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   Tutor Hi, welcome to MicroEnglish. Your manager asks
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   Tutor how the report is going, then asks again ten minutes later.
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   Tutor And again. How would you describe that pressure?
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   Tutor In this B2 lesson, we'll practise breathing down someone's
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   Tutor neck, get the grammar right, and find a tactful way to describe
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   Tutor the problem.
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   Tutor You open the report, but another message arrives: finished
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   Tutor yet? My manager is breathing down my neck about this report.
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   Tutor The expression describes someone watching or checking you very
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    Tutor closely, often pushing you to finish. The repeated
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    Tutor attention makes you feel pressured. They don't need to stand
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    Tutor near you.
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    Tutor One agreed update may be helpful. Constant checks
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    Tutor can feel intrusive. Breathing down my neck presents the
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    Tutor attention as unwelcome or excessive. It's the speaker's
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    Tutor view, not proof that the other person is behaving badly. A
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    Tutor deadline can explain the pressure, but a deadline alone doesn't
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    Tutor establish close monitoring.
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    Tutor Use the verb breathe, with an e at the end, not
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    Tutor the noun breath. Change the tense as usual: she's
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    Tutor breathing; she was breathing; he breathes. The
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    Tutor possessive identifies the person under pressure: my neck,
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    Tutor his neck, or their necks for several people. Keep
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    Tutor down in the expression.
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    Tutor Say it in connected chunks: my manager's, breathing
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    Tutor down, my neck. Here, manager's means
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    Tutor manager is. In breathing, the th sound
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    Tutor is voiced, as in this. Notice the spelling loses
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    Tutor the final e before ing. Avoid breathing
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    Tutor on my neck when you mean monitoring; that suggests actual breath
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    Tutor touching you.
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    Tutor Follow the pattern on our gauge. Someone keeps checking.
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    Tutor You feel watched or hurried, perhaps because Friday's deadline
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    Tutor is close. Then you ask for room to work. These
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    Tutor are stages in one situation, not three separate meanings.
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    Tutor The central idea stays the same: uncomfortable attention
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    Tutor from another person.
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    Tutor A customer sends six messages while you pack an order. The
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    Tutor customer keeps breathing down my neck about the delivery. About
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    Tutor adds the topic; you can leave it out when the situation is
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    Tutor clear. Keep plus breathing highlights repetition.
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    Tutor This expression can describe customers, relatives, or
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    Tutor colleagues, as well as managers.
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    Tutor The idiom is informal and often critical. Saying
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    Tutor you're breathing down my neck directly to someone can sound
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    Tutor accusing. With a trusted friend, it may be a natural complaint.
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    Tutor At work, explain what would help: could we agree
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    Tutor on one update after lunch? That gives the other person a practical
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    Tutor response.
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    Tutor Now listen to four short conversations, two British
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    Tutor and two American. Choose the conclusion supported by the words
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    Tutor you hear. Pay attention to repeated actions and what the
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    Tutor speaker wants to change. After each answer, you'll hear
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    Tutor the same conversation again with the words on screen.
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    Tutor Alice is preparing a budget. Listen for why she
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    Tutor wants the messages to stop.
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    George Another message from the finance team?
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    George Yes. They're breathing down my neck, checking every
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    Alice few minutes.
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    Alice Would fewer messages help?
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    George Definitely. Each one makes me lose count.
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    Tutor She needs time to focus. The checks arrive every few
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    Tutor minutes, and she says they interrupt her counting. The attention
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    Tutor is slowing her down.
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    George Another message from the finance team?
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    George Yes. They're breathing down my neck, checking every
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    Alice few minutes.
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    Alice Would fewer messages help?
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    George Definitely. Each one makes me lose count.
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    Tutor Roger and Jessica discuss his apartment search. What bothers
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    Tutor him about the calls?
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    Roger Dad calls three times a day to ask if I've found
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    Roger an apartment.
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    Roger He must be worried.
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    Jessica I know, but it feels like he's breathing down
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    Roger my neck.
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    Tutor The frequency bothers him. He recognises his father's
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    Tutor concern, but three calls a day feel like too much checking.
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    Roger Dad calls three times a day to ask if I've found
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    Roger an apartment.
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    Roger He must be worried.
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    Jessica I know, but it feels like he's breathing down
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    Roger my neck.
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    Tutor A theatre deadline is approaching. Listen for the arrangement
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    Tutor George would prefer.
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    Alice Are the costumes ready? Opening night's tomorrow.
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    Alice Nearly. I can't sew with you breathing down my
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    George neck.
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    George How can I keep track, then?
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    Alice Let me send you photos at five.
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    Tutor He wants one update at an agreed time. His offer
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    Tutor to send photos at five would replace the repeated checks without
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    Tutor leaving Alice uninformed.
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    Alice Are the costumes ready? Opening night's tomorrow.
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    Alice Nearly. I can't sew with you breathing down my
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    George neck.
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    George How can I keep track, then?
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    Alice Let me send you photos at five.
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    Tutor Jessica has a new garden coordinator. What has changed in her
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     Tutor working day?
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     Roger How's the new garden coordinator?
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     Roger Great. One evening update, and nobody breathing
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     Jessica down my neck.
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     Jessica Better than sending photos every hour!
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     Tutor She receives less intrusive supervision. One evening
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     Tutor update contrasts with the old hourly photos, and “nobody
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     Tutor breathing down my neck” shows that Jessica feels less pressured.
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     Roger How's the new garden coordinator?
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     Roger Great. One evening update, and nobody breathing
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     Jessica down my neck.
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     Jessica Better than sending photos every hour!
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     Tutor Your turn. Say: the client's breathing down my
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     Tutor neck. Then replace the client with someone from an imaginary
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     Tutor situation. Keep the verb and possessive clear. Finally,
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     Tutor think of a tactful request that would help, such as asking
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     Tutor for one update time.
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     Tutor Does the person have to be nearby? No; messages
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     Tutor can create the same feeling. Is it neutral? Usually
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     Tutor not: you're expressing discomfort with the attention. In
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     Tutor a formal complaint, concrete details are clearer. For
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     Tutor example, say that requests for updates arrive every ten minutes
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     Tutor and interrupt your work.
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     Tutor For the form, remember that breathe is the verb and
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     Tutor breath is the noun. The neck belongs to the person
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     Tutor feeling watched, so change the possessive to match. About
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     Tutor is optional: she's breathing down my neck is complete
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     Tutor when your listener already knows what the pressure concerns.
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     Tutor Visit this lesson on MicroEnglish dot com for interactive
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     Tutor dictation. Type what you hear and check your answers. You
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     Tutor can also ask the AI tutor about a sentence you've written.
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     Tutor The first dictation is free; further practice and tutor
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     Tutor access depend on membership and available credits.
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     Tutor In the comments, invent a situation where someone keeps checking
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     Tutor your progress. Write one sentence with the idiom, then
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     Tutor add a polite request for a change. You can use a coach,
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     Tutor customer, or relative. Ask any questions you still have
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     Tutor about the expression. Thanks for joining me today.

Choose an answer for each question, then check it.

1. Question 1

   A coworker says, 'Our supervisor has been breathing down my neck since nine o'clock.' What does the coworker mean?

   A The supervisor is monitoring the coworker too closely and creating stress. B The supervisor has a severe medical cough and needs medicine. C The supervisor wants to sit next to the coworker during lunch.
   Check my answer Chat with the tutor
2. Question 2

   Which subject can naturally breathe down someone's neck in spoken English?

   A A quiet holiday that ended two weeks ago B A relaxed weekend morning with no plans C An urgent tax deadline that arrives tomorrow morning
   Check my answer Chat with the tutor
3. Question 3

   Which sentence correctly forms a polite negative request with the idiom?

   A Please do not breathe on my throat while I work. B Please do not breathe down my neck while I work. C Please do not breathe across my neck while I work.
   Check my answer Chat with the tutor