Happy English Podcast

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.  And if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube. Sometimes, in everyday spoken American English,  we use stress, to show meaning. That means saying...

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. And by the way, if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube. Today, let’s look at a really natural conversational expression - “sure enough.” Sure enough means,...

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. By the way, if you want to see the video version of this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube. Today’s phrasal verb is bang out. When you bang something out,...

You know, English is funny sometimes. We’ve got a ton of verbs that go with “to + verb” - like want to do, like to do, plan to do - and most of them just talk about an action, right? I want to go. I like to cook. I plan to travel. That’s easy.  But! There are some verb + to do combinations that have a special meaning - a nuance - a deeper idea behind them. And that’s what we’re going to look at to...

So, the other day, I was on the phone with my friend Ed. We had plans to meet at 1pm, and it was already 1:15. I said, "It’s time to go." And he goes, "It’s about time!" Ha! You ever hear that phrase? "It’s about time"? What does that even mean? Well, today, we’re going to talk about how to use a bunch of conversational phrases with “It’s time” in English.  Watch video versions of the Happy 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.  And if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube. Today, let’s continue our discussion of reduction in American English, you know, when we shorten o...

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. And by the way, if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube. Today, let’s look at a really casual, really conversational pattern you’ll hear in everyday America...

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. By the way, if you want to see the video version of this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube. Today’s phrasal verb is weigh in on. When you weigh in on somet...

So I got invited to another one of Jack’s parties. If I go by myself, there’s a good chance I won’t know anyone, which is ok, unless a lot of people come. But if Jenny comes with me, then there’s a better chance of having fun. I wonder if she’ll go... or come with me. Come and go.  That’s the magic - and the confusion - of the verbs come and go in English. They seem simple… but they can be really...

The other day, I was thinking about the difference between though, even though, and although. Even though they all mean but, there’s a difference, though. And although you may not have learned it before… you’ll learn it today. Though, Even Though, & Although all - express contrast, like you say one thing, but then mention something opposite. But how we use them depends on the situation, how fo...

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. And if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube. As we’ve said before, in everyday spoken American English, we often use reduction - that means we s...

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. And by the way, if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube. Today, let’s look at a really useful conversational phrase - “What’s up with…?” We use what’s up wi...

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.  By the way, if you want to see the video version of this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube. Today’s phrasal verb is brush up on.  When you brush up on som...

Do you need a pick-me-up? I’m not being a show-off when I say that our little online get-togethers like this podcast are probably good for your English.  Thanks for tuning in! Let me start with a quick question. Have you ever heard someone say, “We’re having a little get-together this weekend”? Or maybe, “I could really use a pick-me-up”? You might think, wait a second – isn’t get a verb? Isn’t ge...

Let me ask you something… have you ever been surprised - like, really surprised - and you just didn’t know what to say in English? Imagine, you’re talking to a friend, and they say something totally unexpected. Like, “Hey, did you hear? Lisa is moving to Australia!” And you want to respond like a native speaker - with something more natural than just “Wow” OR “Really?” That’s what we’re going to l...

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. And if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube. Now, in everyday spoken American English, we often use reduction - that means we shorten or soften...

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. And by the way, if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube. Today, let’s look at a really common phrase you’ll hear in everyday English - “Do me a favor.” We u...

Today’s phrasal verb is chip in. When you chip in, it means you contribute money, effort, or help toward something - especially when everyone gives a little to make something happen. For example, at the office, we all chipped in to buy a birthday gift for our manager. And last weekend, my friends chipped in to rent a cabin in the mountains. And at home, my neighbors and I chipped in to help our el...

Has this ever happened to you? Someone invites you to do something - maybe go out for dinner, or join a party - but you can’t go. Maybe you’re too busy. Maybe you don’t want to go. But you feel a little nervous about saying no? Yeah... totally understandable. Saying no in English isn’t always easy, so today let’s learn how to do it. In this lesson, we’re going to look at how we invite people in En...

Thanks for joining me today! If you’ve ever wondered what the difference is between “Have you eaten yet?” and “Are you still eating?”... or if you’re not sure when to use anymore - then this episode is for you. These four little words - still, yet, already, and anymore - seem simple, but when it comes to questions and negative sentences, things can get a little tricky. So today, we’ll take a deep...

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. And if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Michael on YouTube. In fact, the idea for today’s lesson came from a listener’s question on YouTube. It’s all about red...

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. And if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Michael on YouTube. Today, let’s look at a really common phrase you’ll hear in everyday English - “Does that make sense?” We use do...

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. And if you want to watch this lesson just look for Happy English Michael on YouTube. Today’s phrasal verb is rattle off.  When you rattle something off, it means you say or li...

I get it - make and do can be super confusing. You’ve probably learned that both verbs mean "to take action" in some way. But for example, how do you know when to say make a mistake or do your homework? That’s what we’re going to clear up. Today we’re going to talk about two small but mighty verbs in English: make and do. These verbs show up everywhere - but the tricky part is knowing when to use...

I guess you're here because you think podcasts are a good way to learn English. Yeah, absolutely — I was thinking the same thing. You might even think they are the best way to learn. Well, I see your point, but I’m not sure everyone would think so. Maybe we can agree to disagree. That’s the language we’ll look at today.  In this podcast English lesson, we’re going to talk about something that happ...