English Workout

Something came up

Something came up: something unexpected happened

One expression. Five minutes. Stronger English.

Have you ever had to cancel an appointment or meeting because something unexpected happened?

That’s when you say:

Something came up.

It means that something you were not expecting happened, and because of it, you may need to change your plans.

How to use it:

Here are a few examples:

* Felipe, I’m sorry! Something came up, and I can’t attend our appointment.

* We wanted to go away for the holidays, but something came up and we decided to stay home.

* I know I was supposed to call you earlier, but something came up and I couldn’t. Are you available to talk now?

Useful note:

You don’t always have to explain what happened. “Something came up” is often used when you want to give a general explanation without going into details.

Mini pronunciation tip 🗣️

Focus on the TH sound in something.

For TH, gently place your tongue between your teeth and let the air flow out. Don’t pronounce it like S or T.

Practice:

something – anything – nothing – everything

Now try:

Something came up.

Your challenge 🏋️

Answer these questions aloud:

* When was the last time something came up and you couldn’t attend a meeting or appointment?

* Have you ever used “something came up “ as an excuse ? What happened?

* Who was the last person to use that expression “something came up “ as an excuse ?

Say your answers out loud—the Gym is for speaking, not just reading.

Thanks for joining this workout.

Train your English. Build your confidence. See you at the Gym.

Subscribe: @LinguaGym on Substack Instagram: @LinguaGymcol Website: www.linguagym.com

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Come up with something

Come up with something: think of or create an idea

One expression. Five minutes. Stronger English.

How often do you attend meetings where you need to propose an idea, find a solution or suggest a new strategy?

A very useful expression for these situations is:

To come up with something.

It means to think of, create, or develop an idea, plan, solution or suggestion.

How to use it:

Here are a few examples:

* Our director asked us to come up with some new ideas for the next meeting.

* Samuel came up with a great strategy that nobody had thought of before.

* We need to come up with a solution to this problem.

* What did you come up with? Let’s share our ideas !

Mini pronunciation tip

Pay attention to how the words connect when we speak naturally.

In come up with, the final sound of “come” connects smoothly to up, and up connects directly to with.

Don’t pronounce each word separately. Practice saying the expression as one smooth chunk:

come-up-with

Try these:

* come up with an idea

* come up with a solution

* come up with a plan

Your challenge 🏋️

Answer these questions aloud:

* Is there anything you need to come up with for work?

* When was the last time you came up with a great idea?

* What’s the best solution you’ve ever come up with?

Say your answers out loud—the Gym is for speaking, not just reading.

Thanks for joining this workout.

Train your English. Build your confidence. See you at the Gym.

Subscribe: @LinguaGym on Substack Instagram: @LinguaGymcol Website: www.linguagym.com

Puedes compartir este episodio en este link

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Walk past/ run past

Walk past /run past: go by a place

One expression. Five minutes. Stronger English.

When was your last trip to a new place? Did you get lost? How good are you at giving and following instructions?

A very useful expression is:

Walk past or run past

It means to go by a place while walking or running without stopping.

How to use them

Here are a few examples:

* Yesterday, I was running past the bank when I saw my Loraine.

* How can I get to the pharmacy? Go straight for two blocks, walk past the supermarket and the pharmacy is on your right.

* Where are you ? I’m driving past the mall. I’ll be there in 20 minutes.

Mini pronunciation tip

Pay attention to the pronunciation of “walk”. The “l” is silent, so it sounds like “wok”.

Practice these words:

* Walk

* Talk

* Chalk

* Stalk

Now say the whole phrase smoothly:

Walk past the supermarket.

Your challenge 🏋️

Complete these sentences aloud:

* When I was in ____________ (place). I drove past a ______________. It was beautiful.

* Rosana told me that I need to _____________________ the grocery store to get to the bakery.

* Have you ever __________________ that big cathedral downtown? It’s amazing !

Say your answers out loud—the Gym is for speaking, not just reading.

Thanks for joining this workout.

Train your English. Build your confidence. See you at the Gym.

Subscribe: @LinguaGym on Substack Instagram: @LinguaGymcol Website: www.linguagym.com

Comparte este episodio con alguien que este aprendiendo inglés.

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019 Let’s call it a day VS it’s a wrap

One expression. Five minutes. Stronger English.

Have you ever worked for hours and felt completely exhausted? Sometimes you’re stopping for today. Other times you’re completely finished.

These two expressions help you express the difference.

* Let’s call it a day: stop working for today

You use this expression when you decide to stop for now, but you’ll probably continue later.

Let’s call it a day!

It means to stop working or doing this for today.

* It’s a wrap: it’s finished

You use this expression when something is completely done.

It’s a wrap!

It means we have finished, it’s over!

How to use them

Here are a few everyday examples:

* We have been working on this project for six hours. Let’s call it a day. We’ll continue tomorrow.

* We finally finished the proposal and sent it to the client. It’s a wrap.

* We’re done recording today’s podcast. Let’s call it a day!

* The project has been delivered successfully. It’s a wrap!

Mini pronunciation tip

Pay attention to wrap. The W is silent, so the word begins with the R sound.

Practice these words:

* wrap

* write

* wrong

* wrist

They all have a silent W.

Now say the whole expression smoothly:

It’s a wrap!

Your challenge 🏋️

Find different moments to use these expressions, at least twice this week.

* When you stop working for the day, you say: Let’s call it a day!

* When you finish a project, a task, an assignment completely, you say: It’s a wrap.

Say your answers out loud—the Gym is for speaking, not just reading.

Thanks for joining this workout.

Train your English. Build your confidence. See you at the Gym.

Subscribe: @LinguaGym on Substack Instagram: @LinguaGymcol Website: www.linguagym.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit linguagym.substack.com

018 Having said that

Having said that: but, however

One expression. Five minutes. Stronger English.

Do you want your English to sound more sophisticated?

This is when you say:

Having said that…

It means however, even so. You use it to introduce a contrasting idea.

How to use it

Here are a few everyday examples:

* We sold a large amount of units, and customer satisfaction is excellent. Having said that, we need new strategies to keep growing.

* I love going to the beach, sunbathing, and breathing the fresh air. Having said that, I hate having sand all over my body.

* You did a great job on the presentation. Having said that, we still need to fix the budget metrics.

Mini pronunciation tip

Pay attention to the pronunciation of the word “said” . The letters AI are pronounced as E, just like HEAD, BREAD, FRIEND.

Practice these words:

* said

* head

* bread

* friend

Now say the whole expression smoothly:

Having said that…

Your challenge 🏋️

Complete these sentences aloud:

* I love eating burgers, pizza, and hot dogs. Having said that, ____________________________________________.

* The traffic was terrible, and I was really stressed out. __________________, I made it on time.

* The project is going really well. Having said that, __________________.

* ______________________. Having said that, ____________________.

Say your answers out loud—the Gym is for speaking, not just reading.

Thanks for joining this workout.

Train your English. Build your confidence. See you at the Gym.

Subscribe: @LinguaGym on Substack Instagram: @LinguaGymcol Website: www.linguagym.com

Puedes compartir este episodio con alguien que esté aprendiendo inglés

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Run out of something

Run out of something: not having something you need

One expression. Five minutes. Stronger English.

Have you ever gone to the kitchen craving something, only to discover there’s none left?

This is when you say:

We ran out of cheese

It means to have no more of something you need or want.

How to use it

Here are a few everyday examples:

* I wanted to drive to work, but I realized I had run out of gas.

* We had been working on the project for weeks until we ran out of ideas.

* Hurry up! We’re running out of time. The plane leaves at 5:30.

Mini pronunciation tip

In “run out of”, native speakers connect the words together. The T in out sounds like a soft D, so the phrase flows smoothly. Do not separate the words.

Practice these chunks:

* run out of gas

* run out of time

* run out of money

Now say the whole sentence smoothly:

We’re running out of time.

Your challenge 🏋️

Complete these sentences aloud:

* I think we ______ out of ________. There’s nothing left.

* Let’s stop at the ATM. I _______________ of cash.

* We’re _____________________________. Could you please go to the store and get some?

Say your answers out loud—the Gym is for speaking, not just reading.

Thanks for joining this workout.

Train your English. Build your confidence. See you at the Gym.

Subscribe: @LinguaGym on Substack Instagram: @LinguaGymcol Website: www.linguagym.com

Comparte este episodio

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Low-hanging fruit

Low-hanging fruit: start with the easiest part

One expression. Five minutes. Stronger English.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed because you didn’t know where to begin?

This is when you say:

I need to go for the low-hanging fruit.

It means starting with the easiest, quickest or most accessible tasks before focusing on the more difficult ones.

How to use it

Here are a few everyday examples:

* Go for the long hanging fruit, don’t get complicated.

* I didn’t know how to get more clients, so I decided to go for the low hanging fruit and started talking to my relatives about my business.

* We have 100 tasks to finish today. Let’s focus on the low-hanging fruit before moving on to the bigger projects.

Mini pronunciation tip

Pay attention to the vowel in fruit. It has the long OO sound, just like food, school, and blue.

Practice these words:

* fruit

* food

* school

* blue

Now say the whole expression smoothly:

Go for the low-hanging fruit

Your challenge 🏋️

Think about any scenario where you need to go for the low hanging fruit.

Is there anyone you would recommend going for the low hanging fruit ?

Thanks for joining this workout.

Train your English. Build your confidence. See you at the Gym.

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Si llegaste hasta acá comparte con alguién a quien le pueda servir esta información en su aprendizaje de inglés

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Start from scratch

Start from scratch : start again from the beginning

One expression. Five minutes. Stronger English.

Have you ever started something, realized it wasn’t working, and decided to do it all over again?

That’s when you say:

I started from scratch.

It means to start something again from the very beginning, usually because the previous attempt didn’t work or wasn’t what you wanted.

You can also say:

Let’s start from scratch.Let’s start from the beginning.Let’s start over.

How to use it

Here are a few everyday examples:

* I handed in the project, but my boss didn’t like it and told me to start from scratch.

* You know what? Let’s start from scratch.

* Sophia was almost finished with her designs, but she didn’t like them , so she decided to start from scratch.

* My computer crashed, and I lost all my work. I had to start from scratch.

Mini pronunciation tip

Pay attention to the “S” sound at the beginning of Start and Scratch.

Both words begin with the same /s/ sound. Try to make the sound clearly and smoothly without adding a vowel before it. It’s not “es”, it’s only “s”.

Practice these words:

* start

* scratch

* school

* small

* street

Now put the two words together:

start from scratch.

Your challenge 🏋️

Answer these questions aloud:

* Have you ever started something from scratch?

* Have you ever been told to start something from scratch?

* Is there anything you’d better start from scratch?

Thanks for joining this workout.

Train your English. Build your confidence. See you at the Gym.

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Si llegaste hasta aca. Comparte este podcast con alguien que esta aprendiendo Inglés

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Taking something for granted

Taking something for granted : assuming it will always be there

One expression. Five minutes. Stronger English.

Have you ever felt so secure about a relationship, job, friendship that you stopped taking care of it?

That’s when you say:

I took our relationship for granted.

Sophia took her job for granted.

It means to stop appreciating something because you assume you will always have it.

How to use it

Here are a few everyday examples:

* I didn’t spend much time with my friend Loraine. I guess I took our friendship for granted, and now we hardly talk.

* Daniel had a great job. He felt too comfortable and stopped making an effort. He took his job for granted, and he was fired last week.

* Don’t take your family for granted—tell them you appreciate them.

Mini pronunciation tip

Pay attention to the -ed in granted. Because grant ends with the T sound, the -ed is pronounced /ɪd/ : grantID

Practice these past tense words with the same /ɪd/ ending:

* granted

* wanted

* needed

* started

Now say the whole sentence smoothly:

I took our friendship for granted.

Your challenge 🏋️

Answer the following questions aloud:

* Is there anyone you’ve ever taken for granted?

* What’s one thing people often take for granted in life?

* What’s something you’ll never take for granted again?

Thanks for joining this workout.

Train your English. Build your confidence. See you at the Gym.

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Si conoces alguien que quiera mejorar su inglés comparte este episodio

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Talk somebody into doing something: convince someone to do something

One expression. Five minutes. Stronger English.

Have you ever wanted a friend to do something, but they just weren’t interested?

That’s when you say:

I talked my friend into going to the concert.

I talked my friend into playing tennis.

It means to persuade someone to do something they weren’t planning to do.

How to use it

Here are a few everyday examples:

* I talked my partner into going to the soccer match with me.

* The salesperson talked us into buying the premium service.

* My sister talked me into taking a weekend trip, and I’m so glad she did.

Mini pronunciation tip

Pay attention to the pronunciation of -ed in talked. The -ed in talked is pronounced /t/, and it connects smoothly with into.

Practice these chunks:

* talked into

* talk me into

* She talked me into it.

Now say the whole sentence smoothly:

She talked me into going to the concert.

Your challenge 🏋️

Complete these sentences aloud:

* Have you ever talked ____________________________________?

* I remember when I talked ___________ into __________________.

* My partner usually talks me into ____________________________.

Say your answers out loud—the Gym is for speaking, not just reading.

Thanks for joining this workout.

Train your English. Build your confidence. See you at the Gym.

Subscribe: @LinguaGym on Substack Instagram: @LinguaGymcol Website: www.linguagym.com

Comparte este episodio con alguien que quiera mejorar su inglés.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit linguagym.substack.com