Shadowing Practice: Learn English with SUITS — The First Episode - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hi, I'm Izzy, your real-life English fluency coach, and today we'll learn advanced English with another scene from what's
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considered by many people the best pilot episode of a TV show of all time.
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We're back with Suits and the badass lawyer Harvey Spector in the very first scene he appears.
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Now this lesson is absolutely packed with useful expressions for you to add to your own vocabulary, and as always, you'll have a lot of fun along the way.
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So here's what you need to know.
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Gerald Tate, this man, is a client at Harvey's law firm.
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He hired them to help with a company acquisition.
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That's when one company buys another company and they merge into one.
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The deal was going smoothly when Harvey left the office at 7pm, but now, late at night, Harvey gets called back because everything's falling apart.
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So let's see what went wrong.
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I'm paying you millions.
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And you're telling me I'm gonna get screwed?
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Jessica, have I come in at a bad time?
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Gerald.
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This is Harvey Specter.
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He's our best closer.
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Well, if you're the best closer, where the hell have you been for the last three hours?
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Well, Gerald, I specialize in troubled situations.
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And when I left here at 7 p.m., this deal wasn't in jeopardy.
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So I'm just trying to figure out what happened in the interim.
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We keep offering more money, they keep rejecting it.
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It's last-minute bad faith bullshit.
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Alright, in this lesson we're gonna walk through the entire scene part by part.
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We just watched the first part and so now we're gonna break down the advanced vocabulary we just saw.
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So right from the first line we can hear an interesting word Gerald uses.
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I'm paying you millions and you're telling me I'm gonna get screwed?
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When someone gets screwed in business, they end up with a bad deal.
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Maybe they lose money or things don't work out the way they expected.
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Like if you get screwed by a car salesman because you paid too much or the car broke down right away.
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You can use this informal expression in other contexts too.
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It basically means to be cheated or treated unfairly.
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See this other example.
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Revenue projections down and down.
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I think we got screwed.
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Yeah, me too.
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Massive fuck up Ken, huge.
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So this is when Harvey enters.
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Let's see how Jessica introduces him.
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Jessica, have I come in a bad time?
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Gerald, this is Harvey Specter.
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He's our best closer.
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In business, a closer is someone who's skilled at getting deals done.
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In other words, good at closing deals, which is a common collocation you'll hear with the word deal.
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So this person should make sure agreements actually happen, they should know how to handle objections, navigate problems, and push things through to completion.
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So Harvey isn't so happy to be called back into the office.
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Let's see what he has to say.
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Well, Gerald, I specialize in troubled situations.
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When I left here at 7pm, this deal wasn't in jeopardy, so I'm just trying to figure out what happened in the interim.
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When something is in jeopardy, it's at risk, or in danger of failing.
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For example, in the show, Mike Ross is a lawyer who never attended law school, and this secret keeps his job at the firm in jeopardy.
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And by the way, pay attention to the pronunciation.
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It's not jail party, but rather jeopardy.
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Jeopardy.
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When I left here at 7pm, this deal wasn't in jeopardy.
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It wasn't in jeopardy.
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Next, Harvey says that he's just trying to understand, or to figure out, what happened between the time he left and came back.
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That's what the expression in the interim means, the time period between two events.
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It's pretty formal though, so you could also say in the meantime.
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Check out this example.
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Dylan G's waffle party will commence at close of day.
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In the meantime, I've ordered the pre-waffle party egg bar social for everyone.
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I'm just trying to figure out what happened in the interim.
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In the interim.
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And the pronunciation of the expression, in an interim, which is how Harvey said it, is also worth looking into.
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Basically, the T sound in the words the and interim get dropped.
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And we get this beautiful example of connected speech over the three words.
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In the becomes in a.
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Interim becomes interim.
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So what we hear is in a interim.
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In a interim.
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Now I want to hear you practice it.
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Repeat after Harvey.
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So I'm just trying to figure out what happened in the interim.
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We keep offering more money, they keep rejecting it.
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It's last minute bad faith bullshit.
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Jared uses three expressions here that show just how frustrated he is.
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First, last minute means happening at the very end, right before a deadline.
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Last minute changes are especially annoying because there is no time to prepare.
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Bad faith is when someone is being dishonest or not keeping the word.
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If you negotiate in bad faith, you're pretending to be fair, but you're actually trying to trick the other person.
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And bullshit is a vocal word for nonsense or lies.
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When someone calls something bullshit, they're saying it's completely false or unfair.
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Now let's watch the next part of the scene and see what other expressions we can catch. in the goddamn interim.
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What are you gonna do about it?
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Because he's not getting that title.
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Okay, so back to the scene, it seems Harvey just spotted a problem.
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Mr. Cooper is the founder of the company Gerald is buying.
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And as a part of the deal, Cooper was supposed to get an honorary vice president title.
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It says here that Cooper won't be staying on as honorary vice president.
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That's right, I don't want him around.
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An honorary position is one that's given as an honor or sign of respect, not because the person actually does the work.
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Think of it like an honorary degree from a university.
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It's given to someone who hasn't attended classes but has achieved something impressive.
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Like Oprah Winfrey who holds an honorary doctor of humane letters from Harvard University for her media career in philanthropy.
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So Cooper's title would be purely ceremonial with no real powers or responsibilities.
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But Gerald doesn't want him around.
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This simply means that he doesn't want Cooper to be present or involved in any way.
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He wouldn't be around.
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It's an honorary position.
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I don't give a shit.
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This is a vulgar way of saying, I don't care at all.
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And you may also hear, I don't give a damn, or even the more vulgar, I don't give a fuck.
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But these are extremely informal and actually quite rude, so you probably want to stick with the simple, I don't care, which won't sound as rude.
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Well, I think you do because that's what's changed since I left, which means it's you who's been dealing in bad faith.
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Well, now that you've got a grasp on what's happened in the goddamn interim, what are you going to do about it?
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When you've got a grasp on something, you understand it.
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You figure it out.
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See this example.
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I would have nominated you for Secretary of Treasury
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because your expertise in economics is even better than your grasp on foreign affairs.
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Well, now that you've got a grasp on what's happened in the goddamn interim, what are you going to do about it?
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What are you going to do about it?
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Alright, another nice connected speech pattern for us to look into.
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This time it's a classic.
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Did you listen to the way he said the words, what are you?
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Natives often do this, so three things are happening here.
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Number one, the T in what turns into an American T, which sounds like a fast D sound.
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It's the sound you hear in the word water, instead of water with a strong T.
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Number two, the word R gets dropped.
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And number three, the word you turns into ya.
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So put all that together and we get what ya?
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What are you gonna do about it?
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Let's try to repeat.
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Well now that you've got a grasp on what's happened in the goddamn interim, what are you gonna do about it?
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What are you gonna do about it?
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Alright, let's keep going with the scene.
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Well, let me make sure I understand this, okay?
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We negotiated a deal that gave you everything you wanted, Mr. Cooper signed it, and now you won't close until we take away the last shred of his dignity?
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Such a rich phrase, right?
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Let's break it down.
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Harvey's saying that Gerald is taking from Mr. Cooper the last piece of his dignity, of self-respect he has left from his legacy, the company he founded.
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Gerald is basically humiliating Cooper just because he can.
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And now you won't close until we take away the last shred of his dignity?
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Bingo.
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Bingo is a way of saying exactly or you got it.
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It comes from the game bingo where you shout bingo when you win.
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In conversation, it means the other person has understood you correctly or hit the nail on the head.
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By the way, that's another expression you could use.
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Oh right, so she told Joellen who told Nick.
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Yeah, you hit the nail on the head.
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Well, that's not gonna happen.
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Why the hell not?
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Because I like Mr. Cooper and my firm doesn't operate in bad faith.
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Oh, I see how it is.
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Instead of working Cooper, you're working me.
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In this context, to work someone means to try to manipulate them, usually using psychology or pressure tactics.
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When Gerald says, instead of working Cooper, you're working me, he's accusing Harvey of manipulating and putting pressure on him who is actually his client, not Cooper.
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So he follows with this insult.
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Why don't you take your pansy attitude back in there and make him sign my deal?
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Or I'll pay someone else your money to do it for me.
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Pansy is an insulting term that suggests someone is weak, and is often used to question their masculinity or courage.
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Gerald is going quite low here with his words, but Harvey's about to shut him down completely.
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Let's watch.
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which gave you everything you wanted, our fee was due and payable,
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which is why at 730 I received confirmation of a wire transfer from escrow indicating payment in full.
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Second, the way our agreement works is the minute Cooper signed the deal which gave you everything you wanted, our fee was due and payable.
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Now Harvey drops the hammer.
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If you hear that a fee is due and payable, that means payment is owed right now and must be paid immediately.
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Our fee was due and payable, which is why at 730, I received confirmation of a wire transfer from escrow indicating payment in full.
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And a wire transfer is a bank transfer.
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It's the traditional kind of electronic payment sent directly from one bank account to another.
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Escrow is a neutral site in a deal that holds the money during a transaction.
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Think of it like a referee in basketball or football.
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They hold the payment until all the conditions of the deal are met, then release it.
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If you're buying a house, for example, escrow holds your initial payment until all the paperwork is complete.
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So I'd say the ball is in your court, but the truth is your balls are in my fist.
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When you say the ball is in your court, you mean it's the other person's turn to make decision or take action.
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It comes from tennis.
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When the ball is on your side of the court you have to hit it back.
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In conversation it means the responsibility is now yours.
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How'd it go?
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Did you talk to Danny?
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Nah, I just left him a very heartfelt message.
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Balls in his court.
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Good for you.
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I'm proud of you.
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But then Harvey says something even stronger.
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Your balls are in my fist.
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This is a vulgar metaphor meaning he has complete control over Gerald.
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It's got him trapped.
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There's nothing Gerald can do.
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Then Harvey uses Gerald's own insult against him.
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Now I apologize if that image is too pansy for you, but I'm comfortable enough with my manhood to put it out there.
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Basically, he's saying he's mainly
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or confident enough in himself to use bold even vulgar language as he says to put it out there.
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We got paid before Gerald signed the deal.
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What are you talking about?
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This is a memo about some fire drill on Tuesday.
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Memo is short for memorandum.
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It's a written message used in offices to communicate information.
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It's usually brief and to the point, like meeting at 3 p.m or office closed Friday.
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A fire drill is a practice situation to prepare for fire emergencies.
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Some schools and offices do them regularly.
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The alarm goes off, everyone leaves the building, and then you go back inside.
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It's not a real fire, just practice.
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So yeah, Harvey was just bluffing.
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He never actually received confirmation of payment.
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He was just holding up a random memo about a fire drill and pretending it was proof they'd been paid.
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And Gerald believed him because Harvey sold it so confidently.
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That's what makes Harvey such a great closer.
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He convinced Gerald that the deal was done and the money was already paid, which took away all of Gerald's negotiating power.
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And it worked.
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You're the blue team captain, you get to wear a fire hat.
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This scene is a masterclass in negotiation, not just English.
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Harvey doesn't just use advanced words he uses psychology timing
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and a good old bluff to force gerald to do the right thing
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and honor the deal he originally agreed to by the way
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we've actually made a special lesson teaching how to speak english
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more confidently like harvey make sure to check it out next
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oh yeah guys great job now
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if you are new to this youtube channel you should know
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that every single week we make new lessons just like this one with your favorite tv series
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and movies to help you understand fast speaking natives without getting lost without missing the jokes
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and without subtitles so if that sounds like something
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that you want to be able to do just hit the subscribe button
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and the bell down below so you never miss any of our new lessons
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and remember that now would be a great time for you to go
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and practice everything you learned on the real life app just
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click the link in the description below to get started right
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now hi in today's lesson you will learn how to speak english confidently with harvey specter from the tv series suits
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I really think Harvey is the perfect model because every time he speaks, he shows us exactly what confidence looks like in these five ways.
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Number one, using power idioms.
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Number two, quick thinking.
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Number three, being direct.
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Number four, having a powerful mindset.
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And number five, having confident body language.
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And today we'll watch Harvey in action
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and I'll tell you exactly how to master each one of these five skills yourself
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so you can feel more confident when you speak English.
Why Practice Speaking with This Video?
Engaging with scenes from popular television shows like Suits is an excellent way to enhance your English speaking practice. By watching the first episode, you immerse yourself in real-life dialogue that reflects advanced language skills and professional jargon. This specific scene features the high-stakes world of law, making it a perfect context for learning industry-specific terms and phrases. Practicing this kind of dialogue through shadow speech—where you mimic the characters—helps to improve your fluency and pronunciation. Utilizing a shadowing app can enhance this experience, allowing you to record and play back your voice to track your improvements.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
In the scene we examined, several key phrases and grammatical structures emerge that are vital for any aspiring English speaker:
- "I'm paying you millions, and you're telling me I'm gonna get screwed?" - This informal expression captures a feeling of injustice and can be used in various contexts to imply being cheated or receiving a bad deal.
- "I specialize in troubled situations." - The phrase demonstrates a common English structure where the speaker identifies their area of expertise, useful when discussing professional skills.
- "This deal wasn't in jeopardy." - The expression "in jeopardy" means being at risk, a phrase that can also be applied outside business scenarios, adding depth to your vocabulary.
- "We keep offering more money." - The repetition in this sentence emphasizes the ongoing effort and frustration in negotiations, showcasing how to express persistence.
Integrating these structures into your own English speaking practice can significantly improve your conversational skills and vocabulary.
Common Pronunciation Traps
As you practice with this video, pay attention to tricky words and phrases that might be difficult to pronounce. Some common pronunciation traps include:
- "Screwed" - This word can be pronounced quickly, which may lead to mispronunciation. Focus on clearly enunciating the 's' and 'd' sounds.
- "Jeopardy" - Ensure you stress the first syllable to avoid sounding flat or incorrect. This word is especially important in legal contexts.
- "Specialize" - The ‘sh’ sound can be challenging for non-native speakers. Practicing this word through shadowing will help you gain confidence.
- "Closer" - The context of using this term in business is vital. Make sure to practice saying it in different sentences to grasp its meaning fully.
By focusing on these pronunciation aspects while using a shadowing site or app, you can refine your accent and achieve greater clarity in your speech.
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.