Hey there! This is TOP episode 307. Learn English With Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars “Die With a Smile”
You read English. You understand English. You’ve been learning for years, but when it’s time to speak—your mind just freezes, and the words don’t come out. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. I’ve been exactly where you are. I’m Ola Mierniczak, and this is the Teacher Ola Podcast. I’m here to help you finally speak out loud—the words, the ideas, the English that have been stuck in your head for too long. This isn’t about perfect grammar or fancy vocabulary. This is about your voice. Your words. Your real English.
Hi there, and welcome back to TOP. Thank you for joining me today! In this episode, we’re going to look at five powerful phrases taken straight from Die With a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars “. You’ll learn how rto use them naturally in your everyday conversations, and along the way we’ll also explore one of the most important English conditional structures. By the end, you’ll have practical expressions and grammar tools ready to use in real life, so let’s do it! Just one thing! If you want to work with me on your spoken English you have options. We can work individually or in a small group. If you’re interested in that go over to teacherola.com/wspolpraca or teacherola.com/grupy. Complete the form and wait for my answer. You’ll find the link below in the description. SIOL course is closed right now, it’ll open in mid November, so stay tuned or even better, sign up for a wait list.
One. “Say goodbye”
“Say goodbye” is a fixed phrase. It means we don’t say ‘tell goodbye’ or ‘talk goodbye’. English has many fixed collocations with say. It’s important to know them so here comes the list I want you to know:
- say hello
- say yes / say no
- say sorry
- say something / nothing
Two example sentences, just listen, you will have a chance to say them out loud later on, so stay with me. Here come the examples:
She didn’t even say hello when she came in.
I want to say sorry for being late.
Two. Second conditional: If the world was ending, I’d wanna to be next to you.
This is the second conditional: If + past tense, would + verb. It’s used to imagine unreal or hypothetical situations. We describe a presentr hypothetical situation. If you need more practice on the second conditional go to episode 40.
Here I’d = I would. The contraction is very common and natural in speaking.
Listen to these sentences:
If I won the lottery, I would travel around the world.
If you asked me nicely, I would help you with your homework.
There is one more example of this conditional in the song:
If the party was over and our time on earth was through, I’d wanna hold you just for a while.
Three. “I don’t even want to do this anymore.” – the word even
The word even adds surprise or emphasis and we put it before the word we want to emphasize. In this sentence, ‘even’ is before ‘want’.
Listen:
He didn’t even say thank you.
I can’t even imagine living without coffee.
This is powerful in everyday speaking, it makes sentences sound stronger and more natural. So you can express yourself better using such words.
FOUR. “Because you already know what you mean to me.” – “mean to me”
Mean to me = how important someone is, how much you matter to me.
We often hear it in songs, but also in everyday life. Like in these examples:
You’ll never know how much you mean to me.
My friends really mean a lot to me.
FIVE. “Our love’s the only war worth fighting for.”
After the word ‘worth’use the -ing form of the verb. Worth doing.
Listen to these:
This book is worth reading.
The museum is worth visiting when you’re in the city.
This pattern is soo useful, especially if you give recommendations.
Time to speak some English! Ok, let’s go! Listen and repeat.
She didn’t even say hello when she came in.
I want to say sorry for being late.
If I won the lottery, I would travel around the world.
If you asked me nicely, I would help you with your homework.
He didn’t even say thank you.
I can’t even imagine living without coffee.
You’ll never know how much you mean to me.
My friends really mean a lot to me.
This book is worth reading.
The museum is worth visiting when you’re in the city.
Here you have it! Today we covered five powerful phrases from the song Die With a Smile, and you also got to practice the second conditional. Now you know how to use say goodbye and other common collocations with say, how to add emphasis with even, express how much someone means to you, and use the worth + -ing pattern.
If you want to take your spoken English even further, you can work with me individually or in a small group. Just go to teacherola.com/wspolpraca for individual classes or teacherola.com/grupy, complete the form, and wait for my reply.
I believe in you. You can speak English. All you need is exposure, practice, and real connection. Stay fearless, take care, and say it out loud. I’m your Teacher Ola, and you were listening to Teacher Ola Podcast. Bye for now!