Chris reads this Cambridge Dictionary blog entry on the Coronavirus – COVID-19 vocabulary and collocations for Learn British English Free on YouTube:
In this FREE British English lesson, Chris explains English football and the Premier League, as well as pronunciation practice: Football (not soccer, please): 11 players
Officials: referee; two linesmen; fourth official;
VAR (Video Assistant Referee) VAR: clear and obvious errors – penalties; goals; handballs; offsides??
Premier League Championship League One League Two FA Cup League Cup Champions League Europa League
Nicknames Manchester United = the Red Devils Arsenal = the Gunners
Stadium Names Chelsea’s stadium is Stamford Bridge Liverpool’s stadium is Anfield
Teams in the English Premier League – pronunciation practice
This is a Learn British English Free lesson in which Chris explains the difference between “look for” and “search (for)”.
Look for – more natural, common and informal (always with “for”) “I can’t find my car keys.” “Let’s look for them then”. “What are you looking for?” Search (for) – more formal (e.g. police) “The police are urgently searching for the suspect.” “The police were searching the area last night.” (verb without “for”) “The police conducted a thorough search of the property.” (noun)
Please see above the imperial units commonly used in the UK to talk about weight.
We often use ounces to describe amounts of ingredients in recipes. We use pounds and stone for describing our own weight. Tons measure very heavy things:
Please see above for British imperial units of volume.
The pint measurement (pronounced /paɪnt/) is very important because we use it to measure drinks in pubs.
Gallons are used to talk about the fuel consumption of vehicles:
Coronavirus – learn English news and vocabulary
catch a cold
get the flu (influenza)
norovirus /ˈnɔː.rəʊˌvaɪə.rəs/
coronavirus /kəˈrəʊ.nəˌvaɪə.rəs/
Other vocabulary:
immune system / respiratory system
outbreak / the virus breaks out
virus spreads between people / try to contain it (stop spreading)
death toll
quarantined
Wuhan and other cities on lockdown
Lunar New Year
Flowers on the Railings - January 2020. Written by Peter Fearnley. Found by Sharon Green (mother of Rebecca Green) in Sheffield, England. Read by Chris on Learn British English Free on YouTube.
In English, we often use imperial units rather than the metric system. This post is about common imperial units of length.
We use feet and inches to talk about a person's height.
We use feet and squared feet to talk about the size of a building.
We use yards to talk about distances in football. The penalty area = the 18-yard box. He scored from thirty yards out!
A chain is not used as a measurement but is the length of the pitch in cricket.
Furlongs are used to measure courses for horse racing.
Miles are used to measure distances for travelling between places.
Via the Learn British English website.
In this free English lesson, Chris explains Megxit regarding Harry, Meghan and the Royal Family. Megxit = Meghan + exit Harry, Meghan and Archie Duke and Duchess of Sussex HRH titles Frogmore cottage Buckingham Palace the Commonwealth
Statement by the Queen: "Following many months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family.
"Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved members of my family.
"I recognise the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life.
"I want to thank them for all their dedicated work across this country, the Commonwealth and beyond, and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family.
"It is my whole family's hope that today's agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life."
Megxit (noun)
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Chris reads the first page of “The Secret Commonwealth” by Philip Pullman and recommends everyone reads His Dark Materials trilogy for British English.
Learn British English Free: sex and gender (with subtitles / captions)
Sex = male or female (biologically)
List of genders:
Chris talks about what different marital statuses mean in official UK documents: single, never married or civil partnered married, including separated (this category includes those in both opposite-sex and same-sex marriages) same sex marriages since March 2014 civil partnered, including separated (legal status) divorced, including legally dissolved civil partners widowed, including surviving civil partners
Via YouTube: https://youtu.be/lOoU_54DvSg
British English lesson by Chris: I beg your pardon
Stronger: I do beg your pardon
Use when:
you don’t understand or need someone to repeat something
someone does or says something rude
you do something rude (like ‘excuse me’)
Pronunciation: your = /yuh/
Chris reads a poem by student Evgeny from Russia:
Before you go, I’d like to let you know that broken hopes can hardly be repaired. My former friend, you’ve turned into my foe, you waged this war before it was declared.
Forget my name and play your little game with those who trust your treacherous endeavour. My take on you will always be the same, By lies of yours I’ll be affected never.