Happy English Podcast

Deadlines, we all have them, and so we need to talk about them. Finish your homework by Friday. Work hard until the weekend. And you can’t have any fun unless you’re done doing what you have to do. By, until, and unless. We use the words by, until and unless to talk about a deadline, but the way we use these words can be a pain in the neck for a lot of English learners. Fear not, my friends. For t...

Even though I have my own business don’t like doing bookkeeping. I use some software to help me with that, but I haven’t had any real training in anything like accounting. Actually I don’t understand that stuff too much. Don’t or haven’t.  Did you notice what I did there? In some sentences I used don’t and in others I used haven’t. A lot of English learners get stuck deciding whether to use don’t...

I visited my 97-year-old aunt in the nursing home the other day.  I haven't seen her in a while and it was a bit of a pain in the neck to get there but it was totally worth it. She said that aside from a few aches and pains she's doing pretty good.  Aches and pains  -  those are two words that tend to be a royal pain for a lot of English learners.  Ache and pain are two words that can make your br...

The first thing I do every morning when I get up is I put on the coffee maker. Then I put on a podcast and get dressed. It's been pretty cold lately so I always need to put on something warm. I know that learning phrasal verbs can be tricky, but they are such an essential part of English. And like I’ve mentioned before, using phrasal verbs will definitely make your English conversation sound more...

Yesterday I go to the pizza place down the block and I find out they have new owners. And I look behind the counter and they have all of these weird kinds of pizza. They even have one with pineapple and tuna. I don’t think that’s really pizza.   Hey, are you wondering why my story about yesterday uses all present verbs? You may be surprised to know that the simple present tense has seven different...

pet can result in having a headache. My dog Max is having a birthday in a few months, and I was thinking of having a birthday party for him.  Did you notice all the ways I just used have? Have is a wonderful verb that has a huge repertoire of meanings and uses. Without further delay, I present to you, our special verb of the evening, have.   Join my Podcast Learner's Study Group here: https://lear...

I’m so glad I called up my buddy Ed the other day. He’s a buddy of mine from high school and last week, out of the blue,  he hit me up in a text message. I’ve been meaning to get in touch with him for a while, and it was so great to have the chance to catch up with him.  Using phrasal verbs is a great way to make your English conversation sound more natural.  That's why today I want to introduce a...

The word tired is one of those words in English that has a number of different uses and while you may be familiar with the basic meaning of tired, which is sleepy, did you know that tired can also be used to mean that something is not fresh or that a machine is not in working condition?  For today’s English lesson, we’re going to look at those uses of tired and the phrases tired of and tired from....

Always is a commonly used word, and probably one that you learned when you first started studying English. I’m sure everyone listening today  knows that we use always when we talk about something that happens consistently.  Like,  I always drink coffee in the morning.  But what you might not know is that always can be used in five different ways in every day English conversation. Join my Podcast L...

It’s time to kick off another podcast English lesson. Boot up your ipod, and fire up your headphones. We’re about to dive into a bunch of phrasal verbs that talk about starting something.  It’s been a while since we looked at phrasal verbs, and since the start of the year, I’ve been thinking about kicking off a lesson with them. For today’s podcast English lesson, let’s have a look at a group of p...

How about this? Let’s look at the word how and see all the ways you can use how to make your English sound more natural. How come? I’m glad you asked that. Because you depend on me to tell you these things. And how! There are a lot of basic words in English that have multiple meanings and uses in everyday conversation. One good example of this is the question word how. There are a whole bunch of c...

Today, I have a podcast for your that’s all about the end. I hope you can stick around until the tail end because by the time we are at the end, you’ll know the difference between in the end and at the end. That should put an end to your confusion.  English is a language rich in idioms and figurative expressions. This makes the language both interesting and complicated at the same time. Today, let...

Let me tell you a bit about the setup I have here. First off, I’ve got two clocks in the office. One of them is on the wall above my desk, and the other one is above the whiteboard in the teaching area. I keep a sweater over the back of my chair to put over my shoulders when it gets too cold in here from the A/C. We can use both above and over to describe the position of something which is in a hi...

Bring and take. Both of these words can be used in English to talk about moving something or someone from place to place. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, believe it or not, these two words tend to cause headaches for a lot of English learners. For today’s podcast English lesson, let’s have a look at how we use bring and take in everyday English. Join my Podcast Learner's Study Group here: https...

I saw a buddy of mine from high school the other day. It was really nice to catch up with him. He said he’s planing on selling his house. He said he wants to buy a sailboat and then he said he’s gonna sail from California to Indonesia. I said that’s crazy! Say is connected to the words we use and the different ways we really use say in daily conversation my surprise you. Join my Podcast Learner's...

These days, I don’t go out as much on the weekends as I did when I was in my 20s. I remember that in those days, there were a lot of fashion trends that came in and went out. And basically, the only reason we went out is to try to find someone to go out with.  It’s time to go out. Actually, it’s time to look at another versatile idiom in English, go out. Let’s dive right in and check out six ways...

I love my watch. It’s not a Rolex or anything like that, but it was handed down to me by my grandfather. He was a teacher too and I remember him telling me stories of how he would hand out the exams to his students wondering how many of them would hand it back with all the correct answers.  Today we have another phrasal verb English lesson to look at six phrasal verbs with hand. I really love help...

I’ve been working hard recently. It’s not that this is hard work, it’s just that I have hard schedule. Like today, I hardly had time to eat lunch. Sometimes, I just wish I had an assistant, but it can be hard to find exactly the right person to hire.  A lot of English learners tell me that these two words can be confusing, and they’re right. That’s because hard and hardly don’t follow the usual gr...

It snowed hard last night and when I opened the curtains, the windows were frozen over.  It seemed like I was snowed in. But because I’m so snowed under at work, I have to make it to the office somehow.  Have you ever been snowed under at work or in school? Do you tend to bundle up before going outside on a cold day?  Have you needed to scrape off the ice from your car windshield recently? Today w...

I had an awesome lunch today. I went for Thai food and had green curry. It had a kick to it, but it was so tasty.  That restaurant is always kicking at lunch time. Actually, I’m kind of on a green curry kick these days. I go there almost every day.  When you strike something with your foot, you kick it. So we use kick as a verb, like, let's kick the ball. Hey! Nice kick! Kick is also used as noun....

As soon as I’m finished work today, I’m gonna go for a walk in Central Park. The park looks so nice after a snowfall. This morning when I walked by, I saw a lot of people who were going for a run. Not me, though. I just went for coffee! I’m sure you’ve learned the verb go. It’s a basic verb that lets us move around. Well, go gets a lot more interesting when it teams up with the preposition for. Go...

It’s very kind of you to listen to this podcast. It’s a kind of English lesson, isn’t it? There are different kinds of English lessons out there, but maybe this one is one of a kind.  Kind of. A kind of. The word kind is interesting because it has a number of different meanings and uses, depending on which word comes before and after it. Join my Podcast Learner's Study Group here: https://learn.my...

I get it. You got here because you want to get something new in English. You’re getting more and more interested in improving your English. I’m sure you’ll totally get this lesson. Let's explore all the different ways that you can use get in English. By the end of this podcast English lesson, you are going to be using get like a native speaker.  Join my Podcast Learner's Study Group here: https://...

I really want you to have a great experience learning English with me. And if you do, I hope you will tell your friends about this podcast. I wish I could tell you how happy I am that you study here with me.  What's the difference between want, hope, and wish? That’s a question a lot of English learners have, and today, we’re gonna dive in and find out. Join my Podcast Learner's Study Group here:...

I got up early this morning because I needed to head out early.  As I was heading to my office I ran into one of my coworkers, who was heading over to the deli for breakfast, so I decided to head there with her. Today we’re going to look at phrasal verbs that use "head" as a verb to mean "go."  Join my Podcast Learner's Study Group here: https://learn.myhappyenglish.com/transcript Visit my website...