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Eat Sleep Dreamers, I asked you to ask me any questions you wanted about English and
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you did. So I'm here to answer them for you. So if you are ready, let's do this.
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Welcome to Q&A with Tom. Now I asked you guys on Facebook and on Instagram to ask me any
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questions you had about English and I got so many responses. So today we're looking
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at, well I'm going to look at some of the questions and hopefully give you an answer
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so you can understand English better. So, alright, if you are ready let's have a look
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at question number one.
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We are starting with a grammar question on Instagram. This comes from kirilova_irina_inst
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and she asks how often in a real conversation do you use the present perfect continuous
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and the past perfect continuous? Great question, so let's do a real quick review of the present
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perfect continuous and the past perfect continuous.
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The present perfect continuous, the form is have or has plus been plus the verb in the
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ing form. And we use it to talk about actions that started in the past and continue or are
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unfinished now. For example 'I've been working here for ten years.' So that started in the
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past and it's still true now, it's still continuing now. Let's look at two examples to contrast
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the present perfect continuous and the present perfect. 'I've watched the new series of Game
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of Thrones'. Now in that sentence that suggests that I've completed it that I finished the
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new series. Whereas contrasting that with the present perfect continuous 'I've been
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watching the new series of Game of Thrones.' There it suggests that I haven't finished,
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that maybe there are a few episodes I need to watch. So we are focusing on the action
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there. So that's maybe one time that we're going to use the present perfect continuous
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is to focus on the action rather than the result. We can also use it for temporary situations.
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So for example 'I usually live on my own but I've been staying with my sister for the last
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two weeks.' So it's a temporary situation, I'll go back to living on my own but just
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for a short time I've been living with my sister. So temporary situations also really
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good with the present perfect continuous. Another functional way to use the present
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perfect continuous is to talk about reasons for present results. So for example, I have
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my chocolate here but most of it has gone and I could say 'Who's been eating my chocolate?'
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Ok, and I can see that there is still some chocolate there, this is present situation
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but in the past someone has eaten my chocolate. Now I could say 'Who ate my chocolate?' that's
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fine but I could also say 'Who's been eating my chocolate?' both are absolutely fine. Also
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you might say another example 'I'm really tired' and the reason 'because I've been walking
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around London all day' so 'I'm really tired right now and the reason, because I've been
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walking around London all day.' So again you've got a present situation, a present result
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and the reason, we are using the present perfect continuous, because I've been walking around
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London all day. So that's another really nice functional way to use the present perfect
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continuous. The past perfect continuous, the form is had plus been plus the verb in the
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ing form. And again we are talking about actions that happened in the past and continue to
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a point in the past. So this is all past actions, they are all completed actions. And this is
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really important, you'll probably use the past perfect continuous in a narrative, in
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a story. For example I might tell you about trying to meet a friend and I could say 'I'd
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been waiting for my friend for hours and then finally she called and said that she had an
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accident.' So the focus there is on the length of time that I was waiting. Often we use it
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with another past tense so I'd been waiting for my friend for hours and then she finally
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called. Could be the past, using the past simple tense. The past perfect continuous
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tense is a really useful tense in narratives and that's when you are most likely to use
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it. Now I think both theses tenses need more time to learn and to look at together so perhaps
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if you guys would like me to do a separate video looking at the present perfect continuous
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and the past perfect continuous then let me know in the comments below. I hope that was
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useful for you Irina, that certainly with the present perfect continuous we use it very
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functionally a lot and with the pst perfect continuous again in stories in narratives
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yeah we use it.So, I hope that helps, let me know in the comments below.
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From Facebook Nguyen Dinh Bac asks 'What's the difference between each and every?' Fantastic
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question. Ok, now they are both very similar in meaning however each refers to an individual
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thing or object or person whereas every can refer to a group of things or people. For
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example 'Each English learner is different.' 'Every English learner is different' So there
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both are grammatically correct. The difference just being how we view the subject there.
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So each English learner, I'm thinking about individual one whereas every English learner
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I'm grouping them together as a group of English learners. So both perfectly grammatically
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correct it's just how we look at the situation. How we perceive it to be. Now both each and
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every we use with singular nouns, ok that's a really important rule. Now the difference
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between the two comes when we are talking about two objects. Now if we have two objects
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then we are going to use each for example 'I've got a bag in each hand.' Now I've only
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got two hands in the world, only two of them so I would use each because it's two. So I've
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got a bag in each hand. I couldn't say I've got a bag in every hand, that would be a bit
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strange. Maybe I would have five hands, ten hands who knows. If we have three or more
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objects then we can use every or each so for example 'Every country I've been to I've loved'
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or 'Each country I've been to I've loved' both are grammatically fine because we are
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looking at three or more objects. Nguyen I hope that helps, I hope that makes sense,
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thank you for your question.
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I got two questions from you guys about British versus American English. Happy_ukhti said
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'what's the difference between British and American English?' Great question, now there
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are many differences between the two now just first of all I've done three videos about
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British and American English to help you guys understand which words to use which grammar
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to use which pronunciation to use. I've linked them just above. Now the main things are vocabulary,
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there's a lot of difference between British vocabulary and American vocabulary. Now recently
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I showed you guys how to do the pronunciation of certain television shows and we talked
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about the vocabulary of series or season. Now series is British English meaning a collection
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of episodes and season is an American English word to say a collection of episodes and now
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people here certainly in London and Britain, we're saying season or some people are anyway.
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So there is a kind of American English comes into British English and some of the words
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we use, some of the words we don't but that's one example of British English using some
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American English vocabulary. So vocabulary is one big thing, pronunciation is obviously
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a huge one. There are many differences I can't even begin to start with them now but the
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'r' sound car in American English is a much stronger sound than in British English. Again
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if you guys would like a separate video about British English and American English pronunciation
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differences then tell me in the comments below, I would love to make one for you. Grammar
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as well, there's obviously a lot of difference, not a lot of difference but there are differences
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in British English grammar and American English grammar. I've talked about that before so
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if you check out my videos I made three of them. Watch them, see if you can learn new
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things from that and then also let me know in the comments below if you'd like me to
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make another video about British and American English.
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AtyB on Instagram asked me 'When will you come to HK again?' so Hong Kong 'or may I
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meet you in the near future?' So great question Aty. Yeah, for those of you who don't know
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I used to live in Hong Kong for about three and a half years. I lived in Argentina as
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well and in Spain. I would love to go back to Hong Kong, if not for a short trip who
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knows but yes. There are certainly plans at some point in the near future to make it to
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Hong Kong so of course I will tell you guys if I do come to Hong Kong or to Asia or anywhere
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for that matter. And yes, if you come to London please let me know. I do try to meet up with
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Eat Sleep Dreamers, I love it. I feel a great connection with you guys especially when I
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meet you. I met Natalie, when Natalie came to London we went for a coffee. I put the
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picture up on my Facebook page so yeah please let me know if you are coming to London let
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me know. And if I have time I would love to meet you for a coffee or a drink or a chat
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or whatever it might be. So let me know.
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I'm also planning a meet up at some point really soon to get some Eat Sleep Dreamers
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together just to hang out to meet each other share stories things like that. So listen
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in keep your ears, get your ears ready, keep your eyes peeled, that's the phrase we use,
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keep your eye peeled. Look out! You know and I'll let you guys know as soon as I decide
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when the meet up will be, I'll tell you.
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Nina Nona on Facebook asks 'What is an Oxford comma?' Now usually i don't look at writing
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so much on Eat Sleep Dream English but we'll have a look at it today. So the Oxford comma
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is the last comma in a list of three or more things and it goes just before and or or.
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Now it's optional, you don't have to use it, some style guides or writing guides would
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prefer you to use it but it's an optional thing. So let's look t an example. Ok, so
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'I bought a suit, a tie and some new shoes'. Now there you can use it with the Oxford comma,
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so the comma just going before and or you can use it without. Both are absolutely fine,
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it's your choice. It's up to you. If you are writing for an exam or maybe for a newspaper
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or publication then you should find out whether to use it or not but if you are just writing
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for yourself then you can choose. The only I would say is be consistent, either use it
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all the time or don't use it at all, it's up to you.
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On Instagram anita.sk asks 'Have lunch' or 'have a lunch' - which one is correct? Great
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question. So most of the time, almost all the time have lunch is great, ok? We use it
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just to talk very generally so 'What time do you have lunch?' or 'I have lunch at one
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o'clock.' So that's probably the one you'll use most of the time. When you have a formal
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plan for lunch maybe it's a business lunch or a lunch to celebrate a friend's birthday,
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something like that, then you might say a lunch. So 'i have a lunch tomorrow' means
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that i have a formal plan tomorrow for lunch. Or if you are going through your diary with
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a friend and you are saying 'sorry i can't meet on Friday, I have a lunch planned.' So
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for formal situations with a formal planned lunch that's when you might say have a lunch
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but generally speaking have lunch works really well most of the time.
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On Facebook Phan Hoang asks 'Hi Tom, I am from Asia, on the holidays and special lunar
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new year, we usually visit relatives and neighbours. Do you do that? Do you know your neighbours?
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What do you do on holiday?
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Great question yeah, during the holiday period like Christmas Easter things like that yeah
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absolutely I spend it with my family. We visit each other and that's a really important time.
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It's a great opportunity to meet up with your friends, well your family and spend some really
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good quality time with them. Do I know my neighbours? Yeah I know my neighbours. I've
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travelled around quite a lot so I haven't always been in one place for a long time so
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maybe I don't know my neighbours as well as someone who has lived in the same place for
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years and years and years but yeah I know my neighbours and lots of my friends live
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very close to me so that's fantastic.
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What do i do on holiday? I mean, any number of things. usually i try and find some sunshine
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that;s because I live in England and we don't always have sunshine so that's always a nice
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thing. I love eating, when I go on holiday I love to eat the local food, trying new things.
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Recently i went to Spain and I ate the local food there. It was incredible, I love it.
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When I lived in Hong Kong I visited lots of different countries in Asia like Vietnam,
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Thailand and Indonesia again trying the local food so I think food is a really important
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part of holidays and travelling for me.
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Guys if you have any more questions for me please let me know in the comments below and
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I'll make another Q&A with Tom video later. And you can ask your questions and I'll answer
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them for you. I'm here to help you, I'm here to help you learn English as best I can. So
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yeh just let me know in the comments below. If you have any questions about grammar, vocabulary
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pronunciation whatever it is. If there any videos i can make you also please let me know
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and I'll try and make them. I've got a couple of very exciting announcements coming soon.
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I can't quite tell you yet but look out in the next couple of days, weeks some really
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exciting things happening at Eat Sleep Dream English and I want you guys to be a part of
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that. Thank you so much for hanging out with me today guys, this is Tom the English Hipster
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and you know what time it is. It's time to take your English to the next level.