Proper English

Proper English

Download on the App Store

Proper English episodes

  • Proper English S2 E38 This vs That and Other Controversies

    Questions, questions, questions. We have been asked so many - and we're taking the opportunity to answer some of them this week. And those lovely old ladies are back, illustrating this week's idiom: 'All over bar the shouting.'

    Like us on Facebook (properenglish2019), and follow us on Twitter (@properenglish4) or YouTube . Oh, and if you have a burning English grammar-related question, why not ask us on Instagram (properenglish2019), and we'll do our best to answer - or, if you're an email kind of person, and you have any feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, you can always contact us at [email protected].

    You can find us on italki at 

    https://www.italki.com/alisondaviskurley or https://www.italki.com/davekurley.

    This podcast uses the following music as the opening and closing themes, and also for incidental music:

    Bright Wish by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3458-bright-wish

    License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    We're also grateful to Freesound for the following sounds:

    wah wah sad trombone.wav by kirbydx

    This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

    audience.wav by pyoorgoodshed

    This work is licensed under the Attribution License.

    11 min
  • Proper English S2 E37: What's The Difference?

    This week, we're devoting a whole episode to answering a bunch of grammar-related questions that start 'What's the difference between…?' Meanwhile, our hapless detectives, Davidson and Roberts, are trying to solve of the mystery of who spilt the beans, which, coincidentally, is the Idiom of the Week!

    Like us on Facebook (properenglish2019), and follow us on Twitter (@properenglish4) or YouTube . Oh, and if you have a burning English grammar-related question, why not ask us on Instagram (properenglish2019), and we'll do our best to answer - or, if you're an email kind of person, and you have any feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, you can always contact us at [email protected].

    You can find us on italki at 

    https://www.italki.com/alisondaviskurley or https://www.italki.com/davekurley.

    This podcast uses the following music as the opening and closing themes, and also for incidental music:

    Bright Wish by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3458-bright-wish

    License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    ...and this is the Davidson and Roberts theme:

    Hidden Agenda by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3872-hidden-agenda

    License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    We're also grateful to Freesound for the following sound:

    wah wah sad trombone.wav by kirbydx

    This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

    13 min
  • Proper English S2 E36: Adverbs and Adverbials

    This week we're looking at words and phrases that enhance the meaning of verbs and other major word groups. Meanwhile, Roxy and Sergeant Roberts are defining the idiom 'Sticking your head above the parapet', in the aftermath of a disastrous team-building exercise.

    Like us on Facebook (properenglish2019), and follow us on Twitter (@properenglish4) or YouTube . Oh, and if you have a burning English grammar-related question, why not ask us on Instagram (properenglish2019), and we'll do our best to answer - or, if you're an email kind of person, and you have any feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, you can always contact us at [email protected].

    You can find us on italki at 

    https://www.italki.com/alisondaviskurley or https://www.italki.com/davekurley.

    This podcast uses the following music as the opening and closing themes, and also for incidental music:

    Bright Wish by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3458-bright-wish

    License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    ...and this is the Davidson and Roberts theme:

    Hidden Agenda by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3872-hidden-agenda

    License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

     

    12 min
  • Proper English S2 E35: Theatre Terminology

    This week, we're looking at vocabulary associated with the theatre - and this week's idiom is 'Let's get this show on the road!'

    Like us on Facebook (properenglish2019), and follow us on Twitter (@properenglish4) or YouTube . Oh, and if you have a burning English grammar-related question, why not ask us on Instagram (properenglish2019), and we'll do our best to answer - or, if you're an email kind of person, and you have any feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, you can always contact us at [email protected].

    You can find us on italki at 

    https://www.italki.com/alisondaviskurley or https://www.italki.com/davekurley.

    This podcast uses the following music as the opening and closing themes, and also for incidental music:

    Bright Wish by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3458-bright-wish

    License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    We're also grateful to Freesound for the following sounds:

    Applause 2.WAV by Sandermotions

    This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

    croc-12.wav by kalinkamalinka

    This work is licensed under the Attribution License.

    running up stairs.aif by MAJ061785

    wah wah sad trombone.wav by kirbydx

    This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

    Approx 800 Laugh 1.wav by lonemonk

    This work is licensed under the Attribution License.

    12 min
  • Proper English S2 E34: World Book Day

    This month sees World Book Day being celebrated all round the world, so we thought we'd have an unscripted chat about books this week. The Idiom of the Week is 'Comparing apples with oranges.'

    Like us on Facebook (properenglish2019), and follow us on Twitter (@properenglish4) or YouTube . Oh, and if you have a burning English grammar-related question, why not ask us on Instagram (properenglish2019), and we'll do our best to answer - or, if you're an email kind of person, and you have any feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, you can always contact us at [email protected].

    You can find us on italki at 

    https://www.italki.com/alisondaviskurley or https://www.italki.com/davekurley.

    This podcast uses the following music as the opening and closing themes, and also for incidental music:

    Bright Wish by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3458-bright-wish

    License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    This podcast also uses the following music:

    Village Consort by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4585-village-consort

    License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    And finally, we've used the following sound from Freesound:

    Owls.wav by Benboncan

    This work is licensed under the Attribution License.

    13 min
  • Proper English S2 E33: Shopping Around with Phrasal Verbs

    This week's episode is another in our occasional series concerned with phrasal verbs - this time we're looking at vocabulary associated with shopping! The two Yorkshire ladies are talking about clumsy grandchildren to illustrate the idiom 'A bull in a china shop.'

    Like us on Facebook (properenglish2019), and follow us on Twitter (@properenglish4) or YouTube . Oh, and if you have a burning English grammar-related question, why not ask us on Instagram (properenglish2019), and we'll do our best to answer - or, if you're an email kind of person, and you have any feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, you can always contact us at [email protected].

    You can find us on italki at 

    https://www.italki.com/alisondaviskurley or https://www.italki.com/davekurley.

    This podcast uses the following music as the opening and closing themes, and also for incidental music:

    Bright Wish by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3458-bright-wish

    License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    We also used the following sound from Freesound:

    cafe - takk, northern quarter, manchester by AntonyBK

    This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

     

    10 min
  • Proper English S2 E32: Three Little Words

    Despite the title, this is not a Valentine's Day special - it's all about three little words in the English language that can sometimes be a bit of a handful - this week's idiom is 'Sick as a parrot.'

    Like us on Facebook (properenglish2019), and follow us on Twitter (@properenglish4) or YouTube . Oh, and if you have a burning English grammar-related question, why not ask us on Instagram (properenglish2019), and we'll do our best to answer - or, if you're an email kind of person, and you have any feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, you can always contact us at [email protected].

    You can find us on italki at 

    https://www.italki.com/alisondaviskurley or https://www.italki.com/davekurley.

    This podcast uses the following music as the opening and closing themes, and also for incidental music:

    Bright Wish by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3458-bright-wish

    License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    We've also used some sounds from Freesound:

    Owls.wav by Benboncan

    This work is licensed under the Attribution License.

    Golf5.flac by acclivity

    This work is licensed under the Attribution Noncommercial License.

    ...and this sound comes from Soundbible:

    Sports Crowd by GoGo

    Licensed under the Attribution licence 3.0

    13 min
  • Proper English S2 E31: Words You Can Say In Front Of Your Mother

    This week, we're talking about rude words - we're talking about them, but we're not saying them! Davidson and Roberts are back this week, talking about problems at work and the idiom 'To let off steam.'

    Like us on Facebook (properenglish2019), and follow us on Twitter (@properenglish4) or YouTube . Oh, and if you have a burning English grammar-related question, why not ask us on Instagram (properenglish2019), and we'll do our best to answer - or, if you're an email kind of person, and you have any feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, you can always contact us at [email protected].

    You can find us on italki at 

    https://www.italki.com/alisondaviskurley or https://www.italki.com/davekurley.

    This podcast uses the following music as the opening and closing themes, and also for incidental music:

    Bright Wish by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3458-bright-wish

    License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    ...and this is the Davidson and Roberts theme:

    Hidden Agenda by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3872-hidden-agenda

    License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    We're also using an excerpt of this sound from Freesound:

    Last Post.wav by Benboncan

    This work is licensed under the Attribution License.

    13 min
  • Proper English S2 E30: Word Order

    This week, we're looking into the rules governing adjective order. You didn't know about them? Well, you will after this episode. The Idiom of the Week is 'Every cloud has a silver lining.'

    …and listen to the end for Misha's poem!

    Like us on Facebook (properenglish2019), and follow us on Twitter (@properenglish4) or YouTube . Oh, and if you have a burning English grammar-related question, why not ask us on Instagram (properenglish2019), and we'll do our best to answer - or, if you're an email kind of person, and you have any feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, you can always contact us at [email protected].

    You can find us on italki at 

    https://www.italki.com/alisondaviskurley or https://www.italki.com/davekurley.

    This podcast uses the following music as the opening and closing themes, and also for incidental music:

    Bright Wish by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3458-bright-wish

    License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    We've also used some sounds from Freesound:

    La cucaracha car Horn.wav by csnmedia

    porsche_911.wav by mharo

    These sounds are licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

    Owls.wav by Benboncan

    This work is licensed under the Attribution License.

     

     

    13 min
  • Proper English S2 E29: How the British Complain

    This week, we're talking about kicking up a fuss, being critical - yes, we're talking about complaining. Meanwhile, Roxy and Sgt Roberts are illustrating this week's Idiom: 'To nip it in the bud.'

    Like us on Facebook (properenglish2019), and follow us on Twitter (@properenglish4) or YouTube . Oh, and if you have a burning English grammar-related question, why not ask us on Instagram (properenglish2019), and we'll do our best to answer - or, if you're an email kind of person, and you have any feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, you can always contact us at [email protected].

    You can find us on italki at 

    https://www.italki.com/alisondaviskurley or https://www.italki.com/davekurley.

    This podcast uses the following music as the opening and closing themes, and also for incidental music:

    Bright Wish by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3458-bright-wish

    License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

    We also used the following sounds from Freesound:

    Sitcom Laughter 9x, Small Audience by Kinoton

    rain_strong_with_thunders.aif by loopbasedmusic

    Both are licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

    11 min

About Proper English

From the publisher's feed

If you're learning English and you want to know the correct word to use in a particular situation, if you get stuck thinking of the right preposition, if you are puzzled by definite and indefinite…