This week, Tim continues and completes his deep analysis of the passive voice, (https://castbox.fm/episode/Episode-119%3A-Active-Voice-vs.-Passive-Voice-id6059877-id827414195?country=us) identifying and clarifying six unusual and advanced passive constructions. Three of these constructions (for example, replacing BE with GET) are typical of conversational English, so learning them can help you understand and use everyday language with better accuracy and confidence. The other three constructions are common in written and formal English, and will help you understand the news and intelligent conversation in greater detail. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

In English, we have two ways of constructing sentences- the active voice and the passive voice (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_passive_voice). The active voice is the standard, common way to build sentences, while we use the passive voice most commonly in written and academic English. In other words- if you want to understand and use English at an advanced level- then you need the passive voice! Every passive voice sentence includes a past participle. So now is a great time to listen to Episode #115 (https://castbox.fm/episode/Episode-115%3A-Irregular-Past-Participles-A-to-Z-id6059877-id819242381?country=us) on irregular past participles, and also Episode #116 (https://castbox.fm/episode/Episode-116%3A-A-First-Look-at-Consonant-Clusters-id6059877-id821292655?country=us) on common pronunciation difficulties with regular past participles. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

The internet and textbooks typically use the EXTENSIVE method to explain grammar. This means they use lots of situations and examples to explain each construction. But we also have the rarely used INTENSIVE method, where you learn one construction with deep, intense focus on one example. If you're learning a new construction, the intensive method gives you a single deeply understood sentence to use as a model for understanding other sentences. If you're reviewing or checking, the intensive way makes sure you understand everything in detail, and fixes mistakes in your understanding. Listen to Episode 118, where Tim uses the intensive method with slightly different versions of the same sentence to learn or review an important meaning of the present perfect verb tense in depth and detail. If you have not listened to episodes 115 (https://castbox.fm/episode/Episode-115%3A-Irregular-Past-Participles-A-to-Z-id6059877-id819242381?country=us), 116 (https://castbox.fm/episode/Episode-116%3A-A-First-Look-at-Consonant-Clusters-id6059877-id821292655?country=us), and 117 (https://castbox.fm/episode/Episode-117%3A-The-Present-Perfect-for-Experiences-id6059877-id823196591?country=us) on past participles and the present perfect already- now is the perfect time to do that! Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Ever jumped out of an airplane? How about the Eiffel Tower- have you been there? Or maybe you've done something simple but important, like change the oil in your car? The present perfect, the verb tense of experiences, will help you to talk about important and exciting things you've done in your life. If you've learned both regular past participles (https://castbox.fm/episode/Episode-116%3A-A-First-Look-at-Consonant-Clusters-id6059877-id821292655?country=us) and irregular past participles (https://castbox.fm/episode/Episode-115%3A-Irregular-Past-Participles-A-to-Z-id6059877-id819242381?country=us), then constructing sentences in the present perfect is easy. There is one difficulty, though: students often confuse it with other verb tenses, like the past simple or the present simple. Listen to Episode 117 to learn when to use the present perfect by listening to memorable, situations and deeply explained examples. Photo courtesy of PROskydiving.com (http://PROskydiving.com) via Wikipedia, Ilovechicago.jpg (640×480). (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Ilovechicago.jpg) Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Consonant clusters, for example /bd/, /vd/, and /rdʒd/, are series of consonants pronounced together, without any vowels in them. Consonant clusters are often pronounced so quickly that they seem to be a single sound. You can find consonant clusters in the beginning, middle and end of English words. Consonant clusters at the end of words are critical for understanding and pronouncing the past tense forms of verbs so that everyone can clearly understand if the past or present is being spoken of. Listen to Episode 116 to understand if you already master consonant clusters or need to study them more. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

If you want to learn the present perfect, or the passive voice, then you need to learn the past participle, also known as the third form of the verb. And you especially need to learn the irregular past participles! And the reality is that many students don't know the third forms of irregular verbs well. What can you do to solve these problems? Well, Episode 115 is a great place to start! it will give you the forms you need for a solid base to learn the present perfect and the passive voice. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Let's be direct: if you want to understand the details of what people say in English (instead of just the basics), then you need to learn the 2809 words of the NGSL, or New General Service List, and their different meanings. More episodes with words from the NGSL: Episode 2 (https://open.spotify.com/episode/4gAKgnPgNa1MCL0zhrQmRr): The NGSL- 2800 Words For Better English. Episode 11 (https://open.spotify.com/episode/4D1djx7gKDYntEoGX8WeTZ): NGSL 1331-1340. 10 Words, 27 Meanings. Episode 62 (https://open.spotify.com/episode/46mXiUG0g9mGl3V3JnRsUt): NGSL 1341-1350. Episode 73 (https://open.spotify.com/episode/6zk3GioaJNYqtcSbu8fYYf): NGSL 1511-1520. Episode 84 (https://open.spotify.com/episode/25U2Yt5LXcCcXjQF0Xkl84?si=c3b9631419ab4c3c): NGSL 1011-105. Note: cover image created by AI. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

English native speakers pronounce words much differently from what students hear in the classroom- DID YOU becomes DIDJA, WHAT'S YOUR becomes WUTCHER, and so on. This style of pronunciation is called chewing gum pronunciation, and it has the biggest effect on the most commonly used words, for example YOU and YOUR. The pronunciation of these two key words completely changes after specific sounds- after /t/, after /d/, and after /z/. Listen to Episode #113 to learn the natural, real-world ways to say these key words so you understand them more easily in your day to day life. For a general view of chewing gum pronunciation, listen to Episode 102 (https://app.ausha.co/app/show/155657/episodes/preview/8500407). Note: the horrific cover image was created by AI. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

What's the biggest mistake English students make? Well, one of them is that they think that each English word has just one or two meanings. In reality, you need to know three, four, or even more functions for each word if you want to speak and understand English at an advanced level, with depth, detail and confidence. Listen to Episode 112 to learn 27 functions of 10 words using 79 example sentences. More episodes with words from the NGSL: Episode 2 (https://open.spotify.com/episode/4gAKgnPgNa1MCL0zhrQmRr): The NGSL- 2800 Words For Better English. Episode 11 (https://open.spotify.com/episode/4D1djx7gKDYntEoGX8WeTZ): NGSL 1331-1340. 10 Words, 27 Meanings. Episode 62 (https://open.spotify.com/episode/46mXiUG0g9mGl3V3JnRsUt): NGSL 1341-1350. Episode 73 (https://open.spotify.com/episode/6zk3GioaJNYqtcSbu8fYYf): NGSL 1511-1520. Episode 84 (https://open.spotify.com/episode/25U2Yt5LXcCcXjQF0Xkl84?si=c3b9631419ab4c3c): NGSL 1011-105. *The cover image was created using AI. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

I'm not gonna lie- pronouns aren't "sexy" like verbs (and especially irregular verbs!) are. But we use pronouns really ALL THE TIME, and students often overestimate how well they know pronouns. So- listen to Episode #111 to consolidate and deepen your knowledge of this essential and misunderstood part of speech, or category of words. Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.