Shadowing Practice: Let's learn English | Level 2 | Lesson 3: He Said - She Said - Learn English Speaking with Video

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94 sentences
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Today, Pete and I are meeting with a consultant who will help us with our new show.
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Yesterday, Pete had promised to meet me here at 8 a .m.
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But, He did not come on time.
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Uh -oh, it's bad to be late for a business meeting, but while we wait for Pete, let's talk about a new verb tense.
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Past perfect.
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You know the past tense, right?
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Like...
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Pete promised to meet me here at 8 a .m.
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Past perfect is a little different.
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When we talk about two things in the past, we can use the past perfect for the first event.
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Put "had" before the past participle.
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Pete had promised he would meet Anna.
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Here's your assignment.
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Find sentences with the past perfect tense.
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Remember, before "had".
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Oh.
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Thank you.
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You two are late.
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Exactly 43 minutes late.
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What happened?
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He had to get his special coffee.
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Special coffee.
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- Huh?
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She had to feed her birds.
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Her birds?
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Of course I have to feed the birds.
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Who's going to feed them?
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It's very special coffee.
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You don't have anything to taste.
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I can see already that you two need my help.
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You can't both talk at the same time.
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You have to take turns.
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All right, Ana, you go first.
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Sure.
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Kelly, see Pete and I live in the same building.
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So we decided to meet at 8 :00 a .m.
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8 a .m.
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to come to work together.
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I had waited 15 minutes when Pete arrived.
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After Pete had wasted time waiting for coffee, we were late.
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I left you a message.
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I didn't get that message.
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Oh.
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Sorry.
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repeat.
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Anna left a message.
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That's the right thing to do.
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Did you find some examples of the past perfect tense?
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I did.
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Anna said, "After Pete had wasted time waiting for coffee, we were late." Look at that coffee.
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It looks more like dessert.
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Okay?
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Keep watching for past perfect.
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Yeah, that's not why we're late.
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This is why we're late.
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I had arrived on time at 8 a .m but didn't see Anna.
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She was standing behind a tree.
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I think she was hugging it.
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I always walk to work.
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But she said that would take too long and that a scooter would be faster.
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It was awful.
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I hated it.
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And it added too much time to our commute.
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Then, Anna stopped by a pond to feed the birds.
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She had named them after characters from books and yelled the names out loud.
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Romeo, Juliet, Sherlock.
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By the time she had fed all the birds.
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We were late.
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This is what I think.
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You two see the same event very differently.
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Does this happen often with you two?
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Yes.
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Yes.
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What are you talking about?
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Okay, this is good.
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This is good.
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It's good to see things differently.
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I have an idea.
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We will call the show, "He Said, She Said." For every story, you tell a different point of view.
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That is a great idea, Kelly.
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Pete, we are different.
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That's why I thought of you for this job.
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I think you two understand perfectly.
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Bye.
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Let's get to work.
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She named the birds?
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Really?
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Yeah.
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Of course Anna named the birds.
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Everyone should have a name and everyone should learn past perfect.
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Remember, you can use it to talk about two different things that happened in the past.
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Okay, Professor Bott, signing off.
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Bye.
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Bye.

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About This Lesson

In this lesson, you will practice the past perfect tense, which is essential for expressing actions that happened before another point in the past. By using the past perfect, you can clarify the sequence of events. For instance, in the transcript, Anna mentions, "After Pete had wasted time waiting for coffee, we were late." This construction helps learners understand the chronology of past actions, allowing for clearer communication in English. Additionally, this lesson emphasizes the importance of taking turns in conversation, a crucial aspect of effective communication.

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

  • Past Perfect Tense: A verb form used to indicate that an action was completed before another action in the past.
  • Promise: A declaration or assurance that one will do something.
  • Waited: The act of remaining in a place until something expected happens.
  • Wasted time: The act of spending time on unproductive activities.
  • Special coffee: A humorous reference in the lesson suggesting that someone took longer to get coffee than expected.
  • Message: Information conveyed through spoken or written communication.
  • Take turns: To alternate in speaking or performing tasks, essential for effective dialogue.
  • Late: Arriving after the expected time.

Practice Tips

To enhance your shadowing skills with this lesson, use the shadowing technique while watching the video. Watch the clip at normal speed initially, paying close attention to the pronunciation of the key vocabulary and the intonation used by the speakers. As you listen, pause and repeat their sentences, mimicking their tone and rhythm, which is a vital part of the learn English with YouTube approach. If the natural speed is challenging, consider slowing down the video by adjusting the playback speed in the settings. This will allow you to capture the nuances of speech more effectively.

After practicing with the video, search for additional sentences that utilize the past perfect tense in other contexts. This practice will reinforce your understanding and ability to use the past perfect in conversation. Remember, engaging in shadow speak exercises, where you verbally imitate dialogues as closely as possible, will further solidify your fluency. Utilizing resources like shadowspeaks will provide you with different scenarios to practice and improve your grasp of English grammar.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

StructureIn the video
Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the pastwas standing · was hugging
Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessaryhad to get · had to feed · have to feed
Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around noware meeting · are you talking
Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or predictionwill help · will call

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →