Espresso English Podcast

Phrasal verbs are combinations of a verb + preposition, like  get up  and  find out.  Phrasal verbs often have specific meanings that may not be obvious from the words themselves. In today's lesson, I'll explain four phrasal verbs that students have asked me about recently:  hook up, plug away, ward off, and whip up. These are just a few of the THOUSANDS of phrasal verbs we have in the English lan...

Spoken English has a lot of little expressions that are used frequently by native speakers - and some of these expressions are so similar that you might accidentally mix them up. Two such expressions are  "give you peace of mind" and "give someone a piece of your mind"  - they sound almost the same, but they are in fact very different. I hope this lesson has helped make these expressions clear! As...

A lot of English learners get confused about the words  food, dish, meal, and cuisine.  These all refer to the general topic of eating, but there are some important differences in how we use each one. In today's lesson, I'll explain when to use these words so that you'll understand them clearly. If you enjoy my explanations and you want to learn more, then you'll love my e-book,  600+ Confusing En...

Are you ready for some pronunciation practice? In today's lesson we're going to work on  pronouncing English words starting with DR-.  There are two small but important details that you need to know in order for your pronunciation of these words to sound good - click on the lesson to learn, listen, and repeat! If you want to train all the different sounds in English and improve your pronunciation,...

Today's question comes from a student who was watching a movie. In this movie, one character said to another,  "Get lost,"  so the student is asking what this expression means in context. Today, I'll explain this phrase and also teach you some other  informal expressions with the word "get,"  such as get a grip, get off my case, get bent out of shape, and more. That's just a small sampling of the...

Today I have a special guest - his name is Ben, and he's an expert in IELTS test preparation. He'll share some top strategies for each section of the IELTS exam, so if you're preparing for the IELTS test - or if you've taken it before but you want to increase your score - listen carefully to this episode and put the tips into practice.

Today I'm going to teach you three pairs of confusing words that have the prefix IN-. In many words, IN- means the opposite or "not": independent =  NOT  dependent incorrect =  NOT  correct However, there are some exceptions that might be confusing, and you'll learn three of them in this lesson:  invaluable, infamous, and inflammable. I hope this lesson has helped clarify the meanings of these con...

Someone asked me if there's a difference between  finish  and  finish up.  The answer is no - there's no difference in meaning.  Finish up  is just more informal. But is this the case for every verb / phrasal verb? No! In  today's lesson  you'll learn the small differences between show and show off, follow and follow up, and several more verb and phrasal verb pairs. There are certainly a lot of li...

I've heard a lot of students' speaking samples in my courses, and today I'd like to address a few of the  pronunciation mistakes  that I've been correcting. First of all,  don't feel bad  if you make a pronunciation mistake! It's really easy to do this in English, especially because we have so many similar sounds and so many words that are pronounced differently from the way they're written. So if...

If you watch TV and movies in English, you'll probably see a lot of new words and expressions that might not come up in your regular English study. Sometimes it's hard to understand what certain phrases mean, so students write to me and ask for clarification. In today's lesson, I'll explain  ten phrases from TV shows and movies  that students have asked me about recently. If you ever come across a...

Today's lesson will teach you  33 collocations and expressions about decisions . Collocations are combinations of words that native English speakers use naturally. Learning these word combinations makes it easier to put together your ideas in English, so that you can express yourself better. You'll also learn some informal expressions, like "a tough call," "in a quandary," and "the lesser of two e...

Here's a  free sample lesson  from my NEW Current Events English Course! Today I'll teach you 20 words and expressions from a recent news article about social entrepreneurs who are changing the world. Original article: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/04/15/712653034/no-fake-drugs-more-jobs-for-youth-end-child-sexual-abuse-online-a-vision-for-203 After you watch the video, download t...

Join the course:  https://www.espressoenglish.net/current-events-english-course One common suggestion given to English learners is to  read or watch the news in English . This is a good idea, because you can learn how to talk about current events and relevant topics. But there's one  BIG  problem – If you're reading or watching the news and there are words or expressions you don't know, this can m...

I received a great question from a student: Is it possible to use 'to' followed by the 'ing' form? For example, "I'm looking forward to seeing you." Normally we use to + the base form (ex. "I want  to order  pizza.") However, there are some specific words in English after which we use  to + ING , and I'm going to tell you about them in today's lesson! English grammar can be quite difficult with al...

April 1 is an informal holiday known as April Fools' Day! People celebrate by playing jokes and trying to trick people in funny and harmless ways. You might be wondering about this word  "fool" - how is it used in English ? I'll teach you all about it in today's lesson. Don't be  fooled  by confusing English words! There are a lot of them, and they can be very tricky to understand and use correctl...

Do you know what to say in English in case of an emergency? In the moment, you might panic and not be able to think of the words – so it's good to learn and practice them beforehand. In  today's lesson  you'll learn how to talk about various medical emergencies, accidents, and other dangers. If you want to expand your vocabulary even more, join my  Vocabulary Builder Courses  to learn more than 10...

Today I want to teach you about  a tricky little grammar mistake  that I see a lot of students making when using the verbs see, watch, and hear. You'll also learn how the sentence changes when we add the word "that." This was just one small grammar point... but there's a lot more grammar to learn! If you're looking for a detailed course to help you master English grammar, check out my  Advanced En...

Do you have a hard time finding the right phrase to use in your business letters and e-mails? Today you'll learn  30 phrases for business correspondence. If you want to speak English more confidently at work, join my  Business English Course! You'll learn phrases for everyday professional situations, as well as lots of vocabulary for marketing, finance, entrepreneurship, and more. There are even s...

Are you wondering about the differences between  clean, wash, clean up, and wash up ? I'll teach you how to use them in today's lesson... along with a few slang meanings you might not know yet. The English language has a ton of words that appear to be similar, but are actually different in meaning and use. I wrote an e-book explaining the differences between lots of words that my students often co...

In the month of February I'm going to do a special series of "phrase of the day" videos - so I'll take a phrase I've heard recently on TV or in daily life and teach it to you here. Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don't miss any phrases!

In the month of February I'm going to do a special series of "phrase of the day" videos - so I'll take a phrase I've heard recently on TV or in daily life and teach it to you here. Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don't miss any phrases!

In the month of February I'm going to do a special series of "phrase of the day" videos - so I'll take a phrase I've heard recently on TV or in daily life and teach it to you here. Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don't miss any phrases!

In the month of February I'm going to do a special series of "phrase of the day" videos - so I'll take a phrase I've heard recently on TV or in daily life and teach it to you here. Make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you don't miss any phrases! 

Sometimes you might get discouraged when studying English. Becoming fluent takes a really long time and lots of effort and practice, so it's easy to lose your motivation.  Today I want to share some  motivational quotes  with you and show you how these sayings relate to your English learning. I hope this lesson will help you feel more optimistic about your English studies! My goal here at Espresso...

We have a saying in English that "the devil is in the details" - this means that you need to be careful, because the small parts of a situation/task can cause major problems or difficulties. Sometimes this is the case for learning pronunciation - a tiny difference in a sound can change the word completely. In today's lesson, I'm going to help you  practice 10 words that students often mispronounce...