200 Important English Expressions: English vocabulary lesson

Get ready to level up your vocabulary because today you are going to master 200 important daily life English expressions. Hi, I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com and to go with today's special lesson, I have created a free PDF worksheet. This is no ordinary worksheet. This is 28 pages from me to you that includes all 200 of these expressions, definitions, sample sentences, and at the bottom of the 28 page free worksheet, you can answer Vanessa's challenge questions so that you never forget what you've learned. You can click on the link below this video to download this free 28 page worksheet today. In this lesson, we'll first take a look at the top 100 phrases for your daily routine, and then we'll go on to the top 100 words that are used in the English language. Let's get started. Today, I'm going to be taking you through my daily routine. Hopefully it's the same as yours as well, along with these categories, and you will be learning the top 100 sentences and phrases to talk about your daily life. Are you ready to get started with the first category? What's the first thing you do in the day? Well, you wake up. Let's go see. 10 sentences for waking up in the morning. I hate it when my alarm clock goes off. I always push snooze. What about you? Oh no, I accidentally turned my alarm clock off and I overslept. I really like to sleep in on the weekends. Notice the difference between to sleep in and to oversleep. To sleep in can be an enjoyable thing, but to oversleep is always bad. You're probably going to be late to work. I jumped out of bed because I overslept. It's time to wake up, rise and shine. But maybe you woke up on the wrong side of the bed and when you hear someone say, rise and shine, nothing could be worse. When I finally get out of bed in the morning, I try to make the bed, make the bed. It makes me feel nice and fresh in the morning when I wash my face and brush my teeth. Then I pick out what I'm going to wear for the day and get dressed. 10 common sentences for breakfast. I usually try to find time to whip up some breakfast before I get started on my day. My husband turns on the coffee pot to brew some coffee. For me, I boil some water in the tea kettle for my morning tea. When I have fresh lemons, sometimes I like to make some fresh lemon juice in the morning. If I have some bread, like I don't today, I'm sorry, I throw some toast in the toaster. When I have a little more time, I scramble some eggs for breakfast, straight from my chickens. Then I realize that I'm going to be late for work, so I scarf down my breakfast. Did you notice this fast verb? To scarf down your breakfast means that you eat really quickly. There were some other fast expressions in this section, to throw some bread in the toaster, to whip up your breakfast. It implies that a lot of us don't leave enough time in the morning, so we have to do things quickly. I clear the table and put the dirty dishes in the sink. A lot of times I fill up my to-go mug and take it to the office. This can also be called a tumbler, especially because it's insulated and can keep my tea hot all day. The final expression for breakfast is what happens if you wake up so late and you have no time to drink anything, to eat anything, what do you say? Well, you could say I overslept, so I think I will get something on the way. You could say on the way to the office, but you don't need to. You can say I'm going to get something on the way, or I'm going to pick up something on the way, and it means you're going to stop by a little restaurant, or a cafe, or a coffee shop, and get something to eat and drink on your way to work. 10 expressions for going to work or school. It's time for me to head to work. This verb, to head somewhere, is great when you're going in a direction. I'm headed to the store. I'm going to head to work. What are you doing? Well, I'm heading to school right now. Before I drive, I always buckle my seat belt. Buckle my seat belt. Then I back out of the driveway. I back out of the driveway. Once I'm on the highway, I speed up to drive faster. When I'm stuck in traffic, I need to slow down, or sometimes completely stop. When I need to turn, it's important to use your blinker, to use your blinker. I try to avoid traffic on my commute, so usually I leave a couple minutes early. I have to merge onto the highway. I don't really like doing that, but it's necessary. While I'm driving, I try to watch out for school buses and pedestrians. I don't want to hit anyone. The best thing about my commute is that I get to kill two birds with one stone. I drive to work, and I listen to Vanessa's videos on the way. 10 sentences for working with other people in the office. Excuse me, when you have a moment, can I ask you a question? This is an extremely polite and wonderful question to ask in the office. I'm sorry, I'm having trouble understanding the assignment. Can you explain it a little bit more? I'm filling in for our manager today because he's sick. Do you know who is going to be the lead on this project? As you can imagine, this word, the lead, is short for the leader, but in the office, you will often hear just the lead. I'm the lead on that project. Great. When you work with customers, it's great to say, hi, how can I help you? Hi, how can I help you? Or you can say, thanks for your patience. I'll be right with you. This is a great phrase to use on the phone as well. If you're talking with a client or with a customer or with anyone really, and you can't talk with them right away, you might say, hi, thanks for your patience. I'll be right with you. Perfect. The last four sentences use extremely common and useful idioms for the workplace. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and tell my boss about the mistake that I made on that report. Well, that plan didn't go like I expected. I guess it's back to the drawing board. You don't need to be an architect or an artist to use this expression. It's just an idiom. So if you need to completely scrap your plans and start over, you can say, I guess it's back to the drawing board. When you work on a group project, it is incredibly important to pull your own weight. Can you imagine what this means? It means that you don't just sit there and wait for other people to do the work. Instead, you are contributing an equal amount. You're pulling your own weight and being an equal member of the group. The final office expression I use all the time, you might say, all right, let's touch base next week after the project has already gotten started. To touch base is kind of a baseball expression, and it means let's check in, let's talk to each other and kind of see where we're at. Let's touch base next week. You don't need to message me every day, but I want to check in and see how things are going. Let's touch base. 10 expressions for taking a break. Whether you work full time, you are a full-time mother or father, whether you are a full-time student or you're retired, everyone needs to take a break. When I was painting inside my house, I needed to step outside and get some fresh air. It's so nice out here. A lot of people at my office take a smoke break, but I don't smoke, so I take a sunshine break. Are you hungry? I think it's time for a snack break. Hey, I'm going on a coffee run. Do you want anything? This is a great expression to use at the office or at school when you are going to a coffee shop and you're going to be buying coffee or tea and you want to offer to get something for someone else. I'm going on a coffee run. I'm going on a tea run. Would you like anything? The grocery store, the bank, the post office, I need to run some errands this afternoon. It doesn't mean that you're actually running, but maybe you're going a little bit quickly because it's not too fun. These last five expressions are for when you really need a break. What can you say? I'm falling asleep at my desk. I think I need to take a lap around the office to wake myself up. It's so hot. We've been working outside in the sun. I think we should take a breather and go sit in the shade. Now that my assignment is finished, I'm going to take a minute before I work on anything else. Congratulations to me. This hike is harder than I thought. I need to catch my breath before we go up the next hill to catch my breath. It's a great expression for when you need to take a break. And our final taking a break expression is, it's the end of the day. Let's hit pause before we start any new projects. It's time to go home. 10 expressions for saying goodbye at work or at school. In the office, all right, I'm shutting down for the day. At school, time to pack up. Let's go home. At work or at school, you can say, let's call it a day. Time to go home. All right, that's it. I think we've done all that we can do today. I'm headed out. I'll see you tomorrow. I got to run. I'll catch up with you tomorrow. I'm out of here. I've got an appointment I've got to get to. That's a wrap. Nice work, everyone. We finished. Bye. See you tomorrow. Bye, everyone. Have a good evening. 10 expressions for going out to a restaurant with your family or friends. I don't feel like cooking tonight. Let's eat out. This is the most common phrasal verb for talking about going to a restaurant. Let's eat out. I love eating out. And it means going to a restaurant. Maybe you don't want to sit inside. You could say, oh, it's such a beautiful day outside. Can we get a table on the patio? Can we get a table on the patio? I usually order the grilled chicken, but do you have any specials today? I haven't eaten here before. What do you recommend? All right. I think I'd like the Caesar salad, please. I'm not very hungry. Do you want to split a pizza with me? Can I get a refill on my drink when you have a chance? Thanks. How's your food? It looks delicious. I think I'll order that next time. Can you bring me a to-go box? I think I'd like to save this for later. Thanks. In the U.S., it's really common to get a to-go box because, yes, just like the stereotype, our food portions are huge. And it's no problem to take home your leftovers in a to-go box. Sometimes we call this a doggie bag. It doesn't look like a dog. It's not really for your dog, but you could call it either a to-go box or a doggie bag. I know we just had a big dinner, but let's splurge and get dessert too. What do you think? Ten common expressions about playing with your kids. It seems like little and big boys always want to roughhouse and play hard. It seems like my kids always want to eat a snack. What about yours? Wow, look at that tall Lego tower you made. It's a beautiful day to go on a bike ride down the street. Sometimes doing a puzzle is a great way to calm down and relax. It's so satisfying to hit a baseball, even if you're just playing by yourself. Nothing is more fun than going down a slide into a huge pile of leaves. My kids love to do chalk in a shady part of the walkway. I do too. The first thing my son does in the morning is pick raspberries in our backyard. Sometimes my son gets so tired that he takes a nap in the middle of the floor. Oh, how cute. Ten sentences for relaxing at the end of the day. Oh, what a day. I'm so glad to finally be home, but before I can relax, I really need to finish up some chores. I just spent a few minutes tidying up the house, so now I can relax on the couch. After a long day, some people just like to zone out and watch TV. Or you can use the fun expression, at the end of a long day, I like to veg out and watch TV. This comes from the word vegetable because, let's be honest, when you watch TV, your brain is kind of like a vegetable. It's not doing very much, but it's kind of nice sometimes to just veg out and watch TV. Before I go to bed, I like to catch up on the book that I'm reading. So interesting. At the end of a long day, I like to just chill. Maybe that's watching some TV. Maybe that's reading my book. I don't want to do much. I just want to chill. What can you say to someone else who's had a really long day? Well, if they've come over to your house as a guest, when you open the door and greet them, you could say, make yourself at home. This means that they will feel comfortable in your house. Make yourself at home. Open the cupboard, get yourself a glass of water if you want. Feel free to sit down. Don't worry about any kind of formal rules. Make yourself at home. Or you might say to your loved one, I can see you've had a really long day. Why don't you put your feet up and I'll get you a glass of water. Put your feet up. Maybe sit on the couch, put your feet up and I'll get you a glass of water. Don't worry. I got it. If you've had a busy month, a busy year, you might say I'm so thankful for our vacation coming up. I really need some R&R. This is not railroad. This means rest, relaxation. Some people say it means to recuperate. This means that you are chilling out and you're gaining your strength back. We often see this in writing. I'm going to get some R&R this weekend in the mountains. I'll be back later. But you can also use this in conversation. 10 expressions for your nighttime routine. It's finally the end of the day. Well, before I go to bed, I always double check that I have locked my door. After that, I go through the house and turn off the lights. I already read bedtime stories to my two sons. They're asleep. So I need to tiptoe quietly to my bedroom so they don't wake up. Let's go. Before I go to bed, I need to take a shower to get clean for bed. Then I need to brush my teeth. Usually when you brush your teeth, you brush your teeth and then you spit and rinse your mouth. Finally, it's time to get cozy for the day, put on my pajamas, and put my clothes in the laundry basket. Before I go to bed every night, I double check my alarm. I want to make sure that I don't oversleep. Finally, it's time to hit the hay. I can curl up under the covers and drift off to sleep. Good night. Congratulations on learning 100 important phrases to talk about your daily routine in English. Now let's go on to 100 top most common words that are used in English. Let's go. All right. Are you ready to get started? Strap on your English vocabulary helmet and let's start with number one. Baby. Baby. My friend just announced that she's having a baby. Kid. Kid. When I was a kid, I wanted to be grown up and now that I'm grown up, I want to be a kid again. Parent. Parent. Now that I'm a parent, I understand my parents a lot better. Pet. My first pet was a hermit crab and I kept him for five years. Family. Family. Notice the pronunciation here. In fast English, we drop the middle I. Family. Family. I love spending time with my family. Home. Home. I love coming home to my family at the end of a long day. Car. Car. How old were you when you first drove a car? For me, I actually helped to fly a small airplane before I ever drove a car. I was maybe 15 years old and I was working at a small airport. It was kind of an exchange. I got to help with the airplanes and she taught me some about flying small airplanes. So I have kind of an unusual story. Garage. Garage. This is the American English pronunciation with hard G sounds. Garage. Garage. I'd park my car in the garage to protect it. Room. Room. Everyone looked at her when she walked into the room. I wonder why. Relationship. Relationship. I formed some meaningful relationships when I was in college. Friend. Friend. We've been friends since I was five years old. Person. Person. If you're the last person in the room, please turn off the lights. School. School. I never really enjoyed school and maybe that's why I became an online English teacher instead. Book. Book. I was so interested in that book that I read it until 3 a.m. Teacher. Teacher. I'm so happy to be your English teacher. Student. Student. Thank you for being my student. Education. Education. Notice this pronunciation. The D sounds like j. Education. You can get a good education in a lot of different ways. Information. Information. I need some more information before I can make a decision. Group. Group. A lot of my students meet with a speaking group once a week and you too can also do that. If you join my course, The Fearless Fluency Club, you can meet thousands of motivated English learners and practice speaking together. There's a link in the description. I'd love to see you there. Team. Team. I was so happy when my team won the championship. Subject. Subject. Math was never my best subject. I knew that from a very early age. Class. Class. Have you ever been to an in-person English class? Project. Project. My husband's new project is building a new fence for our chickens. It's a big project. Research. Research. Notice that this is the American English pronunciation. We emphasize re and don't emphasize search. Research. I never buy something big without doing some research first. Result. Result. If you want good results, you have to work hard. Reason. Reason. Notice that the s sounds like a z. Reason. Reason. You better have a good reason for being late. Change. Change. Working at the library instead of at home was a nice change of scenery. Desk. Desk. This desk belonged to my grandmother when she was a student. Computer. Computer. Notice that the t changes to a d sound in American English. Computer. Computer. I've been using this computer for over six years and it still works great. That's amazing. Mouse. Mouse. I screamed when the mouse ran across the floor. Or it could be this device. I click the mouse when I want to go to the next page. Screen. Screen. Oh no, I dropped my phone and now the screen is broken. Work. Work. I have so much work to do today. Job. Job. My first job was working at the airport. Like I just told you. What about you? What was your first job? Career. Career. Instead of a traditional teaching career, I decided to start an online business instead. Company. Company. My dad has worked for the same engineering company for over 30 years. Business. Business. In my opinion, construction is a difficult business to be in. It's very physically demanding. Place. Place. What is your favorite place you've ever visited? Let me know in the comments. System. System. The typical language learning system in a classroom doesn't work. Maybe that's why you're here. Program. Program. My son had so much fun at the summer program that he went to. Government. Government. It's important to be informed about your local government. Community. Community. Notice that this T changes to a D in American English. Community. I love the community that I live in. People are so kind and friendly and welcoming. City. City. Also, this word has a T change to a D. City. I've always wanted to live in a city, but then I realized they're so crowded and noisy. County or county. County. The county I live in has the best schools in the entire state. State. State. I live in the state of North Carolina. Region. Region. I would love to visit the wine region of Spain. That sounds amazing. Area. Area. What's your favorite restaurant in the downtown area of your city? Address. Address. If you want to send me a postcard, my address is in the description. I would love to get a postcard from you. Minute. Minute. I'll be ready in a minute. I'm almost done with my hair. Hour. Hour. Notice that the H is silent. Hour. We waited for an hour for our table at the fancy restaurant. Day. Day. I haven't eaten all day. I'm starving. Week. Week. I'm so excited to spend a week at the beach. Weekend. Weekend. My family likes to go for a hike on the weekend. Weekday. Weekday. The bank is usually only open on weekdays. Morning. Morning. I like to get all my work done in the morning so I have the rest of the day to do whatever I want. Night. Night. Don't forget to turn your car's headlights on when you're driving at night. Month. Month. I have my bills set to auto pay so I don't need to think about them every month. They are automatically paid. Year. Year. My husband and I have been married for almost 12 years. Amazing. Season. Season. Fall is my favorite season because I love the cool air and watching all of the leaves change. What about you? What's your favorite season? Decade. Decade. I can't believe it's been over a decade since I graduated from college. Time flies. Game. Game. Did you watch the baseball game last night? Party. Party. Notice that the T changes to a D here in American English. In my opinion, there is no perfect political party. They all have something wrong. Event. Event. I'm planning a fundraising event for a local charity. Time. Time. What time is it? Oh no, I'm late. Thing. Thing. What's that big thing on the counter? It's a mystery. Moment. Moment. For a moment, I forgot why I walked into the room and then I remembered, oh yes, I need my umbrella. Idea. Idea. I have an idea about how we can improve our performance at work. More naps. Hobby. Hobby. Flying an airplane seems like a pretty cool hobby, but it's really expensive. Club. Club. My friends and I used to have a book club and it was loads of fun. Library. Library. My family visits our local library about once a week. We love getting new books. Museum. Museum. Usually art museums are very overwhelming for me, but I loved the Orsay Museum in Paris. It was perfect. Art. Art. My neighbor is always making some kind of art. She's very creative. History. History. Do you know your family's history? Store. Store. I'm going to the store to buy some milk and bread. Do you need anything? Just a little note, in American English, when you say, I'm going to the store, it almost always means the grocery store. We sometimes just say the store, but it's implied the grocery store. Groceries. Groceries. I went to the store to buy groceries and I forgot the two things that I went for, milk and bread. Oops. Park. Park. My son loves going to our local park because they have a nice lake with a lot of ducks. Equipment. Equipment. I think I could fix our car if I had the right equipment. Cafe. Cafe. My friend decided to open a cafe, but instead of a building, it's in a double-decker bus. How cool. Health. Health. You can have all the money in the world, but if you don't have your health, the money doesn't matter. As they say, your health is your biggest wealth. Doctor. Doctor. I wasn't feeling well, so I decided to make an appointment to see the doctor. Office. Office. I got nervous when my boss asked me to come into his office, but really he was offering me a promotion. Hooray. Nurse. Nurse. I thought about becoming a nurse, but the sight of blood makes me feel sick. It wasn't a good fit for me. Engineer. Engineer. My dad is an engineer. My husband's dad is an engineer. I wonder if any of my sons will become engineers. Tools. Tools. My husband is always buying new tools for projects around the house. Has that ever happened to you? Airplane. Airplane. The last time that I flew on a commercial airplane, I got COVID. Airport. Airport. It's a good idea to get to the airport early, especially if you're flying internationally. Bus. Bus. I was late for my appointment because I missed the bus. Train. Train. As the train left the station, I realized, oh no, I forgot my luggage. Hotel. Hotel. Our hotel was in the perfect location. It was near public transportation, parks, and a lot of great sites. Pool. Pool. Do you want to come over to my house and hang out by the pool? Beach. Beach. Make sure this has an E sound. Beach. Beach. Some people love going to the beach in the summer, but for me, I'd rather go when it's a little bit cooler in the spring or in the fall. Farm. Farm. I love visiting my friend who has a farm. There's so many cute baby animals. Vacation. Vacation. What is your ideal vacation? Let me know in the comments. Street. Street. Our best friends just bought a house on our street. We're going to be neighbors. Building. Building. I love the design of this building. It has so much natural light. Sign. Sign. Notice that the G is silent. Sign. The business sign says that it should be open, but the door is locked. Front. Front. Oh no, I have a stain on the front of my shirt. Back. Back. I found this can of soup in the back of the pantry. Do you think it's still okay? Side. Side. I like to sleep on the left side of the bed. Beginning. Beginning. At the beginning of the movie, I liked that character, and then I realized, oh, he's the villain. End. End. We just talked about the 100 most common nouns, and now this is the end of the lesson. Congratulations on learning these 200 important daily life expressions in English. Don't forget to download the free PDF worksheet, this 28-page worksheet, which includes all of these important phrases, definitions, sample sentences, and at the bottom of the worksheet, you can answer Vanessa's challenge question so that you never forget what you've learned. You can click on the link below this video to download the 28-page free worksheet today. It's my gift to you. Well, thank you so much for learning English with me, and I'll see you again next Friday for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel. Bye. But wait, do you want more? I recommend watching this video next, English vocabulary in one hour. Yes, you're going to level up your vocabulary even more. You'll learn some important words for describing people, including what is the opposite of someone who is uptight and anxious? They are... Well, you'll find out in this lesson. I'll see you there.