Uploaded July 2023 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Are you ONLY saying “I’m fine, thank you, and you?” when someone asks “How are you?” Do you want to level up your English and use a greater variety of responses to this very common question? In this lesson, you will learn over 40 ways to let someone know if your current mood or situation is positive, negative, neutral, or difficult to explain. Some of the responses in this lesson include: I’m all right, Never been better, Could be better, Don’t ask, Meh, Can’t complain, I’m bouncing off the walls, I don’t even know anymore, and many more! Watch this practical English speaking lesson to feel more comfortable and fluent in conversations today. Think you’re ready for the next step? Take the quiz to test your knowledge. engvid.com/fluent-english-40-ways-to-answer-how-are-you
Get more resources and sign up for private classes at my website: englishalex.com
More of my videos about conversational English:
30+ ways to greet people in English youtu.be/p5QcM16Jo3o
5 English Idioms to Encourage People youtu.be/_fjdYuHMbL4
In this lesson:
00:00 How to answer "How are you?"
01:16 Positive ways to answer "How are you?"
07:27 Medium ways to answer "How are you?"
11:59 Negative ways to answer "How are you?"
Are you ONLY saying “I’m fine, thank you, and you?” when someone asks “How are you?” Do you want to level up your English and use a greater variety of responses to this very common question? In this lesson, you will learn over 40 ways to let someone know if your current mood or situation is positive, negative, neutral, or difficult to explain. Some of the responses in this lesson include: I’m all right, Never been better, Could be better, Don’t ask, Meh, Can’t complain, I’m bouncing off the walls, I don’t even know anymore, and many more! Watch this practical English speaking lesson to feel more comfortable and fluent in conversations today. Think you’re ready for the next step? Take the quiz to test your knowledge. engvid.com/fluent-english-40-ways-to-answer-how-are-you
Get more resources and sign up for private classes at my website: englishalex.com
More of my videos about conversational English:
30+ ways to greet people in English youtu.be/p5QcM16Jo3o
5 English Idioms to Encourage People youtu.be/_fjdYuHMbL4
In this lesson:
00:00 How to answer "How are you?"
01:16 Positive ways to answer "How are you?"
07:27 Medium ways to answer "How are you?"
11:59 Negative ways to answer "How are you?"


![23 Intransitive Phrasal Verbs for Intermediate English Learners
Are you an intermediate English learner? You NEED to learn phrasal verbs – and I can help you do it! In this clear English lesson, you will learn 23 intransitive phrasal verbs that are good for your level, including *“calm down,” “look around,” “stand out,” “stick around,” “warm up,”* and more. You will also LISTEN and REPEAT to make your English stronger. Finally, if you love this English lesson and you want to support me (and your English learning!), get a copy of my book, 100 Practical English Phrasal Verbs: https://www.englishalex.com/product-page/100-practical-english-phrasal-verbs 📘 Keep learning and keep practicing! Take the quiz here: https://www.engvid.com/23-intransitive-english-phrasal-verbs/
Learn even more intransitive phrasal verbs: https://youtu.be/AGsLrtjfE_M
In this lesson:
0:00 30 Intransitive Phrasal Verbs
1:01 calm down
1:50 carry on
2:49 drop by
3:54 fall apart
4:45 fall behind
5:44 get away
6:47 go off
7:54 hang around
9:08 hang on
9:50 look around
10:50 loosen up
11:47 move in & move out
13:10 move on
14:51 pass away
15:35 run away
16:17 stand out
17:21 step out
18:16 stick around
19:04 take off
19:36 warm up
20:23 work out
20:57 wrap up
Transcript:
Hey, everyone. Im Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this video on 23 intransitive phrasal verbs. What is an intransitive phrasal verb? Good question, Alex. An intransitive phrasal verb is a phrasal verb that doesnt require an object. Alex, what does that mean? So, for example, I have a phone in my pocket. I took out my phone. This is transitive. Took out? Oh, took out something. So, this is transitive. Intransitive means you dont need an object. You have the subject and the action. All of the phrasal verbs in this video are very appropriate for intermediate English learners, and I will ask you to practice them with me today. Are you ready? Lets go.
So, the first one is calm down. Right? So, this means to relax. You are very high energy at the moment. I need you to relax, calm down. So, calm down. It will be okay. So, if someone is very stressed about a test, Oh no. Oh no. Im going to fail. You can say, Calm down. Breathe. Just breathe. Its going to be okay. Okay? So, repeat after me. Calm down. It will be okay.
Next, we have carry on. So, to carry on means to continue, right, in a specific way. So, we just need to carry on and hope for the best. So, if you are having a difficulty at work with a specific project and the project is not finished, there are people complaining about the progress of the project, and you say to everyone, Guys, calm down. We just need to carry on. Continue. We just need to carry on and hope for the best. Right? We hope for good news, a positive result. All right? Lets continue. Just say, We just need to carry on. Very good.
Drop by. Drop by means to make a short visit somewhere. So, you can drop by a place. So, for example, Ah, after work, Ill drop by. So, Ill drop by your house or your apartment. Your friend says they call you. Ring, ring, ring. Hello, Alex? Yeah? Do you have my money? Uh, yeah, Frank. I have your money. Ill drop by after work. Bye. I owe Frank some money. Ill drop by after work. Okay. So, repeat after me. Ill drop by after work. Good. If you want more phrases like drop by, I have another video that is attached to this video.
Next, fall apart. If something falls apart, it breaks into many pieces. It deteriorates. So, for example, this is an exaggeration, but you can say, Ah, my shoes are falling apart. Right? My shoes are very old, and maybe they are deteriorating, they are breaking into many pieces. My shoes are falling apart. My car is falling apart. Right? If you have pieces that are falling off or the quality is not as good. So, repeat after me. My shoes are falling apart. Good job. All right.
Next, fall behind. If you fall behind, you are not at the same level as other people in a process. Okay? So, for example, shes falling behind in math class. So, maybe she was sick for two weeks. Oh, no. I cant go to school. And she fell behind. She missed a lot of work. So, she fell behind in math class. You can fall behind at work. You can fall behind in a personal project as well. Ready? Repeat after me. Well just say this. Shes falling behind. Mm-hmm. Yeah, shes falling behind. Shes not at the same level as the other students in her math class.
Get away. So, get away has multiple meanings. Now, here, The thief got away. Get away can mean escape. So, repeat after me. The thief got away. All right? He got away. He escaped. Next, We should get away. So, in this case, We should get away means we should go somewhere on vacation. So, we need to get away. We need to go somewhere and relax and enjoy ourselves. Also, if I say, Get away, this means go away from me. Right? It can mean this as well. Okay, so repeat after me. We should get away. Yep. Its true. I need... I need to do this, too. Excuse me. All right. […] 23 Intransitive Phrasal Verbs for Intermediate English Learners](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/TfyThF3AKrs/mqdefault.jpg)

![10 Prepositional Phrases you should know | English Vocabulary & Conversation
*Prepositional phrases* are an essential part of English speaking. In this advanced English vocabulary and speaking lesson, you’ll learn ten common phrases that begin with a preposition, including: at the same time, by accident, by the way, for good, for now, for sure, in regard to, in the meantime, on purpose, and on time. Even if you know the meanings of these phrases, it is important to take the next step and put them into practical conversational contexts. In addition to learning the meanings and uses of these phrases, make sure you listen to and repeat the sentences in the lesson. This is one of the best ways to help you learn new phrases and expressions. Do not be content just knowing the theory and the individual vocabulary units of a language: PRACTICE USING THEM IN CONTEXT. After you watch and practice with the video, make sure to do the quiz on engvid.com to solidify your understanding. https://www.engvid.com/10-prepositional-phrases-english-vocabulary-conversation
Get more English resources on my website: https://www.englishalex.com
More of my lessons about prepositions:
12 Prepositional Phrases for Professionals https://youtu.be/iG6aQVLY6aY
The 10 Most Frequent Preposition Mistakes https://youtu.be/cRKbG4h2YQw
In this lesson:
0:00 10 Prepositional Phrases
0:37 at the same time
1:19 by accident
2:40 by the way
3:45 for good
4:30 for now
5:39 for sure
6:20 in regard to
7:26 in the meantime
8:11 on purpose
8:47 on time
TRANSCRIPT
Hey everyone, Im Alex.
Thanks for clicking and welcome to this lesson on 10 useful prepositional phrases. So in this video, Im going to give you 10 phrases that begin with prepositions and are followed by a variety of words and they are all practical, useful, Im sorry, Im still a little embarrassed that you caught me doing what I was doing. Ill tell you what I was doing in a moment.
So the first prepositional phrase that I have for you is at the same time, which means simultaneously. Lets look at the example sentence. Its impossible to be in two places at the same time. So at the start of the video, I was trying to rub my head and pat my stomach at the same time. Can you do that at the same time? If youre in a public place, I highly recommend trying it right now. If youre in a private place, even better. So can you pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time, simultaneously? Let me know in the comments.
Next up, we have by accident. So if you do something by accident, you do not do it intentionally, you do it accidentally. So I think you messaged me by accident. So you received a weird message from someone and you think, no, I think that was for your girlfriend or for your boyfriend. Ah, I have a story about this. Listen well, children. I had a coworker named Jonathan. And hi, Jonathan, if youre watching this. And Jonathan, Jonathan had a girlfriend named Alex as well. My name is Alex. His girlfriends name is Alex. He had my name in his phone. Obviously, Alex and Alex were very close. So one day I received a message from Jonathan and Jonathans message said, hey, Im going to be home in 30 minutes. Do you want a pizza? And I said, yeah, pizza would be great, Jonathan, but I think you have the wrong Alex. So yes, Jonathan sent me a message by accident, accidentally messaged me instead of messaging his girlfriend. Has that ever happened to you? I hope not, but it can happen.
By the way. So this is a very useful phrase when youre having a conversation. You can use by the way when you want to introduce something into the conversation that you just thought of in the moment and you want to share this information before it escapes your mind. It can be related to the thing you are talking about with your friend or it can be completely unrelated. So for example, it was nice to see you. By the way, did you work things out with your sister? By the way, work things out. If you work things out with someone, you resolve your issues with them. You fix a problem that you had with them, like a conflict of some kind. So yeah, it was nice to see you. Bye. Oh wait, by the way, did you work things out with your sister? Last time I talked to you, you told me you guys were in conflict with each other.
Okay, next we have for good. So if you do something for good or if something finishes for good, it means it is permanent. So you do something permanently forever. Here, Gary quit yesterday. What a shock. Gary quit yesterday? No, not Gary. Hes gone for good. This means he is gone permanently, gone forever. Bye bye Gary. No more Gary at this company. He is gone for good. If you end a relationship with someone, you know, you can say, Sorry, we are finished for good. Permanently forever, okay?
Next we have for now. So if something is for now, it is temporary. So the doctor will see you soon. For now, please wait here. Please have a seat in the waiting room. […] 10 Prepositional Phrases you should know | English Vocabulary & Conversation](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/USPE4NTvWWA/mqdefault.jpg)

![English Grammar: BEEN TO or GONE TO?
Whats the difference between Ive been to London and Ive gone to London? Is there a difference at all? Watch this video to find out when to use been and when to use gone in present perfect sentences. English grammar can seem confusing, but here at EngVid we make things easier by breaking it down and explaining the logic behind it all. Once you understand the rules, youll know how to use the language. After you watch the lesson, make sure you understand it by taking the quiz at https://www.engvid.com/been-to-gone-to/ . See if you can score 10/10 this time! Good luck!
TRANSCRIPT
Oh, wow, Ive definitely never been there before. Have you been there before? While were on that topic: Hey, everyone, Im Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on two commonly used and sometimes confused words in English. And those two words are: been and gone. Now, these two words, I say they are commonly used and sometimes confused because they are often used in a similar way, in a similar context, but there is one situation where only one of them works.
Before we begin: What is been, what is gone? Grammatically, these are past participles. And today were specifically going to look at how to use them with perfect tenses, because the confusion with the two words usually happens in the perfect tenses themselves.
So, first lets look at been. Notice the arrows that I drew here. So, if you have been to a place, this means that you went there and you returned. So, for example: Hes been to India. And by the way, this hes, this means: he has been in this situation, this is the present perfect. Hes been to India. He went and he returned in his life. This is a life experience that he had. Okay? So you can say: Ive been to India., Ive been to Disney Land., Ive been to Niagara Falls. So, if you want to talk about life experience where you went to a place, you returned from the place, its behind you, its in the past, its done, its in your life experience, been is usually the word you want to go with.
Next: gone. Now, Im going to look at gone in a specific context which basically means you went to a place and youre still there, and you went recently. So, for example: Hes gone to India. -Wheres Frank? -Franks not in Canada, man. Hes gone to India. This means recently Hank left Canada... Did I say Hank or Frank? Frank or Hank? How do you not remember? Thats okay, lets keep going. Hank/Frank, Hankfrank, Frankhank has gone to India. So, he went to India maybe two days ago. Hes in India now.
Lets look at some more of these examples with been and gone. Been. Ive never been to China. Okay? Life experience, Ive never been and returned, I have never visited China. They had been there before. So were using the past perfect tense, here. They had visited that location before. Ah: We will have been in Montreal for three years by then. Now, here, its actually slightly different. Right? Because youre not saying that you went to Montreal and you returned to Montreal, but that you have lived in Montreal for three years, or: We will have lived, We will have been in Montreal for three years by then. So, here is a different sense. Here, youre saying that in three years: Oh, we will have been in Montreal for three years by that time, by a specific time in the future. Okay?
So, a different way to use been. Now, again, remember been is the past participle of the verb be, and after be you can use many, many, many, many different things, so you can talk about your age. Right? You can talk about adjectives, your feelings. You can follow the verb to be with a continuous form. Right? So: Hes been playing, Hes been reading, Hes been doing. For this lesson I specifically want to focus on using it to talk about travel and life experience with visiting places and returning from places.
Gone, okay. Jacks not here. Hes gone home. Now, here were using the present perfect. One of the uses for the present perfect is to talk about something that happened recently. Okay? And you can still see the effects, or something that just happened. So: -Wheres Jack? -Oh, Jacks not here. Hes gone home. He has gone home. Not: Hes been home, that means he went home and he returned, and its a weird kind of sentence. Maybe, unless he went for lunch, I guess. And heres another one: Shes gone grocery shopping. -Hey, where is Matilda? -Matildas not here. She has gone grocery shopping. Okay? So she went recently, shes there now. Next one, ah: Theyve gone on vacation. So your neighbours are not here, you notice their car is not in the driveway. Hey, where are the Hendersons? -Oh, the Hendersons are not here. Theyve gone on vacation. Okay? And last one: Hes gone to work. -Mom, wheres dad? -Dads not home. Hes gone to work. Okay? Recently he left the house, he went to work, hes at work now. […] English Grammar: BEEN TO or GONE TO?](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UYIiHqZu7kU/mqdefault.jpg)
![Academic Vocabulary for Essays & IELTS Writing: 15 cause and effect POWER VERBS
Level up your academic writing skills by learning fifteen cause and effect verbs that will make you sound like a fourth-year university essay writing pro. If you’re taking the IELTS or TOEFL, these verbs are essential in the writing sections of those exams. The verbs and phrases include: cause, produce, lead to, result in, create, bring about, give rise to, be responsible for, result from, stem from, be caused by, be produced by, be brought about by, and be triggered by. Improvement stems from regular practice and consistently challenging yourself with new material, so make sure you don’t miss out on this chance to improve your written English. Take the quiz at https://www.engvid.com/academic-vocabulary-cause-effect-verbs/
WATCH NEXT:
1. LEARN 20 PASSIVE GET EXPRESSIONS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzLbKEomlCI&list=PLrPhmmx5j5b-AjltXcrLI4iiqF7lsj_P8&index=11
2. ACTIVE & PASSIVE GERUNDS IN ENGLISH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV_XlU1oxJg&list=PLrPhmmx5j5b-AjltXcrLI4iiqF7lsj_P8&index=71
TRANSCRIPT
Hey, everyone. Im Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on cause and effect verbs. So, this is an academic writing lesson. In this lesson, you will learn some advanced vocabulary, specifically verbs, that you can use in your high school or university essays; or if you are an English student who is taking the IELTS or the TOEFL, you can use these verbs to really level up your writing in your writing tasks on those tests. Okay? Now, if you are a writer of another sort; if you are an essayist, a fiction writer, a non-fiction writer, or you want to be a writer in the future - it never hurts to have more vocabulary, to have more power verbs in your arsenal. So, what were going to do today is improve your vocabulary for your writing and really make your writing that much stronger. So, Im going to put this down, and lets start looking at some verbs.
Specifically, we are going to look at some effect verbs first. So, when you think of effect, you think of the result of something. So, we have the verbs: cause, produce; and we have verb phrases, like: lead to, result in; and we have: create, bring about, give rise to, and be responsible for. So, these are all formal verbs, and these will definitely formalize your writing; specifically your essays. So, for example: cause - very direct. Right? So: The 2008 financial crisis caused several problems for multinational banks. So, this crisis caused these things to happen. All right?
Lets continue with: produce. Okay? So, to produce, create, cause. The medication did not produce the desired effect. So, the medication was supposed to numb the pain, but it didnt do this. It didnt produce the desired effect. So, again, to produce, think of it in the same family of words as: cause, produce, and create, which well see a little bit later on.
Next we have: lead to. So, if something leads to something else, this means that it causes the next step to happen. So, the next step is the effect. So, for example: Several international incidents led to World War II. So, were talking about international events, international incidents that led to - gave the cause for World War II. So, if something leads to something else, you know, you do this thing which causes this thing, so the effect is here. One thing leads to or causes another thing.
Result in - very straightforward, I think. So, result in: The earthquake resulted in thousands of deaths. The effect of the earthquake; the result of the earthquake. So: The earthquake resulted in thousands of deaths. Later well look at a result of, so that will be for cause; but for effect, you can say: result in. What was the result? It resulted in blank; in something.
Create. I think everyone is familiar with the verb create. If youre not, here we go. The increasing rate of crime is creating numerous issues, numerous problems. So, its making problems, creating problems, causing problems. So, the effect is that there are numerous problems now because of this.
Bring about. So, if something brings about something else, it kind of brings it-right?-into effect. So: The new regime-the new political party, the new political regime-brought about stricter laws. So, imagine there was an election and there is a new political regime, and with them they are bringing new laws, so they brought about new laws; they caused new laws to happen. The effect of the political regime are these stricter laws. Okay?
Next: give rise to. If something gives rise to something else, it means that the initial cause creates the conditions necessary for the effect to happen. Okay? Got that? Okay, lets look at the example. So: The election result gave rise to public protests. So, we have the election result, and: Uh-oh, now the condition is instability in the public because maybe the public is not happy with the results of the election. […] Academic Vocabulary for Essays & IELTS Writing: 15 cause and effect POWER VERBS](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/VaBCiio8XZs/mqdefault.jpg)


![Advanced English Vocabulary: Compound Adjectives
This is a mind-altering lesson that will change the way you look at how adjectives are constructed. Only hard-working English students should dare enter. If you’re ready to play with language and get creative, click the play button and learn some of the most advanced and complex vocabulary there is. This lesson covers more than twenty multi-word adjectives, including fun-loving, good-looking, well-developed, full-time, foul-smelling, blonde-haired, three-legged, two-liter, and plenty more. Enter if you dare, and make sure to test your new knowledge by completing the quiz at https://www.engvid.com/advanced-english-vocabulary-compound-adjectives/ when you’re done.
Next, watch these other advanced English lessons Ive done:
1. Advanced English Homophones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc_uzraKOIU&list=PLrPhmmx5j5b-AjltXcrLI4iiqF7lsj_P8&index=20
2. Cause & Effect Power Verbs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaBCiio8XZs&list=PLrPhmmx5j5b-AjltXcrLI4iiqF7lsj_P8&index=5
Sign up for a free Audible trial at https://www.engvid.com/out/audiblealex !
TRANSCRIPT
Hey, everyone. Im Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on multi-word adjectives. So, this is an advanced lesson, where I will give you a ton of examples of multi-word adjectives and the contexts in which you can use them, as well as the structure... the grammatical structure, the grammatical pieces and parts of speech you need to form your own, you know, multi-word adjectives.
Now, whats tricky about these is that you cant just take any words and mash them together. Unfortunately, you know, some words have gone together better than others. So, it is kind of an issue of memorizing things, but you can try to get creative. And after you watch the video, if you know any other multi-word adjectives or if you want to experiment with the language and try to create your own, you can ask me in the comments or write me in the comments, and let me know if you, you know, want to ask me if its a multi-word adjective that exists or maybe its something thats just fun and funny. So, if you can make me laugh, thats even better. All right, so lets begin.
What is a multi-word adjective? I think its best if we just start looking at them and look at the examples, and youll see what I mean. So, the first way... I say first, but really any of these could be first. The first way I have listed on the board is you can have an adverb, add an ed participle or an ed adjective to create a new word; a new adjective. So, for example, you can create words, like: well-developed, fully-trained, highly-skilled. Okay? So, a well-developed app or a well-developed program.
So, remember: Adjectives are words which describe things. So, ideally, after these adjectives you should have some kind of noun. So, what are some things that could be well-developed? So, a well-developed app, a well-developed game, a well-developed program. Okay? Fully-trained, so a fully-trained marine, a fully-trained police officer; someone who has received full training and is an expert in their field. Okay? Highly-skilled - someone who has a high degree of skill in their area. So, you can be a highly-skilled detective, or a highly-skilled doctor, a highly-skilled surgeon, a highly-skilled... Whatever profession you can think of that requires a high degree of skill.
Next, you can take an adverb, add an ing participle or ing adjective. And you have words, like: hard-working, fast-acting, well-paying. So, a hard-working person, a fast-acting pain reliever or a fast-acting medication. So, if you have pain and you take medicine, and the medicine acts very quickly... Maybe in two minutes: Oh, it works. Its a fast-acting medication. Okay? Well-paying, so you can have a well-paying job; the company pays you well; the job is well-paying. You can also... Hey, you can also use well-paid. So, if the company pays you, you can say, you know: I am well-paid for my work. I have a well-paying job. Okay?
Next: You can have a noun plus ed participle. You notice the pattern, right? You see: ed, ing, ed, ing, ed, ing, ed, noun... Thats later. So, a noun plus ed participle. For example: money-related, self-created, steel-enforced. So, if you can... If you say, for example, you know: The country is experiencing some financial problems. They are having some money-related issues. Or maybe a city is having some crime-related problems. Or: Hmm, this is an age-related issue - an issue related to age or a problem related to money; something like that.
Self-created, so, you know, all your problems are self-created. So, if you create problems for yourself, you are, you know, self-creating problems, so your problems are self-created. Steel-enforced, so maybe this is at a prison that has very heavy security, and the walls are enforced with steel, so, you know, you cannot really break through them because they are enforced with steel. […] Advanced English Vocabulary: Compound Adjectives](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WhDbykAINm4/mqdefault.jpg)