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I went to see a doctor yesterday. I didn't feel well. I felt a little feverish. I had a headache, a stuffy nose, and no appetite. The doctor said I had a cold and prescribed me some medicine. Having a cold is bad enough, but it could have been worse. Thank God it's not the flu.

Now, let's look at this expression "see a doctor" or "go see a doctor". You may wonder why I don't say "go to the hospital". In English, you don't say you go to the hospital unless you are badly injured in a car accident or you need to have surgery. When you don't feel well or you think you've caught a cold, you don't go to the hospital, you go see a doctor. I didn't go to the hospital. I went to see a doctor.

Now. Would you like to practice the sentence? Please repeat after me:

You should go see a doctor.

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When a woman says "she is expecting" without specifying what she is expecting, people will assume she is pregnant. In other words, she is expecting a baby.

The verb "expect" is often used in progressive forms and it means "to be waiting for someone or something to arrive". When a woman is expecting, she is waiting for a baby to arrive.

I'll give you more examples. Someone's coming to visit you this evening. You're expecting a visitor. Your mother sent you a birthday gift and it's supposed to be delivered today. You're expecting a parcel. Your friend is supposed to call you today. You're expecting a call from a friend.

Actually, a friend of mine is expecting. She is on childcare leave now and going to have her first child in a few weeks.

Now. Why don't you try a quiz? You'll be given three options. Please listen carefully and choose the one that is TRUE. Ready?

If a woman says, "I'm expecting",

1. she is expecting to get pregnant.

2. she is already pregnant.

3. she is not sure if she is pregnant.

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As reported by Tokyo's new governor, Yuriko Koike, in a weekly press conference a little while ago, Tokyo, and Kyoto, were chosen as the world's best and second-best cities outside the United States by the U.S. travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler.

According to the magazine, its readers cast more than 100,000 votes for their favorite cities in the 2016 survey. Tokyo rose from 15th place the previous year and Kyoto from ninth.

Now, what you want to learn today is how to use the verb "rank". Tokyo was chosen as the best city in the world. In other words, Tokyo ranked first. Likewise, Kyoto ranked second. The third place was held by Florence, Italy. In other words, Florence ranked third.

Kei Nishikori, a tennis player, ranks fifth in the world now. You can also say, he ranks number five in the world.

Now. I'll give you a quiz today. You'll be given three options. Please listen carefully and choose the one that is NOT TRUE based on the episode today. Ready?

1.Tokyo ranked number one in 2016.

2.Tokyo ranked ninth in 2015.

3.Florence ranked third in 2016.

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If you put someone or something first, you treat them or consider them as more important than anything else. For example, your family is the most important thing to you. You always put your family first. Your job is your life. You always put your job first.

When I was born, I became the center of the universe for my father. He always put me first. Then my sister was born. He now put her first and me second. Some years later, we bought a puppy. As you can guess, he put that little puppy first and me and my sister distant second.

Two Fridays ago, when Donald Trump officially became the 45th President of the United States, he said in his inauguration speech, "it's the right of all nations to put their own interests first". He promised to put America first.

Now. Would you like to practice the sentence together? Please repeat after me:

I love my job. I put my job first.

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In Japan, as we discussed last week, when a holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is treated as a holiday. Many workers and students will have three days off from Saturday through Monday.

Now. When a weekend is extended to include Monday like this, what do you call it in English? The answer is a "long weekend". You can also call it a "three-day weekend".

Now. Let's look at this question: What do you call it in English? This question is used when you want to know how to say something in English. For example, what do you call it in English when you take a picture of yourself with a smartphone? What do you call the red thing on a rooster's head? What do you call a person who studies weather?

It's certainly a useful question, especially if you're learning English.

So, would you like to practice the sentence together? Please repeat after me:

What do you call a person who studies weather?

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Getting back to work after the holidays can be a struggle. Some people even suffer from the post-vacation blues. I don't mean to make you feel worse, but it seems we will have fewer days off work in 2017.

In Japan, there are sixteen public holidays established by law, four of which fall on a Saturday this year. When a legal holiday falls on a Sunday, we get the following Monday off. Unfortunately for many workers and students, this rule doesn't apply to Saturday holidays.

Now, I've used the word "fall" a couple times today. It's used to mean to happen on a particular day or date. For example, National Foundation Day is celebrated on February 11. It's Saturday this year. National Foundation Day falls on a Saturday this year. I was born in June and my birthday this year falls on a Friday.

Now, let's practice the sentence together. Please repeat after me:

National Foundation Day falls on a Saturday this year.

Hi everyone! Thank you for tuning in to Time for English.

This will be the last update for 2016. As you may be aware, we always wrap up the year with one of the most common English idioms about time, which is "time flies".

Time flies, of course, is used to say that time seems to be passing very quickly. Time flies when you're having fun. Time flies when you're flying first class. And time flies even faster as you age.

Anyhow, Kaori and I just can't let the year pass without thanking you for your loyal support throughout the year. You always make us happy when you come visit our website or when you like us on facebook. Thank you so much. Kaori and I wish you a happy, healthy brand new year.

We're going to take a week off and be back on the 9th of January 2017. We hope you'll join us again and continue to support us. See you there.

Hi everyone! Thank you for tuning in to Time for English.

The holidays are just around the corner. I guess you'll be invited to a lot of parties in the next couple of weeks. For some people, parties are all about eating and drinking, and more often than not, in excess. If that sounds familiar to you, then here's a good phrase for you: to go easy on something.

To go easy on something means not to eat, drink or use too much of it. For example, you like drinking. But if you drink too much, it can become less about fun, and more about regrets. So, go easy on the alcohol.

Likewise, if you want to lose weight, you should go easy on cakes and cookies. It doesn't have to be something to eat or drink. Let's say, if you want to save battery on your smartphone, go easy on video and games.

It's definitely a good phrase to remember. So would you like to practice together? Please repeat after me:

Go easy on the alcohol.

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Last week you learned how to use "no wonder" and "I wonder". Today, you're going to learn how to make a request or offer politely by using the phrase "I was wondering if…".

Let's say, you need to borrow a car from a friend. How would you ask? You could say, "Can I borrow your car?" But if you want to be a little more polite, you could say, "I was wondering if I could borrow your car." But if you want to be really polite, then you want to say, "Could I borrow your car?"

Now, when you want to take someone to dinner, you can also use this phrase and say, "I was wondering if I could take you to dinner.

It's definitely a good expression to remember. So would you like to practice together? Please repeat after me:

I was wondering if you could help me with this.

Hi everyone! Thank you for tuning in to Time for English.

Today I'm going to discuss the idiom "no wonder".

When you say "no wonder", it means "not surprising at all". For example, you passed your exam. No wonder. You studied a lot. You failed your exam. No wonder. You didn't study a bit for it.

"No wonder" can be followed by a sentence. For example, you studied a lot. It's no wonder that you passed your exam. You didn't study at all. It's no wonder that you failed your exam.

I like the example sentences offered by the Free Dictionary. No wonder the baby is crying. She's wet. It's no wonder that the plant died. You watered it too much.

Finally, just for your reference, you can find this phrase in the Tim Burton movie "Edward Scissorshands".

Now let me give you a quiz to make sure you get the phrase right. You'll be given three options. Please listen carefully and choose the one that is TRUE. Ready?

It's no wonder you're so tired.

1. You have too much free time.

2. You've been eating all day.

3. You've been working all week.