American English: How to lose your accent in 7 lessons. Good for people from: Australia, Liverpool, London, Madrid, Mexico, Moscow, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paris, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tokyo, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and anywhere else.

JJ Pantano, Super talented Aussie.
studying American English with Mitch Rubman, the Hollywood Tutor at a Hollywood cafe. 

American English: The Bar: mixed drinks, beers, alcohol, and supplies by Mitch Rubman

The Bar: mixed drinks, beers, alcohol, and supplies

Exercise 1: Recite aloud the name of the drink and the sentences that follow.

Exercise 2: Research and write a sentence or two about the origins of Cognacs, Vodkas and Champagnes.

Americano (uh-mer-i-kan-oh): The Americano is made with: Compari, sweet vermouth, club soda, and a maraschino cherry.

Some popular beer brands include: Anchor Steam (ang-ker steem), Belgian White Ale (bel-juhn hwahyt eyl), Blue(bloo) Moon, Brahma(brah-muh), Bud light, Budweiser, Busch light, Coors light, Corona(kuh-roh-nuh), Harbin, Heineken, Keystone Light (kee-stohn lahyt), Kol, Michelob, Miller Genuine Draft (jen-yoo-in drahft), Miller High Life, Modelo, Natural Ice, Natural Light, Rolling Rock (roh-ling rok), Samuel(sam-yoo-uhl) Adams, Shiner Bock (shahy-ner bok), Sierra Nevada (see-er-uh nuh-vad-uh) Pale(peyl) Ale, Snow(snoh), Tsingtao(tsing-tou), Yanjing. 

Mitch Rubman's American English list of Artists with phonetic spellings

Art history…  Albrecht Durer (door-er), Modigliani (moh-dee-lee-ah-nee), Andy Warhol (wawr-hawl), Camille Pissarro (pi-sahr-oh), Caravaggio (kar-uh-vah-joh), Claude Monet (moh-ney), Diego Rivera (ri-vair-uh), Edgar Degas (dee-gas), Edvard Munch (munk), Edward Hopper (hop-er), El Greco (grek-oh), Francis Bacon (bey-kuhn), Frida Kahlo (kah-loh), Gauguin (goh-gan), Braque (brak), Goya (goi-uh), Courbet (koor-be), Gustav Klimt, Hieronymus Bosch (bosh), Jackson Pollock (pol-uhk), Turner (tur-ner), Joan Miro (mee-roh), Vermeer (ver-meer), Leonardo da Vinci (vin-chee), Marc Chagall (shuh-gahl), Matisse (ma-tees), Michelangelo (mahy-kuhl-an-juh-loh), Pablo Picasso (pi-kah-soh), Paul Cezanne (si-zan), Paul Klee (kley), Peter Paul Rubens (roo-buhnz), Pierre Auguste Renoir (ren-wahr), Raphael (raf-ee-uhl), Rembrandt (Rem-brant), Rene Magritte (ma-greet), Rodin (roh-dan), Salvador Dali (dah-lee), Sandro Botticelli (bot-i-chel-ee), Titian (tish-uhn), Vincent Van Gogh (van-goh), Wassily Kandinsky (kan-din-skee), Willem de Kooning(duh-koo-ning).

From Mitch Rubman's American English, a short list of a few cliches.

From American English

A back seat driver:   Please I’ve been driving for years; I don’t need a back seat driver.

A bad hair day:         Looks like another bad hair day, do you have an extra hat?

A big fish in a small pond:  Which would you rather be, a big fish in a small pond or a small fish in a big pond?

A blast from the past:             It’s been so many years since we’ve seen each other, what a blast from the past.

A dead ringer:           You’re a dead ringer for my best friend.

A lame duck:             That President was a lame duck and couldn’t run again.

A shot in the arm:    That new factory is a shot in the arm to that town.

Accidents will happen:                         Don’t worry about the spill, accidents will happen.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers from American English

Practice this tongue twister until you can say it without mistakes.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,

Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Phrases and Clichés 2:

Exercise 1: Recite the phrase and then the sentence aloud. Exercise 2: Create your own sentence.
A babe in the woods:	She was just a babe in the woods at her first audition.
A day I will never forget:	The day I graduated from college with my parents proudly in the audience was a day I will never forget.
After all is said and done:	After all is said and done the movie did make a profit.
Believe it or not:	Believe it or not I did get that job.
In one ear and out the other:	Jama’s (jaymas) father explained the stock market to her, but it went in one ear and out the other.
Budding(buhdng) genius:	She was called a budding genius after her violin recital (ri-sahyt-l).
Busy as a bee:	Sorry I didn’t get to it; I’ve just been busy as a bee.
Butterflies in my stomach:	Sometimes before going on stage I get butterflies in my stomach.
By leaps and bounds:	The understudy’s performance was better by leaps and bounds.
Easier said than done:	Shooting that chase scene was easier said than done.
Eats like a hog:	The Football Captain eats like a hog.
Fought like a tiger:	That’s because on the field the Captain fought like a tiger.
Good as gold:	His word is as good as gold.
Head over heels:	The first time I met her, I fell head over heels and was mesmerized (mez-muh-rahyzd).

©Copyright 2016 by Mitch Rubman, All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Metric conversions: Weights, Measurements, American Currency & Time

Exercise 1: Practice saying the list aloud.

[= (equals)]

One pound (lb.) = (equals) 16(sixteen) ounces (ounsez) (oz.)

One Metric Ton (tuhn) (mt) = 1,000 kilograms (kgs) = 2,205 Pounds (lbs.) = 1.1 American Tons (tuhn) (t)

One ounce (ounse) (oz.) = 28.35 grams (g)

One inch (in) = 2.54 centimeters (cm)

One foot (ft.) = 12 inches (in) = .3 meter (m), (three tenths of a meter) or decimal (des-uh-muhl) point three.

One yard (yahrd) (yd.) = 3 feet (ft.)

One mile (mahyl) (mi) = 5,280 feet = 1.6 kilometers (ki-lom-i-ters) (kms.) = 1,760 yards

One liter (lee-ter) (l) = 1,000 milliliters (ml) = .27 gallons (gal-uhn) (gal)

One tablespoon (tbsp) = ½ fluid ounce.

One teaspoon (tsp) = 1/6 fluid ounce. (One-sixth)

One millimeter = 1/1000 meter = one thousandth of a meter               

One centimeter = .394 inch

One meter = 40 inches = 3.38 feet

One kilometer = 1000 meters

One acre (ey-ker) = 4,840 square yards = 4,047 square meters

One square mile = 640 square acres

One quart = 2 pints (pahynt) (pt) = 4 cups(c)

One gallon = 4 quarts = 3.78 liters

One cent (Abraham Lincoln (ling-kuhn) on penny) = 1/100 dollar

One nickel (Thomas Jefferson on nickel) = 1/20th dollar

One dime (Franklin D. Roosevelt on dime) = 1/10th dollar

One quarter (George Washington on quarter) = ¼ dollar

One half dollar (John F. Kennedy on half dollar) = 1/2 dollar

One dollar (George Washington on $1 bill) = 100 cents

Two-dollar bill (Thomas Jefferson on $2-dollar bill) =$2.00

Five-dollar bill (Abraham Lincoln (ling-kuhn) on five-dollar bill) = $5.00

Twenty-dollar bill (Andrew Jackson on $20 bill) = $20.00

Fifty-dollar bill (Ulysses S. Grant on $50 dollar bill) =$50.00

One-hundred-dollar bill (Benjamin Franklin on $100-dollar bill) =$100.00 (Benjamin’s)

One euro = 1.25 dollars (varies with market)

One second = 1/60 minute

One minute = 60 seconds

One hour = 60 minutes = 1/24th of a day

One day = 24 hours = 1/7th of a week

One week = 7 days

One year = 52 weeks

One decade = 10 years

One score = 20 years

One century = 100 years

One millennium (mi-len-ee-uhm) = 1000 years

One light year (1LY) = (equals) five trillion eight hundred seventy-eight billion four hundred ninety-nine million eight hundred and ten thousand miles

©Copyright 2016 by Mitch Rubman, All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Dialogue 5: Taking Metro from American English

Exercise: Recite aloud the following dialogue. Switch characters.

Tourist:                Excuse me, I just got here. Which way is the beach?

Bus Driver:         The beach is west, just take the Santa Monica Rapid 704 or the Metro local number 4 or head away from downtown.

Tourist:                How do I get to Hollywood from here at the Greyhound bus stop downtown?

Bus Driver:         Well you can take any Metro bus from this stop to the Metro rail red line then take that north, it goes through Hollywood on its way to Universal Studios.

Tourist:                How do we get to the Hollywood bowl?

Bus Driver:         You can take the red line to Hollywood/Highland, and then take a free shuttle. Or it’s the number 222 local from West Hills, Burbank or Hollywood or the number 156 local from San Fernando or L.A.

Tourist:                How much does it cost?

Bus Driver:         It costs, $1.75 per ride or seven dollars and fifty cents for a one-day unlimited pass. We use tap cards here.

Tourist:                Is that where the Chinese Mann’s theatre is with the footprints?

Bus Driver:         Yes, just down the block on Hollywood Blvd. How long are you here for?

Tourist:                Two weeks.

Bus Driver:         Then you should buy a one week pass and get a plastic tap card. It costs 2 dollars but you can buy one week unlimited for twenty-five dollars or a 30 day for $100(one-hundred dollars).

Tourist:                What do I get for that?

Bus Driver:         You can take the Metro Rapid, or any Metro rail lines. There might be some extra zone charges occasionally so it’s good to carry some cash or change.

Tourist:                Hey thanks.

Bus Driver:         Here it comes.  There are maps and schedules on the bus. Be careful, too.

Tourist:                Thanks, for your help.

Bus Driver:         Have a great day.

©Copyright 2016 by Mitch Rubman, All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner.

Break a leg

cafe notes, American English