Espresso English Podcast

Listen to these five English sentences to learn some idiomatic expressions for talking about negative points at work.#1 – "My co-workers don’t pull their weight, and I’m always picking up the slack."#2 – "I can’t stand the office politics. It seems like kissing up to the people who call the shots is the only way to move up the ranks."#3 – "My boss loves to micromanage and I can’t do my best work when she’s constantly breathing down my neck."#4 – "The job itself is rewarding, but the salary and benefits leave a lot to be desired."#5 – "I feel like I’m spread too thin, but every time I wrap up one project, I’m given two more – which, of course, need to be done yesterday."Click here for the lesson text: http://www.espressoenglish.net/5-english-phrases-and-10-idioms-for-complaining-about-your-job/

The English word “mind” refers to the center of your thoughts, memory, and imagination. In this lesson, you’ll learn 20 common English phrases using the word “mind.”To talk about making a decision, you can use the phrase “make up my mind” – for example, “I can’t make up my mind about which movie to see tonight.” A variation on this phrase is “my mind is made up” – this means you have already made your choice and implies that you are not open to changing your decision.Click here for the lesson text: http://www.espressoenglish.net/20-different-ways-to-use-the-english-word-mind/

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 – the literal meaning of the word “root” is the part of a plant or tree that is under the soil. The roots are what support and sustain the entire tree. Therefore, “the root of the problem” is the deepest, most basic or fundamental reason for the problem.Click here for the lesson text: http://www.espressoenglish.net/english-collocations-metaphors/

Today's lesson will teach you the difference between:talk totalk withtalk abouttalk overtalk throughtalk intotalk out ofThere 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 connections can be called a distant relative.Click here for the lesson text - http://www.espressoenglish.net/32-english-collocations-for-talking-about-your-family/

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-english-textbook-wont-teach-you/

#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-hand/

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 in everyday spoken English.Click here for the lesson text: http://www.espressoenglish.net/english-sentence-starters-for-everyday-speaking/

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/