Have you ever found yourself using “I think” a little too much when giving your opinion? Like, “I think that’s a good idea,” “I think we should try it,” “I think he’s right.” It’s a good expression - clear and direct - but maybe… a little too common? Well, the good news is, in English we’ve got a few more natural and interesting ways to share your thoughts.

Today, we’re gonna look at how native speakers casually express their opinions - not just with “I think,” but with a few other really natural, common phrases. And I’ll show you how we use each of them in daily conversation. Sound good? I’d say it does. 

Watch video versions of the Happy English Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HappyEnglishNY/podcasts
Build Vocabulary With My Free Vocabulary Workshop: https://learn.myhappyenglish.com/vocabulary-workshop-signup

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to Speak Naturally in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Sunday with a quick one-point lesson to help you improve your pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation.  And if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube.
Now, in everyday spoken American English, when a word ends with an “ee” sound and the next word starts with a vowel sound, we often connect those sounds with a very small, quick Y sound.
I call this the tiny Y.
Like, see it. We don’t stop the sound, and in one breath we say, see-yit. It’s not see. it. It’s see-yit. Like, That movie? I’m gonna see-yit tomorrow. Did you hear the tiny y? I’m gonna see-yit tomorrow. 
Here are some other examples:  
She is sounds like she-yiz. She-yiz the boss.
We are sounds like we-yar. We-yar happy to see you!
Many apples  sounds like meni-yapples. There are meni-yapples on the table.
This tiny Y keeps the flow smooth and natural. Be sure to practice these phrases yourself this week and they will become part of your English.
And remember to follow and subscribe so you won’t miss the next Happy English Podcast and next Sunday’s Speak Naturally in a Minute. Hey, thanks for listening! Until next time, keep learning and keep it cool.
Watch video versions of the Happy English Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HappyEnglishNY/podcasts
Build Vocabulary With My Free Vocabulary Workshop: https://learn.myhappyenglish.com/vocabulary-workshop-signup

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to English Tips in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Saturday with a short, simple tip to help you speak English more naturally and confidently. And if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube.

Today, let’s look at a really natural phrase you’ll hear in everyday English - “to this day.” We use to this day to mean until now, usually when something began in the past and is still true today. To this day often shows strong feelings - surprise, wonder, and even admiration.

• Like, I first saw Casablanca when I was in my twenties, and to this day, it’s still my favorite movie.”
• Our relationship ended over 25 years ago, but to this day, I don’t know why she broke up with me.

You’ll hear the phrase to this day a lot in stories, interviews, and even documentaries, because it connects the past and present in a simple, powerful way. So try using to this day in your English conversations this week. 

Lemme know in the comments how it goes, and remember to follow or subscribe so you don’t miss the next Happy English Podcast and next Saturday’s English Tips in a Minute. Hey, thanks for listening - and until next time, keep learning and keep it cool.

Watch video versions of the Happy English Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HappyEnglishNY/podcasts
Build Vocabulary With My Free Vocabulary Workshop: https://learn.myhappyenglish.com/vocabulary-workshop-signup

Today’s phrasal verb is luck out. When you luck out, it means you have really good luck - usually by chance. Something goes much better than you expected, and you didn’t have to do anything special. It just happened.

• For example, this morning I lucked out and found a parking spot right in front of the station.
• And my friend Jake lucked out last week - he got the last two tickets to a concert that had been sold out for days.
• And yesterday, I lucked out at the supermarket… strawberries were half price!

Here’s a pronunciation tip: luck out sounds like luk-kout. The K at the end of luck connects with out.
So how about you? When was the last time you lucked out?

Let me know in the comments, and remember to follow or subscribe so you don’t miss the next Happy English Podcast and next week’s Phrasal Verbs in a Minute. Hey, thanks for listening. And until next time, keep learning and keep it cool.

Watch video versions of the Happy English Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HappyEnglishNY/podcasts
Build Vocabulary With My Free Vocabulary Workshop: https://learn.myhappyenglish.com/vocabulary-workshop-signup

Thanks for tuning in! So… why are you listening to this podcast? Maybe it’s so that you can improve your English? Or in order to sound more natural? Or just to have fun learning something today? Well, whether you said so that, in order to, or to, you were talking about the purpose of doing something.

And that’s what these expressions are all about - showing the reason or goal behind an action.

Watch video versions of the Happy English Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HappyEnglishNY/podcasts
Build Vocabulary With My Free Vocabulary Workshop: https://learn.myhappyenglish.com/vocabulary-workshop-signup

Have you ever gone somewhere… and then realized you should’ve been somewhere else? Or maybe you went somewhere, and now you’re trying to explain that… but the grammar just won’t come out right. Don’t worry - this happens to a lot of English learners. So today, we’re going to clear it all up.

Went, Been, Gone. Yeah - I know. These words all seem similar, and sometimes even native speakers mix them up. But there is a pattern. There is a logic behind when we use went, gone, and been. So today, I’m gonna break it down for you in a clear, simple way - with a bunch of examples to make it all stick.

Watch video versions of the Happy English Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HappyEnglishNY/podcasts
Build Vocabulary With My Free Vocabulary Workshop: https://learn.myhappyenglish.com/vocabulary-workshop-signup

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to Speak Naturally in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Sunday with a quick one-point lesson to help you improve your pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation. And if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube.

Now, in everyday spoken American English, we often connect vowel sounds with a very small, quick W sound. I call this the tiny W. The tiny W happens when when one word ends with an “oo” sound and the next word begins with a vowel sound. Like, do it. We don’t stop the sound, and in one breath we say, doo-wit. It’s not do it, it’s doo-wit. I’m gonna doo-wit tomorrow. Did you hear the tiny w? I’m gonna doo-wit tomorrow. 

Here are some other examples:  

• You are sounds like yoo-wahr. Yoo-wahr a nice person. 
• Who else sounds like hoo-welse. Hoo-welse is coming to the party?
• To ask sounds like too-wask. You need too-wask the boss.

Be sure to practice these phrases yourself this week and they will become part of your English. 
And remember to follow and subscribe so you won’t miss the next Happy English Podcast and next Sunday’s Speak Naturally in a Minute. Hey, thanks for listening! Until next time, keep learning and keep it cool.

Watch video versions of the Happy English Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HappyEnglishNY/podcasts
Build Vocabulary With My Free Vocabulary Workshop: https://learn.myhappyenglish.com/vocabulary-workshop-signup

Hey there! It’s Michael here - and welcome back to English Tips in a Minute from Happy English. I’m here every Saturday with a short, simple tip to help you speak English more naturally and confidently. And if you want to watch this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube.

Today, let’s look at a really useful expression for telling stories - “the next thing I knew.” We use the next thing I knew when something happens quickly or unexpectedly, especially in a story. It’s another way to say “and then suddenly…” or “after that…”

• Like, “I sat down on the sofa to rest, and the next thing I knew, I fell asleep.”
• Or: “I was looking at instagram on my phone, and the next thing I knew, it was after midnight.”

We use this expression to show a jump in time - like your story skips ahead to the next big moment.
So remember, if you want to make your storytelling more natural and dramatic, try using “the next thing I knew.” It brings your story to life.

Lemme know in the comments how it goes, and remember to follow or subscribe so you don’t miss the next Happy English Podcast and next Saturday’s English Tips in a Minute. Hey, thanks for listening - and until next time, keep learning and keep it cool.
 
Watch video versions of the Happy English Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HappyEnglishNY/podcasts
Build Vocabulary With My Free Vocabulary Workshop: https://learn.myhappyenglish.com/vocabulary-workshop-signup

Hey there! It’s Michael here, and welcome back to Phrasal Verbs in a Minute from Happy English.
I’m here every Friday with a quick one-point lesson to help you learn a new phrasal verb and sound more natural when you speak. By the way, if you want to see the video version of this lesson, just look for Happy English Podcast on YouTube.

Today’s phrasal verb is chew out. When you chew someone out, it means you scold them strongly - usually because they did something wrong or made a big mistake. It’s a very informal, very American way to say “tell someone off.”

• Like yesterday in the office, my manager chewed out the team because the report wasn’t finished on time.
• And my friend Olivia got chewed out by her mom for coming home too late.
• Even I got chewed out once - I forgot to reply to an important email, and the client was not happy.

Here’s a pronunciation tip: chew out sounds like choo-wout. The W sound in chew links with out.

So how about you? Has anyone ever chewed you out - or maybe you had to chew someone out?
Let me know in the comments, and remember to follow or subscribe so you don’t miss the next Happy English Podcast and next week’s Phrasal Verbs in a Minute.
 
Watch video versions of the Happy English Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HappyEnglishNY/podcasts
Build Vocabulary With My Free Vocabulary Workshop: https://learn.myhappyenglish.com/vocabulary-workshop-signup

Have you ever been in this situation? You’re venting to a friend about having a long and tough day, and your friend’s response is  something like, Yeah, I hear you.”  That little phrase - "I hear you"- has nothing to do with your friend's ears. 
So - let’s talk about those moments when someone is telling you about a bad day, a tough situation, or something that’s just not going well. You want to respond in a way that shows you care, right? That you’re listening. That you understand. There are actually a bunch of phrases like that in everyday English that help you sound more natural when someone is complaining, venting, or just needs to feel heard. That’s what we’re going to look at today!

Watch video versions of the Happy English Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HappyEnglishNY/podcasts

Build Vocabulary With My Free Vocabulary Workshop: https://learn.myhappyenglish.com/vocabulary-workshop-signup