ENGSPRESSO – Episode 37

Transcript of my podcast episode (37)

Hi! This is the 37th episode of my podcast series ENGSPRESSO. I must admit that I’ve been procrastinating on this one for a few weeks now, but yes, it’s finally here, and I guess it makes many of you happy, doesn’t it? One of my listeners told me the other day that a month without an ENGSPRESSO episode is a month wasted. Do you feel the same? I hope you do because thanks to you, dears, I still have the motivation to continue this amazing series. It wouldn’t make any sense without you. So thank you once again for being here with me!

As you may have noticed, I said that I had been procrastinating on this episode. I wonder if you know what procrastination means, and if you also sometimes find yourself procrastinating on some things that you’re supposed to do. By the way, just to make it clear, when we procrastinate, we keep delaying something that must be done, often because it is unpleasant or boring.
Obviously, I think that creating my podcast episodes is neither unpleasant nor boring, but from time to time, I still tend to come up with excuses for not recording another episode. Why? To be honest, it depends! One day I may simply not know what to tell you about in the introduction part, and another day I may be just too tired of sitting in front of my laptop. Sometimes I also want to take a break from my routine and forget about my usual tasks. Travelling? Yes, please! Going out with friends? Sure! Eating out? I’m in!
All those are some of my typical excuses. Are they lame? I don’t think so. They’re just there because I often think about myself first, and thanks to that, I can then think about others! When I feel well-rested, I can be creative again, and I find it much easier, for example, to record something new. I guess it just works like that – once we’ve charged our batteries, we’re not so likely to procrastinate any more. How about you? Are you a procrastinator? If so, what do you usually procrastinate on? If you ask me, I also do procrastinate on my household chores – they’re simply so tedious, aren’t they?

Anyway, let’s not complain here for too long. We’ve got some new phrases to learn, so let’s get started!

The first one is TO BE IN FULL SWING. If something is in full swing, such as an event, 'it has already been happening for a period of time, and there is a lot of activity’.

For instance: The work on the project is in full swing, so we’re making great progress. Now, repeat after me.
The translation is: Praca nad projektem idzie pełną parą, więc robimy duże postępy.

Another example: The autumn is in full swing, so I’m planning to go to a pumpkin farm to take some photos for my Instagram.
Jesień w pełni, więc planuję jechać na dyniową farmę, żeby zrobić zdjęcia na Instagram.

The second expression is TO TAKE STH FOR GRANTED. When we take something for granted, we 'believe something to be the truth without even thinking about it’.

For instance: Our neighbours thought that we were married – they must have taken it for granted.
Nasi sąsiedzi myśleli, że jesteśmy małżeństwem – musieli to wziąć za pewnik.

Another example: The boxer took his win for granted, so when he lost the fight, he was truly gutted.
Bokser wziął swoją wygraną za pewnik, więc gdy przegrał walkę, był naprawdę załamany.

And now it’s time for your ENGSPRESSO to go!

Our context for the phrases is:

The company restructuring is in full swing now, so we shouldn’t take our jobs for granted.
Restrukturyzacja firmy jest teraz w pełnym toku, więc nie możemy brać swojej pracy za pewnik.

Perfect! I hope you didn’t struggle with reapeating our example sentences this time. I always try to make them as listener-friendly as possible (neither too long, nor too complicated), but when it comes to the ENGSPRESSO to go, it is just bound to be a bit longer and more complex because of two expressions that it contains. I know it’s sort of a challenge for many of you, but in fact, it’s also supposed to be one! I have to raise the bar higher to make you more confident English speakers in the long-term. So if now you can’t repeat everything after me fluently, don’t think that you’ll never be able to do that. With time you’ll find it easier and easier. Sometimes it’s enough to listen to one episode twice, and then you already remember the given context much better, consequently being able to repeat it aloud with more ease.

If you’d like to practise more, however, visit my website angielskidokawy.pl, where you can find the transcript of today’s episode as well as my e-books and courses online. Also, don’t forget to keep in touch with me from time to time. You can send me a message on Instagram or Facebook, and if you listen to me on Spotify, you can leave me a comment about this episode in the Q&A section.

So hope to see you in the comments soon! Thanks for today and talk to you another time!