How To Express Yourself In English About Your Daily Routine
welcome to speak English with Tiffany I
am teacher Tiffany let’s jump right in
okay the first thing you do in your
daily routine is wake up and the English
expression you can use is crack of dawn
okay crack of dawn crack of dawn means a
time very early in the morning or
daybreak so for example 4 a.m. 5 a.m. or
6 a.m. so if you have a habit of getting
up at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. someone can say
to you wow you usually get up at the
crack of dawn okay let’s look at the
first example in detail number one it
says my friend wants to go to the beach
tomorrow she has been quite busy at work
these days so she wants to relax a bit
now in this first sentence or the second
sentence actually we see quite busy now
when you add the word quite in front of
busy it puts an emphasis on busy so it
means very very busy so maybe she has
had a lot of projects that have kept her
quite busy at work and then at the end
of the sentence we also see she wants to
relax a bit now this a bit portion at
the end or after the word relax just
means a little so it means to relax a
little or for a short time so instead of
she wants to relax a bit we can say she
wants to relax a little okay let’s keep
going so I told her we have to get up at
the crack of dawn in order to beat the
traffic now in a previous video we went
over in order to okay in order to but
very quickly in order to just means
so that something can be see we can
write this faster something can be done
so the reason they’re gonna get up at
the crack of dawn is so that they can
beat the traffic now beat the traffic is
also a really good expression for you
guys to know when you’re traveling or
when you’re going somewhere so beat the
traffic means to go out or leave for a
journey go out or leave before the
traffic starts before the traffic have
to write really small now traffic let’s
see if we can get this in here starts
okay oh this is really close let’s see
if we can mark this off a little bit
right here let’s do this so later on you
won’t be confused so once again beat the
traffic refers to going out or leaving
before the traffic starts okay so let’s
look at the meaning now remember we saw
she said I told her we have to get up at
the crack of dawn in order to beat the
traffic
so she’s telling her friend let’s get up
early so that we can leave before the
traffic starts let’s get up around 5:00
a.m. so that we can get ready and leave
early before the traffic starts okay
number two when I had my first baby I
remember the first month being the
hardest month for my husband and I it’s
pretty easy she always went to bed
earlier than us which meant that she
also got up earlier than us okay now
which meant is used when we want to talk
about a cause that leads to something so
cause-and-effect so we have caused
and results so instead of
affectless a cause and result so what
was the cause well we see here she
always went to bed earlier than us that
was the cause and what was the result
the result was she also got up earlier
so it was the cause she went to bed the
result she got up earlier okay let’s
keep going on many occasions she woke us
up at the crack of dawn with her crying
okay so this sentence is talking about
someone’s baby going to bed early which
means that they will get up early and
getting up early means they would get up
maybe about 5:00 a.m. or 6 a.m. which
was the crack of dawn okay the next
thing you do is normally to check your
phone so an English expression we can
use is first things first first things
first is used to tell someone that more
important things should be done first
okay so basically putting a priority on
things that are important so our first
example let’s look at our first example
it says Anthony knows that he has to go
back to his hometown for the annual
family gathering
remember annual just means something
that happens every year okay something
that happens every year okay so your
birthday is an annual event or annual
personal holiday okay let’s keep going
but first things first he has to finish
the last few portions of the project he
has been working on over the past month
okay so really quickly the last few
portions okay portions and then
sometimes you can add up depending on
what you’re talking about but few
portions this just is another way of
saying few parts
okay few parts of something okay few
parts so let’s say your jaw
is a circle you need to work on this
project you need to work on this project
and you need to work on this project
well this project makes up this portion
right here and he needs to finish this
portion before he goes to the family
gathering ok so again first things first
refers to doing the most important
things before other things so there are
two things being compared going to his
family gathering and also getting the
last few portions of his project
finished at his job so he says first
things first I must complete the project
ok all right let’s keep going number 2
good afternoon everyone thank you for
coming to today’s meeting we will be
discussing our plan for the upcoming
year and also multiple business
strategies ok upcoming is another way
that we say the next now let’s use a
different color the next dot dot dot dot
looks a little strange
dot dot dot or the one that is coming up
next
okay so let’s keep going but first
things first
does anyone have any questions they
would like to ask me before we start so
in this sentence what’s happening there
are two things that will happen there
will be a discussion but there’s also a
time needed for questions and this
person is saying that the questions are
the most important at this time and the
discussion is number two’s give another
hash right there the discussion is
number two so number one ask the
questions number two we’ll have a
discussion so first things first
does anyone have any questions all right
after checking your phone you usually
eat food whether it’s breakfast or
whatever you have you eat food
in English you can use the expression
grab a bite
grab a bite grab a bite means to get
something to eat or to get food that can
be eaten quickly now usually during your
daily routine you get very busy so you
have to grab something very quick so a
bite okay it’s one bite okay so let’s
keep going looking at the first example
it says I’m usually quite busy on Friday
mornings because we have a weekly staff
meeting right after lunch now remember
we learned that quite busy is a way to
emphasize what do you remember that’s
right very very busy okay I’ll leave it
in this color all right let’s keep going
right after lunch so in English when we
say right after something now right
after is used to emphasize that it will
be directly following something okay
directly following okay it means that
there will be nothing in between so for
example if the meeting ends at 11:55
lunch will be at 12 o’clock so there’s
only a five minute gap but it’s right
after okay so right after let’s keep
going
so I normally just grab a bite to eat
from the corner store on the first floor
of our building
then I run to our meeting okay so you
see we have grabbed a bite and again
this is just talking about getting
something to eat so the first example
was quite simple as we wanted to number
two since I am on a diet
I only grab a quick bite of something
simple in the morning okay
so here we have since I am thinking
thing so we use this when we want to
express the reason for something the
reason ok the reason for an action for
example since I enjoyed running as a
child I always wanted to be on the track
team okay so what is the reason that I
wanted to be on the track team as a
child because I enjoyed running that was
the reason okay let’s keep going but
during the day I usually get hungry so
in the afternoon I eat a big lunch I
really look forward to these afternoon
feasts okay so look forward to is the
one you want to look at really quickly
here look forward to okay this just
means to hope for something or to hope
or be excited about something happening
to hope for or be excited about
something excited this to e-d about
let’s make this be clear something
almost there that will happen okay there
we go
so again grab a quick bite means to get
something quick to eat so in the second
example the person says I’m on a diet so
I can only grab a quick bite of
something simple in the morning they’re
talking about something that they’re
going to eat but they’re gonna eat it
very quickly okay because they’re
running to work or they have many things
to do okay alright after eating food you
usually go to work so in English you can
express this by saying hit the road hit
the road hit the road means to depart or
to begin one’s journey especially on a
road trip
or to leave so our first example says my
family and I are going on vacation
tomorrow but the beach house is about
five hours away
so my dad said we need to hit the road
early in order to beat the traffic now
remember we learned this earlier beat
the traffic do you remember
that’s right beat the traffic just means
to leave before the traffic so the first
example is speaking about leaving to
head out on a journey they’re gonna go
on vacation so when you’re leaving your
home and you’re traveling somewhere we
say hit the road okay
so I’m leaving in the morning to go to
work oh I need to hit the road why I
have to get to work now okay so hit the
road number two it says whenever my
friends and I travel anywhere together
we try to hit the road late at night
because there are less cars on the road
okay this one is very simple so my
friends and I we like to travel but we
really enjoy leaving late at night when
there are less cars so instead of
leaving we say hit the road so after you
go to work you normally do work and an
English expression for this period is
piece of cake piece of cake piece of
cake means something that is easy to do
something that is easy to achieve so our
first example is in high school my math
teacher said she could solve any math
problem so my friends and I challenged
her with a difficult math problem but it
turned out to be a piece of cake for her
she finished it in less than 30 seconds
now there’s one expression that we need
to look at one pattern it turned out to
be okay this is also speaking about the
result okay
the result so the result and it’s
usually the unexpected result so for
example let’s say you go to the concert
of someone you’ve never heard about you
don’t think they’re gonna sing maybe as
well as Michael Jackson or another
famous superstar but then you go and it
turns
out that they’re an amazing singer so
the result was unexpected alright so in
the first example these high school
students wanted to give their teacher a
difficult math problem but it turned out
to be again unexpectedly very easy for
her it was a piece of cake
so similar when you’re at your job your
job is something you do every single day
so it’s very easy for you it’s a piece
of cake so during your daily routine if
you’re speaking about your job you can
say ah it’s a piece of cake certain
parts of your job may be a piece of cake
or very easy all right number two it
says fixing my car was a piece of cake
for my uncle because he is a mechanic
again his job is working on cars so he
does it every single day which means it
is very easy for him so piece of cake
alright so after you’ve done some work
you have to attend a meeting in your
daily routine and one English expression
that we can use is in over one’s head in
over one’s head means too deeply
involved in or with a difficult
situation so something is going on that
is too much for you it’s too difficult
but you’re involved in it ok let’s look
at the first example when my boss
initially explained the project details
to me I thought it was going to be a
cinch
ok now real quick there are two
different patterns I want us to look at
really quickly first is a vocabulary
word though initially ok initially is
just a word that we use when we want to
speak about in the beginning or the
first time ok in the beginning so in the
beginning so initially I liked ice cream
but after a while I stopped liking it so
initially in the beginning okay and then
the next thing we see in this sentence
is a cinch
a cinch now I purposely added this
because you just learned the term piece
of cake so a cinch and piece of cake
have the exact same meaning okay so they
are the exact same a cinch means piece
of cake so this also means piece do this
of cake or it’s just very easy let’s do
this let’s put the EZ up top right here
easy so a cinch okay let’s keep going
but after saying yes and then looking
over the project more carefully I
realized that I was in over my head now
again remember in over my head means to
be deeply involved with a difficult
situation but too deeply okay I mean
there’s too much for you so what
happened in the first example the boss
explained the project and the person
thought it was going to be easy or a
piece of cake or a cinch but after a
while the person realized poof this is
too much for me they were in over their
head
okay this sometimes happens when you’re
at work or when you’re studying or doing
something or on a project you get in
over your head during your daily routine
okay number two let’s look at the next
example it says mothers of newborn
babies usually feel like they are way in
over their heads now you’ll notice I
added way so this is just used to place
emphasis so it’s used to emphasize this
expression right here so instead of just
saying in over their heads they say way
in over their heads it means really
difficult really more than they thought
that they could handle okay let’s keep
going they have to cook clean and take
care of their babies so by the end of
the day they are super exhausted
okay so again this is an easy one to
understand because moms have to take
care of their babies and it’s a lot of
work so sometimes they feel overwhelmed
overwhelmed okay and again we use super
again just to emphasize the level of
exhaustion okay so you can use that as
well I’m super exhausted or after work
man I felt super exhausted okay so when
you feel in over your head okay during
your day maybe you have a lot of work to
do and you feel in over your head so
after the meeting we have a lunch convo
now convo is just a short way of saying
conversation so conversation is the word
but sometimes when Americans or British
people speak we say convo okay so lunch
convo so a conversation during lunch
time and an expression that we’re going
to learn is back to the drawing board
back to the drawing board is used to
indicate that an idea or proposal has
been unsuccessful and that a new one
must be created or discussed okay you
must start over start from the beginning
okay let’s look at number one number one
says after working for a full month on
the project they realized that they had
done it all wrong okay now in English
when we say all wrong it is used to
emphasize that everything is wrong so
again all wrong when we add all to the
front it’s used to emphasize that
everything let’s do this
emphasize that everything was wrong just
it’s used for emphasis okay let’s keep
going so their boss told them to go back
to the drawing board and come up with a
new plan okay here we see come up with
okay come up with means to create to
create or
think of to create or to think of
something nuke to come up with okay so
the first example is talking about a
project that someone was working on but
their boss was not pleased so they had
to go back to the drawing board this
happens sometimes I work okay and number
two number two says the architect who
built our house said that it took him a
full six months just to come up with the
design okay now we see it says full six
months so when you add a full again this
is also for emphasis this is for
emphasis and saying that it took the
total amount okay
the total okay now at the end of the
sentence once again you’ll see come up
with so he came up with a new design he
created something new okay let’s keep
going he told us that he had to go back
to the drawing board
more than ten times so in this example
the architect is explaining that his
first few were more than few his first
10 times of designing and trying to come
up with ideas for their house were not
successful so he had to start over again
or he had to go back to the drawing
board so in your daily routine you can
also use this expression depending on if
you’re working or if you’re at school
when you have to start something over
again ah I have to go back to the
drawing board so during our lunch
conversation we can have a time where we
give ideas to each other about how to
fix or how to make a new plan regarding
a project we’re working on okay let’s go
to the next one then we work more and
the expression we can use is bite off
more than I can chew bite off more than
I can chew means to try to do a task
that is too big for you or too difficult
okay there are certain things that maybe
you have to do
during the day but sometimes they’re a
little bit difficult at that time you
can say bite off more than I can chew
okay the first example says I bit off
more than I could chew when I
volunteered to teach thirty elementary
school students how to play soccer it
was much more difficult than I had
anticipated okay all right so here
you’ll see we say much more again you
could say it was more difficult but we
use the combination of much more when we
want to emphasize that it was extremely
difficult so this is for emphasis or to
emphasize okay so what are we talking
about in this first example well
teaching thirty elementary school
students how to play soccer that is a
very difficult thing to do for one
person so they said it was a little bit
more than they expected or anticipated
they had bitten off more than they could
chew okay all right number two let’s
look at the second example number two
says I made a goal to memorize 100
vocabulary words a day but after a few
days I realized that I had bit off more
than I could chew because I also had a
full-time job okay now what you’ll
notice here we say full-time job now
some of you may know this but just as a
reminder full-time job usually means
eight hours or more so eight plus hours
okay the opposite is part-time but
full-time usually means eight or more
hours at a job is a full-time job
okay so this person made a goal every
day learned 100 vocabulary words but
they realized later that that was a lot
that was a big goal it was too difficult
it was too big of a task so they had bit
off more than they could chew okay now
remember when you’re talking about your
daily routine you can think about things
that you’re doing and sometimes you have
a long list of tasks but sometimes
they’re more than you can do you can say
man today I bit off more than I could
chew all right
after we do lots of work then we leave
and sometimes on the way home we shop
for food for dinner or for the meal for
the next day but an expression we can
use is cost an arm and a leg cost an arm
and a leg means to be extremely
expensive now this expression is used
throughout the day whenever you’re going
to go shopping or whenever you have to
shop for food or shop for clothing it
can be used a lot depending on what
store you’re going to so in our first
example it says it costs an arm and a
leg to take our entire family to Hawaii
for a vacation but it was well worth it
because we had an amazing time now in
this sentence you’ll see well worth it
okay this is an expression or a pattern
that we use in English to say I have no
regrets I have no regrets after doing it
okay after doing something okay
so for example this person took their
whole family to Hawaii
well Hawaii is very expensive but they
had such a great time they had no
regrets after spending the money okay we
say well worth it so someone asks oh
should I go to America to visit I know
it’s expensive somebody else can say to
them no it’s well worth it you should
visit ok that means you won’t have any
regrets ok so this person is talking
about the trip being expensive but it
also was worth it cost an arm and a leg
instead of saying expensive they said it
cost an arm and a leg
ok next example my husband and I want to
redecorate our kitchen but we realized
that it will cost us an arm and a leg to
get it professionally done so we
just decided to do it ourselves okay so
again this is very easy to understand
they want to redecorate their kitchen
but they know it’s very expensive to get
things done in a house when you want to
hire someone to do something in your
house so they decided to do it
themselves now really quickly in English
there is an acronym that maybe you guys
have heard before d.i.y DIY stands for
what do it your self
okay d.i.y let’s circle the middle one
okay DIY do it yourself okay so cost an
arm and a leg just means to be extremely
expensive okay so after we’ve shopped
for the food then we go home and eat and
relax and the perfect English expression
is unwind unwind unwind means to relax
after working or doing a difficult task
usually after a long day of work or
study or whatever your schedule is you
usually want to go home and just relax
instead of saying I want to relax you
can say I want to unwind okay just means
to relax so first example is let’s look
at the first example after a long day at
work the first thing I want to do when I
get home is kick my shoes off sit on the
sofa and just unwind now this is very
easy to understand because think about
it when I get home I want to kick my
shoes off okay it means just throw them
off your feet then it says sit on the
sofa and then unwind the perfect
situation okay let’s look at example
number two number two it says sometimes
people find it hard to unwind after a
busy day at work now in this sentence
we’ll see find it hard - okay now this
is used when you want to talk about
something that is
Foucault to do ok something is difficult
to do so for example sometimes students
say teacher I really want to speak
English but it’s kind of difficult to
learn how to speak English so instead of
saying difficult they can say I find it
hard to study English or I find it hard
to learn different vocabulary words so
let’s move on to the next sentence they
have a hard time not thinking about all
of the work they have to do the next day
ok so again this is just talking about
having a long day and as your day is
coming to an end you want to relax you
want to unwind now after we eat and
relax the end of our day or the end of
our daily routine is for us to go to
sleep and an English expression that is
very popular is hit the sack hit the
sack hit the sack just means to go to
bed it’s that simple
to go to bed so the first example says I
have an early flight tomorrow so I
decided to hit the sack a little earlier
than usual now you’ll notice that it
says then usual ok so we use this
expression when we want to compare
compared to our normal schedule so
compared to our normal action schedule
or plan okay normal action ok I went to
bed a little earlier than usual or I ate
more than usual or I talked longer than
usual
compared to our normal action ok then
let’s keep going I want to be
well-rested when I get up in the morning
so right here
well rest
did this is just another way of saying
to not feel tired to not feel tired okay
I don’t want to feel tired in the
morning so again this person is talking
about going to bed early why because
they have a flight in the morning so I
want to hit the sack early I want to go
to bed early and number two it says the
children wanted to stay up and watch one
more movie but their parents told them
that it was already past their bedtime
so they all had to hit the sack so again
at the end of your daily routine
everyone has to go to bed and the same
is true for you so instead of saying I
am going to bed now in English you can
say I’m going to hit the sack keep
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