Give It Your Best Shot: Meaning, Examples & Listening Practice | B2 English

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   Tutor Welcome to MicroEnglish. In this B2 lesson, you're
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   Tutor joining a pottery class for the first time. You want to make
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   Tutor a bowl, but you've never touched a pottery wheel. What could
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   Tutor a friend say to encourage you? Today we'll practise: give
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   Tutor it your best shot.
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   Tutor You watch the teacher, put on your apron and sit down.
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   Tutor Your friend says, give it your best shot. They mean
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   Tutor try to do it as well as you can. They aren't asking for a perfect
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   Tutor bowl. They're encouraging you to make your best effort.
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    Tutor Follow three stages: preparation, effort and
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    Tutor outcome. Preparation can help you do your best. The
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    Tutor expression itself focuses on the effort you make. Afterwards,
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    Tutor the result might be excellent, disappointing or somewhere between.
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    Tutor We can use the phrase before a challenge or when looking back.
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    Tutor Learn give it your best shot as a whole expression.
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    Tutor Here, it refers to the challenge you've already mentioned.
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    Tutor You can also name the task: give the audition your best
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    Tutor shot. In this expression, shot means an attempt;
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    Tutor there's no literal shooting involved.
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    Tutor Match the possessive to the person making the effort. I
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    Tutor give it my best shot; she gives it her best shot. For the
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    Tutor past, use gave. Notice that best shot stays
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    Tutor singular. The expression describes your strongest attempt,
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    Tutor even if that attempt involves several practice sessions.
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    Tutor Compare these statements. I'll give it my best shot commits
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    Tutor to effort. I'm sure I'll succeed expresses confidence
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    Tutor about the result. Someone can give a difficult exam their best
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    Tutor shot and still fail. That doesn't make their earlier statement
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    Tutor false.
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    Tutor Back at the wheel, the clay keeps leaning sideways.
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    Tutor It looks tricky, but give it your best shot. This is friendly,
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    Tutor informal encouragement. It suits everyday conversation and
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    Tutor many relaxed workplace exchanges. In a formal report,
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    Tutor make every effort may fit better.
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    Tutor Your bowl collapses. You can still say, I gave
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    Tutor it my best shot. You're describing the effort honestly, without
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    Tutor claiming success. A useful contrast is give
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    Tutor it a shot: that means try it. Adding your best puts
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    Tutor more emphasis on the quality of your effort.
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    Tutor A common mistake is replacing my with the: I'll give it
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    Tutor the best shot. For this idiom, use the possessive: my
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    Tutor best shot. You can also say I'll do my best.
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    Tutor When speaking, let best carry emphasis so the listener
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    Tutor hears your commitment.
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    Tutor Now listen to four conversations: two British and two
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    Tutor American. Decide what you can infer about each speaker's effort
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    Tutor or expectations. Choose an answer before checking the explanation.
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    Tutor The same conversation then plays again with captions, so you
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    Tutor can connect the sounds and words.
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    Tutor Alice has an audition tomorrow. Listen for what she is promising.
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    George Ready for the choir audition?
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    George I've practised all week. I might not get in, but I'll
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    Alice give it my best shot.
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    Alice I'll be there to support you.
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    Tutor She promises effort. She has practised, but explicitly
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    Tutor says she may not get in. Her place is uncertain.
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    George Ready for the choir audition?
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    George I've practised all week. I might not get in, but I'll
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    Alice give it my best shot.
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    Alice I'll be there to support you.
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    Tutor Jessica needs help with a missing file. What can she expect
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    Tutor from Roger?
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    Jessica Can you recover the file I deleted?
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    Jessica I can't promise, but I'll give it my best shot.
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    Roger Is there a backup?
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    Roger Maybe on my old laptop. I'll check.
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    Tutor Roger will try. Can't promise sets a limit
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    Tutor on the outcome; give it my best shot shows willingness to
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    Tutor help.
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    Jessica Can you recover the file I deleted?
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    Jessica I can't promise, but I'll give it my best shot.
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    Roger Is there a backup?
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    Roger Maybe on my old laptop. I'll check.
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    Tutor A team has heard back about funding. How does George view their
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    Tutor work?
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    Alice Did we get the funding for the garden?
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    Alice No. We rewrote the proposal twice and
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    George gave it our best shot.
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    George That's disappointing. Let's ask for feedback.
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    Tutor The team tried hard but didn't receive funding. Rewriting
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    Tutor twice supports the claim that they made a serious effort.
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    Alice Did we get the funding for the garden?
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    Alice No. We rewrote the proposal twice and
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    George gave it our best shot.
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    George That's disappointing. Let's ask for feedback.
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    Tutor Roger is considering a challenging recipe. Why
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    Tutor does Jessica use the phrase?
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    Roger Grandma's dumplings look hard to make.
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    Roger Give it your best shot. I'll read the steps while you cook.
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    Jessica All right. Let's start with the dough.
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    Tutor She's encouraging him to try. Offering to read the steps
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    Tutor gives practical support for his effort.
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    Roger Grandma's dumplings look hard to make.
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    Roger Give it your best shot. I'll read the steps while you cook.
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    Jessica All right. Let's start with the dough.
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    Tutor Say this aloud: It's new to me, but I'll give it my best shot.
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    Tutor Now name a challenge of your own before that sentence. It
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    Tutor could be leading a meeting or learning to swim. Make clear
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    Tutor what it refers to.
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     Tutor Does it promise success? No. Does the task
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     Tutor have to be new? No. An experienced musician can
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     Tutor give a performance their best shot too. Is it formal? It's
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     Tutor conversational. Think about your relationship with the listener
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     Tutor and the situation when choosing it.
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     Tutor You can name the task directly or use it when the task is clear.
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     Tutor After failure, gave it my best shot still makes sense.
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     Tutor And remember the shorter give it a shot simply invites an attempt.
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     Tutor Best adds a stronger commitment to effort.
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     Tutor On this lesson's page at MicroEnglish dot com, try
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     Tutor interactive dictation: listen, type what you hear and
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     Tutor check your answer. You can also ask the AI tutor about a sentence
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     Tutor you've written. The first dictation is free; further practice
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     Tutor and tutor access depend on membership and available credits.
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     Tutor In the comments, name something challenging and write what
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     Tutor you'll give your best shot. Add one possible outcome, so we
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     Tutor can see the difference between trying and succeeding. You're
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     Tutor welcome to ask questions about your sentence or the expression.
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     Tutor Thanks for practising with me today.

Choose an answer for each question, then check it.

1. Question 1 Hear the line again

   What does the volunteer promise when she says she will give it her best shot?

   A She will make her strongest effort. B She will finish before everyone else. C She will teach without any mistakes.
   Check my answer Chat with the tutor