Welcome to a new episode of English Vocabulary Booster.
My name is Lara and I'm a SALSA certified English teacher.
Learning new vocabulary usually takes a long time, but we'll do it in a way that's easy, quick and efficient.
In every episode, we'll learn how to use five new English words or expressions, so that you too can start speaking like a native.
So let's get learning.
Welcome back.
This week's topic is acronyms.
And remember, you can find the transcript of the story and the questions at learn-lara.com.
So let's hear today's story.
My BF Mark and my BFF Tracy don't like each other.
They never did.
I don't know why.
So I always have to choose.
If I want to spend time with my boyfriend, I can't see my best friend and vice versa.
Really wish we could all go out together.
The other day Tracy called me saying she was pretty sure Mark was talking to other girls on Instagram.
I first told her it was BS, but she kept insisting.
So I finally talked to Mark and asked him to see his DMs.
Well, at first he didn't want to, but then he lent me.
Tracy was right there with us.
I looked and there were no messages from other girls on his phone, except for one from Tracy herself.
I opened it and he just said, JK.
I looked up to ask her what that meant and they both started laughing.
I guess it was a joke they planned together.
And to tell you the truth, I didn't think it was funny at all.
But hey, At least now I know they like each other and we can all spend time together.
Okay, so let's take a look at these acronyms.
Let's begin with acronym number one, BF, my BF mark.
What does the acronym BF stand for?
BF, boyfriend.
As in boyfriend, the person that you're in a relationship with.
Now, be careful because it's normally used in a jokingly manner.
People wouldn't take you very seriously when you say BF.
So it's a very like cheesy way for especially younger people to talk about their boyfriends.
So do you have a BF or a GF?
I do have a BF.
My BF's name is Marcos.
And I think you know if you've listened to the previous episodes.
Acronym number two, BFF.
My BFF, Tracy.
Okay, so we talked about BF, but this is BFF, two F's.
So BFF actually stands for best friends forever.
And you would use it to talk about your best friend.
Again, super cheesy, but some people do use that expression.
Okay, so my next question is, can a BFF be of the opposite sex?
I think some people would disagree with me, but I personally think that, yeah, totally.
In fact, my BFF is a guy.
So who is your BFF?
Think about them.
In my case, my BFF is Enrico.
And again, I've talked about him before.
So if you don't know about him, you should probably listen to the previous episodes.
Acronym number three, BS.
I first told her it was BS.
What does the acronym BS stand for?
All right, guys.
This is a bad word, okay?
I don't know if I'm going to bleep it out.
I probably should.
But I'm just going to tell you that BS stands for bullshit.
So even though it was bleeped out, pretty sure you understand what that means, right?
Okay, so when do we use the expression BS?
Do we use it when we believe someone is telling us the truth or a lie?
Well, we use it to say that we think somebody is not telling us the truth, that they're lying to us.
Imagine someone says, hey, you know what?
Yesterday I drank 10 liters of water.
I'm like, that's BS.
That's not possible because I believe they're lying to me.
So do you think using the acronym BS is polite?
Well, it's obviously better than saying the full word, but don't use it in a work email.
That wouldn't sound great.
Hey, boss, what you're saying is BS.
No, don't do that, okay?
It's not polite, but you can use it with your friends, especially if you're like joking.
It's totally fine in that case.
What is something you could tell people about you that would immediately make them go, hmm, BS?
Something that they know that is not true about you.
In my case, I'm not adventurous at all.
Like I'm the least adventurous person.
I have lots and lots of fears.
So let's say that I go up to a friend of mine or my family and I tell them, hey, you know what?
I'm going to go bungee jumping tomorrow.
They're going to look at me and go, that's BS.
Because there's no way I'm going to do that.
Acronym number four, DM.
I asked him to see his DMs.
Now, what does the acronym DM stand for?
DM stands for direct message.
Is a DM the same as an SMS then?
No, it's two separate things.
DMs are usually, you refer to DMs when you're talking about social media.
And SMS.
It's like a text message that you would get on your phone, but not using any social media platforms.
And which social media is the acronym DM usually associated with?
So definitely Instagram.
That's, I believe, where it originated from.
But also Facebook.
I believe in Twitter.
I'm not a big Twitter user.
Can you send direct messages on Twitter?
But yeah, you got the idea.
Social media platforms in general, when you don't talk to someone in the comment section but send them a direct message, a DM.
Do you send a lot of DMs?
Well, I don't on Instagram.
I don't think I've ever.
I think I've sent very few DMs on Instagram.
I do use DMs on Facebook.
Yep.
Last acronym, JK.
It just said JK.
What does the acronym JK stand for?
I think this is more popular.
A lot of you probably already know it.
JK stands for Just Kidding.
So, do you use it after saying something that is true or something that it isn't true?
You use it after saying something that is not true.
I'm going to go bungee jumping tomorrow, JK.
It's not true.
And is JK mostly used when writing or speaking?
So JK is mostly used when writing.
You can use it when you're speaking to someone, especially if they're a friend or something.
In that case, it's allowed.
Again, don't go up to your boss and be like, oh, hey, I like a raise, JK.
That would be probably depending on the relationship that you have with your boss.
That would probably be considered inappropriate.
And that is it for today.
And remember, if you want to access the transcript, as well as lots of other resources, visit enboocom.
That is E-N-B-O-O-O dot com.
Have a great day.
