ساختار و اصطلاحات پر استفاده در زبان انگلیسی

In today’s lesson you are going to learn the most useful, the best expressions and structures in any English class ever! This is the best one. This one, best!

So, your friend wants to ask you about yesterday, your actions, what happened. What question do they ask?

I just love “Rick and Morty”! So, I try “Rick and Morty” male.

Pronunciation! What did you do yesterday? That’s fine, that’s normal, nothing wrong with that. But you might also hit the pronunciation like this. What did you do yesterday? What did you do yesterday? Let’s slow that down! Practice with me! What! The “T” could be glottalized. So, “wa”, “wa”, repeat with me “wa”. Did you? Can be smash together to sounds like “j”, “j” with the schwa sound. Together “wa je”. What did you do yesterday? Say whit me! What did you do yesterday? That question is fine but more commonly we change the word “do” for three words: “get up to”.

I explained in a lot more detail, how to use “get up to”, “be up to” in this video here. Watch that if you need that explanation, if no, perfect! Let’s continue!

Just know that “get up to” replaces “do” fine. So, you remember the pronunciation: “what did you get up to.?”, “what did you get up to yesterday?”. Your don’t have to say it like that but you will hear it. So, it’s important to practice the pronunciation. What did you get up to yesterday? That’s fine and that’s perfect. Don’t worry! Ok.

He is thinking about the answer. Yesterday! Huh! Nothing! Mm! Watching the Game of Thrones, that’s not really doing something! So, he’ll say this: “I didn’t do much”. But you know that we can replace that with something else. Three words. Wich words? Exactly! “get up to”. I didn’t get up to much last night!

I know that you are thinking why is it more common to replace one very small word with three words? I make no sense. I don’t know why is table in Spanish a feminine noun? In some times life doesn’t make sense.

You could replace “much” with another modifier. I didn’t get up to anything yesterday. I wasn’t social. I didn’t see my friends. Not, nothing! But this is for general actions, going out, see friends, watching TV, anything. But when you want to say “I didn’t do much” but specifically “work”, you say in a different way. I had work. I should have finished it, but I didn’t. I just played Xbox and watched TV. In that case you will say “I didn’t get much done”. So you want to say generally “I didn’t do much” but more commonly “I didn’t get up to much”. “I didn’t get up to anything.” But for work things or obligations: “ I didn’t get much done”, and again you can change to modifier. “ I had so much work but I didn’t get anything done.”

Have you seen Rick and Morty? It’s so good. I watched the entire series. Ok Rick and Morty is the best show on it. I just say it.

These are all past examples, but of course we can use them for future examples too. Let’s have a look. If you want to say: “Today I have a lot of work” you can say it in this way and again the sentence is quiet general: “I need to get a few things done”.

Maybe you noticed the the structure is called “the causative”. In another video I’ll talk about that, but for this you just want to say: “l need to finish a few things”. You will say like this: “Today I need to get a few things don!”. I have got to send emails, I have got to meet friends. I have got to finish some work.

What’s an errand? You now announced little jobs when you have to go somewhere and do something. It is a little journey to deliver something, to fix something, to buy something. Those little journey jobs, those equaled errands. What’s the word with errand? Run! you run an errand! Or in plural. I have to run some errands. You want to say: “Today I need to get a few things done! I need to finish a few things!”. Getting more special. You want to list your obligations, the things that you have to do. You can express it like this. For example: I have got work to finish. This is my obligation. This is what I have to do.

See the structure. It is so useful. It always starts with “I have got” then the noun, then “to” with the verb in infinitive. Another example could be like before. You could say: I have got to finish some work. I have got to see some people. That’s fine, that’s great but this structure sounds better. It’s very useful and you can change it to anything you want, really. I have got work to finish. I have got people to see. I have got places to go. I have got those emails to send.

Yeah! Another example could be…! Do you remember the word for a little journey? When you have to do a job with a journey? What’s that word? It is an errand. What’s the verb that goes with it? I have got errands to run. I have got errands to run. I’m sorry, I can’t have lunch with you. I mean, yes I don’t like you, but I have also got errands to run. So you can adapt this structure to lots of different things.

And before we finish, I think you have tow questions about this! One, can I say “I have”? Yes you can, that’s fine. The other question is probably about past. Can we use this in past? Yes absolutely. You had an obligation in the past. Just change the verb. Today I had some work to finish. It sounds more natural if you put “some” or “a few” before the noun. It just sounds better.

So, to put everything we have learned today together, tell me in the comments. Today, this week, this weekend, next week what do you have to do? Or another example: yesterday what did you get up to? Tell me in the comments. See you in the next class. Bye