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Shadowing practice: Phil's Old Girlfriend Comes Over (Clip) | Modern Family | TBS

Listen to the line, then say it out loud
Line 1

Full transcript

  1. Hey Luke!0:01
  2. Big day for ya!0:03
  3. Why?0:04
  4. Because you get to meet your real mom.0:05
  5. What?0:07
  6. We all made a pact, we deny it until you turn 21, but that's the real reason Dad's old girlfriend's coming over.0:08
  7. She's your mom and if she likes you, you'll go live with her.0:15
  8. I'm not adopted.0:19
  9. I'm asking mom.0:20
  10. You mean Mrs.0:22
  11. Dunphy?0:22
  12. She's not going to tell you the truth.0:23
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  1. I'm not...0:26
  2. I know.0:27
  3. Ah!0:28
  4. Just because he called you a dork to dork salesman, the empire strikes back.0:32
  5. Raccoons have five toes.0:39
  6. What's that?0:41
  7. I don't mean to bother you, it's just confusing.0:42
  8. The footprints in my room only have four toes.0:45
  9. You know, I bet I know what happened.0:48
  10. I bet he lost those toes in a fight.0:49
  11. And that guy looked like he'd been in a brawl or two.0:52
  12. One toe for me each foot?0:55
  13. Maybe.0:56
  14. You know, Manny, I think the only thing that's going to get you to stop asking all these questions is for you to have a little closure.0:57
  15. What do you mean?1:05
  16. Well, I'd like to throw a little memorial for show.1:05
  17. It'll be good for all of us.1:08
  18. That way we get our grief out and then we never have to talk about this ever, ever again.1:09
  19. Hi!1:21
  20. Oh, careful there's a thing.1:22
  21. Yeah, good to see you.1:23
  22. Hi!1:26
  23. Hi!1:27
  24. Hi, I'm Claire.1:28
  25. You must be...1:29
  26. Hi!1:30
  27. I'm...1:30
  28. Okay, Denise.1:31
  29. Oh, I know.1:32
  30. You've been prettier than the picture that Phil Zoe's posting.1:33
  31. Just a couple.1:36
  32. Oh, shut up every week.1:37
  33. He loves showing you off.1:39
  34. My boyfriend likes your acupogo pictures.1:40
  35. Probably a little too much.1:42
  36. Well, thank your boyfriend for me.1:44
  37. Come on in, please.1:46
  38. Oh, I brought you some lifting intensifier.1:48
  39. Not that you need it.1:52
  40. It's a limited edition, so thank you.1:53
  41. Oh, Denise, I think you might know these people.1:55
  42. That's Hailey, Alex, and...1:58
  43. Luke!2:01
  44. I had curly hair just like that when I was little.2:02
  45. So, that doesn't mean anything.2:06
  46. Ugh!2:09
  47. Why don't we come on in?2:11
  48. Have a seat, please.2:13
  49. So what was my dad like in high school?2:15
  50. Only the most amazing breakdance ever.2:17
  51. Oh, don't fire it up.2:19
  52. What?2:21
  53. Oh, no!2:21
  54. He had a bill box and a piece of cardboard in his locker.2:24
  55. And what was your dance name?2:26
  56. Ozone.2:27
  57. I drove him to a star search audition.2:28
  58. Which was totally political, by the way.2:30
  59. Ozone.2:32
  60. That is deadass funny.2:33
  61. I'm so calling you that.2:35
  62. Thank you.2:36
  63. Well, you really lucked out.2:38
  64. You have a beautiful wife, a gorgeous house, and those kids.2:39
  65. I could take Luke home with me.2:43
  66. No, be my guest.2:45
  67. Seriously, you go right away.2:46
  68. No!2:49
  69. I like it here.2:50
  70. Alex, honey, will you go find out what's wrong with your brother?2:55
  71. Okay.2:57
  72. You know, if it's okay, I think I'm just gonna use the...2:59
  73. Oh, yeah, of course.3:02
  74. Down the hall.3:04
  75. Left -hand side.3:04
  76. Can't miss it.3:05
  77. Thanks.3:06
  78. Okay, she's fantastic.3:10
  79. Yes?3:11
  80. Yes, I feel awful.3:12
  81. I wonder how I become this horribly cynical person who assumes the worst about people.3:13
  82. I first noticed it seven years ago.3:17
  83. You're not.3:19
  84. Such an idiot.3:21
  85. Is it...3:22
  86. Oh, I'll show you.3:23
  87. Okay.3:24
  88. Yeah, yeah, yeah.3:24
  89. Thanks.3:24
  90. So, how are we gonna do this?3:28
  91. I thought I just pointed the door, so I was thinking...3:31
  92. I was thinking too.3:34
  93. Here is my hotel room key.3:36
  94. You can come by whenever you want.3:39

Why this 228 word per minute Modern Family scene is worth your english speaking practice

This clip is a single unbroken family scene from Modern Family, rated B2, and it moves at 228 words per minute, faster than 84 percent of the catalogue. Nobody pauses for you. Manny badgers Jay about raccoon footprints, Luke gets told his dad's ex girlfriend is really his mother, and Claire greets Denise at the door, all inside the same 106 lines.

That density is exactly what makes it useful for english speaking practice. A slow, clearly enunciated clip teaches you to recognise words. This one, with its interruptions, throwaway asides like "Oh, careful there's a thing." and quick topic changes, teaches you to keep up with how Americans actually talk over each other at a family gathering, closer to daily english conversation practice than a studio recording ever is.

The language in this American sitcom scene: colloquial dodges that will improve your english accent

Three lines carry most of the interest here.

  • "She's not going to tell you the truth." Manny's dry, flat delivery on a full "going to" rather than a squeezed reduction is worth copying for the tone alone, and it is a clean line to build your own accent around before you try faster, reduced speech.
  • "Raccoons have five toes." Four short words, each stressed almost equally, useful for practising crisp final consonants at this clip's pace.
  • "I don't mean to bother you, it's just confusing." The comma runs two thoughts together the way real speech does, with the pitch dropping on "confusing" instead of rising like a question.
  • "You've been prettier than the picture that Phil Zoe's posting." Denise stumbles over her own sentence structure here, and that is worth noticing: real conversation is not grammatically clean, and a slightly awkward line teaches your ear as much as a tidy one does.

How to shadow this scene: b2 english shadowing practice through Manny's raccoon story

Work through the clip in the order the scene actually gives you, not top to bottom in one pass.

  • Start with lines 1 to 5, the quick "Hey Luke!" and "Big day for ya!" exchange, to get the rhythm of short punchy lines before the longer ones arrive.
  • Take line 6 on its own, "We all made a pact, we deny it until you turn 21, but that's the real reason Dad's old girlfriend's coming over." and break it into its natural breath groups before you try it in one go.
  • Move to the raccoon exchange, lines 17 to 26, and shadow both sides of it, Manny's questions and Jay's answers, back to back, since this stretch is the clip's best material for everyday english conversation practice between two speakers.
  • Finish on lines 61, 63 and 65, "So what was my dad like in high school?" answered by "Oh, don't fire it up." and "Oh, no!", where the reaction carries more of the meaning than the words do.
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