The English Breakfast ☕
Hi there,
Welcome back to The English Breakfast — the newsletter for Italian professionals who want to feel more confident in English at work.
I hope you had a great long weekend last week and are feeling refreshed (yeah, me neither) just remember that August is only 7 weeks away 🏖 😆
In the meantime, let’s get down to business.
What’s on the menu this week:
All on the theme of clothing and summer style, we've got:
Phrasal Verbs Quiz: Test your knowledge of these fundamental phrases.
Idioms: Essential phrases for the office and casual chats.
Vocabulary Spotlight: Key terms you need to know.
Pronunciation Quick Fix: Make sure you’re saying these words correctly.
Let’s go! 🚀
Fantastic phrasal verbs
Here’s your weekly phrasal verb challenge.
Real English - The Holiday Hustle
Here’s the situation: Marco and Giulia are trying to figure out how to get their manager, Roberta, to sign off on their 3-week summer holiday requests.
Read the conversation below and see if you can spot the four clothing-related idioms used in bold.
Marco: I’m telling you, Giulia, if I don’t get away from this laptop and onto a beach soon, I'm going to lose my mind. But three weeks off in July? Roberta is never going to approve that.
Giulia: If I could, I’d leave at the drop of a hat! Don't panic yet, though. I actually have something up my sleeve.
Marco: Oh yeah? What is it?
Giulia: Well, I’m planning on being the ideal employee this week. I’m going to roll up my sleeves and hit all my targets by Friday. That way she’ll be in a much better mood to negotiate. Plus, I’m going to offer to look after the entire Q4 client launch for her.
Marco: Wow. Clever. I definitely wouldn’t want to be in your shoes later in the year though, but if it gets us our July holidays, I’m in!
Giulia: Exactly. We present the plan to her today at 4:00 PM. Everything has to be perfect, or we're spending July in Milan. Now, go put some fresh coffee in her mug!
Quiz: Test Your Understanding
Match the idioms from the story to their correct definitions below. Reply directly to this email with your answers (e.g., 1-a, 2-b) and I’ll tell you if you got them right! 😀
At the drop of a hat
To have something up your sleeve
Roll up your sleeves
Be in your shoes
a. To prepare for hard work or a difficult task.
b. Instantly; without any hesitation or delay.
c. To be in another person's situation or position (usually a difficult one).
d. To have a secret plan, idea, or advantage that can be used if needed.
Office Attire: The Great Shorts Debate
As far as I’m concerned, unless you're a postman or a lifeguard, you shouldn’t wear shorts at work. But what do you think?
Read the article below and reply to this email with your thoughts: Should men be able to wear shorts at work, or should they stick to trousers?
🏆 Challenge:
Can you find 5 words that are new for you in the article below? Reply with your list!
Quick fix 🔧
In this week’s quick fix, we’re looking at word stress. Changing which part of a word you emphasize can make all the difference between being understood or confusing your colleagues.
Do you pronounce these common corporate words correctly?
Watch the video to find out.
All right, that’s it for this week’s edition.
Have a great week and I’ll see you next time.
All the best,
Dan
#englishlesson #learnenglish #learnenglishforfree #speakenglish #howtospeakenglishfluently #englishconversation #englishgrammar #fluentenglish #businessenglish #ingleseperitaliani #imparainglese #inglese #ingleseperlavoro #pronunciainglese #grammaticainglese #englishteacher #englishcoach #insegnatediinglese
All rights belong to the owners. No copyright infringement intended.
