Bob's Short English Lessons

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases TO PUT A DAMPER ON SOMETHING and A WET BLANKET

In this English lesson, I wanted to teach you the English phrase to put a damper on something. When you put a damper on something, it means that you make it not fun. Or something can also put a damper on something else. Right now, the weather is putting a damper on Jen's ability to plant things. It's been rai...

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases TO PUT TOGETHER and TO PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER

In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English phrase to put together. When you put something together, it means there are pieces. And then you attach all the pieces together with glue or screws or nails or something like that.

If you're wondering what the noise is, Jen's driving by in...

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases TO GET UP ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE BED and TO MAKE THE BED

In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English phrase to get up on the wrong side of the bed or to wake up on the wrong side of the bed or to get out of the wrong side of the bed. There's a lot of different variations to this phrase, but basically it means that you're in a bad mood...

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases TO SUGARCOAT and A COAT OF PAINT

Hi. I'll teach the phrase in a moment. I just got to get my gas pumping here. And then I will get started on the phrase to sugarcoat. Let me see here. Almost ready. There we go.

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Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases TO COVER YOUR TRACKS and TO COVER ALL THE BASES

In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English phrase to cover your tracks. Now, if you do something and you don't want anyone to know you did it, you might want to cover your tracks. Let's say there are cookies in the kitchen and I'm not supposed to eat them. I might go to the tray of c...

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases TO BELT OUT and TO TIGHTEN YOUR BELT

In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English phrase to belt out. So a belt is something you wear on your pants so your pants don't fall down. But it's also a verb we use to talk about someone who's singing very, very loudly. You can belt out a song. Let's say you go to a karaoke evening some...

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases A REAL HEADACHE and A SPLITTING HEADACHE

In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the phrase a real headache. Now this can have two meanings. The actual meaning is that your head hurts and maybe you need to go to a pharmacy to get some medicine so that you don't have a headache anymore. Maybe you have a real headache, an actual headache. But we also ...

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases THAT'S THE SPIRIT and A KINDRED SPIRIT

In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English phrase that's the spirit. When we say that's the spirit to someone, we are encouraging them or recognizing that they did something cool or that they're excited about something. I'm not sure I'm explaining this well. Let me explain. If ...

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English terms FACE-TO-FACE and IN PERSON

In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English term face to face. When you meet someone face to face, it means that you're in the same room, you're in the same spot. It's not the same as meeting them online. If I was talking to my boss and I had a complaint, maybe I'm talking to my boss on the phone, I mi...

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY and IDENTITY CRISIS

In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English phrase a case of mistaken identity. When you say that something is a case of mistaken identity, it means it's a situation where someone thinks someone is someone else, but they're not. So maybe as you're walking along, you see someone from b...

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases PAST THEIR PRIME and PRIME TIME

In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English phrase past their prime. When you say someone is past their prime, it means they peaked at whatever they do well and now they aren't as good at it. We usually use this to talk about athletes, a professional athlete. Often when they are in their 30s, they start to not...

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases A TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE and TO SET A BAD EXAMPLE

In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English phrase a textbook example. When something is a textbook example, it's something in real life that could have been in a textbook, maybe. Let me explain a little bit better. A textbook is a book you use in school to learn new things. And a textbook example ...

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL and THE FEELING IS MUTUAL

In this English lesson, I wanted to help you understand the English term mutually beneficial. When something is mutually beneficial, it benefits both people. The other day in my lesson I used the term win win. When something's a win win, it means it's good for both people who are involved in whatever is happen...

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Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases SIGHT UNSEEN and OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND

In this English lesson, I wanted to help you le...

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases MY HEART SKIPPED A BEAT and A HOP, SKIP, AND A JUMP

In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English expression my heart skipped a beat. Now this can be used in a couple of ways. It can be used in a romantic way. Like I could say, the first time I met Jen, my heart skipped a beat, meaning that I found her attractive and I was excited to see her. So my...

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases THAT'S THE WAY IT GOES SOMETIMES and IT IS WHAT IT IS.

In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English expression, that's the way it goes sometimes. This is an expression we use when you know life. Things just happen in life and there's nothing you can do about it. I picked this expression or phrase because this is exactly what I said ...

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases BOUND AND DETERMINED and TO BE BOUND TO

In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English phrase bound and determined. When you are bound and determined to do something, it means you are going to do it. It means you are serious about doing it. It means that you are committed to doing it. The best example I could come up with today, even though I don&ap...

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English words AIRHEAD and AIRBALL

In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English word airhead. Now, this is not a nice word. This is a word you use to talk about someone who isn't very smart, someone who makes a lot of mistakes. You might call them an airhead. Actually, it's more like someone who doesn't remember things. You might call them an airhea...

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases IN THE DARK and A SHOT IN THE DARK

In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English phrase in the dark. When you are in the dark, it means you don't know about something. I use this example a lot, but if someone was planning a surprise party for me, they would want to keep me in the dark. They would want to make sure that I don't know about ...