In this episode of Learn English with Teachify Lewis takes you through 5 different English expressions which have been 'taught' on our Instagram account before. He gives explanations, examples and finishes with a little test. Given that it's a short one, here you have the transcript, more or less.
1. The first expression is actually just an adjective, a lovely colloquial one – packed. Synonyms are busy, full or crowded. Most beaches in summer are packed, bars in Seville tend to be packed and my agenda is quite packed too.
2. Next, the second expression is a rule of thumb. This means a general rule, or a guideline. Think about English grammar, often there are exceptions but teachers can give you some useful rules of thumb to follow.
3. Thirdly, one of my favourites which we use a lot is off the top of my head. It means without preparation or thought, in class we ask students to give some examples off the top of their heads. E.G. The best city I’ve visited, hmmm, I’m not sure but off the top of my head I’d have to say that Rome is the best city I’ve visited but maybe just because I’m thinking about eating some carbonara right now.
4. Fourthly, bear in mind. Interestingly, bear as a verb is written exactly the same as the animal, a bear. However, in this case it means consider, take into account or keep in mind. E.G. You need to bear in mind that learning a language is never easy.
5. Last but not least, get the gist. This expression means to understand the main points or a general summary. If you listen to an audiobook you don’t need to understand everything but you must get the gist at least.
There we go, 5 lovely expressions all of which were taken from our Instagram account and were posted last year so we’ll continue to pick 5 expressions each month and provide additional examples and explanations. If you don’t follow us, what are you waiting for?
A quick recap, what were the five expressions today?
1. A common rule of thumb is, the more the better.
2. Whenever you want to say take into account, just say bear in mind.
3. Can you give us an example off the top of your head? Quick.
4. There are so many people over there, it’s absolutely packed.
5. It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand everything, as long as you get the gist.
Thanks for listening, for any questions please get in touch with: lewis@teachifyapp.com