Transcription
[Music] Thank you. What are you so happy about? You're on trial for murder. Get up. What? You're fired. I have new representation. Who?
[Music] Ah, yeah. Global citizen. So, I watched Legally Blonde countless times when I was young, and today you're going to learn a ton of advanced vocabulary and pronunciation with a scene where L teaches her friend Powette how to grab a guy's attention with a bend and snap. By the way, we're saving all the advanced expressions for you over on our Real Life English app so that you can remember them forever. Just like Maki who said the app is really helping them to understand natives, to improve their pronunciation, and to speak more naturally. So, I'll be telling you more about it in just a little bit, but you can get free access to the premium lesson with Legally Blonde now by the link down in the description below on your phone.
I've got a package. He's got a package. How you doing today? Fine. Take it easy. That's great. Pette, is this the only interaction you two have ever had? No. Sometimes I say okay instead of fine. Why don't you offer him a cold beverage or a neck massage or something? Oh, come on. What's the point? Trust me, Pette. You have all the equipment. You just need to read the manual. Do you know what I'm saying?
[Music] Did you catch all that? There's actually a ton of advanced English in the first two clips that we've watched already. So, let's break it down.
"What are you so happy about? You're on trial for murder." So, first off, when someone is on trial for something, they're being formally judged in court for a crime they're accused of committing. In the first clip, the lawyer says, "You're on trial for murder." to remind his client that this is a serious situation, not something to be happy about. He's a charlatan. He's a faker. He pretends to have supernatural powers. Put him on trial for fraud. Let me give you a practical way that you can use it. In everyday English, people sometimes use this expression metaphorically when they feel like they're being judged or criticized. For example, I feel like I'm on trial for forgetting her birthday.
"Get up. What? You're fired. I have new representation." All right. What do you think she means here? She committed another crime. She got good news about her trial. She has a new lawyer.
[Music] In a legal context, representation refers to having someone, usually a lawyer, speak or act on your behalf. Brooke means she has a new lawyer, L, who will defend her in court. My son thinks I should get my own lawyer. You have every right to pursue independent legal representation. Okay.
Next, let's work out our mouth muscles by practicing some connected speech. That's how we natives cut, reduce, and link our words together in fluent speech. "Get up." Phrasal verbs like this one, which means to stand, almost always have connected speech. Here we have an American tea, which happens when a t is between two vowel sounds like in butter. But butter or cat and dog, cat and dog. So, she says this as get up. Listen again and practice saying it yourself. Get up. Get up.
[Music] If you want to understand fast-speaking natives without getting lost, without missing the jokes, and without subtitles, then join over 10 million English learners who are doing exactly that twice a week by hitting that subscribe button and the bell down below. And that way, you won't miss a single new lesson.
Now, let's jump from the courtroom into the salon. "How you doing today?" Fine. Super common question, right? But he probably said it nothing like how you were taught in school. Yet, if you were to travel to the USA, you would hear it in this fast connected way all the time. So, let's break it down. First, he dropped the auxiliary verb are. We natives like to bend the rules like this. Next, as often happens, the pronoun you is reduced to a quick y. With verbs ending in ing, like doing, it's very common that we drop the g sound doing. Finally, we have another American tea in today. He says it like today. Now, let's put it all together. How you doing today? Listen again and try to say it just like a native. How you doing today? How you doing today?
"Take it easy." Now, this is a casual way to say goodbye, but it means more than goodbye. It actually means relax, don't work too hard, or enjoy yourself. It's a friendly way to end a conversation, showing you care about the other person's well-being. In the scene, the UPS guy uses this as a friendly farewell to Pette. Take care. See you later. Take it easy. Take it easy.
"That's great, Pette. Is this the only interaction you two have ever had?" No. An interaction is any communication or exchange between people. When L asks if this is the only interaction they've ever had, she's asking if Powette and the UPS guy have ever had any deeper conversations. Now our work requires uh interaction with people. It's not our strength. Also pay attention to the pronunciation of this word. In words with an NT combination, we often drop the T sound like internet, center, advantage, or winner. So instead of saying interaction, she says interaction. Listen again and repeat. Is this the only interaction you two have ever had? Is this the only interaction you two have ever had?
[Music] "Why don't you offer him a cold beverage or a neck massage or something? Oh, come on. What's the point?" A beverage is simply a drink, but it's a slightly more formal word than drink, and it's commonly used in service industries. Depending where you are in the USA, you might also hear soda or pop. I'll suggest that PL could offer the UPS guy a cold drink as a way to start a conversation and show interest. Can I Can I have a beverage, please?
Don't "Why don't you offer him a cold beverage or a neck massage or something? Oh, come on. What's the point?" This expression shows frustration or giving up. When someone says, "What's the point?" They're asking why they should even try because they believe their efforts won't make any difference. Plet doesn't believe that she has a chance with the UPS guy, so she doesn't see any reason to even try. You'll hear this commonly when people feel hopeless or defeated about a situation. For example, what's the point in studying all this advanced grammar if native speakers don't even know how it's used? And like, what's the point of studying all these words if you already have forgotten them by tomorrow?
Well, let's take a short break to do some active recall by studying some of the expressions that you've already learned. And that way, you'll remember them for longer. What's another way that you can say to be judged in court? She's on trial for murder. to be on trial. Did you remember right? Yes. Sort of. No. Well, let's try another one. How about a casual way to say goodbye? I'll see you tomorrow. Take it easy. Take it easy. Did you remember right? Yes. Sort of. No. All right. And a final one, a refreshing drink. Now for your tea, water, or some other bubble, beverage. Did you remember all of them? No worries if you forgot some.
For me, in learning six different languages, it's always super frustrating when a word that I know that I've learned simply won't come to my mouth when it's time to speak. Know what I mean? Without actively reviewing what we learn in days or even hours, it'll simply disappear. So, can you imagine how powerful it would be if you had a tool that reminded you of the expressions that you've learned right when you're about to forget them? Well, we built that tool for you. Just click the link down in the description below on your phone now. You'll get the premium Legally Blonde lesson with a vocabulary flashcards like the ones we just practiced and an interactive transcript for free. It's super simple. Just like we saw before, for each expression, you'll be asked whether you remembered it. Depending on your answer, you'll be showed it more or less often, leading to long-term memorization. That way, next time you get in a conversation, you'll be able to confidently use these new words.
All right, let's see how L encourages her friend with an amazing metaphor. "Trust me, Pette, you have all the equipment. You just need to read the manual. Do you know what I'm saying?" This is Elle's creative metaphor to encourage Pette. Having the equipment means Pette naturally has everything she needs like personality and looks to attract the UPS guy. Reading the manual versus learning the right techniques for using that natural charm effectively. In other words, Ella is saying that Pette is attractive, but she needs to learn how to be confident about her looks. It's like saying, "You have what it takes. You just need to know how to show it."
"Trust me, Pette, you have all the equipment. You just need to read the manual. Do you know what I'm saying?" This is a tag question that people add to check if the listener understands, especially when they've been speaking figuratively. We natives use this phrase all the time. In fact, I recommend that use questions like, "Do you know what I mean?" or "Do you know what I'm saying?" instead of, "Do you understand me?" which will help you to sound much more natural when you speak English. Let's check out this example. But we gave him that opportunity. You know what I'm saying? It's just about setting up the right team and then overnight your life can change.
All right, get ready to laugh as we see L teach her proven flirting technique. "Okay, I'm going to show you a little maneuver that my mother taught me in junior high. In my experience, it has a 98% success rate of getting a man's attention. And when used appropriately, it has an 83% rate of return on a dinner invitation. Wow. It's called the bend and snap. Watch this."
"I think I dropped something on the floor that I need to pick up. So, you bend and snap. See? Come on, you try. Bend and snap. Okay. Um, yeah. A little less bend. A little more snap. Okay. Like this. Good snap. Come on. You come on. You can do it. Bend and snap."
[Music] This has to be one of the funniest and most famous scenes from Lewway Bond. Now, let's break down some useful expressions.
"Okay, I'm going to show you a little maneuver that my mother taught me in junior high." A maneuver is a carefully planned movement or action. For example, to drive a car, you have to learn certain maneuvers like parallel parking. In everyday English, we use this word to describe strategic actions designed to achieve a specific goal. L is teaching Pette a planned sequence of movements designed to attract attention. Good morning, aviators. This is your captain speaking. Welcome to basic fighter maneuvers. As briefed, today's exercise is dog fighting.
Let's learn a bit of American culture. Junior high is an American term for middle school, typically grades 7 to 8 or 7 to 9, which are ages 12 to 14. El mentions that her mother taught her this learning technique when she was in junior high, meaning when she was around 13 years old. In casual speech, Americans often refer to their school years this way, as in back in junior high or since junior high. Now, listen again to how L says this.
"Okay, I'm going to show you a little maneuver that my mother taught me in junior high." You probably already know that natives often say I'm going to as I'm going to. But here she reduces it even more. She says it like I'm going to. You might hear it reduced even more to simply I'mma like I'm going to be fluent in English someday. I'm going to be fluent in English someday.
"Okay, I'm going to show you a little maneuver. Okay, I'm going to show you a little maneuver."
"In my experience, it has a 98% success rate of getting a man's attention. And when used appropriately, it has an 83% rate of return on a dinner invitation." This phrase means when done correctly or in the right situation. I was explaining that the technique doesn't always work. It has to be done the right way and in the right context. You'll hear this phrase in instructions or advice to emphasize that something works only under certain conditions. Purring when I pet him, scratching at the bell on his collar, always using his litter box appropriately. It wasn't me who had potential. It's a freaking cat.
"It's called the bend and snap." This is the name El gives to her flirting technique, which involves bending over to pick something up and then quickly snapping back to an upright position with flare. A snap is a quick movement like how you snap your fingers. The name describes the two main movements, bending down and snapping back up. This phrase has become a cultural reference that many Americans recognize from this movie, even if they don't use it themselves.
Quick heads up, if you haven't opened the app in a while, we have something really cool for you. We just launched this awesome vocabulary manager that totally solves the too many flashcards issue. Now you can cherrypick exactly which expressions you want to learn and ignore the rest. No more flashcard overload. Just fire up the app and give it a try. It's a total game changer. And if there's a certain lesson that you're dying for us to make, just comment it down below. We read everyone.
"I think I dropped something on the floor that I need to pick up." In this scene, pick up is used literally. To lift something from the floor. But pick up is a very versatile phrase of verb in English with many meanings. To collect someone, like at the airport, to learn a skill, to acquire something, to clean or tidy, to improve, or even to start dating someone.
"Good snap. Come on. You come on. You can do it." Come on is an extremely common and versatile phrase in English. Here, L uses it as encouragement, urging Pette to try the move herself. It can also express disbelief. Oh, come on. Hurry someone along. Come on, we'll be late. Or encouragement. Come on, you can do it. In this scene, uses it twice. first to encourage Pette to try and later to urge another woman to join in.
"Come on, you can do it. Come on is reduced and connected. So, it sounds like come on. And I want to teach you a great trick. The auxiliary verb can is usually reduced to can. As natives often drop the t in can't, this makes it easier to tell the affirmative and negative apart. So, el connects this whole phrase, you can do it, and it sounds like you can do it. Let's compare how the negative and affirmative sound different in fast speech. You can do it. You can't do it. You can do it. You can't do it. Listen again and repeat. Come on. You can do it. Come on. You can do it."
[Music] Now is my favorite part. So, you will challenge yourself by watching all the scenes again without subtitles to see how much you understand. I'm gonna make it a little bit more difficult by also asking you some quiz questions. Let's do this.
[Music] Thank you. What are you so happy about? You're on trial for murder. Get up. What? You're fired. I have new representation. Who? What does on trial for mean? Having a difficult time with something? Being formally judged in court for a crime? Being tested for a new position.
I've got a package. He's got a package. How you doing today? Fine. Take it easy. See you later. Take it easy. That's great, Pette. Is this the only interaction you two have ever had? No. Sometimes I say okay instead of fine. Why don't you offer him a cold beverage or a neck massage or something? Oh, come on. What's the point? Trust me, Pette, you have all the equipment. You just need to read the manual. When El says, "You have all the equipment. You just need to read the manual." She means Pette owns the right tools but doesn't know how to use them. Plette works with good equipment at her job, but needs instruction. Plet has natural qualities needed to attract someone, but needs to learn techniques.
[Music] [Music] "Okay, I'm going to show you a little maneuver that my mother taught me in junior high. In my experience, it has a 98% success rate of getting a man's attention. And when used appropriately, it has an 83% rate of return on a dinner invitation. Wow. It's called the bend and snap. Watch this." What does L mean by a little maneuver? A small vehicle, a strategic move or planned action, a military tactic.
[Music] "Okay, I'm going to show you a little maneuver that my mother taught me in junior high. In my experience, it has a 98% success rate of getting a man's attention. And when used appropriately, it has an 83% rate of return on a dinner invitation." What age are you if you are in junior high? 5 to 11 years old, 12 to 14 years old, 15 to 18 years old.
"I think I dropped something on the floor that I need to pick up. So you bend and snap. See? Come on, you try. Bend and snap. Okay. Um, yeah. A little less bend, a little more snap. Like this. Good snap. Come on. You come on. You can do it. Bend and snap." What does Kaman express in this scene? Disbelief, frustration, encouragement.
[Music] [Music] Ah, yeah. I hope that you loved today's lesson with Legally Blonde and that you laughed a bunch, too. So, why not add all the new expressions you learned to your long-term memory, and you can choose exactly which words and expressions you want to study with our new vocabulary manager. Just click the link down in the description below. And if you're sticking with us here on YouTube, a free way that you can support us is by hitting that subscribe button and bell down below and also giving this video a like. And if you want another super fun lesson you can learn with, check out this one with the Devil War Prada.
You go to your closet and you select, I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater for instance, because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue. It's not turquoise, it's not lapis, it's actually ceruan. And you're also blindly unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar Delorenta did a collection of ceruan gowns. And then I think it was Eve San Lauron, wasn't it, who showed ceruan military jackets. I think we need a jacket here.