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Shadowing practice: The Ones with Chandler's Sarcasm

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Line 1

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  1. I thought Joey and I would be okay once we hung out, but it's like we don't even know how0:01
  2. to be with each other anymore.0:05
  3. I know it's tough now, but things will get better.0:07
  4. How do you know that?0:09
  5. What if it just gets worse and worse and worse to the point where we can't even be in the0:11
  6. same room with each other?0:15
  7. I'm not great at the advice.0:17
  8. Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?0:20
  9. Some cheese.0:24
  10. Honey, why is the Bruce Springsteen CD in the Cat Stevens case?0:30
  11. Let's just say if I can't find the right CD case, I just put it in the nearest one.0:34
  12. Okay, well, where is the Cat Stevens CD?0:38
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  1. In the James Taylor case.0:41
  2. Where is the James Taylor CD?0:42
  3. Honey, I'm going to save you some time.0:44
  4. 200 CDs, not one of them in the right case.0:45
  5. Hey, I hear that you and Joshua are going out to dinner with Ross and Emily, and I think that's...0:49
  6. I think that's really cool.0:53
  7. Yeah, Rach, I think you're handling that really well.0:55
  8. Handling it?0:58
  9. What do you mean, handling it?1:00
  10. There's nothing to handle.1:01
  11. You know, maybe I would have a problem with this if it wasn't for me and Joshua.1:02
  12. You know, they're not gonna get married anyway.1:07
  13. What?1:10
  14. Come on.1:10
  15. They rushed into this thing so fast, it's ridiculous.1:11
  16. I mean, they're gonna be engaged for, like, what, a year?1:14
  17. And somewhere along the way, one of them is gonna realize what they've done, and they're gonna call the whole1:17
  18. thing off.1:21
  19. I'm telling you, you're gonna be dancing at my wedding before you're dancing at theirs.1:22
  20. Yeah, well, I don't dance at weddings.1:26
  21. Why not?1:29
  22. Because weddings are a great place to meet women.1:30
  23. And when I dance, I look like this.1:31
  24. Hey, man.1:45
  25. Hey.1:45
  26. I just don't want you to think that we're animals who do it whenever we want.1:48
  27. Oh, I don't think that.1:52
  28. Before today, I never thought of you two having sex at all.1:54
  29. It was a simpler time The truth is, Dad, we're trying What?1:58
  30. Yeah, we're trying to get pregnant Oh, my God, this is so exciting We'll get back in there, I'll guard2:06
  31. the door It's okay, Dad, we can wait until later Whoa, whoa, whoa, I don't think so Aren't you ovulating?2:12
  32. Daddy Well, you gotta get at it, Princess When your mother and I were trying to conceive you Whenever she2:18
  33. was ovulating, bam Bam!2:25
  34. We did it.2:27
  35. That's how I got my bad hip.2:27
  36. It's funny.2:30
  37. This conversation is how I got the bullet hole in my head.2:30
  38. Joey, what's going on?2:34
  39. Why didn't you tell us you work here?2:35
  40. Well, uh...2:37
  41. Well, it's kind of embarrassing, you know?2:40
  42. I mean, I was an actor.2:42
  43. Now I'm a waiter.2:43
  44. I'm supposed to go in the other direction.2:44
  45. So is your apron.2:47
  46. You're wearing it like a cape.2:48
  47. I mean, the job's easy and the money's good, you know?2:51
  48. I guess I'm gonna be hanging out here anyway.2:54
  49. I might as well get paid for it, right?2:57
  50. Just, you know, kind of weird serving you guys, you know?2:59
  51. Oh, that'd be great.3:02
  52. Joey, come on.3:03
  53. I did it, and it was fine.3:04
  54. Yeah, why would it be weird?3:06
  55. Hey, Joey, uh, can I get some coffee?3:09
  56. Okay, I guess it doesn't seem that weird.3:12
  57. Seriously, I asked you before, you still haven't gotten it.3:15
  58. And now it's weird again.3:19
  59. I think it's great that you work here.3:22
  60. You're gonna make a lot of money, and here's your first tip.3:23
  61. Don't eat yellow snow.3:27
  62. Mm -hmm -hmm -hmm -hmm.3:30
  63. 215 Coffeehouse.3:32
  64. Hey!3:35
  65. Hi, Bubbles.3:36
  66. Manly.3:37
  67. Well, I just thought I would drop by and let you know how it went with Joey.3:39
  68. You told her?3:42
  69. She pulled it out of me.3:44
  70. She's like a conversational wizard.3:46
  71. How did it go?3:49
  72. Well, you were wrong.3:50
  73. He doesn't like me.3:51
  74. What?3:52
  75. Yeah, how would you like it if I sent you to Lee Majors' house and I told you that he3:53
  76. liked you, and you went down there and you found out that he didn't like you?3:57
  77. How would you feel?4:00
  78. I don't think I'd care.4:05
  79. Really?4:06
  80. Lee Majors is hot.4:07
  81. Hello?4:10
  82. We're in the bathroom.4:12
  83. Why?4:14
  84. Because it's a relaxing and enjoyable time.4:15
  85. What are you guys doing in here?4:21
  86. Oh, my God.4:23
  87. A friend he's looking at differently, but it's wrong.4:25
  88. It's Rachel.4:30
  89. You like Rachel?4:31
  90. Hey, look, it's no big deal, okay?4:32
  91. Phoebe and I talked about it.4:34
  92. It's just a crush.4:36
  93. It's gonna go away.4:37
  94. Dude, you gotta rearrange your bubbles.4:38
  95. Whoa.4:39
  96. Well, that's not tough.4:43
  97. Hey.4:46
  98. Oh, hi.4:47
  99. Hey.4:48
  100. Ross and I were looking for you.4:48
  101. What are we all doing in here?4:50
  102. Oh, my.4:53
  103. Honey, cover it up with the boat.4:56
  104. Hello?5:00
  105. Yes, we're all in here, and we'd love for you to join us.5:01
  106. Hey, what's going on?5:08
  107. Ooh, cool boat.5:10
  108. Oh, no.5:12
  109. Hey, did you tell them?5:15
  110. No, I was waiting for you.5:17
  111. Tell us what?5:18
  112. We're having a girl.5:19
  113. Oh, wow!5:21
  114. Yay!5:22
  115. Oh, I'll get you later.5:27
  116. Oh, on a date.5:28
  117. Yeah, I met this girl on the train going to a museum upstate.5:30
  118. Oh, yeah?5:33
  119. How'd you meet her?5:34
  120. No.5:35
  121. Answer his.5:37
  122. Okay, it was just me and her at the back of the train, and I sat near the door, so5:39
  123. she'd have to pass by me if she wanted to, like, switch cars.5:43
  124. She was totally at my mercy.5:47
  125. Were you so late because you were burying this woman?5:49
  126. I'm getting back now because she lives in Poughkeepsie.5:53
  127. She seems really great, but she's like two and a half hours away.5:55
  128. How can she be great if she's from Poughkeepsie?5:59
  129. Okay, that joke would have killed in Albany.6:04
  130. You know that girl you went to college with who became a movie director?6:06
  131. Oh, yeah, Dana Keystone.6:09
  132. She was in my movement class.6:10
  133. What's a movement class?6:13
  134. It's Chandler's way of pretending he didn't take mime.6:15
  135. Oh, well, listen, anyway, she's directing the new Al Pacino movie.6:19
  136. You gotta get me an audition.6:23
  137. Oh, I don't know, man.6:24
  138. I haven't talked to her in, like, ten years.6:25
  139. Oh, no, no, please, please, Chandler.6:27
  140. I would owe you so much.6:28
  141. You do owe me so much.6:30
  142. You owe me $3 ,400.6:32
  143. Hey, hey, dude.6:33
  144. Why are you changing the subject?6:34
  145. What?6:35
  146. Will you make the call or what?6:37
  147. Okay, I'll try.6:39
  148. All right, thanks.6:40
  149. You're the best.6:41
  150. Now, listen, the last day of auditions is Thursday, okay?6:41
  151. So I gotta get in there by Thursday, okay?6:44
  152. Just remember Thursday.6:46
  153. Thursday.6:47
  154. Can you remember Thursday?6:47
  155. Yeah, so Tuesday?6:49
  156. Thursday.6:52
  157. Look, if you need help remembering, just think of it like this.6:54
  158. The third day, all right?6:57
  159. Monday, one day.6:58
  160. Tuesday, two day.7:00
  161. Wednesday, when?7:02
  162. Huh?7:03
  163. What day?7:03
  164. Thursday!7:04
  165. The third day, okay?7:05
  166. Thank you.7:09
  167. So I guess this is it.7:19
  168. Yeah.7:21
  169. I guess so.7:24
  170. This is harder than I thought it would be.7:28
  171. No, it's gonna be okay.7:31
  172. Okay.7:36
  173. Well, do you guys have to go to the new house right away, or do you have some time?7:44
  174. We got some time.7:51
  175. Okay, should we get some coffee?7:54
  176. Sure.7:56
  177. Where?7:59

American accent training with a fast, sarcastic Friends scene

This clip is B2 level and moves at 246 words per minute, faster than 93% of the catalogue, so it is a solid pick once slower dialogue feels too easy. The accent is American, and the speech is genuinely conversational: friends interrupting each other, trailing off, cutting each other short.

The scene itself shifts fast. It opens on Ross comforting Rachel about a strained friendship with Joey, swings into Chandler needling Monica about mixed up CD cases, then into a group ribbing Ross about Joshua and the Emily wedding, then into an awkward parent conversation. Four different emotional registers in a few minutes is exactly what makes real english speaking practice harder than a single flat monologue, and exactly why it is worth shadowing this line by line rather than skimming it once.

The colloquial turns and reductions in this Chandler and Ross exchange

A few lines are worth slowing down for before you shadow the full clip.

Chandler's line "Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?" is a set phrase, not a literal offer, and the whole joke rides on the flat delivery. Practise it with the stress on "sarcastic", not on "interest".

Rachel's "You know, they're not gonna get married anyway" and Ross's later "I'm telling you, you're gonna be dancing at my wedding before you're dancing at theirs" both use the reduced "gonna" for future intent, said quickly and folded into the sentence rather than pronounced as two separate words.

One more worth copying for rhythm: "They rushed into this thing so fast, it's ridiculous." The stress lands hard on "fast" and "ridiculous", which carries the annoyance in Chandler's voice without him raising his volume.

  • "Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?", stress on sarcastic, deadpan delivery
  • "You know, they're not gonna get married anyway.", gonna reduced and run into get
  • "I'm telling you, you're gonna be dancing at my wedding before you're dancing at theirs.", two gonna reductions in one breath
  • "They rushed into this thing so fast, it's ridiculous.", stress on fast and ridiculous carries the sarcasm

How to shadow this clip's Friends dialogue, line by line

Do not try to speak along with the whole scene on a first pass. Work it in the order the conversation actually changes shape.

  • Start with lines 1 to 6, Ross and Rachel. The pace here is calmer, so use it to warm up before the sarcasm speeds things up.
  • Isolate line 8, "Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?", and repeat it five times alone. This is the line that sets the tone for the whole scene.
  • Take lines 10 to 16, the CD case back and forth, as one block. It is short, repetitive question and answer, which makes it good for matching rhythm rather than meaning.
  • Move to lines 24 and 31 together since both carry the gonna reduction; say them back to back until the reduction stops feeling like two separate words.
  • Finish on line 27, "They rushed into this thing so fast, it's ridiculous.", and check your recording against the stress pattern before moving past this section of the clip.
  • Once each block sounds close, run lines 1 to 34 straight through at full speed to test whether you can keep up with a 246 word per minute pace, then slow back down on any line that broke.
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