Three Useful Phrasal Expressions
2020-09-04
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1In a recent Everyday Grammar report, we explored phrasal expressions.
2Phrasal expressions are groups of words that take on a special meaning.
3This meaning is different from what the individual words suggest.
4Today we will explore three common, useful phrasal expressions.
5You will hear how people use them in everyday speech and in presentations, such as TED Talks.
6Phrasal expressions have somewhat unusual meanings.
7If you look up each individual word in the dictionary, you still might not understand them as a group.
8Here is an example.
9In our earlier report, we described the phrasal expression 'by the way.' 'By the way' means that the person speaking is going to introduce a new subject to a discussion.
10There are thousands of phrasal expressions in English.*
11In today's report, we will explore the expressions so that, at all, and sort of.
12Our first phrasal expression is 'so that.' 'So that' can be used in an explanation or to describe a purpose.
13It generally introduces a subordinate clause - a group of words with a subject and a verb.
14The subordinate clause plays a part in a longer sentence.
15Here is an example. Imagine you are explaining how to park a car on a very steep hill.
16Be sure to set the emergency brake so that the car does not roll away.
17The first part of the sentence - Be sure to set the emergency brake - is a complete sentence.
18The words 'so that' introduce a clause that explains or describes the purpose for setting the brake.
19Let's listen to an example of how a speaker might use 'so that' in a presentation.
20In this TED Talk, Sara-Jane Dunn talks about programming cells.
21"And then those programs must operate in a distributed way across individual cells, so that they can coordinate and that plant can grow and flourish."
22Our second phrasal expression is 'at all.'
23 'At all' means to any extent or in any way.
24It can make statements stronger. It acts like an adverb in the sentence.
25Unlike 'so that,' 'at all' does not introduce a clause.
26English speakers mostly use it in the middle or at the end of a sentence.
27Here is an example.
28Tom came to dinner last night, but he didn't eat at all! He must have been worried about something.
29The reason the speaker used 'at all' is to highlight that Tom did not eat.
30 'At all' makes the statement stronger.
31'At all' is common in speaking and writing.
32Let's listen to how Amy Padnani, an editor at the New York Times, uses 'at all' in a 2019 TED Talk.
33"There were moments when I faced great self-doubt. I wondered if I was crazy or if I was all alone, and if I should just give up. When I've seen the reaction to this project, I know I'm not at all alone."
34Our third phrasal expression is 'sort of.' 'Sort of' means in some way or to some extent.
35Unlike our other phrasal expressions, 'sort of' is informal.
36 'Sort of' is used in everyday speech. You will generally not see it in writing.
37'Sort of' can stand alone as a statement, as in:
38Do you agree with that?
39Sort of...
40'Sort of' can also appear in a longer sentence, as in:
41She was sort of nice.
42You might hear Americans reduce 'sort of' to something that sounds like 'sorta.'
43Let's listen to how a speaker uses 'sort of' in a presentation.
44In this example, Jon M. Chu talks about filmmaking. Listen to how he uses 'sort of' as a kind of adverb.
45"You can plan, you can write scripts, you can do your storyboards, but at a certain point, your movie will speak back to you, and it's your job to listen. It's this living organism and it sort of presents itself, so you better catch it before it slips through your hands..."
46You have learned about three common phrasal expressions.
47 Now be sure to practice using them whenever you can.
48Look and listen for other phrasal expressions and keep a record of your findings.
49With time, and practice, you will use more and more phrasal expressions with ease.
50I'm Ashley Thompson.
51And I'm John Russell.
1In a recent Everyday Grammar report, we explored phrasal expressions. Phrasal expressions are groups of words that take on a special meaning. This meaning is different from what the individual words suggest. 2Today we will explore three common, useful phrasal expressions. You will hear how people use them in everyday speech and in presentations, such as TED Talks. 3What are phrasal expressions? 4Phrasal expressions have somewhat unusual meanings. If you look up each individual word in the dictionary, you still might not understand them as a group. 5Here is an example. In our earlier report, we described the phrasal expression 'by the way.' 'By the way' means that the person speaking is going to introduce a new subject to a discussion. 6There are thousands of phrasal expressions in English.* In today's report, we will explore the expressions so that, at all, and sort of. 7#1 so that 8Our first phrasal expression is 'so that.' 'So that' can be used in an explanation or to describe a purpose. It generally introduces a subordinate clause - a group of words with a subject and a verb. The subordinate clause plays a part in a longer sentence. 9Here is an example. Imagine you are explaining how to park a car on a very steep hill. 10Be sure to set the emergency brake so that the car does not roll away. 11The first part of the sentence - Be sure to set the emergency brake - is a complete sentence. The words 'so that' introduce a clause that explains or describes the purpose for setting the brake. 12Let's listen to an example of how a speaker might use 'so that' in a presentation. In this TED Talk, Sara-Jane Dunn talks about programming cells. 13"And then those programs must operate in a distributed way across individual cells, so that they can coordinate and that plant can grow and flourish." 14#2 at all 15Our second phrasal expression is 'at all.' 'At all' means to any extent or in any way. It can make statements stronger. It acts like an adverb in the sentence. 16Unlike 'so that,' 'at all' does not introduce a clause. English speakers mostly use it in the middle or at the end of a sentence. 17Here is an example. 18Tom came to dinner last night, but he didn't eat at all! He must have been worried about something. 19The reason the speaker used 'at all' is to highlight that Tom did not eat. 'At all' makes the statement stronger. 20'At all' is common in speaking and writing. Let's listen to how Amy Padnani, an editor at the New York Times, uses 'at all' in a 2019 TED Talk. 21"There were moments when I faced great self-doubt. I wondered if I was crazy or if I was all alone, and if I should just give up. When I've seen the reaction to this project, I know I'm not at all alone." 22#3 sort of 23Our third phrasal expression is 'sort of.' 'Sort of' means in some way or to some extent. 24Unlike our other phrasal expressions, 'sort of' is informal. 'Sort of' is used in everyday speech. You will generally not see it in writing. 25'Sort of' can stand alone as a statement, as in: 26Do you agree with that? 27Sort of... 28'Sort of' can also appear in a longer sentence, as in: 29She was sort of nice. 30You might hear Americans reduce 'sort of' to something that sounds like 'sorta.' 31Let's listen to how a speaker uses 'sort of' in a presentation. In this example, Jon M. Chu talks about filmmaking. Listen to how he uses 'sort of' as a kind of adverb. 32"You can plan, you can write scripts, you can do your storyboards, but at a certain point, your movie will speak back to you, and it's your job to listen. It's this living organism and it sort of presents itself, so you better catch it before it slips through your hands..." 33Closing thoughts 34You have learned about three common phrasal expressions. Now be sure to practice using them whenever you can. Look and listen for other phrasal expressions and keep a record of your findings. With time, and practice, you will use more and more phrasal expressions with ease. 35I'm Ashley Thompson. 36And I'm John Russell. 37John Russell wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 38*"Phrasal expression" is an umbrella term that covers many kinds of phrases, phrasal verbs, etc. 39______________________________________________________________ 40Words in This Story 41steep - adj. going up or down very quickly 42distribute - v. to divide (something) among the members of a group - usually + between or among - often used as (be/get) distributed 43coordinate - v. to act or work together properly and well 44script - n. the written form of a play, movie, television show, etc. 45storyboard - n. a series of drawings or pictures that show the changes of scenes and actions for a movie, television show, etc.