Uploaded September 2019 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
You will want to take your time with this lesson. Learning 30 TAKE phrases isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible. Study with Alex and become more comfortable with these common English phrases and expressions. Here are some of the TAKE phrases included in this video: take a break, take a walk, take a photo, take a look, take a risk, take turns, take place, take your time, take back, take a load off, take it easy, take a bite, take a sip, and many more! When you’re finished studying, make sure you take the quiz to test your understanding at engvid.com/30-take-phrases-in-english
You will want to take your time with this lesson. Learning 30 TAKE phrases isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible. Study with Alex and become more comfortable with these common English phrases and expressions. Here are some of the TAKE phrases included in this video: take a break, take a walk, take a photo, take a look, take a risk, take turns, take place, take your time, take back, take a load off, take it easy, take a bite, take a sip, and many more! When you’re finished studying, make sure you take the quiz to test your understanding at engvid.com/30-take-phrases-in-english
![TEST YOURSELF! Practice Listening to Reduced English Speech
“Why can’t I understand local English speakers?” One reason could be that English speakers often reduce their pronunciation in conversation. This means they do not pronounce words how they are supposed to be pronounced. In this listening and speaking lesson, you will learn to understand (and use!) ten of the most commonly reduced words in English conversation. These include: him, his, he, her, them, your, our, and, to, and or. At the end of the lesson, I invite you to test your listening and write what I say in the comments. Can you understand 100% of what I say? Listen and tell me! https://www.engvid.com/test-yourself-practice-listening-to-reduced-english-speech/
Visit https://www.EnglishAlex.com for more English updates, my books, and more!
Watch more of my listening practice videos:
English Listening Practice: Phone Conversations https://youtu.be/8ZZqOGJkaDA
15 Minutes of English Listening Practice https://youtu.be/EX8RJR4-6PE
In this lesson:
0:00 10 words that are reduced in speaking
1:16 him → im, em
2:33 his → iz
3:23 he → ee
4:51 her → er
6:09 them → em
6:51 your → yer
7:50 our → r, ahr
9:18 and → n, an
10:25 to → tuh
11:37 or → er
12:27 – Practice –
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey, everyone. Im Alex. Thanks for clicking. You are learning English with engVid.
Today I want you to practice your speaking and your listening with me. To do that,
we will look at 10 words which are reduced in English speaking. Whether a person lives in
Australia, England, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, the United States, we all do these reductions
when we are in a casual situation and when we speak in a natural way, when we are on autopilot
a little bit and youre not thinking about your pronunciation, everyone does these reductions.
Except maybe university professors or something, but most people, almost everybody does these
reductions. So, at the end of this video, Im going to test your listening, so make sure you
stay till the end because I have a little surprise for you to test your listening skills, okay?
So, again, were going to practice... Were going to practice... We are going to practice
our speaking and our listening in this video. So, the first word which is reduced in speaking
is him. Now, this word is often reduced without the h, so we cut the h when were speaking,
and if its in the middle of a sentence, we say im or em. When you just hear it like that,
it doesnt mean anything. So, lets look at two different sentences, and I want you to listen
and repeat the sentences after me. So, the first sentence... First, just listen to me.
I saw him at the store. Okay? So, what I did there, I saw him, I saw him or I saw him,
right? So, I saw him or I saw him at the store. So, lets see if you can do that now.
Repeat after me. I saw him at the store.
Okay? And the second one, Do you know him?
Lets try that again a little slower. Do you know him?
Okay, good. This is just the warm-up. All right? Next, we have his, and this is another one
where we just cut the h, and you can see a pattern here, right? Him, his, he, her.
A lot of hs are cut at the beginning of words, especially when they are in the middle of a
sentence. So, repeat after me. Thats his phone. One more time. Thats his phone.
Okay? And this one, well do the slow version first. Whats his name?
And now, a little faster. Whats his name?
Good. Lets keep going with he, and we cut the h, and it just sounds like e or the letter
e, essentially. So, here, repeat after me. Ill go a little slower. Do you know where he lives?
Okay. A little faster. Do you know where he lives?
Okay, so wary, wary, wary, right? So, Do you know where he lives?,
Do you know where he lives? Very good. And next, repeat after me slowly.
He said he was sorry.
Now, you notice I did pronounce it when it was at the beginning of a sentence.
Usually when these words are at the beginning of a sentence, we do pronounce the h, but however,
when its in the middle and its not stressed, when its unstressed, we cut the h. So,
repeat after me a little faster. He said he was sorry.
He said he, right? Just like you hear that little - that liaison in French. He said he was,
He said he, He said he was, He said he was sorry. Next, we have her, and again, cut the
h, her. So, here are our questions. Repeat after me. Why dont you call her?
And you may have noticed I also did something with the t. This is a little bonus lesson,
and I will have a future video on this topic. Often with n and t together, we do not release
the t. So, we say we dont. Your tongue goes in the t position, but it doesnt release the
t. It doesnt say dont. We just say dont. The tongue stays there because its lazy.
Basically, its easier. But lets focus on the her in this case, her. […] TEST YOURSELF! Practice Listening to Reduced English Speech](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/fQamXTEhLb0/mqdefault.jpg)





![15 Minutes of English Speaking Practice: Phrasal Verbs
Start speaking with phrasal verbs! In this interactive English speaking lesson, I will teach you the meanings of several phrasal verbs, then ask you questions with them. This is a guided speaking lesson, so do not worry if you are not 100% comfortable with your spoken English – I will help you! The phrasal verbs included in this lesson are: get on, shut down, plug in, go out, stay in, grow up, and many more. Are you ready? Click play and start talking. For more practice, take the quiz: https://www.engvid.com/15-minutes-of-english-speaking-practice-phrasal-verbs/
Get my book, 100 Practical English Phrasal Verbs: https://www.englishalex.com/product-page/100-practical-english-phrasal-verbs
Ready for even more interactive English practice? Learn and use 20 phrases in 30 minutes: https://youtu.be/pAbf9uNoaV0
In this lesson:
0:00 Guided English Speaking Practice with Phrasal Verbs
1:06 grow up
2:21 wake up
3:14 get out of
4:21 put on
5:44 got on
6:48 plug in
7:55 shut off
8:42 pick up
10:18 go out & stay in
11:43 looking forward to
13:00 hang out
14:30 put away
15:40 saving up
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey everyone, Im Alex, thanks for clicking, and thank you for learning English with EngVid. Today, I have a new video format for you. It is a guided speaking practice, so I will ask you some questions, I will give you the beginning of an answer, and I want you to finish the answer for me. In this video, you will improve your vocabulary and practice your speaking. The topic of this guided speaking is phrasal verbs, so these are words like wake up, put on, and the other ones that you can see on the board. If you would like to learn more phrasal verbs, because they are everywhere in English, you can pick up a copy of my book, 100 Practical English Phrasal Verbs. It has over 900 examples and only high-frequency phrasal verbs. Check out the link that is attached to the video for more information.
Okay, so the first phrasal verb that I have on the board is grow up. So, where you grow up is the place where you spent the majority of your childhood and where you grew from a child or a baby into a child, into an adolescent, and perhaps into an adult as well. So, my first question for you, and I want you to answer it, where did you grow up? Okay, so I will answer these questions for myself as well to give you a model, and then you can follow me.
So, where did I grow up? I grew up in two places. The first part of my life, from zero to seven, I grew up in Poland, and then from seven until the rest of my childhood and adolescence, I grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Okay, so I grew up in Poland, and I grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. So, one more time. Where did you grow up? Okay, good.
Next, we have wake up. So, wake up is the time when you open your eyes in the morning and start your day. So, I will ask myself this question first. What time did you wake up this morning? Hmm, me? This morning, I woke up at 5.30, actually. It was a strange time for me to wake up, but just my brain said, You are finished sleeping, Alex. Get up. Its time to start your day. So, this morning, I woke up, past tense of wake up, I woke up at 5.30. So, this is the guided speaking practice. What time did you wake up this morning? Good.
Next, we have get out of bed. So, after you wake up, you open your eyes, you are conscious, you have to get out of bed, right? What time do you leave your bed in the morning? So, this question, what time do you usually get out of bed on the weekend? For me, on the weekend, I usually get out of bed around 8.30 or 9 oclock. Around 8.30 or 9. You can use at for a precise time or around for an imprecise time, right? Its a time thats around that region, area, place, sure. Okay. So, what time do you usually get out of bed on the weekend? Okay. I hope you are speaking out loud after hearing me and modeling your speaking after me.
Next, we have put on. So, we use put on to place things on our body. Usually its your clothes. You can put on glasses, socks, earrings, rings, bracelets, necklaces, shirts, anything you can put or place on your body, we use put on for this. So, lets see. Question. What do you usually put on first in the morning? Your shirt, socks, or pants? For me... Lets see. I have to think about this. So, usually I put on my... Yeah, I put on my shirt first. Thats right. I put on my shirt, then my pants, and then my socks. So, how about you? What do you usually put on first in the morning? Your shirt, socks, or pants? Okay. And if you are in England and youre thinking about British English pants, these are underwear in England. In Canada and the U.S., like, these are pants. I am wearing pants right now. The outer... The outer pant, basically. Okay. All right.
Next, get on. So, you can get on a large mode of transportation. So, you can get on a plane, get on a train, get on a subway, get on a boat. So, my question... When was the last time you got on an airplane? […] 15 Minutes of English Speaking Practice: Phrasal Verbs](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/gbZVgE8W7kg/mqdefault.jpg)



