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  • That caught me by surprise!

  • I'm Emma from mmmEnglish and in today's lesson,

  • we're going to go over five expressions using 'catch'.

  • It's going to be short and sweet, this lesson.

  • We'll just focus on words that are often used with 'catch' in English.

  • We call these common collocations,

  • words that are often used together in English sentences

  • and learning which English words are often

  • used together will help you to sound more natural

  • when you speak English yourself.

  • Oh and later in the lesson, I've got a quick homework

  • task for you

  • and a book that I want to recommend for you.

  • It's one that I'm sure you'll adore so stay tuned.

  • Before we get started, a quick reminder to

  • turn on the subtitles if you need to.

  • This lesson is quick and really helpful for others

  • learning English in your country too so if you have time

  • to translate this lesson

  • so that other people can learn from it too

  • then that would be amazing.

  • Not to mention,

  • it would be excellent English practice for you as well.

  • The link to translate this video is

  • in the description below and your name will appear

  • below this lesson as a contributor to the video.

  • Okay

  • so you've probably heard of this verb 'catch' right?

  • But did you know that you can catch a cold?

  • That you can catch on fire?

  • Or catch a whiff of something?

  • If you catch a cold, it means you're sick.

  • You can catch the flu, you can catch a virus or any

  • type of airborne sickness.

  • It's something that you can catch.

  • My throat is kind of starting to hurt,

  • I think I've caught a cold.

  • You can also catch what someone said.

  • Or not catch it if you didn't quite hear them.

  • Did you catch what he just said?

  • I just caught a whiff of something delicious!

  • Can you smell it?

  • If you catch a whiff of something, it means that you

  • can smell something.

  • Now it could be something good like a freshly baked

  • cake or loaf of bread

  • but it could also be something bad.

  • When we walked past his room, I caught a whiff

  • of his dirty gym clothes.

  • Now if something catches your eye,

  • then it attracts your attention.

  • You're curious and you're interested.

  • It's something that you desire or you want.

  • A cute little cafe on the corner caught my eye

  • when I was walking by.

  • I'd like to go there for lunch one day.

  • I think the guy who made your coffee this morning

  • caught your eye.

  • Now notice that this expression is used, often used,

  • with past or perfect tenses because usually

  • it's unexpected, it's a surprise.

  • So often you're reporting about something

  • after it happens.

  • Now there's a really subtle difference between

  • catching someone's eye

  • and catching someone's attention.

  • Hey, hey!

  • Are you still listening?

  • I'm trying to catch your attention,

  • I'm doing something to try and make you look

  • and watch me. I'm trying to catch your attention.

  • I'm trying to keep you interested in this lesson

  • and it's a deliberate action.

  • I'm trying to catch your attention.

  • We created the advertisement to be really catchy.

  • We wanted to catch the attention of shoppers

  • as they walk past.

  • We use 'catch' to say goodbye informally.

  • Catch you later!

  • Catch you soon! Or catch you in a few minutes!

  • And these are all ways of saying see you soon.

  • See you soon, see you again soon.

  • I'm running late for my appointment,

  • but I'll catch you soon!

  • Catch you later!

  • But don't go anywhere just yet,

  • I've still got your homework to go through plus

  • I'm introducing a new segment to my lesson

  • where I make a recommendation about a book

  • that I've been reading or a podcast

  • that I've been listening to

  • which I really want to recommend to you

  • because I think you'll enjoy it.

  • The one that I want to start with is this book,

  • The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

  • Now I read this book years ago

  • but I was recently reminded of it again when I

  • found it on Audible and I listened to it.

  • It's told from the perspective of a fifteen year old boy

  • who has autism and he's investigating the murder of his

  • neighbour's dog. Now it doesn't dwell on the fact that

  • this boy, his name's Christopher, that he has autism

  • but it allows us to view the world from a completely

  • different perspective, his perspective,

  • which is fascinating.

  • Christopher takes us on an investigation with him

  • and it leads to more incidents that need to be

  • investigated so it's quite gripping.

  • Now the book's not too long and the vocabulary is not

  • overly complex which means it's a really great book

  • for you to read. It uses everyday common English.

  • Now I've added a link to the book in the description

  • below but I've also added a link to Audible

  • where you can download the audio book

  • and listen while you read.

  • You guys know that I always recommend that you read

  • books to expand your vocabulary

  • but listening while you read

  • allows you to work on some of the other skills,

  • English skills, at the same time.

  • So you're listening obviously but it also helps

  • to improve your pronunciation as well.

  • Reading and listening to books are an awesome way

  • to practise English collocations because

  • you experience English as it's used in context

  • and this is going to help you to use English more

  • naturally yourself, just as native English speakers do.

  • So if you do read it,

  • or you have read it before then let me know

  • what you think about The Curious Incident

  • of the Dog in the Night-Time in the comments below.

  • Now your homework for today's lesson is to

  • write a sentence using each of the five expressions

  • that you learned today, those expressions with 'catch'.

  • Write them in the comments so that I can check them

  • and make sure that you're using them correctly.

  • Hit that subscribe button just down there

  • if you enjoyed this lesson and even better,

  • share it with a friend who could use it as well.

  • Thanks for watching and I'll catch you later!

That caught me by surprise!

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