Espresso English Podcast

Today's lesson comes from a really good student question: What's the difference between... - effective and efficient? - suitable and appropriate? - benefit and advantage? - distinguish and differentiate? Click here for the lesson text: http://www.espressoenglish.net/very-similar-english-words-whats-the-difference

A number of words in English are used metaphorically – with a meaning that is not exactly the same as their literal meaning. Usually they apply a quality of one word to another word. For example, when we say that something is lightning fast, we are using the quality of lightning (which is almost instantaneous) to describe something that is extremely fast. Another example is the root of the problem...

Today's lesson will teach you the difference between: talk to talk with talk about talk over talk through talk into talk out of There are plenty of example sentences to make everything clear... so you'll never have this doubt again :-) Click here for the lesson text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/talk-to-or-talk-with/

#1 – Forgetting to use “it” when the sentence needs a subject “I just bought a new computer. Was on sale.” Every sentence in English needs a subject. In the second sentence, we need to say “It was on sale” – the word “it” functions as the subject, referring to the new computer. Learn the other mistakes here : http://www.espressoenglish.net/3-very-common-mistakes-with-the-english-word-it/

For this lesson, I decided to do something a bit different. I took some snippets (small pieces) of conversations that I've heard in the past week, which have interesting informal expressions - and I'll be using them to teach you today. Click here for the lesson text: http://www.espressoenglish.net/10-informal-english-expressions-in-conversation

There are 3 different ways to pronounce the -ED ending in English: 1) -ED is pronounced like ED (with an extra syllable) 2) -ED is pronounced like T (NO extra syllable) 3) -ED is pronounced like D (NO extra syllable) You'll learn and practice them in today's lesson! Click here for the lesson text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/how-to-pronounce-ed-in-english-verbs/

Let’s begin our study of collocations by learning some common expressions about the family. Your parents and siblings (brothers and sisters) are your immediate family – and your extended family includes all your relatives – uncles, cousins, great-aunts, etc. You can use a family tree to diagram the relationships among your family members. A person who is related to you by a long series of connecti...

These slang words are common in spoken American English, but you probably won’t find them in English textbooks. Why not? Well, some of them are slightly offensive and others are just extremely informal. But they are part of the English language, so here are examples and definitions to help you understand! Click here for the lesson text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/10-slang-expressions-your-eng...

#1 - get out of hand (v.) = To get out of control. My uncle’s drinking problem got out of hand, and eventually he became an alcoholic. #2 - experience something first-hand (v.) = To experience something yourself. I didn’t realize how hard it was to be a parent until I experienced it first-hand. Click here to learn 16 more expressions! http://www.espressoenglish.net/18-idiomatic-expressions-with-ha...

One of the biggest challenges when learning to speak English is simply knowing how to start your sentences. And if you think too much about it, there will be awkward pauses... or the conversation will just move on without you! That's why it's good to learn "sentence starters" - easy phrases that native speakers use frequently. In today's lesson, you'll learn 36 sentence starters that you can use i...

A lot of students get mixed up when it comes to using short answers of agreement, like "So do I" and "Neither do I." In today's lesson, I'll teach you exactly how to use these phrases - both the simple way, and the more complex way in all the verb tenses. Click here for the lesson text: http://www.espressoenglish.net/so-neither-too-how-to-agree-in-english/

Learn the differences between... - take over / overtake - come over / overcome - look over / overlook - think over / overthink - do over / overdo Click here for the episode text: http://www.espressoenglish.net/10-confusing-english-words-with-over/

If you work in an English-speaking environment, you might hear these common phrasal verbs used in business situations! draw up get ahead burn out not measure up zero in on lay off pencil in close down run by/past sign off on Click here for the lesson text.

The English word "goal" has a meaning both within and outside sports. In today's lesson, you'll learn 20 common English collocations (combinations of words) with the word GOAL. Click here for the lesson text

"Go" is one of the most common verbs in the English language, and it is also used in plenty of idiomatic expressions in English. You'll learn 10 of them in today's lesson. Click here for the lesson text