I dropped in on my friend Gregory. He was feeling pretty down. I asked him,” What is it that’s bothering you?” He said, “It’s hard to describe. I can’t seem to get anything done.” I said, “Do you think you should see someone about this?” He answered, “I’ll give it some thought.” I dropped in on my friend Gregory. I paid a visit to my friend Gregory. I went over to my friend Gregory’s. He was feeling pretty down. He was quite downcast. He was pretty depressed. What is it that’s bothering you? What’s bothering you? What’s troubling you? What’s going on with you? It’s hard to describe. I can’t put my finger on it. It’s difficult to put it into words. I can’t seem to get anything done. I can’t get my act together. I can’t get myself organized. Do you think you should see someone about this? Do you think you should seek professional help? Do you think you could use some counseling? I’ll give it some thought. I’ll have to think about that. I’ll consider that idea. I paid a visit to my friend Gregory. He was pretty depressed. I asked him, “What’s troubling you?” He said, “It’s difficult to put into words. I can’t get my act together.” I said, “Do you think you could use some counseling?” He answered, “I’ll have to think about that.” Less

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Better buses, better service, better catch one I am sorry that there was no podcast last week. I was unwell. But now I am better. That means, I am not unwell any more. I have recovered. I am better. And today’s podcast is about the word “better”. “Better” is of course the comparative form of the adjective “good”. Good – better- best. We can say: “This is a good restaurant. But the restaurant over the road is better. And the restaurant round the corner is the best restaurant in the town.” We can use “better” in other ways, too. There is an English expression “I had better” do something. It means “I must” do something, or “it would be a good idea” to do something. Here are some examples: Kevin and Joanne are having breakfast. Joanne looks in the fridge. There is no milk. “I had better buy some milk this morning,” she says. Kevin looks at his watch. It is nearly 7.30am. “I had better go now,” he says. “I have to go to a meeting at 8.30.” “Yes,” says Joanne. “You had better hurry, otherwise you will miss the train. And it is raining. You had better take an umbrella”. In Birmingham, where I live, there is a bus company. Actually, there are lots of bus companies, because our government believes that competition in public transport is a good thing. Our government is wrong. Britain has some of the worst public transport in Europe. But that is different podcast. One of our competing bus companies has a slogan on the side of its buses. It says: “better buses, better service, better catch one”. This is what it means. Better buses… “Better buses” – the company has better buses. But better than what? Better than the buses of the other bus companies? Better than the old buses which it used to have? I suppose that “better buses” is OK as an advertising slogan, but if you want people to understand exactly what you mean, remember to use the word “than” – “better buses than our old buses”, for example. “Better service” – This means more frequent buses, more reliable buses. Perhaps the company means that they now run buses late in the evening and on Sundays. And “better catch one” is short for “you had better catch one”. In other words, it would be a good idea to catch one of our wonderful better buses. Remember that in English, we can take a bus or a train or a plane; or we can catch a bus or a train or a plane. Now you know all about “I had better”. There is a quiz with the podcast today. You can find it on the website. Now it is late. I had better stop now. I had better go to the supermarket. I had better cook supper for the children. I had better say goodbye. You had better do this quiz! :: File Download (3:57 min / 4 MB) Less

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I have a subscription with a company called Netflix. They send me movies on DVD through the mail. I can have three movies out at one time. As soon as Netflix receives a movie back from me, they send out another one. Netflix has a catalog with about 50,000 films and TV shows. At their Internet site you have several ways of finding films. You can search by the title of a film, by director or by actor. In fact, you can put in any name. If that person had a part in making a film, the film will come up. Netflix also has categories of films that you can browse and choose from. The films you select go onto your personal list. They are sent to you in the order of the list. You can go into the list and delete a film. Or you can change the order of priority. The DVDs are delivered by regular mail. Each one comes in an envelope that you also use to return it. The cost to have three DVDs out at a time is $20 per month. A ticket to a movie theater is 7 dollars to 9 dollars. So for about the cost of two seats in a movie theater you can watch, say, 20 films a month. That is one heck of a savings. Of course, watching a film at home is not the same experience as going to a movie theater. For one thing, there are fewer germs. Also, you don’t have to listen to other people talking away. Finally, you don’t have to go out in bad weather. Of course, I am joking here. In a theater you have a shared experience with other people. And the screen is much bigger than anything you see in a home. But the convenience and price of movie DVDs by mail can’t be beat. I am hooked on Netflix. There are worse habits. I have a subscription with a company called Netflix. I have a subscription with a company whose name is Netflix. They send me movies on DVD through the mail. They provide me movies on DVD by mail. I can have three movies out at one time. I can have three movies out at any given time. As soon as Netflix receives a movie back from me, they send out another one. The minute they get a video back, out goes another one. Netflix has a catalog with about 50,000 films and TV shows. Their catalog has upwards of 50,000 films and TV shows. At their Internet site you have several ways of finding films. There are a few ways to look up films at their Internet site. You can search by the title of a film, by director or by actor. You can use title, director, or actor as a search term. In fact, you can put in any name. Actually you can put in any name. If that person had a part in making a film, the film will come up. If the name is associated with a film in any way, the film will get listed. Netflix also has categories of films that you can browse and choose from. Netflix also has categories of films you can look through and pick from. The films you select go onto your personal list. The films you choose go onto your personal film queue. They are sent to you in the order of the list. They go out to you in the order of the queue. You can go into the list and delete a film. You can access the list and delete a film. Or you can change the order of priority. Or you can promote or demote a film in the list. The DVDs are delivered by regular mail. The DVDs come to you via regular mail. Each one comes in an envelope that you also use to return it. You use the envelope a DVD comes in to return it. The cost to have three DVDs out at a time is $20 per month. The cost of having three DVDs at one time is $20 a month. A ticket to a movie theater is seven to nine dollars. A movie ticket runs seven to nine dollars. So for about the cost of two seats in a movie theater you can watch, say, 20 films a month. For the cost for two seats in a movie theater you’re seeing, maybe, 20 movies a month. That is one heck of a savings. That is some savings. Of course, watching a film at home is not the same as going to a movie theater. Now, watching a film from your couch isnÃ?ÃÂ??t the same as seeing it in a theater. For one thing, there are fewer germs. To begin with, there are fewer germs. Also, you don’t have to listen to other people talking away. Also, you don’t have to hear other people yakking. Finally, you don’t have to go out in bad weather. Finally, you don’t have to venture out when the weather stinks. Of course, I am joking here. Naturally, I’m just trying to be funny. In a theater you have a shared experience with other people. In a theater you share the movie experience with others. And the screen is much bigger than anything you see in a home. Also the screen is way bigger than what you have at home. But the convenience and price of movies by mail can’t be beat. But in terms of convenience and price, movies by mail is unbeatable. I am hooked on Netflix. Netflix has become a habit. There are worse habits. There are worse addictions. Less

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Mind the gap, on the London Underground. Photo by Marcia Cabral de Moura/flickr In today’s podcast, I am going to talk about the English word “mind”, and about some expressions which contain the word “mind”. Your “mind” means the things which happen inside your head, or inside your brain – your thinking, in other words. We can say, for example, that someone has “a good mind” – that means, they think clearly and logically. Or we can say that someone has a mathematical mind – they are naturally good at maths. Or we can say about someone “she has a mind of her own” – that means, she thinks for herself, she does not just accept what other people say. We also use “mind” as a verb. To mind something means to be aware of something, to be careful about something, to “have it in your mind”. If you have visited London, I am sure you have travelled on the Underground and seen the signs or heard the loudspeaker announcements which tell you to “mind the gap”. There is often a gap between the railway carriage and the station platform. If you “mind the gap”, you think about the gap and take care when you get on or off the train. If you don’t mind the gap, you may trip or fall and hurt yourself. You can mind other things as well – children, for example, or animals. Joanne has a friend called Susan. Susan looks after small children in her own home while their parents are at work. She plays with the children, she feeds them, and she takes them for a walk to the park and to the shops. She is what we call a “childminder”. If we say “mind out” to someone, we mean “be careful”. When Susan takes her group of little children for a walk, they need to cross the road. She holds the children by the hand and says to them, “Mind out, in case a car is coming”. Kevin, you may remember, is into 1980s punk rock. One of his favourite bands is playing at a gig on Saturday. He asks Joanne if she would like to go to hear them. “No way“, says Joanne, who thinks that listening to 1980s punk rock is a form of torture. “Do you mind if I go with George?” asks Kevin. He means, does it cause you any problems if I go to the gig with George? And Joanne says, “No, of course I don’t mind”. And then there is the expression, “to make up your mind”. This means, simply, to decide to do something. If I make up my mind to sell my old car, it means that I have decided to sell my car. Joanne’s friend Susan, the childminder, is always dithering. She cannot decide what to do. Should she wear a red jumper or a blue jumper. Should she read a book or watch television. Should she take a bus or walk. She cannot decide. Joanne sometimes says to her, “For goodness sake, make up your mind!” That means, “Stop wasting time – just decide what to do and do it!” And finally, let’s meet the expression “to change your mind”. If I decide to do something, but then I decide to do something else instead, I “change my mind”. Kevin has saved up some money and has made up his mind to buy an iPod. It is exactly what he needs to listen to his collection of 1980s punk rock music on the train. But on his way to the iPod shop, he passes a shoe shop. In the window there is a pair of green suede shoes. They are, thinks Kevin, the finest, the most beautiful green suede shoes in the whole world. Suddenly, he is in love with the shoes. He decides to buy the shoes and not the iPod. He “changes his mind”. Quiz – how well did you understand the podcast? :: File Download (5:21 min / 3 MB) Less

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Today’s sentence Hi. How’s it going? Today, we’re starting a new series on expressing doubts. You could be right. Notes OK. Someone has just said: “The world is flat.” Now, that’s a pretty doubtful assertion. You don’t really want to say, “you’re wrong!” So, you say: “You could be right…however, evidence suggests that…” This is a tactful way of disagreeing. You probably want to follow up with, “but…” or “however…” However, it may mean that you really believe the other person could be right – but you aren’t totally sure. It depends on your tone of voice. That’s all for today. We’re going to look at another expression tomorrow, so see you then! Search Linguagum for more English tips, check out our very useful links and our shop! And please, tell us what you think of us! Text and audio © linguagum.com 2006-2008 Less

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Learn English for free with podcasts.
ESL Podcast – Previous Episodes

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