Transcription
Hey everyone, welcome back to Learning English is Easy, the fun place to learn English for beginners. If you want to learn English, learn English fast, and have a good time, you are in the right place.
Today we have a really fun topic. We are going to talk about vacations. How to talk about vacations in English, how to ask questions about vacations, and how to describe your own vacation stories. So stay with us until the end because you will learn a lot of useful vacation vocabulary and simple phrases you can use with your friends, your teacher, or when you travel. And before we start, don't forget to subscribe to the channel, like this video, and share it with your friends. It helps the channel a lot, and it helps other people learn English, too.
>> All right, let's start. First question, do you like vacations?
>> I love vacations. I wish every day was a vacation. I would be on the beach drinking something cold, doing nothing.
>> Doing nothing is your talent.
>> Yes, it's my superpower. But seriously, vacations are great because you can relax, travel, and see new places. And you can talk about them in English.
>> In this episode, we will talk about three big things: before vacation, during vacation, and after vacation. You will learn how to say where you want to go, what you do on vacation, and how you can tell your friends about it later.
>> Let's start with before vacation. We often talk about plans. We use phrases like "I want to," "I would like to," and "I'm going to."
>> For example, "I want to go to the beach this summer," or "I would like to visit Paris," or "I'm going to travel to Italy next year."
>> These phrases are very useful. Try to make your own sentence in your head now with a place. For example, "I want to go to..." and then add your dream place.
>> You can also talk about the type of vacation. There are many types. For example, a beach vacation, a city break, a road trip, a camping trip, a cruise, or a staycation. A staycation is when you stay in your city or in your home, but you take time off and relax. Watch movies, visit local places, maybe go to a cafe.
>> Honestly, staycations are the best. No airports, no luggage, just my bed and snacks.
>> No, your bed and snacks stay in your house. Stay doesn't mean steal your friend's food.
>> Okay. Okay. So, you can say things like, "I want a relaxing beach vacation," or "I'd like an exciting city break," or "I'm going on a road trip with my friends."
>> Let's look at useful questions you can ask about future vacations. These are simple but very common in English.
>> Where are you going for your vacation? When are you going? How long are you staying? Who are you going with? What are you going to do there?
>> For example, "Where are you going for your vacation?" "I'm going to Spain." "When are you going?" "I'm going in July." "How long are you staying?" "I'm staying for 2 weeks." "Who are you going with?" "I'm going with my family." "What are you going to do there?" "I'm going to swim, visit museums, and eat a lot of food."
>> That sounds like a perfect vacation. Swim, culture, and food. Especially food.
>> I knew you would say that. Now, let's talk about some common vacation vocabulary for planning. Book a flight: to buy a plane ticket. Book a hotel: to reserve a room in a hotel. Pack: to put your clothes and things in a bag or suitcase. Luggage or suitcase: the big bag you take on a trip. Passport: the document you need for international travel. Ticket: the paper or digital document for your flight, train, or bus.
>> You can say, "I need to book my flight." "I have to book a hotel room." "I need to pack my suitcase." "I can't find my passport." "I printed my ticket."
>> When you prepare for vacation, there are some useful phrases with "need to" and "have to." For example, "I need to renew my passport." "I need to change money." "I have to check my visa." "I have to buy sunscreen."
>> For you, it's "I have to buy extra sunscreen."
>> Yes, I am very pale. The sun looks at me and I become red.
>> So, when you talk about your plans, you can use "I'm going to" and "I want to." For example, "I'm going to stay in a small hotel." "I'm going to visit my friends." "I want to try local food." "I want to relax and sleep a lot."
Okay, let's move to during vacation. Imagine you are already on your trip. You want to talk about what you are doing now. We use the present continuous. "I'm staying." "I'm visiting." "I'm relaxing."
>> For example, "I'm staying in a hotel near the beach." "I'm visiting famous tourist attractions." "I'm trying new food." "I'm going out every night." "I'm taking a lot of photos."
Let's talk about types of activities on vacation. Here's some useful vocabulary. Go sightseeing: Visit famous places in a city. Go swimming: Swim in the sea or in a pool. Go hiking: Walk in the mountains or in nature. Go shopping: Buy clothes, souvenirs, or gifts. Go out: Go to restaurants, bars, or clubs. Try local food: Eat traditional food of the country. Sunbathe: Sit in the sun to get a tan. Relax: do nothing, rest. Take photos: Use your phone or camera to take pictures.
>> And you can combine them with "I am" for now. "I'm going sightseeing today." "I'm going swimming this afternoon." "I'm going hiking tomorrow." "I'm going shopping later." "I'm trying local food tonight."
Now, let's act like we're on vacation and talk about it.
>> Okay. Imagine I am in Greece. Tom, call me and ask me about my vacation.
>> All right. Hey, Anna. How's your vacation?
>> It's great. I'm having a wonderful time.
>> Where are you staying?
>> I'm staying in a small hotel near the beach.
>> Nice. What are you doing there?
>> Well, I'm going to the beach every morning. I'm swimming. I'm sunbathing. And I'm taking a lot of photos. In the evening, I'm trying local food at different restaurants.
>> Are you enjoying the food?
>> Yes, the food is amazing. I'm eating fresh fish, salads, and delicious desserts.
>> That sounds really good. Now, it's your turn. Imagine you are on vacation. In your head, answer these questions. How's your vacation? Where are you staying? What are you doing there? Are you enjoying the food?
>> You can use the same structure. "It's great." "It's okay." "It's relaxing." "It's fun."
>> "I'm staying in a hotel, an apartment, a hostel, with friends, with family." "I'm going to the beach." "I'm visiting museums." "I'm walking around the city." "I'm relaxing at the pool."
Now, let's also talk about describing the place. Some simple adjectives are very useful. Beautiful: The beach is beautiful. Amazing: The city is amazing. Crowded: The street is crowded. Many people. Quiet: The village is quiet. Expensive: The hotel is expensive. Cheap: The food is cheap. Interesting: The museum is interesting. Boring: The tour is boring. Relaxing: The trip is relaxing. Stressful: The airport is stressful.
>> For example, you can say, "The city is beautiful but crowded." "The hotel is cheap but comfortable." "The beach is quiet and relaxing." "The food is amazing."
Now, let's move to after vacation. When you come back home and you want to talk about your trip in the past, then we use the past simple. "I went," "I stayed," "I visited," "I had." So imagine your friend asks, "How was your vacation?" You can answer, "It was great." "It was amazing." "It was okay." "It was terrible." I hope not.
>> Then you can say where you went. "I went to Italy." "I went to the beach." "I went to the mountains." "I went to my grandparents' house."
>> Next, say where you stayed. "I stayed in a hotel." "I stayed in an apartment." "I stayed at a friend's house." "I stayed with my family." Then you can say what you did. "I visited museums." "I walked around the city." "I relaxed at the beach." "I went swimming every day." "I tried local food." "I met new people." "I took a lot of photos."
Let's make a full example. "My vacation was great. I went to Spain with my friends. We stayed in a small apartment near the beach. We went swimming every day and we sunbathed on the beach. We visited the old town and some museums. We tried a lot of local food. The weather was hot and sunny. It was amazing."
>> That's a really good model. You can copy this structure and change the country, the people, the activities, and the weather.
>> To help you, here are some useful questions to talk about past vacations. How was your vacation? Where did you go? Who did you go with? How long did you stay? Where did you stay? What did you do? How was the weather? Did you like the food? Would you like to go back? Notice the past form of the verbs: was, did, went, stayed.
>> Let's do a little dialogue with past vacation. I'll ask you questions.
>> Okay. I'll tell you about a dream vacation, not real. In reality, I stayed at home and watched TV.
>> That's also a vacation for you. But tell me about your dream vacation. How was your vacation?
>> It was fantastic.
>> Where did you go?
>> I went to Japan.
>> Wow, nice. Who did you go with?
>> I went with my best friend.
>> How long did you stay?
>> I stayed for 10 days.
>> Where did you stay?
>> I stayed in a small hotel in Tokyo.
>> What did you do there?
>> I visited temples. I walked around the city. I tried a lot of local food. and I went shopping for cool gadgets.
>> How was the weather?
>> It was a little hot, but it was okay.
>> Did you like the food?
>> Yes, I loved it. Sushi, ramen, everything.
>> Would you like to go back?
>> Definitely, I would love to go back.
>> Very nice. Now you can think about your last vacation and answer the same questions in your head, or you can write your answers later in the comments.
Now let's talk about some common vacation problems and how to talk about them in simple English. Vacations are not always perfect.
>> Yes, sometimes there are problems. Your flight is late, your luggage is lost, or the hotel is not what you expected. Here is some vocabulary for problems. My flight was delayed. The flight was late. My flight was cancelled. The flight did not happen. I lost my luggage. You can't find your suitcase. The hotel was noisy. A lot of noise. You can't sleep. The room was dirty. Not clean. The weather was bad. It rained a lot. It was cold. There were too many tourists in the city center. It was very crowded.
>> Here are some example sentences. "My flight was delayed for 3 hours." "The hotel was noisy and the room was dirty." "The weather was bad. It rained every day." "I lost my luggage at the airport." "There were too many tourists in the city center."
Even when you have problems, you can still use simple English to describe them. And you can mix good things and bad things like this. "My vacation was good, but there were some problems. My flight was delayed and the hotel was noisy. However, the city was beautiful and the food was amazing."
>> Look at the structure. "My vacation was good, but..." and then say the problems. "...however..." and then say something positive.
>> This helps you sound more natural in English when you tell stories.
Now, let's talk about preferences. How to say what kind of vacation you like. You can use "I like," "I love," "I prefer," and "I don't like."
>> For example, "I like beach vacations." "I love city breaks." "I prefer quiet places." "I don't like crowded places." "I don't like very hot weather."
>> You can also say why. "I like beach vacations because I love swimming." "I prefer city breaks because I enjoy museums and restaurants." "I don't like camping because I hate insects."
>> You really hate insects.
>> Yes, I love nature, but nature doesn't love me.
Here is a mini conversation about preferences.
>> Do you like beach vacations or city breaks?
>> I prefer beach vacations. I like swimming and relaxing.
>> Do you like hot weather?
>> Yes, I do, but not too hot.
>> Do you like camping?
>> No, I don't. I don't like tents and I don't like mosquitoes.
Simple questions and answers like this are very common in English. You can practice with your friends.
Now, let's quickly look at talking about future dreams. You can use "I'd like to" or "I would like to."
>> For example, "I'd like to visit New York one day." "I would like to travel around the world." "I'd like to go on a cruise." "I'd like to stay in a five-star hotel."
You can also say "My dream vacation is..." and then describe it.
>> For example, "My dream vacation is a two-week trip to Japan. I want to visit Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. I want to try all the food and take a lot of photos." Or "My dream vacation is a beach resort in the Maldives. I want to stay in a bungalow on the water, relax all day, and swim in the sea."
Think about your dream vacation and how you can describe it in English. Use "My dream vacation is..." and "I want to..."
Now, let's review some of the key vacation verbs we use today in the present and the past. Go: I go. I went. Stay: I stay. I stayed. Visit: I visit. I visited. Relax: I relax. I relaxed. Travel: I travel. I traveled. Swim: I swim. I swam. Sunbathe: I sunbathe. I sunbathed. Try: I try. I tried. Take photos: I take photos. I took photos.
>> For example, "I go to the beach every summer." Then in the past, "I went to the beach last year." "I stay in hotels on vacation." Past: "I stayed in a small hotel." "I visit museums." "I visited three museums." "I take photos." "I took many photos on my trip."
Now you want to think of your last vacation or a vacation you want to have. Try to make three sentences in English. Where you went or want to go, what you did or want to do, and how it was or how you think it will be.
>> For example, "I went to the mountains with my family. We hiked every day and took photos. It was very relaxing." Or "I want to go to Canada next year. I want to visit national parks and see lakes and forests. I think it will be amazing."
You can write your three sentences in the comments later. It's good practice and we like reading your stories.
>> Also, in this episode, we used many simple and useful structures. "I'm going to..." for future plans. "I'm staying," "I'm visiting," "I'm trying..." for what you are doing now. "I went," "I stayed," "I visited," "I had..." for past vacations. and adjectives like beautiful, crowded, relaxing, boring, expensive, cheap, amazing.
>> Plus important vacation words: flight, hotel, luggage, suitcase, passport, ticket, sightseeing, hiking, shopping, sunbathe, staycation.
There's a lot you can use in real life. You can talk about your vacation with English-speaking friends, in class, or when you travel.
Before we finish, let's do one more complete example of talking about a vacation from before to after. I'll start with the plan, then what I did, then how it was.
>> Go for it.
>> I'm going to Mexico next month. I'm going to stay in a small hotel near the beach. I want to relax, swim, and try Mexican food.
One month later: "I went to Mexico last month. I stayed in a small hotel near the beach. I relaxed. I swam every day and I tried a lot of Mexican food. The weather was hot and sunny. The beach was beautiful and the food was amazing. I had a great vacation."
>> That is a perfect model. You can follow the same idea for your own story.
>> We hope this episode helped you understand how to talk about vacations in English: before, during, and after.
>> If this video was useful, remember to subscribe to the channel, like this video, and share it with your friends who are learning English.
>> Tell them learning English is easy because it really can be easy and fun. In the comments, you can write about your last vacation or your dream vacation. Use some of the vocabulary from this episode.
>> And if you want more videos to learn English for beginners, check out the other episodes on our channel after this.
>> Thank you for watching and spending your time with us today.
>> Enjoy your next vacation and enjoy your English practice.
>> See you in the next episode. Bye.