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Shadowing practice: ENGLISH STUDENTS MUST STOP SAYING THIS!

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  1. Today I'll explain why English is so weird.0:00
  2. For example, your friend says this, I'm so ugly and you, you're a good friend.0:03
  3. You say, no, you're so beautiful.0:09
  4. In this conversation are both using contracted forms.0:14
  5. What's a contracted form?0:19
  6. I'm is contracted.0:21
  7. I am is uncontracted.0:23
  8. You're contracted.0:26
  9. You are uncontracted.0:28
  10. That's easy, right?0:30
  11. That's obvious.0:31
  12. In spoken casual English, it sounds really weird if you don't use contractions.0:32
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  1. And in my classes, this is something I correct a lot.0:38
  2. But there are times when not contracting sounds better.0:41
  3. Not contracting is the right thing to do.0:48
  4. When?0:52
  5. Well, maybe you want to emphasize your point to your friend.0:52
  6. No, it's a fact.0:59
  7. I am ugly.1:00
  8. No, no, no, no, listen to me.1:01
  9. You are beautiful.1:03
  10. You want to emphasize the opposite of what they're saying, right?1:04
  11. So in this case, it's much better, much more natural to not contract.1:09
  12. Not just for I am, you are.1:14
  13. Also with verbs.1:16
  14. For example, your friend comes home from work and says, today, today was hard.1:18
  15. And you want to ask, how was your day?1:27
  16. Your friend says, you don't want to know, but you are a good friend.1:30
  17. And you say, no, no, no, I do want to know.1:35
  18. I do want to know.1:38
  19. Again, you're emphasizing the opposite.1:40
  20. So this is very useful in disagreements.1:43
  21. No, no, no, no, I will start crying.1:47
  22. You don't want this.1:49
  23. But again, you want to emphasize the opposite of you don't want this.1:51
  24. So what should you say in natural spoken English?1:57
  25. No, no, no, no, no, I do want this.2:02
  26. This is not just for disagreeing with someone.2:05
  27. More generally, you're just emphasizing your point, you're stressing what you want to say.2:10
  28. So it can sound stronger or maybe even more formal, like I do enjoy the complexity of an aged Pinot Noir.2:16
  29. In modern English, this sounds very old fashioned.2:22
  30. So be careful when you use it.2:25
  31. Okay, so in modern English, when can you use it?2:27
  32. Well, let's imagine you want to admit something.2:31
  33. Then you need this.2:36
  34. For example, you say to your boyfriend or girlfriend, why do you hate my cat?2:37
  35. You are crazy.2:43
  36. I don't hate your cat.2:45
  37. Okay, then later, they want to admit they were wrong.2:47
  38. Then they say, okay, I do hate your cat.2:53
  39. And that's only because it's stupid and ugly.2:58
  40. I hate you.3:00
  41. Perfect example using both forms, right?3:02
  42. I hate you.3:05
  43. Normal sentence.3:06
  44. I do hate your cat.3:07
  45. In this case, she's admitting something.3:09
  46. So yeah, we use this to emphasize a point to make it stronger.3:13
  47. I do want to go to India or to contrast something.3:17
  48. You don't.3:22
  49. I do.3:23
  50. Or to admit something.3:24
  51. I guess I do go a little overboard.3:27
  52. Or how else could you contrast something?3:30
  53. For example, a normal sentence, I like chocolate.3:32
  54. That's normal.3:35
  55. But if I want to contrast two ideas, like if you've been subscribed to me for a while, you'll know that I did not like coriander before.3:37
  56. But now I do like coriander.3:50
  57. That really needs to be in something.3:56
  58. But my point is, I'm contrasting the past to now.4:00
  59. I didn't like it.4:04
  60. But now I do like it.4:06
  61. See?4:08
  62. Or in this example, I do go to temple.4:09
  63. I just, I don't talk about it.4:11
  64. How else do we use this?4:13
  65. I know.4:15
  66. We also use this to give warnings.4:16
  67. Don't eat my dinner.4:19
  68. If you do, I'll fart on your pillow.4:21
  69. Notice I didn't use the verb.4:23
  70. Don't eat my dinner.4:27
  71. If you do, I'll fart on your pillow.4:29
  72. I didn't say if you do eat my dinner.4:32
  73. You can, but you don't need to.4:34
  74. This example, if you do touch each other, you will get chlamydia and die.4:37
  75. Or this one, don't drink and drive.4:43
  76. But if you do, call me.4:45
  77. Again, like I said at the beginning, this is something I correct my students on a lot.4:47
  78. You need to practice it as much as possible because the contractions in general are more common.4:52
  79. They're more natural.5:00
  80. That's what you should use.5:01
  81. So in my classes, a really common correction is like, I do not like fish.5:03
  82. No, no, no, no.5:09
  83. Use the contraction.5:10
  84. I don't like fish.5:12
  85. To talk about your preferences, your likes, dislikes, use the contraction.5:13
  86. Because if you don't, it sounds really stressed.5:18
  87. So maybe you mean, I do not like fish.5:23
  88. But it sounds like I do not like fish.5:26
  89. And now you understand why.5:32
  90. Okay, we've done B.5:35
  91. I am ugly.5:37
  92. You are beautiful.5:38
  93. We've done D.5:39
  94. I do want to know.5:39
  95. I do.5:41
  96. Buffy, I'm not anxious to go into a dark place full of monsters, but I do want to help.5:42
  97. Any auxiliary or modal verb, it's the same thing.5:48
  98. So have, for example, yeah, I've tried yoga.5:51
  99. I don't like it.5:55
  100. You haven't tried yoga.5:56
  101. I have tried yoga five times.5:58
  102. We're emphasizing the opposite.6:02
  103. I have tried yoga.6:04
  104. So that's when you want to contract and not contract.6:06
  105. I hope this makes English a little bit more clear for you.6:10
  106. If not, you can practice with this and hundreds of other lessons in my ultimate English ebook.6:14
  107. My problem with self -study materials is they're rubbish.6:20
  108. If you don't have people to study with, you don't have a class to go to, you're just studying by yourself, this is what you need.6:23
  109. You can get it at pappatietjme .com or there should be a link under this video.6:30
  110. What would you like to study in the next video?6:35
  111. Let me know in the comments below.6:37
  112. And also let me know if you have any questions.6:38
  113. I'll see you in the next class.6:41
  114. Bye.6:42

A B1 British Lecture for English Listening Practice

This clip is english listening practice from a British teacher explaining when English speakers contract words and when they deliberately do not. The recording sits at CEFR B1 and runs at 168 words per minute, faster than 33 percent of the catalogue, so the sentences move along briskly and you need to stay with the speaker rather than pause after each line.

The lecture works through small paired dialogues rather than abstract rules: a friend says "I'm so ugly" and gets told "you're so beautiful", then later the same friend insists "I do want to know" instead of the contracted form. Because the teacher voices both sides of each exchange, you hear the shift in emphasis directly, which is exactly what helps you speak english fluently instead of only knowing the grammar on paper.

The Contraction Lines Worth an English Shadowing Practice Session

Three lines carry the whole lesson. "In spoken casual English, it sounds really weird if you don't use contractions" states the default rule in one breath, with the stress falling on weird and don't. Against that, "No, no, no, no, listen to me" shows how repetition alone builds emphasis before the sentence even gets to its point. And "I do want to know" keeps every word uncontracted on purpose, with do carrying the stress that a contracted I want to know could never carry.

  • "In spoken casual English, it sounds really weird if you don't use contractions." states the default; shadow this line for the falling stress on weird.
  • "No, no, no, no, listen to me." is pure repetition building emphasis before the actual sentence starts; match the rising urgency in each no.
  • "I do want to know." keeps do uncontracted on purpose; repeat it to feel the extra beat that emphasis adds.

How to Practise English Speaking with This B1 Contraction Lecture

Work through the clip in the order the teacher built it, since each pair of lines only makes sense against the one before it.

  • Start with "I'm so ugly" answered by "you're so beautiful" to hear the contracted default before anything is explained.
  • Move to "In spoken casual English, it sounds really weird if you don't use contractions," and repeat it until the stress sits on weird without you thinking about it.
  • Practise "No, no, no, no, listen to me," focusing on how the pace and volume climb rather than trying to copy a single sound.
  • Finish on "I do want to know," and switch it back and forth with a contracted I want to know so the difference in weight is audible, not just theoretical.
  • Repeat the four lines together as a short set; that sequence is english speaking practice built entirely from this recording, not a generic drill.
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