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Learn English with Bob the Canadian

Bob the Canadian
Learn English with Bob the Canadian
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  • Learn English with Bob the Canadian

    Learn the English Phrases "You're getting warmer!" and "benchwarmer"

    2026-04-29 | 4 mins.
    Read along to learn the English phrases YOU'RE GETTING WARMER! and BENCHWARMER
    In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English phrase, you're getting warmer. This is a phrase we use when someone is almost right. When someone is guessing something and they are almost coming up with the right answer. If I said to Jen, I bought something today and it's really cool, and if she says, did you buy fresh made chocolate chip cookies from the bakery?
    And if I had bought something from the bakery but they weren't cookies, I might say, you're getting warmer. Maybe I bought muffins, maybe I bought donuts. But Jen is definitely on the right track. She's guessing, but it's not quite the right answer. So in English, when you say you're getting warmer, it means it's a pretty good guess, but it's not the exact answer.
    The other phrase I wanted to teach you today is the phrase bench warmer. A bench warmer is an athlete who spends more time sitting on the bench and isn't on the starting lineup. So if you're familiar with sports, usually a team has five or 10 or 11 players who are the starting lineup.
    They are the best athletes on the team. And there are also some people you would call benchwarmers. This isn't a super positive term like it's not something you aspire to be. Like, I want to be a benchwarmer. But if you aren't on the starting lineup, you might describe yourself as a benchwarmer.
    Again, very informal and a little bit negative. It's not insulting, but close. So to review, you're getting warmer simply means you're making a guess and you're almost correct. And a bench warmer is a player who spends more time sitting on the bench on the sideline than they do playing.
    But hey, let's look at a comment from a previous video. This comment is from Know-that Maybe you're thinking about putting some solar panels there. Bob, talking about the area behind my house from the last video. That would be my guess. I mean, looking at all that lawn, which literally looks greener than ours at the moment, you'd probably need an additional energy source to support your eight or nine little future robot lawnmower helpers.
    Just kidding. Thanks for the new video, Bob. Wishing you a lovely Wednesday. Thanks, Know-that. And my response, you're getting warmer. I'm just hoping that I am fit and healthy this summer to work on the project I have in mind. So I'm not going to give all the details. I'm not going to give away, what my plans are for back there.
    Except to say that Know-that definitely made a pretty good guess. So we'll leave it at that and we'll move on to other topics. Yes, the grass is much greener here. It seems like spring has come very, very quickly. Even just a week ago, the trees only had buds on them and now they have tiny, small leaves.
    I'll get you a little bit closer, here, they have tiny, small leaves and it certainly is a lot more mild. The problem is that the lawn is growing at a rapid rate and so we are actively mowing.
    You can probably see some of the tire marks there. They aren't ruts, though. They aren't ruts. I don't like ruts in the lawn, but I'll show you some sort of ruts. These aren't very deep ruts, but still, I like everything to look really nice.
    So the lawn is green. The trees are starting to have leaves on them. It's pretty cool. I'm really enjoying the spring so far. My plan this spring is to not play any sports. If there is a teacher student baseball game, I will be a bench warmer this year.
    Or maybe I'll be the coach. I'm certainly not planning to play. I think that would be a mistake. So if you, if you're wondering, how am I going to stay healthy and fit, I'm going to do that by not doing anything silly like playing a sport that I haven't played for a long time and then injuring myself.
    Anyways, thanks for watching this short English lesson.
  • Learn English with Bob the Canadian

    Why Are You Learning English? 🤔

    2026-04-27 | 6 mins.
    In this English lesson, I will help you answer this question: Why are you learning English?
    In this free English class, I’ll give you clear, practical example sentences you can use to explain your reason for learning English. Whether you want to travel, get a better job, make new friends, or just enjoy movies and music, you’ll learn to explain clearly why you're learning the English language.
    Your mission: Watch the lesson, pick a sentence that fits you, and leave a comment telling us why you are learning English!
    This is a great way to practice writing in English and to connect with other learners from around the world.
    I hope you enjoy the lesson, and have a great day!
  • Learn English with Bob the Canadian

    Let's Learn English! Topic: Found in the Wild! ☔🌸🐦

    2026-04-26 | 17 mins.
    In this English lesson I will help you learn English words and phrases that we use to talk about things we find in the wild. The phrase "in the wild" means in its natural environment. You can see a wild animal at the zoo, or you can see it in the wild. You can see a tropical plant in a greenhouse, or you can see it growing in the wild if you visit the country it is from.
    This will be the Spring Edition of In the Wild! I'll help you learn all the words and phrases we use to describe the things we see around us in the spring.
    I hope you enjoy this English lesson! Have a great day!
  • Learn English with Bob the Canadian

    Learn the English Phrases "the grass is always greener" and "grassroots movement"

    2026-04-22 | 4 mins.
    Read along to learn the English phrases THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER and GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT
    In this English lesson, I wanted to help you learn the English phrase the grass is always greener. And, I do have to apologize. I've probably taught this phrase before. It's a pretty common one. It's a shorter version of a longer phrase, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. And it refers to when people look at what their neighbors have or what other people have, sometimes they're jealous.
    But we sometimes say, you know, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Which can mean that people look like they're having a better life than you, but they actually aren't. It's kind of like a little saying that we say to people so that they know looking at what other people have doesn't mean those other people are happy.
    But yes, sometimes it feels like the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. The other phrase I wanted to teach you today is the phrase grassroots movement. A grassroots movement is when people, regular people, organize in order to get something done.
    If there was a town that wanted to have a farmer's market, and there was no one from the city council, or maybe even the mayor isn't organizing it, then maybe there might be a grassroots movement where people get together and plan and put in place something like a farmer's market.
    So instead of the government planning something, it's just the regular people. A grassroots movement. So to review, when we say, you know, the grass is always greener, it means that it looks like when you look at your neighbor's fence, their grass is greener. It looks like they have a bigger tv, it looks like they have a nicer car, but it doesn't necessarily mean they have a better life.
    And a grassroots movement is a bunch of people, ordinary people like you and me, not the mayor, not the president, not the prime minister, a bunch of ordinary people getting together to get something done. But hey, let's look at a comment from, a previous video. This is from Unsal.
    Your being busy lesson on your other channel got me thinking. When you don't reply to comments or maybe can't, should I just assume life has become hectic, frenetic or overwhelming? I completely understand. Answering everyone all the time would be a lot. I know I enjoy reading them anyway, and that makes me happy.
    Thanks for everything. You're awesome. And my response, it's always the first thing to go and the first thing to return. So thank you, Unsel for that comment. Yes, as I plan my life and as I do YouTube, there are things that I try to always do.
    But there's a priority list and at the very end of that list is replying to comments on this channel. So yes, when life gets busy, it's the first thing to go. And that's another English phrase, by the way. Often we'll say, you know, the first thing to go, is replying to comments.
    Sorry, I guess only I really say that. But replying to comments is kind of the first, first thing that I stop doing. And then after that I might take a week off from making a video. I might do something else that just gives me a bit of a break. So now I'm back and now I'll probably start replying to comments again.
    Anyways, I'm out here in this strange part of the yard. It's a little bit messy. I'm trying to think of some plans for this area and I do have one idea. Not going to tell you what it is yet. It's going to be a secret. But I will show you as I do it.
    Let me just give you a hint. I'm out here seeing how much sunlight there is at 4 o' clock in the afternoon. That's a pretty big hint, isn't it? Anyways, you might see some development in this area in the future. And then I wanted to show you this because this is also a fence.
    This is an electric fence and it's not on. At least I hope Jen hasn't turned it on. And this is where the goats go, out to eat. They'll be going out soon. I know Jen has them on the smaller pasture up by the barn.
  • Learn English with Bob the Canadian

    An English Lesson about Being Busy

    2026-04-21 | 7 mins.
    In this English lesson, I’ll help you learn how to talk about those days when life just feels… a little too full. If you’re like me, you probably have times when everything feels busy, rushed, or even a bit chaotic. In this lesson, we’ll go through useful English words like hectic, frenetic, frantic, and overwhelming, and I’ll explain each one with simple definitions and real-life examples so you can start using them right away.
    I’ll also help you understand the small differences between these words, because they don’t all mean exactly the same thing. Some describe being busy in a fast way, some describe stress, and some describe situations where things feel completely out of control. By the end of the lesson, you’ll have a better sense of which word to use depending on how your day is going, whether it’s just a little busy or completely crazy.
    Thanks for watching this English lesson about being busy. I hope it helps you feel a bit more confident the next time you want to describe your day in English. And hopefully your day isn’t too overwhelming right now! If you enjoyed the lesson, don’t forget to subscribe, leave a comment, and I’ll see you next week with another English lesson.

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About Learn English with Bob the Canadian

If you want to learn English you've come to the right place. I'm Bob the Canadian and I make videos on Youtube (Just search for "Bob the Canadian" on Youtube!) as well as podcasts right here to help you learn English. Each week I teach a lesson and I host a question and answer session about the English language. During these sessions I will my best to answer as many questions as I can that you have about the English language!
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