Digest

This episode marks Luke's return to podcasting after a summer break. He shares humorous anecdotes about his holiday, including running after his kids, applying sunscreen, and driving. He also discusses his plans to analyze grammar, focusing on complex sentence structures and the use of conjunctions. Luke delves into the meaning and usage of various phrases, including "kick back," "hoover up," "slave away," and "lapping it up." He also explores the concept of "deja vu" and shares his experience of feeling like he's been to California before, even though it's his first time visiting. The episode features a discussion about stammering and the importance of therapy and support for individuals with the condition. Luke also addresses listener comments and feedback on recent episodes, highlighting the positive reception and engaging discussions they sparked. He encourages listeners to write reviews for the podcast and to consider subscribing to Luke's English Podcast Premium for more content and specific vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation teaching.

Outlines

00:00:00

Introduction and Podcast Overview

Luke introduces the episode, mentioning it's the 899th episode and he'll be reading from a PDF. He also mentions that he'll be rambling about his summer holiday and doing some grammar analysis.

00:01:30

Back on the Mic, September 2024

Luke explains the episode's title, "Back on the Mic, September 2024, Ramble and Grammar Attentions," and outlines the content: returning to podcasting after the summer break, rambling about his holiday, and analyzing grammar.

00:04:43

Summer Break is Over

Luke discusses his return to podcasting after the summer break and his plans to ramble about his holiday and do some grammar analysis. He introduces the "Stop, Grammar Time" segment.

00:06:27

Rambling Topics: Olympics and Oasis

Luke mentions potential topics for his rambling, including the Paris Olympics 2024 and the Oasis reunion. He also mentions previous episodes about Oasis and his friend Karik.

00:10:05

The Reality of My Holiday

Luke humorously describes the reality of his holiday, which involved running after his kids, applying sunscreen, and driving. He emphasizes that the holiday was actually enjoyable, despite his exaggerated description.

00:15:32

Rusty and Dusty

Luke acknowledges that he's a bit rusty and his podcast room is dusty after being away for several weeks. He introduces a vocabulary segment, explaining some phrases he used earlier.

00:27:32

Speaking Practice: Questions

Luke provides a set of questions for listeners to practice using the vocabulary from the previous segment. The questions focus on the phrases "kick back," "hoover up," "slave away," "repetitive strain injury," "pass out," "rusty," and "dusty."

00:29:16

A Tidy Room is a Tidy Mind

Luke discusses the satisfaction of tidying up his room and shares a bit of wisdom he shared with his daughter: "A tidy room is a tidy mind." He mentions his plans to tidy up his podcast room and how it's his quiet place.

00:31:22

A Broken Phone and a Mystery

Luke describes discovering two things upon returning to his podcast room: his plants were alive, and his phone was broken. He describes the broken phone and the swollen battery, which he believes caused the damage.

00:37:44

A Knackered Phone and a Fire Hazard

Luke expresses his disappointment about his broken phone and the potential danger of a swollen battery. He explains that he used the phone as a webcam and discusses the advantages of using an iPhone for video recording.

00:39:54

Grammar Time: I Dread to Think

Luke analyzes the sentence "I dread to think what could have happened if it had exploded or caught fire while I was away," focusing on the phrase "I dread to think," the third conditional structure, and the use of "while" and "during."

00:49:33

Back to the Drawing Board

Luke discusses the potential causes of his phone's battery swelling and his plans to contact the company that sold it to him. He also discusses his current camera setup and the challenges of finding a reliable and efficient solution.

00:58:20

It's Been Four to Five Weeks

Luke reiterates that it's been four to five weeks since he last recorded an episode and discusses potential episode titles. He explains the reason for the break and the length of the episode.

01:01:36

La Ronde Trée and Back to School

Luke discusses the French term "La Ronde Trée," which means "back to school" and is a significant time of year in France. He compares it to the UK's "back to school" period and explains the differences in how the terms are used.

01:03:22

Grammar Time: A Complex Sentence

Luke analyzes a complex sentence, "We call it back to school, but it mainly just covers school, unlike in France, where it also refers to getting back into the routine of going to work every day," focusing on the clauses, gerunds, and prepositions.

01:08:34

Parsing a Sentence

Luke explains the concept of "parsing" a sentence, which involves breaking it down into its parts and identifying their grammatical roles. He provides an example with the simple sentence "I like pizza."

01:13:53

Clauses, Phrases, and Sentences

Luke clarifies the difference between phrases, clauses, and sentences. He provides examples of each and explains how they are used in the sentence "I like pizza, but I just can't stand Hawaiian pizzas at all."

01:19:02

Hawaiian Pizza and Grammar

Luke discusses the origin and ingredients of Hawaiian pizza and the debate surrounding its inclusion of pineapple. He then returns to the grammar analysis, providing a more detailed parsing of the sentence "I like pizza, but I just can't stand Hawaiian pizzas at all."

01:20:59

The Magic of Conjunctions and Grammar

This chapter delves into the role of conjunctions in connecting clauses and creating longer sentences. It highlights the magic of grammar, drawing a connection between the word "grammar" and "glamour," both associated with shine and magic. The speaker emphasizes the importance of conjunctions in building complex sentences.

01:24:42

Pronunciation of "Can't" and "Can"

This chapter focuses on the pronunciation of "can't" and "can," highlighting the differences in pronunciation depending on their position in a sentence. The speaker uses examples to illustrate the weak and full pronunciations of these words.

01:25:48

Stereotypes and Hawaiian Pizza

The speaker explores the stereotype of Italians disliking Hawaiian pizza, inviting listeners to confirm or deny this stereotype in the comments section. The chapter continues to analyze the sentence structure of "I can't eat Hawaiian pizza," focusing on the auxiliary verb "can't" and the verb "stand."

01:29:06

Back from Band Practice and a New Season

The speaker returns after a three-hour break, sharing his experience at band practice and the songs they are learning. He then transitions back to grammar, discussing the concept of "passing a sentence" and introducing the phrase "lapping something up."

01:32:09

Exploring the Idiom "Lapping It Up"

The speaker uses Chat GPT to generate examples of the idiom "lapping it up," which describes someone enthusiastically enjoying a positive experience. He then compares "lapping it up" to "hoovering up," highlighting the subtle differences in meaning and connotation.

01:36:14

Sentence Structure: "We Call It Back to School"

This chapter focuses on the sentence structure of "We call it back to school, but it mainly just covers school, unlike in France, where it also refers to getting back into the routine of going to work every day." The speaker breaks down the sentence into its constituent parts, explaining the roles of each element, including the subject, verb, object, conjunction, and relative clause.

01:50:11

Getting Back into the Routine

The speaker explores the phrase "getting back into the routine," discussing its meaning and providing examples. He then encourages listeners to practice their speaking by answering questions related to routines and the time of year.

01:53:08

A Fresh Start for the Podcast

The speaker reflects on the beginning of a new academic year and how it feels like a fresh start for the podcast. He discusses the concept of seasons in podcasts and how he approaches his own podcasting schedule.

01:55:14

Recent Episodes and Listener Comments

The speaker reviews recent episodes, including "How to Learn Vocabulary and Not Just Stare at Word Lists," "Disfluent: Learn English with an Interactive Story," and "Books, Farts, and Ghosts." He shares listener comments and feedback on these episodes, highlighting the positive reception and engaging discussions they sparked.

02:01:14

Grammar Time: "It's Been a While Since"

The speaker revisits grammar, focusing on the structure "It's been a while since." He explains the correct usage of this structure and contrasts it with common errors made by English language learners. He then provides examples and encourages listeners to practice using this structure in their own sentences.

02:09:23

California Trip: Quick Fire Questions and Answers

The speaker shares a quick summary of his recent trip to California, answering questions about the reasons for the trip, the locations visited, and his overall experience. He highlights the friendly people, excellent customer service, and the sense of deja vu he experienced due to the influence of movies and video games.

02:13:53

Deja Vu in California

The speaker discusses the feeling of deja vu he experienced in California, attributing it to the influence of movies and video games. He shares specific examples of how scenes from films like Terminator, Pulp Fiction, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood came to mind while exploring Los Angeles.

02:18:16

Thoughts and Comments on Recent Episodes

The speaker provides a more detailed review of recent episodes, focusing on "How to Learn Vocabulary and Not Just Stare at Word Lists." He shares a listener comment from Magnus the Red, who discusses the use of rare vocabulary words and the challenges of learning them.

02:23:06

The GRE Test and Vocabulary Acquisition

The speaker continues to discuss the listener comment from Magnus the Red, focusing on the difficulty of learning rare vocabulary words. He emphasizes the importance of repeated exposure and active learning strategies for vocabulary acquisition.

02:24:20

YouTube Thank You Button and Anki Flashcards

The speaker addresses a listener request for a YouTube thank you button, explaining its purpose and his plans to set it up. He then shares a comment from Reza Sol Tani, who discusses the effectiveness of using Anki flashcards for vocabulary learning.

02:26:24

Disfluent: Learn English with an Interactive Story

The speaker reviews the episode "Disfluent: Learn English with an Interactive Story," highlighting its popularity and the positive feedback received on its handling of stammering. He shares comments from listeners who were impressed by the story and its portrayal of the condition.

02:30:09

Listener Comments on Disfluent

The speaker continues to share listener comments on "Disfluent," focusing on the impact the episode had on listeners who have personal experience with stammering. He highlights the positive feedback on the story's authenticity and the episode's educational value.

02:32:15

Rambling Chat with Martin Aaron

The speaker reviews the episode "Rambling Chat with Martin Aaron," highlighting the positive reception and the insightful discussion about boarding school experiences. He shares a comment from Igor Cosa, who describes his laughter while listening to the episode.

02:34:41

Listener Comments on Rambling Chat

The speaker continues to share listener comments on "Rambling Chat with Martin Aaron," focusing on the humor and relatability of the episode. He addresses grammatical errors in Igor Cosa's comment and provides corrections.

02:36:43

Books, Farts, and Ghosts with Anna Brooke

The speaker reviews the episode "Books, Farts, and Ghosts with Anna Brooke," highlighting the fun and engaging nature of the conversation. He shares a comment from Kathy Blaskez, who praises the humor and the exploration of synonyms for "fart."

02:38:16

Listener Comments on Books, Farts, and Ghosts

The speaker continues to share listener comments on "Books, Farts, and Ghosts," focusing on the humor and the positive impact the episode had on listeners. He addresses Kathy Blaskez's comment about the exploration of synonyms for "fart."

02:38:45

Reflecting on a Live Podcast Recording in Paris

Luke discusses his recent live podcast recording in Paris, episode 894, and shares his mixed feelings about its performance. While he enjoyed the experience and received positive feedback, he was hoping for a larger audience and more views on YouTube.

02:42:29

The Mystery of Lord Luke Podcast Episode

Luke highlights episode 893, "The Mystery of Lord Luke," featuring Alistair Budge. He expresses his satisfaction with the episode's content and the positive feedback received, particularly from Alistair himself and Viviane Jakar.

02:43:30

The Power of Listening and Storytelling

Luke emphasizes the importance of listening to spoken words and stories, highlighting their therapeutic value. He shares a personal anecdote about Injaki, who found comfort and calmness while listening to Luke's podcast during a difficult time.

02:44:58

A Dream of Comedy Gold

Luke recounts a dream he had in Los Angeles where he came up with stand-up comedy material that he believed was hilarious. He woke up and wrote it down, but upon rereading it the next day, found it less funny than he had initially thought.

02:46:18

The Comedy Routine About Objects

Luke shares the stand-up comedy material he wrote down from his dream, which revolves around the theme of objects and their unexpected materials. He acknowledges that the material is not actually funny, but it was hilarious in his dream.

02:48:43

Call to Action: Reviews and Premium Subscription

Luke encourages listeners to write reviews for the podcast and to consider subscribing to Luke's English Podcast Premium for more content and specific vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation teaching.

Keywords

Q&A

• What are some of the topics Luke plans to discuss in this episode?

  Luke plans to ramble about his summer holiday, including his experiences in Paris during the Olympics and the Oasis reunion. He also plans to do some grammar analysis, focusing on complex sentence structures.

• What is the "Stop, Grammar Time" segment?

  The "Stop, Grammar Time" segment is a recurring feature in the episode where Luke pauses to analyze the grammar of a sentence he's just spoken. He uses this segment to help listeners improve their understanding of English grammar.

• What happened to Luke's phone?

  Luke's phone was damaged when the battery swelled up, causing the casing to break apart. He believes the swelling was caused by a faulty battery and is concerned about the potential fire hazard.

• What is the third conditional?

  The third conditional is a grammatical structure used to speculate about the possible consequences of different things happening in the past. It often uses "if" followed by "had" and a past participle.

• What is the difference between a phrase and a clause?

  A phrase is a group of words that function as a unit, but do not contain a subject and verb. A clause is a group of words containing a subject and verb, forming a complete thought.

• What is the role of conjunctions in sentence structure?

  Conjunctions connect clauses or sentences, creating complex sentences and expressing relationships between ideas. They help to build more elaborate and nuanced expressions of thought.

• What is the meaning of the idiom "lapping it up"?

  "Lapping it up" describes someone enthusiastically enjoying a positive experience, such as praise, attention, or luxury. It suggests a sense of delight and eagerness to embrace the experience.

• How does the speaker address the subject of stammering in the episode "Disfluent"?

  The speaker uses a story written by Alison Gray to explore the experience of stammering. He emphasizes the neurological nature of the condition and highlights the importance of therapy and support for individuals with stammering.

• What are some ways listeners can support Luke's English Podcast?

  Listeners can write reviews for the podcast, subscribe to Luke's English Podcast Premium, and share the podcast with their friends.

Show Notes