August 4, 2025 • 10 mins
Just because you’re speaking fast, doesn’t mean you’re speaking fluently. Fluency is not about speed. Fluency is about rhythm. It’s about sounding natural — with the right pauses, the right tone, and the right feeling.
Today, I want to help you speak more naturally by focusing on something that native speakers do all the time — even if they don’t realize it. And that is: Thought Groups.
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Today, I want to help you speak more naturally by focusing on something that native speakers do all the time — even if they don’t realize it. And that is: Thought Groups.
Use FREE: My AI English Tutor
Join my Podcast Learner's Study Group here: https://learn.myhappyenglish.com/transcript
Visit my website for over 3,000 free English lessons: https://www.myhappyenglish.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This right here is what it sounds like when you
speak while paying attention to the thought groups. And this
right here is what it sounds like when you speak
without paying attention to the thought groups. Let's dive in.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from
New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael al Ray.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael here from
Happy English and I help people speak English better. And
this is Happy English Podcast Episode eight fifty three, speaking naturally,
thought groups and pausing. Hello and welcome, thanks for joining
(00:54):
me for another episode of the Happy English Podcast. Let
me start with something I hear from a lot of
English learners, and maybe even you have said or thought
something like this. Some people believe that if they speak quickly,
(01:16):
they'll sound more fluent, more like a native speaker. But
here's the truth. Just because you're speaking fast doesn't mean
you're speaking fluently. Fluency is not about speed. Fluency is
about rhythm. It's about sounding natural with the right pauses,
(01:40):
the right tone, and the right feeling. Think about it.
If someone speaks quickly but without pausing, without separating their
ideas into clear groups, it doesn't sound fluent. It sounds rushed, messing,
(02:00):
and honestly kind of hard to follow. So today I
want to help you speak more naturally by focusing on
something that native speakers do all the time, even if
they don't realize it, and that is thought groups. Well,
what's a thought group? A thought group is a short
(02:25):
chunk of speech, a group of words that belong together
in meaning. We don't speak word by word, and we
don't pause after every word. Instead, we group our ideas
(02:45):
and pause between those ideas. Here's an example. When I
was a kid, I used to love playing in the
park with my friends. Notice how I pause after each idea.
That's a natural rhythm. Each pause is a thought group.
(03:09):
When I was a kid, I used to love playing
in the park with my friends. So naturally, when I
was a kid, I used to love playing in the
park with my friends. Now, listen to the same sentence
(03:29):
without pausing. When I was a kid, I used to
love playing in the park with my friends. Wow, hard
to follow, right, Even if you pronounce every word clearly
without pausing, it becomes difficult to understand. Let's try a
few more. If you want to speak English naturally, you
(03:54):
need to practice rhythm and pausing. There are two thought
groups in that sentence. If you want to speak English naturally,
you need to practice rhythm and pausing. Here's another one.
The movie we saw last night was so good. I
(04:16):
might watch it again. There are three thought groups in
that sentence. The movie we saw last night was so good,
I might watch it again. When we speak like this,
it sounds smooth and clear. The movie we saw last
night was so good, I might watch it again. So
(04:42):
why is this important? Because when you speak in thought groups,
you sound more natural, more fluent, and easier to understand.
It's like music. There's a rhythm to it, and that
rhythm helps your listener follow what you're saying. Plus, when
(05:05):
you listen to native speakers, they're not separating every word,
but when you start recognizing their thought groups, it becomes
easier to understand them, even at full speed. Thought groups
happen all the time in native conversations in real life.
(05:28):
Here's how a native speaker might say something casually, what
you doing later, want to grab a coffee? That's two
clear thought groups. What you doing later? You want to
grab a coffee? But it might sound like one fast
sentence if you're not tuned into the rhythm or this one. Oh,
(05:51):
I was going to call you, but something came up. Again,
we've got two ideas, so to thought group. I was
gonna call you, but something came up. And here's a
longer one. I don't know what she said exactly, but
I think she's upset. If you try saying that with
(06:15):
no pausing, it's a total mess. But when you break
it up, it becomes easy to say and easy to understand.
I don't know what she's said exactly, but I think
she's upset. So you might be thinking, oh, Michael, how
can I practice thought groups? Well, let me give you
(06:39):
four tips. First, read aloud with pauses. Yeah, I'm gonna
plug reading. Here, take a short paragraph and read it slowly,
breaking each sentence into small idea chunks, small thought groups.
(07:00):
And the next tip related to that is to use slashes.
You know that kind of short diagonal line that's the
key next to the shift key on your keyboard, the slash.
So when you read, get a pencil and draw a
slash where you think a pause should go, Like I
(07:23):
went to the store, but they were out of milk.
I went to the store, slash, but they were out
of milk. The third tip is to repeat what you hear.
English teachers like to call this shadowing. Choose your favorite
podcast like this one or a TV show and repeat
(07:48):
one sentence at a time. Match the rhythm and pauses
of the speaker. And finally, you need to breathe naturally.
Thought groups usually match your breathing pattern. Don't try to
say an entire paragraph in one breath, all right. Time
(08:11):
to try it for yourself. Take a sentence, maybe one
from this podcast, and read it aloud slowly, add little
pauses between the ideas. You'll feel the rhythm, you'll sound
more natural, and trust me, your English will instantly feel smoother.
(08:34):
If you try it out, let me know how it goes.
Come say hi on social media I'm at Happy English
and why on just about every platform, or leave a
comment on the blog thanks for spending time with me,
and be sure to practice this lesson so you can
sound more natural. And if you really want to get
(08:58):
more practice using your English, you should join my podcast
Learner's Study Group. There you can make new international friends.
Join us for live group lessons every week where we
practice these podcast lessons together. Plus you get access to
the pdf transcript and audio download. For every Happy English
(09:23):
podcast in the past and in the future. And on
top of that, each episode has exercises where you can
practice this English point with speaking and writing checked by me.
To learn more, just visit Myhappy English dot com and
choose podcast lesson eight fifty three. Remember, learning another language
(09:47):
is not easy, but it's not impossible, and I'm here
to help you on your journey.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please
visit hi happy english dot com. Show your support for
Happy English by leaving us a review. Get English, Get Happy,
Happy English.
This right here is what it sounds like when you
speak while paying attention to the thought groups. And this
right here is what it sounds like when you speak
without paying attention to the thought groups. Let's dive in.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from
New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael al Ray.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael here from
Happy English and I help people speak English better. And
this is Happy English Podcast Episode eight fifty three, speaking naturally,
thought groups and pausing. Hello and welcome, thanks for joining
(00:54):
me for another episode of the Happy English Podcast. Let
me start with something I hear from a lot of
English learners, and maybe even you have said or thought
something like this. Some people believe that if they speak quickly,
(01:16):
they'll sound more fluent, more like a native speaker. But
here's the truth. Just because you're speaking fast doesn't mean
you're speaking fluently. Fluency is not about speed. Fluency is
about rhythm. It's about sounding natural with the right pauses,
(01:40):
the right tone, and the right feeling. Think about it.
If someone speaks quickly but without pausing, without separating their
ideas into clear groups, it doesn't sound fluent. It sounds rushed, messing,
(02:00):
and honestly kind of hard to follow. So today I
want to help you speak more naturally by focusing on
something that native speakers do all the time, even if
they don't realize it, and that is thought groups. Well,
what's a thought group? A thought group is a short
(02:25):
chunk of speech, a group of words that belong together
in meaning. We don't speak word by word, and we
don't pause after every word. Instead, we group our ideas
(02:45):
and pause between those ideas. Here's an example. When I
was a kid, I used to love playing in the
park with my friends. Notice how I pause after each idea.
That's a natural rhythm. Each pause is a thought group.
(03:09):
When I was a kid, I used to love playing
in the park with my friends. So naturally, when I
was a kid, I used to love playing in the
park with my friends. Now, listen to the same sentence
(03:29):
without pausing. When I was a kid, I used to
love playing in the park with my friends. Wow, hard
to follow, right, Even if you pronounce every word clearly
without pausing, it becomes difficult to understand. Let's try a
few more. If you want to speak English naturally, you
(03:54):
need to practice rhythm and pausing. There are two thought
groups in that sentence. If you want to speak English naturally,
you need to practice rhythm and pausing. Here's another one.
The movie we saw last night was so good. I
(04:16):
might watch it again. There are three thought groups in
that sentence. The movie we saw last night was so good,
I might watch it again. When we speak like this,
it sounds smooth and clear. The movie we saw last
night was so good, I might watch it again. So
(04:42):
why is this important? Because when you speak in thought groups,
you sound more natural, more fluent, and easier to understand.
It's like music. There's a rhythm to it, and that
rhythm helps your listener follow what you're saying. Plus, when
(05:05):
you listen to native speakers, they're not separating every word,
but when you start recognizing their thought groups, it becomes
easier to understand them, even at full speed. Thought groups
happen all the time in native conversations in real life.
(05:28):
Here's how a native speaker might say something casually, what
you doing later, want to grab a coffee? That's two
clear thought groups. What you doing later? You want to
grab a coffee? But it might sound like one fast
sentence if you're not tuned into the rhythm or this one. Oh,
(05:51):
I was going to call you, but something came up. Again,
we've got two ideas, so to thought group. I was
gonna call you, but something came up. And here's a
longer one. I don't know what she said exactly, but
I think she's upset. If you try saying that with
(06:15):
no pausing, it's a total mess. But when you break
it up, it becomes easy to say and easy to understand.
I don't know what she's said exactly, but I think
she's upset. So you might be thinking, oh, Michael, how
can I practice thought groups? Well, let me give you
(06:39):
four tips. First, read aloud with pauses. Yeah, I'm gonna
plug reading. Here, take a short paragraph and read it slowly,
breaking each sentence into small idea chunks, small thought groups.
(07:00):
And the next tip related to that is to use slashes.
You know that kind of short diagonal line that's the
key next to the shift key on your keyboard, the slash.
So when you read, get a pencil and draw a
slash where you think a pause should go, Like I
(07:23):
went to the store, but they were out of milk.
I went to the store, slash, but they were out
of milk. The third tip is to repeat what you hear.
English teachers like to call this shadowing. Choose your favorite
podcast like this one or a TV show and repeat
(07:48):
one sentence at a time. Match the rhythm and pauses
of the speaker. And finally, you need to breathe naturally.
Thought groups usually match your breathing pattern. Don't try to
say an entire paragraph in one breath, all right. Time
(08:11):
to try it for yourself. Take a sentence, maybe one
from this podcast, and read it aloud slowly, add little
pauses between the ideas. You'll feel the rhythm, you'll sound
more natural, and trust me, your English will instantly feel smoother.
(08:34):
If you try it out, let me know how it goes.
Come say hi on social media I'm at Happy English
and why on just about every platform, or leave a
comment on the blog thanks for spending time with me,
and be sure to practice this lesson so you can
sound more natural. And if you really want to get
(08:58):
more practice using your English, you should join my podcast
Learner's Study Group. There you can make new international friends.
Join us for live group lessons every week where we
practice these podcast lessons together. Plus you get access to
the pdf transcript and audio download. For every Happy English
(09:23):
podcast in the past and in the future. And on
top of that, each episode has exercises where you can
practice this English point with speaking and writing checked by me.
To learn more, just visit Myhappy English dot com and
choose podcast lesson eight fifty three. Remember, learning another language
(09:47):
is not easy, but it's not impossible, and I'm here
to help you on your journey.
Speaker 2 (09:56):
This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please
visit hi happy english dot com. Show your support for
Happy English by leaving us a review. Get English, Get Happy,
Happy English.
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