Everyday listening
Start with short recordings, then work through longer phrases. Listen once for the situation and again for the words.
Showing 289–302 of 302 lessons
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Medicine instructions
Pharmacy instructions separate the dose taken at one time from the daily frequency. Food prepositions define whether medicine requires an empty or full stomach, while conditional warnings explain what actions to avoid if drowsiness or worsening symptoms occur.
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Project status update
Project status updates use time markers to convey progress: already marks finished actions, still identifies unresolved bottlenecks, and once specifies the prerequisite event that activates the next task.
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Confirming an appointment
Confirming an appointment means checking an arrangement that already exists rather than making a new booking. In this call, the bike repair shop updates the booking from Monday to Wednesday at 2:15 p.m., requests arrival at 2:10 p.m., and asks for the bike lock key.
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Understanding an indirect refusal
An indirect refusal communicates that the speaker cannot or does not want to accept the current invitation without directly saying no. Appreciation can soften the message, while a reason explains why the proposed plan will not work.
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Train platform change
When an announcement updates a train journey, the destination remains the same while the platform and time change. In our scenario, the sixteen ten train to York is delayed by fifteen minutes, meaning it departs at sixteen twenty-five from platform seven instead of platform two.
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Checking a café order
In an order such as two soups, but one without cream, the customer wants two portions and changes only one. With introduces something included; without introduces something excluded. An allergy explains why an ingredient must be avoided.
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Delivery voicemail corrections
A repair shop caller updates the delivery time for a repaired desk lamp from before lunch to the afternoon, changes the last digit of the order code, and gives a nearby collection desk as an alternative if the workplace reception is closed.
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Changing a plan
When people change a plan, they keep the main activity but adjust one detail, such as the start time or meeting spot. In daily conversations, speakers explain why a delay happened, propose an alternative time, and wait for confirmation before the arrangement is settled.
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Video · 7 min Take it easy
'Take it easy' means to rest and reduce effort, to calm down when feeling anxious or agitated, or to offer a warm, casual goodbye.
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Third conditional: explanation and examples
The third conditional looks back at completed past events and imagines how changing one condition would have produced a different outcome. Both the condition and the result refer entirely to the past, describing an imaginary version of events that never actually took place.
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Gerunds and infinitives with stop, try, remember and need
Some English verbs can be followed by either an -ing form or a to-infinitive, but the choice creates two completely different meanings. With stop, the -ing form ends an activity, while the to-infinitive states a purpose for pausing. With try, the -ing form tests a possible solution, while the to-infinitive focuses on making an effort at a difficult task. With remember, the -ing form recalls a past experience, while the to-infinitive focuses on completing a necessary chore. With need, the to-infinitive indicates that the subject performs an action, while the -ing form expresses a passive meaning showing what requires maintenance.
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Future predictions
Predictions describe expected future events rather than certain facts. English uses will to share personal beliefs, expectations, and opinions without direct proof. It uses be going to when observable clues, trends, or current information show an outcome already in progress. When an outcome is merely possible, speakers choose might, may, or could.
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Future plans
Future expressions in English do not simply state that an event happens later. They reveal how the speaker views the plan: as a spontaneous reaction at the moment of speech, a personal intention decided previously, or a confirmed arrangement coordinated with others.
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Conditionals
A conditional sentence connects a condition with a result. English uses distinct verb combinations to show how the speaker views the relationship between these two clauses: as a universal constant, an actionable future possibility, an imagined present alternative, or a missed past opportunity.
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