch is a group of something.
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You could use it either to refer to a bunch of people or, for example, a bunch of strawberries.
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When you use the word bunch, you're generally talking about an approximate number of similar items.
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Example, she has a bunch of friends.
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Well, it's just a bunch of pants.
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It's just a bunch of pants.
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You know, I'm surprised you want to copy my answers since I'm not even smart enough to be on your team.
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A harmony is an arrangement of simultaneous -sounded musical notes that produces a pleasant effect for the listener.
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This word is also commonly used for situations in which people are peaceful and agree with each other, or when things seem right together.
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Example.
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Can you imagine a society in which everyone lives together in harmony?
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Again, Ariana is choosing metaphorical words to refer to the millions of fans that listen to her music and sing her songs.
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It is interesting to mention that by referring to them by the term personalities instead of people,
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she is implying that every fan is unique as they all have their own personalities.
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Hey
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if you're enjoying this lesson with Ariana Grande then I bet
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you're going to love all the lessons in this playlist with celebrities.
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You can check that out after you finish this video.
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I love working.
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I get a day off and I'm confused.
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I'm like, I guess I have to do something.
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In this industry, a lot of people can tell you a lot of different things.
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As you may know, an industry is a company or activity involved in the production of goods for sale.
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When Ariana refers to this industry, she was talking about the music industry and also the entertainment one.
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Even though Ariana is an artist, she is part of an industry, which means that people involved in it aim to make money from this business.
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For this reason, it is very common
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that the singers have to give up parts of their personalities in order to become a product
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that will be easier to sell to big audiences.
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However, Ariana is highlighting the importance of being true to herself.
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To be different things or to sound a different way, I think that you have to just listen to what's inside instead.
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You probably know the word inside and its literal meaning, but as has been mentioned before, Ariana is talking in a very poetic way.
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So when she talks about the inside, she's talking about people's own subjectivity, thoughts, and personality.
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If someone advises you to listen to what's inside you, they're saying that you should pay attention to your own thoughts and feelings,
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and especially your intuition.
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I think I've kind of learned that the more authentic and genuine it is, the better it will work for you.
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The word authentic describes something that's real, and it's opposed to the adjective fake.
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It could be used as a synonym of genuine, as genuine things or people are true or real.
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Example, you should be careful when buying jewelry.
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Sometimes only experts can tell if they are authentic.
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This painting is a genuine Picasso.
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Someone that's authentic and genuine doesn't pretend and always shows their true self.
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By the way, did you notice the way Ariana pronounces the word better?
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I think I've kind of learned that the more authentic and genuine it is, the better it will work for you.
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If you watch our videos often, you're probably familiar with the concept of connected speech.
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This is the way that natives link their words together.
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In this sentence, we can find two very common examples of sound morphing related to connected speech patterns.
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First, pay attention to the way Ariana says the words kind of.
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Let's listen to it again.
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I think I've kind of learned that the more I think I've kind of learned...
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So she didn't say it like kind of.
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It blends together and sounds almost just like one word.
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Kind of.
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Furthermore, in American English the of sound often contracts to just an uh sound.
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So we will even hear natives say kinda.
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Let's see some examples.
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So anyway, I just didn't know where to go and I know that you and I have kind of drifted apart, but...
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You're the only person I knew who lived here in the city.
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Who wasn't invited to the wedding.
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Oh, I was kind of hoping that wouldn't be an issue.
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See, after all that, I was kind of hoping somebody would make a speech.
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I'm kind of hungry, Mom.
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Right.
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No, I know.
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You and I know that.
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But Job, you know, he's not that exact of a target shooter, and he just kind of sprays it everywhere.
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What's more, in the same sentence, we can also find a perfect example of what we call an American tea,
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which makes the T morph into a soft D.
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This happens when you have a T sound between two vowel sounds, even if they are in separate words.
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For example, you would hear it with instances such as matter, goda, litter.
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So instead of saying better, Ariana says, The better it will work for you.
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If you are interested in learning more about sound morphing and connected speech, you will love our Fluent with Friends course,
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as you will learn in a more extensive way the most important things
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that you need to know in order to understand fast speaking natives
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i'll never truly feel like okay now i have made
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it now i can stop to make it is to succeed in doing something we could say
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that ariana has made it as she is one of the most successful artists in the music industry right now
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and she is famous beautiful and rich however she's saying
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that even though from the outside it looks like she has made
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it she still feels like she needs to keep working and improving.
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Hey, do you realize that at this time tomorrow, we're going to be getting married?
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Wait a minute, I have a date tomorrow night.
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I just, I can't believe that we made it.
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Well, you don't have to sound so surprised.
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Oh, you made it.
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How was it?
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Yeah.
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Why?
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What's wrong, babe?
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I don't want to talk about it.
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Do it anyways.
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It's going to take such a long time for me to ever reach
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that satisfaction because I don't know what I would do without music.
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If something gives you satisfaction, it makes you experience a pleasant feeling.
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You would usually get it when you receive something you wanted or when you have done something you really wanted to do.
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Example, he looked at his painting with satisfaction after he finished it.
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I'm very grateful to be here and that kind of overpowers any of the negative elements that come with fame, I guess.
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A person who is grateful feels or shows gratitude.
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In other words, that person is showing or expressing thanks.
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Example, I'll be forever grateful to him as he helped me through the worst moment of my life.
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I will always be grateful.
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Yeah.
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We have so much to be grateful for.
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She was a wonderful mother and I am so glad that I was able to tell her that during our last call.
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And I didn't know it at the time, but in a lot of ways, it was the perfect goodbye.
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I just want you guys to know I am really grateful for your help
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and for every dollar I make I'm going to give you 20 cents.
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That's your entire profit margin.
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Oh then never mind.
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To overpower means to defeat someone by having greater strength or power.
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For example, in order to win an arm wrestling match you must overpower your opponent.
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The whole situation was so stressful that it ended up overpowering us.
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sure -footed traction intoxicated and overpowered me.
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That sounds real.
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Yeah, bait is tricky.
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It has to be something interesting enough to get the girl upstairs, but not so interesting that it overpowers the night.
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I found that a slot machine was too fun.
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And a trampoline turned out to be too dangerous.
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I'm sorry.
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A 90s baby catapulted into this cloud of polished pop dust
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and then six million different personalities sang a bunch of harmonies together.
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That's how I would describe myself.
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I love working.
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I get a day off and I'm confused.
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I'm like, because I have to do something.
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In this industry, a lot of people can tell you a lot of different things
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and to be different things or to sound a different way, I think that you have to just listen to what's inside instead.
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I think I've kind of learned that the more authentic and genuine it is, the better it will work for you.
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I'll never truly feel like, okay, now I have made it, now I can stop.
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It's going to take such a long time for me to ever reach
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that satisfaction because I I don't know what I would do without music.
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step would be to watch another one of our videos so you can improve your fluency right now.
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And now it's time to go beyond the classroom and live your English!
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Ah yeah!
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “Learn English With Ariana Grande”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: lesson, Ariana, Grande, English. This video has 14 sentences and 346 words to shadow. The speech runs for 21:45. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| subscribe verb | /səbˈskɹaɪb/ | To write (one’s name) at the bottom of a document; to sign (one's name). |
| celebrity noun | /səˈlɛb.ɹɪ.ɾi/ | Fame, renown; the state of being famous or talked-about. |
| classroom noun | /ˈklɑːsɹʊm/ | A room, often in a school, where classes take place. |
| vocabulary noun | /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/ | A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning. |
| playlist noun | /ˈpleɪˌlɪst/ | A list of recorded songs scheduled to be played on a radio station. |
| humorous adjective | /ˈhjuːməɹəs/ | Full of humor or arousing laughter; funny. |
| fluency noun | /ˈfluːənsi/ | The quality of smoothness of flow. |
| memorization noun | /ˈmem(ə)ɹaɪˌzeɪʃn̩/ | The act of committing something to memory or memorizing. |
| subtitle noun | /ˈsʌbtaɪtəl/ | A heading below or after a title. |
| native adjective | /ˈneɪtɪv/ | Belonging to one by birth or ancestry. |
| button noun | /ˈbʌtən/ | A knob or disc that is passed through a loop or (buttonhole), serving as a fastener. |
| joke noun | /ˈd͡ʒoʊ̯k/ | An amusing story. |
| teach verb | /ˈtiːt͡ʃ/ | To pass on knowledge to. |
| bell noun | /bɛl/ | A percussive instrument made of metal or other hard material, typically but not always in the shape of an inverted cup with a flared rim, which resonates when… |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have heard · have been · have used |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is hit · be kept · was born |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | Someone who was · industry, which means · person who is |
| Advice with “should” should + verb — saying what is a good idea | should be · should have · should pay |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 6 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you're, we're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- Long words — get the stress right: celebrity /səˈlɛb.ɹɪ.ɾi/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, memorization /ˈmem(ə)ɹaɪˌzeɪʃn̩/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like lesson, subscribe, celebrity.
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.