Proper English

Proper English

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Proper English episodes

  • Proper English S2 E8: Tea for Two

    This week, we're all about Alison's favourite drink: tea! The Brits love their tea with milk, but should you put it in the cup before or after the tea? And who cares? This week's idiom is 'Not for all the tea in China'. Oh, and if you know Ali is quoting right at the very end, let us know and we'll give you an honourable mention in next week's episode!

    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 sounds from Freesound and music from Incompetech:

    CarStartSkidCrash.wav  by musicmasta1

    This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

    Steam kettle boiling and whistling by Jagadamba

    This work is licensed under the Attribution Noncommercial License.

    Bright Wish by Kevin MacLeod

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

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

     

    13 min
  • Proper English S2E7: Collective Nouns

    We're back after a week's break - in this episode, we're all about the collective nouns. Ever wondered what you call a group of apes? Wonder no more, as Ali becomes a contestant on a strange game show - or is it all a dream? The Idiom of the Week is 'A different kettle of fish.'

    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:

    Village Consort by Kevin MacLeod

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

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

    Happy Happy Game Show by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3856-happy-happy-game-show

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

    13 min
  • Proper English S2 E6: The Trouble with Translation

    This week, we're looking at the perils and pitfalls of translation, and asking: just how accurate are translation apps? We're talking about a number of different idioms this week - and what happens when you translate them from one language into another and then back…

    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:

    NewsSting by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4124-newssting

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

    and uses the following music as the opening and closing themes:

    Bright Wish by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

    License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

     

    13 min
  • Proper English S2E5: Get to Sleep!

    Do you know what the average person spends about 26 years of their life doing? Sleeping, that's what! This week, we're talking about words and phrases associated with sleep. It'll keep you awake at nights…

    There are two Idioms of the Week: 'Burning the candle at both ends' and 'Counting sheep'. You'll need to do one, if you're doing the other!

     

    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.

     

    We used the following sounds from Freesound in this week's podcast:

     

    Male Snore 3.wav by mattyharm

    This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

    Howler Monkey call on the Yucatan Peninsula by bmccoy2

    This work is licensed under the Attribution License.

    Sheep_Bleat.wav by n_audioman

    This work is licensed under the Attribution License.

    Music box lullaby by csnmedia

    This work is licensed under the Creative Commons 0 License.

     

    12 min
  • Proper English S2E4: Who Said That?

    This week, we open by talking about list sentences and conjunctions - but the real subject is the truth about the clever things that famous people have said - can we believe everything that we read? The Idiom of the Week this week is 'To talk the hind legs off a donkey' - but we're not going to go on about it…

     

    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 week’s podcast features incidental music from Incompetech:

    Danse Macabre - Big Hit 2 by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3590-danse-macabre---big-hit-2

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

     

    11 min
  • Proper English S2E3: A Few More of our Favourite Things

    This week, we're talking about some more of our favourite things: singers, drinks (regular listeners will already know Ali's favourite drink) and one of Dave's favourite things - poetry! The Idiom of the Week is 'to bite off more than you can chew.'

     

    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 week’s podcast features incidental music from Incompetech:

    Danse Macabre - Big Hit 2 by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3590-danse-macabre---big-hit-2

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

    13 min
  • Proper English S2E2: Phrasal verbs in the family

    This week, we're back on the subject of phrasal verbs - and this time, we're keeping it in the family! This week's featured idiom is 'Born with a silver spoon in one's mouth.'

    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:

    Bright Wish by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    ...and this is used as incidental music:

    Danse Macabre - Big Hit 2 by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3590-danse-macabre---big-hit-2

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

    10 min
  • Proper English S2 E1: What we did on our holidays

    We're back with a new season and a rejuvenated logo! This week, especially for our student Joaquim, we're going to tell you all about our holiday! Also, we're chatting about childhood holidays and we have not one, not two, but *three* Idioms 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:

    Bright Wish by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    Supernatural Radio A by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4445-supernatural-radio-a

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

    Danse Macabre - Big Hit 2 by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3590-danse-macabre---big-hit-2

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

     

     

    14 min
  • Proper English Episode 59: Cats

    This week we're talking about cats - the cats we've shared our houses with, and the cat-related vocabulary that we use. We're also looking at the difference between 'In the end' and 'At the end' and the Idiom of the Week is 'Let the cat out of the bag.'

    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 sounds from Freesound:

    Cat, Screaming, A.wav by InspectorJ

    cat meow by tuberatanka

    Cat purr.wav by Trautwein

    12 min
  • Proper English Episode 58: Mnemonics

    This week, we're all about… what is it we're all about this week? Ah yes, ways to remember things - from remembering the names of the planets in our Solar System to jogging your memory about the number of days there are in the months of the year - we've got a mnemonic for that! And this week sees the return of our intrepid detectives, Davidson and Roberts, on the trail of the Rainbow Burglar. But who is the mysterious Roberta?

    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 week’s podcast features incidental music from Incompetech:

    Danse Macabre - Big Hit 2 by Kevin MacLeod

    Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3590-danse-macabre---big-hit-2

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

    Hidden Agenda by Kevin MacLeod

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

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

    14 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…