Happy English Podcast

This is Happy English Podcast, Episode 1,000. Episode one thousand. I honestly didn’t know if I’d make it to ten. When I started this podcast, I had no idea who would be listening… or if anyone would be listening. And now, here we are - one thousand episodes later. And the best part? I’m not doing this alone.  It’s the comments and messages I get from all over the world every week.  That’s what ma...

Hey there! It’s Michael here, and welcome back to Phrasal Verbs in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Friday with a quick one-point lesson to help you learn a new phrasal verb and sound more natural when you speak. Today’s phrasal verb is throw on. When you throw something on, it means you put on clothes quickly without thinking too much about how you look. You’re not planning an outfit -...

Have you ever been asked a question in English and suddenly your mind just goes blank? Has that ever happened to you? Maybe someone says, “What do you think about remote work?” Or, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” And inside your head you’re thinking, “Wait… give me a second…” Well, native speakers don’t always answer immediately either. In fact, we use small phrases to buy time while we...

Episode 1000 of the Happy English Podcast drops on February 28, and I’d really love to include you in it. If you’ve been listening for a while and this podcast has helped you in any way, please send me a short message — about 20 to 40 seconds. Just tell me your first name, where you’re listening from, how long you’ve been listening, and how the podcast has helped you. You can record it on your pho...

Hey there! It’s Michael here — and welcome back to Speak Naturally in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Sunday with a quick one-point lesson to help you improve your pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation. Today, let’s talk about something that confuses a lot of learners. Why do “your” like, your pen and “you’re” like you are nice sound exactly the same in American English? The reason is,...

Hey there! It’s Michael here — and welcome back to English Tips in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Saturday with a short, simple tip to help you speak English more naturally and confidently. Before we get to today’s English point, I need your help.  Episode 1000 of the Happy English Podcast drops on February 28, and I’d really love to include you in it. If you’ve been listening for a w...

Hey there! It’s Michael here, and welcome back to Phrasal Verbs in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Friday with a quick one-point lesson to help you learn a new phrasal verb and sound more natural when you speak. Today’s phrasal verb is turn in. Turn in means to go to bed to sleep. During the week, I usually turn in at around 10:30. Jen is a night owl, so she doesn't usually turn in unt...

Have you ever heard people say things like this? Really? Get outta here! Seriously? No way! When something surprising happens in an English conversation, we have a number of different ways we can express our surprise or disbelief. And n English, reacting naturally when you feel surprise or disbelief is not just about vocabulary. It’s about tone. It’s about intonation. And sometimes it’s even about...

Have you ever been in the middle of a conversation and thought, “Okay… I need to leave now… but how do I say that?” Maybe you’re at a party. Maybe you’re on the phone. Maybe you’re chatting with a coworker and you actually have work to do. Well, we usually end a conversation with soft, natural phrases to signal that the conversation is ending. We ease out of it. And that’s what this podcast Englis...

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to Speak Naturally in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Sunday with a quick one-point lesson to help you improve your pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation. Today, let’s look at a two words that are often hard to hear: can and can’t First is can. Can is unstressed and the sound is more like kin. And the stress is on  the verb after can:  I...

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to English Tips in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Saturday with a short, simple tip to help you speak English more naturally and confidently. Today, let’s look at another,  common conversational phrase - “I’m into…” We use I’m into to mean I really like or I’m interested in something. And here’s the cool thing - we use it for both romant...

Hey there! It’s Michael here, and welcome back to Phrasal Verbs in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Friday with a quick one-point lesson to help you learn a new phrasal verb and sound more natural when you speak. Today’s phrasal verb is chisel away at. A chisel is a tool used to shape wood, a little at a time. When you chisel away at a task, it means you work on it little by little over...

Sometimes you need to tell someone whether you’re free or not. And when I say free, I’m talking about time, not cost. Maybe a coworker wants to set up a meeting. Maybe a friend wants to grab dinner. Maybe someone asks, “Are you available tomorrow?” In situations like these, you don’t need to say yes or no. In everyday English, we have a few short, natural phrases that clearly show whether we are a...

Sometimes, in the middle of a conversation, you need to change the topic. Maybe something that was said suddenly reminds you of something else that you want to say. Well, if that’s happened to you, then you’ve come to the right podcast. In situations like these, we have a few short, natural phrases that gently guide the conversation in a new direction - and that’s what this podcast English lesson...

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to Speak Naturally in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every week with a quick one-point lesson to help you improve your pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation. Today, let’s practice liaison - how sounds link together in natural American English.  Our focus today is the phrase “whaddaya.” I everyday English conversation,  what do you and what are...

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to English Tips in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every week with a short, simple tip to help you speak English more naturally and confidently.  Today, let’s look at another really common conversational phrase - “at the end of the day.” We use at the end of the day to sum things up or to focus on the final point or conclusion. You’ll hear this...

Hey there! It’s Michael here, and welcome back to Phrasal Verbs in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Friday with a quick one-point lesson to help you learn a new phrasal verb and sound more natural when you speak. Today’s phrasal verb is follow through on. When you follow through on something, it means you finish what you promised or planned - you don’t quit halfway. Like the problem wit...

Do you need to recharge? No, I’m not talking about your phone. I’m referring to you! Maybe you need to slow down a bit or take a break. If any of those are relatable, you’ve come to the right place. Today, we’re gonna  talk about slowing down, taking care of ourselves, and getting back our energy. This English lesson is all about some natural phrases native speakers use when they need to rest, slo...

Seems like these days a lot of folks are busy, and even stressed. How about you? Have you ever wanted to describe your situation or feeling with something more conversational than  “I’m very busy,” or “I’m stressed.” I’m glad you said yes. In fact, native English speakers usually have a few other ways to talk about stress and being busy that sound more natural and more conversational. We often exp...

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to Speak Naturally in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every week with a quick one-point lesson to help you improve your pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation. Today, let’s talk about something fun in American English: Stretching words to show emotion or emphasis. In natural spoken English, we often lengthen the vowel sound in a stressed word.  ...

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to English Tips in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every week with a short, simple tip to help you speak English more naturally and confidently. Today, let’s look at another natural conversational phrase - “long story short.” We use long story short when we want to summarize a situation and skip all the details. It’s like saying, “I’m just gonn...

Hey there! It’s Michael here, and welcome back to Phrasal Verbs in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Friday with a quick one-point lesson to help you learn a new phrasal verb and sound more natural when you speak. Today’s phrasal verb is stick to. When you stick to something, it means you continue doing it and you don’t give up - even when it’s difficult. You know, a lot of people make N...

Here’s a fun fact. In 2010, I started Happy English. In 2010. That sounds pretty accurate, right? And saying the date or the year is certainly correct - but that’s not always how native speakers talk. In everyday conversation, we’re often much more casual and even imprecise when we talk about the past. And that’s what I want to introduce you to today - some very informal ways native speakers talk...

Let’s go to the beach? Yeah, sounds like a plan. Do you ever notice that when someone makes a suggestion in English, native speakers often answer with very short phrases?  Things like:  “Sounds good.”  “That works.”  “No problem.”  “Sounds like a plan.” These responses are everywhere in spoken English — at work, with friends, on the phone, and in text messages. Today, let’s look at these very comm...

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to Speak Naturally in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Sunday with a quick one-point lesson to help you improve your pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation. Today, let’s look at a pair of words that sound very similar, but mean very different things:  wonder and wander. First, wonder. The vowel sound here is a short, relaxed uh sound - also...