Learn English with Bob the Canadian

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases TO LEARN SOMETHING THE HARD WAY and THAT'LL TEACH'EM!
TRANSCRIPT:
In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English phrase to learn something the hard way. This is a phrase... It's kind of a funny phrase because it means someone has learned something in a very difficult way. I should just give you an example so you know what I'm talking about.
If you have the stove on and you accidentally touch the burner, you've learned something the hard way. You've learned that you shouldn't touch the burner on the stove when it's hot. When a small child first sees a candle and they all... they put their finger close to the flame and suddenly pull their finger away, they have, they've learned something the hard way.
There are many things like this. When people first walk on ice, when people move to Canada and they first walk on ice and they slip and fall, they've learned the hard way that ice is slippery. I shouldn't laugh, but it happens sometimes.
People just aren't aware of how slippery it is. The other phrase I wanted to teach you today is a little meaner. And it's the phrase that'll teach 'em, which is short for that will teach them or that will teach you or that will teach him or her. It simply means you see someone fall on the ice and in your mind you think that'll teach them, that'll teach them not to walk so quickly on the ice next time.
Again, not a very nice thing to say. Kind of mean and kind of rude. But it's when you see someone do something where you would use the phrase to learn something the hard way. And then you say if you're really mean and rude, or you think if you're less mean and rude, that'll teach them.
So to review to learn something the hard way, if you hit your thumb with a hammer, you have learned the hard way that a hammer is very hard and it will hurt you. And that if you put your thumb in a dumb spot and hit your thumb with a hammer and someone sees you, they might say, that'll teach them.
But hey, let's look at a comment from a previous video. This comment is from Tacagero, and the comment is, Incredibly clean sidewalks. I see no snow at all. Very beautiful. Spring is around the corner, I guess. And my response, we try to keep things tidy, but as things warm up, the mud will come.
Well, we've actually, thanks, Tacagero, for that comment. We've actually gone kind, of the other way here, in Ontario, Canada. Right now, as you can see, there's snow again. It's a little bit... I think it's starting to melt a little bit.
That might also just be from the road salt. But, let me check if the snow is packy. Yeah, it's packy snow. So if you wanted, you could build a snowman today. That means it's probably one degree and the snow is starting to melt a little bit.
And that makes it packy. It makes it what we call packing snow. And you can make a snowman. Maybe I should do that when I get home today. But, what were we talking about? Super clean sidewalks. Even when there is snow, the sidewalks are kept very clean.
And I'm not sure if you can see there's actually salt. That little crystal there that I'm moving around with my foot is actually a salt crystal. And we put salt on the sidewalks, to make sure they don't freeze and get slippery.
And so people who recently moved to this snowy climate don't fall. And have people say, that'll teach them, or so they don't have to learn something the hard way. I also wanted to show you this. As things start to melt, we have quite a bit of water flow in the local creek.
Sometimes this creek dries right up, but today, as you can see, it's running quite well and it will go even higher as we get more and more snow melt in the area. Anyways, thanks for watching this short English lesson. I'll see you next week with another one.
Bye.

In this English lesson, I’ll help you learn two of the nicest phrases you can use in everyday English conversations. These simple phrases help you sound friendly, polite, and natural when you finish talking with someone you know well. Whether you meet an old friend at the grocery store, run into a coworker in town, or catch up with family you haven’t seen in a while, these expressions will help you leave a great impression.
You’ll learn how to use phrases like “it was nice seeing you.” “It was great to see you." and “It was nice talking with you.” along with when and why native English speakers use them.
I hope this lesson helps you take another step forward in your English learning journey. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next English lesson!

I'm not a Science expert, but I know enough to be able to teach an English lesson about it. Join me for an in depth look at the words and phrases we use when talking about Science in English!
In this English lesson you'll learn words and phrases like: experiment, microscope, test tube, lab coat, telescope, magnifying glass, petri dish, goggles, bunsen burner, and many more!
I hope you enjoy this free English class about Science!

Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases TO PLAY DUMB and DUMB LUCK.
TRANSCRIPT:
In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English phrase to play dumb. In English, when you play dumb, it means you pretend you don't know something when you actually do. The most common example would be when someone does something they're not supposed to, and then when asked about it, they might play dumb.
If you watch a TV show and the cops arrest the criminal, the criminal might play dumb and say, I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't steal that car. As a teacher, sometimes I'll catch students doing something, and then when I ask them what they were doing, they play dumb.
They pretend that they didn't do what I saw them do. The other phrase I wanted to teach you today is dumb luck. Dumb luck simply means that something happens to you that's good and it's not because of anything that you've done to make it happen.
So a great example of this would be you suddenly, let me see. I'm trying to think. A good example of dumb luck would be you're driving along and you lose control of car in the snow, but you don't go in the ditch. But it has nothing to do with you steering properly or anything.
It's just dumb luck. You didn't go in the ditch because of dumb luck. So to review. To play dumb means to pretend you don't know something when you actually do, usually when someone's accusing you of doing something wrong. And dumb luck simply means to be extremely lucky.
And you had no... not because of anything that you did. Sorry, I'm a little distracted with all the traffic this morning. I'm doing this during morning rush hour in my town. But, hey, let's look at a comment from a previous video. This comment is from Tammy.
Yes, my son likes to use the expression, oh, shoot from time to time. Thank you. And my response is it's better than the alternative, which is kind of a minor, vulgar, word. And then Tammy says, you can say that again. Great use of the phrase. You can say that again, Tammy.
And thanks for the comment. So, yes, I am here in my local town. You can see behind me. Let me get you guys a little further away so you can see a bit more. You can see behind me that, well, there's a school bus over there because kids are getting picked up for school.
As you know, I teach in the afternoon now, so I'm here in the morning shooting my video. Yes, I did leave my tripod all by itself over there on the sidewalk. We're hoping no one takes it. And this is what I look like.
There I am in the window, shooting my video on a nice quiet morning here in town. I do have to admit a couple of things. One, in spite of the fact that I love winter, I do find it way easier to make videos when the weather's a bit warmer.
You can see that I'm just wearing a jacket right now. Actually, these... These windows really do help. You can see I'm just wearing a light jacket right now. You can see that people are out and about, just wearing a ball cap instead of a winter hat.
There's even just people standing, checking their phones. Like, even just last week or a week and a half ago, that would not have been happening. It was far too cold for people to be outside and being somewhat leisure or to be moving at a slower pace.
So in spite of the fact that I love winter, I must admit, it is much nicer being out here today. I am putting my hand in my pocket occasionally, though, just to warm it up a little bit. But, yeah, this is just much nicer than it was.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this little English lesson, and I'll, see you next week with another one. Bye.

In this English lesson I'll help you learn vocabulary that describes those days when the sun isn't shining. You’ll learn words and phrases like overcast, drab, dreary, gloomy, blah, glum, and miserable so you can describe the forecast and your feelings with confidence.
In this English class you’ll hear clear explanations, simple examples, and natural sentences so you can use these words in everyday conversation. Whether you're talking about the weather, your mood, you’ll sound more fluent and expressive.
I hope you enjoy this English lesson about a dreary day!