Wadjasay? American English Pronunciation Practice

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November 2, 2024

Hello everybody. I've been meaning to record a short podcast to tell you what's going on, and here it is. I've been very busy the past month and November and December are shaping up to be even busier. So I'm not going to record any new podcasts during that time. I will continue to pay for the podcasts to be hosted so you can listen to any of them you like and download them. But I'm not planning to record new ones, at least for the next two months.

However, if you follow me on Telegram, I have been putting up short recordings which you can play as loops. So if you start them playing, you can listen one time or ten times or a hundred times. I personally, for my own language practice, think loops are great. They let you really key in on the pronunciation and the rhythm and how something really sounds. Much better than anything else. Repetition, as far as I'm concerned, is magic. So if you're not following me on Telegram, the link is below. If you don't use Telegram, you might consider getting it. It's handy for this purpose. I know it's also used by all sorts of bad people to do bad things, but that's out of my control. So give it a try. Set up a little Telegram account and follow English with Barry. 

I have been posting two sentences a day most of the time on weekdays. So Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Two, I should say two loops because some of them are more than one or two sentences. So that's it. No new podcast planned for the next two months. And I will try to post at least one, if not two, new loops every weekday on my Telegram channel. If you have any questions, there's a link below for sending me a message. And I'll put an email so you can email me also if you want to. Thank you, and happy November and happy December. Take care!
Barry

Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

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If your native language doesn’t include many consonant blends, English can be a challenge. An example is “st” as in the word “test.” These blends can appear at the beginning of a word, in the middle, or at the end. Let’s practice. 

1- The first test was the worst test; the last test was the second worst.

2- My task was to cover the disk on my desk with my mask.

3- Old Mr. Gold told me he had a cold from the mold.

4- I used my wand to send sand to the pond.

5- Do you think I should dunk the skunk in the sink or the tank?

6- I heard the sound of a hound running around and sniffing a mound.

7- As a prank, the drunk drank his drink in a trunk.

8- Would you, could you scold a child in a field?

9- Mr. Smart stood apart in the court and held a chart of his heart.

10- The bored blond was armed with a can of baked beans.

Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

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(From - Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: beginning of Chapter 7.)

There was a table set out under a tree in front of the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it: a Dormouse was sitting between them, fast asleep, and the other two were using it as a cushion, resting their elbows on it, and talking over its head. “Very uncomfortable for the Dormouse,” thought Alice; “only, as it’s asleep, I suppose it doesn’t mind.”

The table was a large one, but the three were all crowded together at one corner of it: 

1- “No room! No room!” they cried out when they saw Alice coming. “There’s plenty of room!” said Alice indignantly, and she sat down in a large arm-chair at one end of the table.

2- “Have some wine,” the March Hare said in an encouraging tone.

Alice looked all round the table, but there was nothing on it but tea. “I don’t see any wine,” she remarked.

3- “There isn’t any,” said the March Hare.

“Then it wasn’t very civil of you to offer it,” said Alice angrily.

“It wasn’t very civil of you to sit down without being invited,” said the March Hare.

4- “I didn’t know it was your table,” said Alice; “it’s laid for a great many more than three.”

“Your hair wants cutting,” said the Hatter. He had been looking at Alice for some time with great curiosity, and this was his first speech.

“You should learn not to make personal remarks,” Alice said with some severity; “it’s very rude.”

5- The Hatter opened his eyes very wide on hearing this; but all he said was, “Why is a raven like a writing-desk?”

“Come, we shall have some fun now!” thought Alice. “I’m glad they’ve begun asking riddles.—I believe I can guess that,” she added aloud.

6- “Do you mean that you think you can find out the answer to it?” said the March Hare.

“Exactly so,” said Alice.

“Then you should say what you mean,” the March Hare went on.

7- “I do,” Alice hastily replied; “at least—at least I mean what I say—that’s the same thing, you know.”

“Not the same thing a bit!” said the Hatter. “You might just as well say that ‘I see what I eat’ is the same thing as ‘I eat what I see’!”

8- “You might just as well say,” added the March Hare, “that ‘I like what I get’ is the same thing as ‘I get what I like’!”

9- “You might just as well say,” added the Dormouse, who seemed to be talking in his sleep, “that ‘I breathe when I sleep’ is the same thing as ‘I sleep when I breathe’!”

10- “It is the same thing with you,” said the Hatter, and here the conversation dropped, and the party sat silent for a minute, while Alice thought over all she could remember about ravens and writing-desks, which wasn’t much.

Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

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Here are three more Phrasal Verbs based on “take”:

1- As soon as all the passengers were seated and buckled in, the plane took off. [the plane left the ground]

2- When the burglars heard our key in the lock, they took off through the back door and raced down the street. [They ran away quickly]

3- The doctor told me to take off my shirt so he could listen to my heart and lungs. [to remove]

4- I take after my mother. We have the same color hair and eyes, we are the same height, and we both wear glasses. [to resemble]

5- John doesn’t take after his father. His dad likes to read and play guitar, while John enjoys playing sports and fixing old cars. They are very different from each other. [they don't resemble each other in their tastes]

6- I took apart this old clock, but now I can’t put it back together again. [to take apart = disassemble]

7-  What happened to your car’s engine?
—My friend and I took it apart. We’re going to rebuild it next week. [disassemble]

Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

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Imaginary businesses with tricky-to-pronounce names. Use this podcast as an exercise to warm up your pronunciation. Go slowly before you try to go fast!

1- Rudy’s Radioactive Radiator Repair

2- Thea’s Thursday Seances Featuring Thinking, Theorizing, and Theremin Lessons

3- Skip’s Sports Emporium and Unicycle Service Center

4- Terry’s Tried-and-True Temporal Toaster Tinkering 

5- Harold’s Handcrafted Heated Hand Warmers 

6- Bob’s Refurbished Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers

7- Joe’s Janky Junk Generators of New Jersey

8- Carl’s Cardboard Carton Crushing Company

9- Frank’s Infrared French Fries and Fricasseed Fertilizer Factory

10- Arnold’s Ambling Artificial Alien Alligators  

Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

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To “take over” has a couple of meanings. It can mean to “take control of” something, but it can also mean to control by being bossy.

1- While I was sick, weeds took over the garden. Now it looks terrible.

2- When my father died, I had to take over running the company.

3- Our children have taken over my life. I have no free time for myself.

4- One student in our class does most of the talking. He completely takes over our discussions.

5- Every time we have a meeting, my boss takes over and doesn’t let anyone else speak.

Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

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Another expression with the verb take. Let’s practice with “to take advantage of.”

To “take advantage of” can be good or bad. 

Here’s an example of the bad kind: “He took advantage of his friend’s generosity by borrowing money and never paying it back.”

And the good kind: “She took advantage of every opportunity to practice her English with fluent speakers.”

1) My friend took advantage of my ignorance to sell me defective merchandise.

2) The car salesman knew we didn’t know anything about cars. He really took advantage of us. Now we have no money and a crappy car.

3) Our supermarket is having a sale on pasta. I’m going to take advantage of the low prices and stock up.

4) My mother is friends with all the local politicians. If I ever decide to get into politics, I’ll take advantage of her connections.

5) Let’s take advantage of the beautiful weather and go to the beach this afternoon. 

Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

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Let’s continue our practice with the verb “take”, this time with “take place” which means to “happen”, usually for organized events.

1) The next summer Olympic Games will take place in Los Angeles. I hope it won’t be too hot.

2) The next performance by the Boston Symphony Orchestra will take place on September 8th.

3) The 2024 US presidential election will take place on November 5.

4) I would like our wedding to take place as soon as possible. 

5) We had a long business meeting, but the serious decisions took place later during dinner.

Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

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The verb “take” is very common in English and it’s used in many ways. One of the expressions is to “take a look.” Here are some examples:

1) “Doctor, please take a look at this X-ray.”

2) He took one look at the snake and said, “It’s a Burmese Python.”

3) “We need to take a look around your apartment,” said the policeman.

4) She took one look at my hand and said, “That’s a nasty cut. You’re going to need some stitches.”

5) My professor said he would take a look at my essay later.

To get the most benefit from this podcast, practice it once or twice, then put it away for a day or two--and then practice it again. If you can, make a recording of yourself saying these sentences and compare your pronunciation with mine. Repeated listening and speaking is the key.

Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

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You can now support my podcasts and classes:
Help Barry pay for podcast expenses--thank you!

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August has been very busy but here's a podcast so you won't think I've run away somewhere. We use the word "so" in many ways. Here are some sample sentences.

1- That is a beautiful painting?

Do you really think so?

2- Is it time for dinner? Is the food ready?

I think so.

3- She speaks French and so do I.

4- And so off to the movies we went, arm in arm. (So = then)

5- She had never felt so happy before in her life.

6- I can only exercise so much in one day.

7- I didn’t do it!

You did so!

8- I so don’t want to travel with him. (Informal)

9- You can’t count on her. She is so unreliable.

10- Most television shows are so boring.

11- I lived in Spain not so long ago.

12- She was so good in math and science that she became a chemist.

13- He has perfect pitch, so he always sings in tune.

14- My son says he hates broccoli so he won’t eat it.

15- So here we go again: arguing about something stupid.

16- You say I shouldn’t run a marathon and I say, “So what? It’s my decision.”

17- “So THAT’S who ate all the cookies!”

18- His room is very neat and he keeps all his things just so.

19- If you need to talk to your teacher, do so as soon as possible. 

20- I’ll stay in Paris for a week or so.

21- So now we’ve come to the end of this podcast. Bye!

Intro & Outro Music: La Pompe Du Trompe by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com

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You can now support my podcasts and classes:
Help Barry pay for podcast expenses--thank you!