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

Today, I'm going to talk about the word "flatter".

Flatter is an interesting verb that is used to praise someone in order to please them or to get something from them, even though you don't really mean it.

For example, you flatter someone because you want to borrow some money from them. You flatter your friend by telling her she's the best cook you've ever known because you're hungry and want her to fix something for you.

Now, sometimes, flatter is used as "flatter yourself" which means to believe something good about yourself although it might not be true. So, if someone says to you, "Don't flatter yourself", they mean "Don't think you're better, more attractive or more important than you really are".

I'll continue to talk about the word "flatter" on Thursday to give you some more example sentences. So please come and check.

In the meantime, would you like to practice together? Please repeat after me:

Don't flatter yourself.

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

A few days ago I met up with a friend for lunch at a café. When she arrived, the first thing she said wasn't hi or hello or great to see you or anything like that but "Oh boy, it's another hot day today."

'Another hot day' is a good phrase to learn.

Let's say, you had a very hot day yesterday. Then today you're having a very hot day again. Then you can say 'it's another hot day today'. When you watch a news show in the morning, a weather person may say, 'it's going to be another hot day in Tokyo'. Then you may speak to your wife in the kitchen, "Hey honey, (it) looks like we're going to have another hot day in Tokyo!"

Now, let's practice the phrase together, shall we? Please repeat after me:

It's another hot day today.

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

Today, I'm going to talk about how to use the phrase "used to".

If something used to happen, it happened regularly or all the time in the past, but does not happen now. If you used to do something, you did it for a period of time in the past, but you don't do it anymore.

For example, when you say "Katie used to copy her friend's homework", Katie was cheating on her homework, not once, but all the time. It's not happening now because she is no longer in school and has no homework to do.

I was smoking a lot in the past, at least a pack and a half a day. But I quit some time ago, and I'm not a smoker anymore. In other words, I used to smoke, but not anymore. Or, I don't smoke, but I used to.

Now, would you like to practice together? Please repeat after me:

I don't smoke, but I used to.

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Are you familiar with the idiom "to ring a bell"?

If something rings a bell, it reminds you of something, or it sounds familiar to you, although you can't remember exactly what it is.

For example, your friend mentions someone's name, and the name rings a bell with you. That means the name sounds familiar to you, but you can't remember any details about the person. Contrarily, if the name doesn't ring any bells, you are not familiar with the name at all.

You can also use this idiom when you see something that reminds you of something.

For example, a detective shows you a picture of someone and asks: Does this photo ring any bells with you?" In other words, the detective is asking if you remember anything by seeing the photograph.

Now, would you like to practice together? Please repeat after me:

His name rings a bell but I can't remember his face.

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

Last week you learned the expression to use when you have finally arrived somewhere you were travelling to: Here we are, or we are here.

How about when you are still on the way to your destination, but you have just a couple of miles left to go? How would you describe the situation? What would you say to your kids or friends in the rear seat?

Well, in that case, you can use the word “almost” and say, “We are almost there”. “Almost” means nearly, slightly short of, or not quite.

Let’s say, you’re reading a book which has 300 pages, and you have finished 280 or 290 pages. You’re almost done with the book.

Now, when you say you almost missed the train, did you get it, or fail to get it? The answer is: You got it. You didn’t miss the train.

Now, would you like to practice together? Please repeat after me:

Hey guys, we’re almost there!

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

Let's imagine. You and your family take a week's vacation.

You do your packing, ask your wife, or husband, to put your kids in the rear seat, hop in and start the car. After long hours of driving, struggling through heavy traffic on a clogged expressway, taking bathroom breaks every two hours, you finally arrive at your destination. You park the car, turn around and say to your kids, "Hey guys! Here we are!"

Are you familiar with this expression "here we are"? Or you can also say "We're here". It's used when you have finally arrived somewhere you were travelling to after a long drive, a long flight or train ride.

After spending a great time there, when you get home, you can say, "Here we are. Home at last!"

Now, would you like to practice together? Please repeat after me:

Hey guys, here we are!

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

"Barn Burning" is one of my favorite short stories written by Haruki Murakami. The story is available in English and found in a book called "The Elephant Vanishes".

In this story, you can find a lot of expressions and phrases that you can use in daily conversations. One example is "to come to think of it". "Come to think of it" means "Now that I really think about it". For example, let's say, you are talking with your sister about a birthday gift for your mother. When you really think about it, you remember what your mother was saying. This is where you can use this phrase. "Hey, listen, come to think of it, mom was saying she wanted a pair of new walking shoes".

Now, "The Elephant Vanishes" is a really good collection. Perhaps, you may want to read some of the stories first in Japanese, then try their English versions. Remember, reading will help you improve your speaking skills.

Now, would you like to practice together? Please repeat after me:

Come to think of it, it's her birthday!"

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Summer's here. An exciting season for beer drinking.

So, let's learn some phrases that you can use when you enjoy drinking with friends.

Let's say. You're at a bar or a pub with a friend. The friend says, "How about a beer for starters?" A great idea. You agree. "Okay, I'll start with a beer".

Now, you finish your first drink. The friend asks you "How about another drink?" And you answer is "Why not?" Then she continues, "Would you like to move on to wine?" which means "Would you like some wine instead of beer?"

You can say yes to wine, but you may not be a wine drinker. If you want to drink more beer, then you can say, "I think I'll stick to beer".

I have given you half a dozen phrases, but let's just practice one phrase together. Please repeat after me:

I'll have a beer for starters.

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

Are you familiar with the expression "to put it on my tab", which is most likely to be used in bars and restaurants?

So, what does this phrase mean?

A tab is a bill, to begin with. A bill is a written list showing how much money you have to pay for services you've received, or in this instance, for the food you have ordered from the kitchen.

And let's say, you and your friend are in a restaurant for lunch, and your friend says to you, "Hey, order whatever you like and put it on my tab". It means your friend is buying you lunch. He or she wants to pay for whatever you eat for lunch there. Nice, huh?

So, next time you want to treat someone lunch or buy them a drink, because they've been nice to you or helping you a lot, why don't you use this phrase and say, "Have anything you want, put it on my tab!"

Now, would you like to practice together? Please repeat after me:

Put it on my tab.

Here's my confession: I love quiz shows.

Quiz shows, or maybe your term exams too, use true or false questions. I'm sure you're familiar with the word "true". The opposite of true is "false". In Japan, we typically use the circle for "true" and the cross for "false".

Now, let me give you some true or false questions:

1. Sharks are fish. True or false?

2. Venus is the closest planet to the sun. True or false?

3. You hear with your nose. True of false?

4. A straight line measures 180 degrees. True or false?

5. If you multiply 25 by 4, you get 100. True or false?

You'll find the answers to these questions on our website. Please come and check. And that's all for today. See you next time!