Learn American English with your host Michael DiGiacomo from Happy English in New York City. Michael has been teaching English since 1994. This is an English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) podcast that brings you fun, practical, and useful English lessons which are ideal for intermediate and advanced level English learners everywhere. This podcast is perfect for university students, business professionals, homemakers, retirees and anyone who is interested ...
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Languages And All That Jazz Podcasts
Podcasts para estudantes de línguas e cultura.
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You know, I started this podcast in 2014 so I can help people speak English better. And now, there are so many podcast episodes, It’s almost near a thousand. So, check this one out. Today, we’re talking about so. Just two letters - S-O. But this little word works overtime in English. We use so to show a result, to give a reason, to add emphasis, an…
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Hey there! It’s Michael here — and welcome back to another Happy English Sunday Speak. I’m here every Sunday with a quick one-point tip to help you speak English more naturally. Sometimes, you need to ask someone to wait. In situations like this, you could say “Please wait a moment.” And sure, that’s correct English — but it sounds a bit formal and…
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896 - Saturday Short - Kind of Sort of A bit
1:48
1:48
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1:48Hey there! It’s Michael here — and welcome back to another Happy English Saturday Short, your quick tip for speaking English better. Today, let’s look at three really natural phrases: kind of, sort of, and a bit. We use these to soften what we’re saying. They make a statement sound less strong, less direct — and that makes your English sound more n…
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Hey there! It’s Michael here — and welcome back to another Happy English, Phrasal Verb Friday. I’m here every Friday, with a quick, one-point English lesson to help you learn one new phrasal verb and sound more natural when you speak. Today’s phrasal verb is jazz up. When you jazz something up, it means you make it more interesting, exciting, or at…
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894 - What Does Even Mean in Negative Sentences
8:02
8:02
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8:02They didn’t even say thank you. Not “they didn’t say thank you.” They didn’t even say thank you. So… what’s the deal with even in negative sentences? In Episode 880, we looked at how to use even in general - like for comparisons and emphasis. But today, we’re going to zoom in on something more specific… and honestly, something really common - using…
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893 - Too Very and So - Whats the Difference
9:48
9:48
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9:48It was very cool this morning. Like around 11 degrees celsius. When I took Max for a walk I was actually surprised it was so cool. Like, there’s a nip in the air kinda cool. Boy, I’m hoping this coming winter isn’t too cold. Let’s see how it goes. These three little words - too, very, and so - all come before adjectives, and they all talk about how…
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892 - How to Say Because Without Saying Because
9:25
9:25
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9:25I’m so hungry. No time for lunch today. No wonder my stomach is grumbling. That’s why i decided to order a double cheeseburger and some fries...at the diner. Because is a great word - and it’s totally correct. But when it comes to speaking naturally, we often don’t use because directly. Instead, we give the reason in a more casual, fluent way. So t…
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Now, when you want to ask why in English, sure, you can just say “why.” But in everyday conversation, native speakers often use a more casual phrase: “How come?” “How come” means the same as “why,” but it sounds softer, friendlier, and very conversational. And, it’s easy to use. You can use it by itself! Like, your friend says, “I’m skipping lunch …
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We often use a negative question like “Isn’t this…?” or “Aren’t you…?” in conversation. Technically, these are not questions for asking something. They are a casual and friendly way to confirm something or make a suggestion. For example, if you and your friend are at the peir on a sunny day, you might say: “Isn’t this a perfect day for fishing?” Yo…
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Today’s phrasal verb is slack off. When you slack off, it means you become lazy about your work, your studies, or your responsibilities. You don’t try as hard as you should. Like, my friend Eddie started going to the gym in in July, but by the middle of this month, he really started to slack off. And in the office, Jenny was slacking off all week, …
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Hey, let me ask you a question - You’ve studied English grammar, haven’t you? And you’ve probably heard tag questions or negative questions before, right? Well, isn’t this going to be an interesting lesson for you! It's a nice day, isn't it? That's a Tag Question, and today, I’ll show you how these work - and how you can use them to sound more like…
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887 – How to Use Unless, As Long As, and In Case
9:10
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9:10Unless you have something else to do right now, You should listen to this whole podcast episode. And as long as you’re listening, why not take notes...In case you want to use the phrases from this lesson in your daily English. These three little phrases - unless, as long as, and in case - all help us talk about situations that might happen. But the…
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886 - Have Got vs. Have- What’s the Difference
9:25
9:25
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9:25You know what? I’ve got a question for you. Or… should I say, I have a question for you? Hmm. Which one sounds better? Or… are they both OK? For many English learners, “have got” can be a little confusing. I mean, we’ve got “I have a dog,” and “I’ve got a dog”… and both are correct? What’s going on here? Well today, we’re going to break it all down…
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Hey there! It’s Michael here — and welcome back to another Happy English Sunday Speak. Every Sunday, I’ll be here with a quick one-point tip to help you speak English more naturally. One thing you need to know how to do in English is to communicate that you understood what someone said. Like if someone gives you directions on the street. You could …
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Hey there! It’s Michael here — and welcome back to another Happy English Saturday Short, your quick tip for speaking English better. Today, let’s look at a commonly used conversational phrase is “by the way.” We use by the way when we want to add something to the conversation, kind of like when we need to change the topic, or bringing up an extra p…
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Hey there! It’s Michael here — and welcome back to another Happy English, Friday Phrasal Verb. Every Friday, I’ll be here with a quick, one-point English lesson to help you learn one new phrasal verb and sound more natural when you speak. Last week we looked at toy with, which means to consider something not so seriously. Today’s phrasal verb is th…
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882 - Fall Vocabulary in American English
10:40
10:40
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10:40Fall is right around the corner. Soon there will be a nip in the air as you look at the harvest moon, while sipping your pumpkin spice latte. When the season changes, so does the way we talk. So today, before Indian Summer comes, let’s dive into some seasonal vocabulary and phrases that’ll help you talk about fall just like a native speaker. Join m…
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