US vs UK English 3 American Expressions for Fluent English
hi i’m vanessa from speak English with
vanessa calm today I have two special
guests for you they are Charlie and
Harry from real English with real
teachers and they are both from the UK
and I’m from the US so in this video
we’re going to talk about some specific
American expression I’m gonna ask them
to Charlie and Harry and see if they can
guess will they know what these
expressions mean can they get them can
you guess them what do you think these
expressions mean and then they’re going
to also help me to learn the British
version of these expressions so that I
can use them and you can use them
accurately in the UK
I also recommend checking out the
opposite video Charlie and Harry asking
me British expression on their channel
so I’m going to post a link to that
video in the description and also at the
end of this video so you can learn both
American expressions and British
expressions are you ready to meet
Charlie and Harry and enjoy this great
conversation let’s get started today I
have two special guests Charlie and
Harry Charlie and Harry are living
across the ocean so would you guys like
to introduce yourself hello hello there
yay my name is Charlie and I have a
co-host Harry for real English with real
teachers hello Harry
hello Charlie hi Vanessa thank you thank
you for having us today - pleasure to
speak with a real American well real
live American here today though my goal
today is I’m going to try to use some
words or phrases that might confuse you
we’ll see how it goes are you ready for
the test
yes we are it’s all yeah so well it’s a
winner right now in the US which means
it’s kind of cloudy and not too
pretty and in general my skin is kind of
white getting whiter and I wish that I
wish that I were Tanner I wished it I
had a better tan than I do now but you
know what it’s part of life
sorry Vanessa and do you do not mean
Mort and I don’t mean to correct your
English but it’s not more time well how
would you say that
well Britta the us-british we normally
say I wish I was more tanned or I wish I
were more tanned rather than Tanner
never heard Tanner before Tanner so you
would actually put an IDI at the end
tanned yeah ten naina Wow okay well you
sayin because maybe in the UK getting
the tan is not like a big deal yeah we
don’t have a tan so we can’t you as an
American yeah yeah yeah it’s true but
yeah we generally because can like you
have a tan so a tan is a noun whereas
our our adjective is tanned so we would
never say more Tanner so I don’t know
where at what point in history it got
confused yeah must have been a long boat
ride across the ocean going to the US
people were talking about hands and
they’re literally sick lucky with that
yeah so as I was thinking about talking
to my friend about getting tan I’m not a
big fan of getting a tan unnaturally but
a lot of people in the u.s. want to go
to a tanning bed and it’s kind of this
place where you sit in this machine and
it helps you to get a tan which i think
is kind of lame but she asked she said
to me oh Vanessa well if you want to get
a tan maybe we should go to a tanning
bed and I said oh no let’s table that
idea for the next time because that’s
not what I want
laughs table tanning bed yeah did you
put the bed under the table no so I said
let’s table that idea people a verb you
use table with a verb yes this is a verb
cabling something Wow it’s not like
table dancing have you ever used that as
a verb like let’s table that idea or
let’s table usually it’s used in like
business meetings there is some kind of
like with an idea professional thing not
not hello I never I’ve never table with
anything I’ve never shared and as you
know you could share in English we say
to chair a meeting or something all
right like to be the leader of the
meeting or something to lead it I am
yeah but Harry’s more of a table dancer
thank you not so much you’re not tabling
idea let me give you another amazing
another example and see if you can guess
maybe I’ve truly stumped you here so if
I said we’re going to have a meeting
today about our new market plan and
Harry says oh no I think we should table
that idea for now because we have
something much more important to talk
about instead okay okay so does that
mean that you are putting it to one side
and you will come back to it at another
point that more important then success
yes that’s what it means like postponing
something until later human I like that
to tell you something that’s quite
interesting yeah that’s it usually
that’s used like I like the second
example going to like a business meeting
or something where your table in an idea
but it’s interesting that you’ve never
actually used that as a verb because I
read that in some places in the UK it’s
used as in the complete opposite way
like let’s talk about it more let’s put
it on the table and let’s explore that
idea more exactly opposite yeah that was
interesting
yeah put some
on the table I know yes that would that
would be exactly what you said Harry can
you think of an example of this new
table includes ancing yeah okay but
you’re the English Learner here yeah I’m
the okay so I’m the learner and okay so
Charlie wanted to discuss our new course
and for making a video for IELTS as
students and but I wanted to prepare for
today’s a video with Vanessa
so I said Charlie can we park we site so
part can we get can we favor with idea
there you go I suppose that that’s a
British feel it Park it oh is that so
I’m gonna say Park Lake parking a car
yeah like mark an idea yeah yeah exactly
yeah that’s part of that for another
time oh I’ve never used that and I guess
I would understand it if you said it
like in the context but that’s
definitely not something that’s in my
vocabulary there we go
so you had a park the idea or table the
idea yeah don’t share it so I wanted to
ask you guys to when did you graduate
from school I think I left school when I
was 16 so that was 2016 oh wait don’t
think sorry so 3 times 6 2006 yeah okay
so you left in 2006 so what about you
Harry
yeah I’m the same age as Charlie so I
would have left school at 16 as well but
we didn’t have to graduate from school
did we charlie no no we we get given
freedom at 16 we don’t give get given a
certificate like a graduation or a
degree
again why when did you graduate well I
graduated in 2009 but how old are you
I wasn’t sixteen I was twenty-two
twenty-two what uh from University yeah
okay yes hey I’m feeling creative goal
is anywhere that you’re sitting in a
classroom high school college university
anything right and for us Terry what is
it
well it’s school when you’re kind of
below the age of 16 and and then it will
be College where we do our a levels
which is what we do before we get into
university if you’re lucky enough to go
and then we’re a university I mean a
university right yeah yeah okay so if I
said to you
oh I graduated I’m I’m 29 I graduated
from school when I was 22 in 2009
something like that would you think that
I was just dumb because I graduated when
I was 22 I think I think I’ve watched
best you two American movies to think
like that but yeah it was definitely
different and for learners it’s
something to recognize that British is
school laughter from 16 down and yeah
college and university yeah I know when
I was in the UK and I was studying
abroad and people asked oh why are you
here in the UK I said oh I’m in school
and they were kind of like oh is that a
really special program for young people
but really I was in university or
college I I was doing my bachelor of
English degree but they thought oh she’s
a high school student maybe they thought
you had been like put back a few years
in delayed
yes so I guess for people going to the
UK just be careful about using the word
school yeah and I guess it could be
confusing if you’re speaking to someone
you said I’m a school in a dynamic
school in Birmingham and you were
talking to a guy and he found you
attractive maybe he would think oh god
this girl is too young hmm sure what
about if someone were studying abroad or
not saying about like doing they’re a
professional and they’re taking some
time away from work to go to like some
English classes in the UK I would say
I’m going to school I’m going to school
even though it’s not high school or
university or college but what would you
say in that situation I’m taking some
English classes I probably know about
you Charlie I would specify what type of
school maybe I’m going to a language
school I’m yeah I’m taking English
classes here rather than just generally
yeah hi I know another one um that might
be different when we take a year out of
university we call it a sandwich year
why that’s been good yeah
why because it’s like the university is
the sandwich and the greatest year is
the meat of the sandwich I guess okay I
can see that on one side and either side
you have the same thing but if I said
I’m having us having a sandwich here
okay I’m having a sandwich okay would
you say taking a sandwich here how would
you over the verb that you used to take
yeah yeah yeah I would be quite confused
yeah what did you have a way of saying
that like it’s a family here oh we don’t
really do it that
often I think in the UK at least I met a
lot of people who take a gap year
between what I would say high school and
your college university degree but in
the u.s. like hardly anyone takes a
break between the two if you’re going to
go to college university you just go
right away so it’s kind of a it’s a kind
of fun idea in between in between
university years do you not sometimes
have a year out a close I’ve met quite a
few Americans in Germany and they’re in
between they’re doing a sandwich here
but they don’t know what I mean that I’m
saying
taking a sandwich yeah III like then
which is ok oh yeah everything side we
do that sounds amazing
yeah maybe there are people who have
done it I guess if you met Americans
abroad who are doing that then people do
it but I feel like no one I know has
ever left and gone back because usually
you lose scholarship money or you lose
like some class credit if you stop so
there’s a lot of incentive to keep going
yeah I think in England it’s often a
year where you do some kind of
vocational training or work as like a
work placement and like my ex-girlfriend
she could did her sandwich year in them
in London and that’s consequently how it
end so be careful if you’re in a
relationship don’t take a sandwich here
sorry that your salad sighs baby oh I
don’t mean to laugh no I think I do well
I was also going to ask while we’re on
this topic of Sandwich how did you
pronounce that I feel like we say that
really differently I say sand-witch with
a D but I feel like you didn’t say that
sandwich yeah we suffered it that way
and which and it was like an N sandwich
Samet is exhausting sandwich sandwich
yeah maybe strange I feel like for me
though if I wanted to shorten it I would
just say in kind of a funny way sammich
like all those a million letters in the
middle that are just cut out but usually
sandwich with a stronger D okay there’s
one word that Americans pronounce
probably more phonetically or more
accurately means anything where we we as
a short version of sandwich we say sorry
sorry knee sorry
hmm yeah yeah one of the most popular
food if you are hung over from the night
before is a bacon Barney oh so would you
actually see that on a menu written like
that or would you just say it in
conversation either or either oh yeah
I bet in some cafes it would say bacon
and egg Sahni Libya Asami lifts a list
of Sony oh and maybe they’d have to have
like a little footnote for Americans
like a sarnie is a sandwich exactly yeah
it’s about sa r n I II saw me but yeah
yeah okay well I would be like even
though I was trying to teach you
expressions I learned a lot too haha
yeah this is molded quite an organic
conversation yeah so far we’ve got
Americans say I’m Tanner than you and
you say what I’m more tan more and and I
say let’s table that idea and you say
like Park Park the idea yeah Clark that
idea or put it to one side I guess okay
I would say put it to one side but not
part yeah I think we say Park I mean I I
know I said it but we know but I think
we do we did you Harry yeah let’s park
that for another day
yeah let’s it’s just Park that
cool and I say school for everything and
you would just use it for 16 years old
and under yes correct even though I
might want to have a sandwich you’re
taking a sandwich here thanks for
explaining your expressions to me and
we’re going to do some more right on
your channel absolutely yeah we look
forward to having you over on our
channel at real English with real
teachers all right for me buy from me
see you later thanks so much for
watching this conversation with Charlie
and Harry from real English with real
teachers don’t forget to check out their
version of this video they ask me
questions about British expressions some
of them I know some of them I have no
idea what they are so feel free to check
out this fun video I’m going to link to
it at the end of this lesson and in the
conversation below now I have a question
for you when did you finish school
remember that the American Way to use
school is any education it might be high
school it might be college university
master’s degree PhD this is all school
in the u.s. you’re studying in the
classroom at school so my question for
you is when did you finish school thanks
so much for learning with us and I’ll
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thanks so much for learning with me bye