This is an All Ears English podcast episode 1525.
How to refer to the future like a native in English.
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Today, we kick off a series on native ways to talk about the future.
You'll get four natural ways to talk about something that is happening soon, that might come unexpectedly, or when you are unsure of exactly when it will happen.
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Hey, Lindsay, how are you?
Hey, Aubrey, I'm doing great.
Happy to be on the mic with you today.
Yes, me too.
We have a new fun series we're starting today.
That I'm really excited about.
But I have a question for you first.
Okay, I am ready.
Nice.
I'm wondering, what is something you're looking forward to today?
Oh my gosh, today, what I'm...
Well, not to be political.
I'm going to have to be political because that is what's on my mind today.
Today is the inauguration.
Guys, we are recording this about a month in advance.
You're going to know this, but Joe Biden is being inaugurated today and I'm excited about his presidency.
That is what I am excited about, what I'm looking forward to.
Awesome.
Yeah, same.
It's Inauguration Day.
It's always so exciting.
It really is.
I was reminiscing with a friend 12 years ago when Obama was inaugurated.
I was teaching in the Bronx in –
And so all of our students were so excited.
I wasn't very political at the time, but our students were so excited to see someone who represented them being elected.
It was so exciting.
And I feel the same way now with Kamala being vice president.
Oh my gosh.
Absolutely.
That feeling of a woman being vice president is, I just get chills.
It's so exciting.
It's true.
I think we got so wrapped up in all the mess happening with the election that we kind of forgotten away.
It took a secondary place in our minds, but it's a huge deal.
The first woman vice president and the first woman vice president of color.
It's amazing.
It's amazing.
It's so exciting.
It's a great day.
What a great day for the US.
So what are we getting into?
Are we starting a new series today, Aubrey?
Yes, this is going to be a really fun one.
We are going to teach you guys native phrases for referring to the future.
Because the fact is that natives aren't always really formal with future tense, right?
You guys have learned how to use will and going to, but natives don't always use them.
They won't always say, you know oh, it will happen very soon, or this is going to take place right away.
Right, Lindsay?
There are so many other ways we say this.
That's a good point, Aubrey.
I'm glad that we're talking about this, because I do tend to hear English learners overusing that exact construction you just said.
It will happen.
We will go.
We will do.
It's just it's used too much.
It's very textbook, guys.
But the Yep, that's exactly right.
And when it comes to referring to the future, there's so many native phrases that we use that when you use them, it's going to help you build those connections.
It's going to help you sound like a native and build these relationships.
So we're excited to teach these to you guys.
We're going to teach you the most popular in this new series.
Okay, let's get into it then.
I think our listeners are ready.
Guys, I hope you're taking notes here.
Let's get into the first one.
Okay, so just as an FYI, we use different expressions to refer to what's going to happen very soon, like immediately and a little bit further in the future.
So today, we're going to specifically teach you guys phrases for the immediate future.
So all of these you'll use when you're talking about something that will happen very soon, okay?
Okay.
All right, Lindsay, do you want to share the first one with us?
Yes, we will.
And in just a minute guys, we'll announce, after we go through these, something that's coming very soon to All Ears English, but we'll get into that in just a minute right, Aubrey.
Stay tuned.
All right, goals.
So guys, here it is.
It could happen any minute.
Yes, right?
You're going to use this phrase to talk about an event or an occurrence that is going to happen very soon, but the exact time isn't known.
You wouldn't say this for something that is going to happen at 5 p.m. and you know that.
This is more for something that is going to happen right away, but you don't know the time.
Yes.
And we extend this in different ways, right?
We say, oh, he'll be here any minute.
She'll call us any minute.
Something is going to happen any minute.
So good.
Exactly right.
I'm hoping to hear back about that job any minute.
You know, it'll be soon, but you don't know exactly when.
Okay, let's do a little role play.
Yeah, I did like a little mini role play for each of these.
We love the role plays around here at All Ears English.
So Aubrey, has your washing machine repairman shown up yet?
No, but I expect him any minute now.
Now that's interesting.
So why did you add the any minute now?
Oh, that's a good point, right?
I think if it's going to happen very, very soon, it would say any minute now.
Because if I would just say, oh, I expect him any minute, I don't know.
I don't really feel like there's a difference.
Just sometimes we throw in the now.
Yeah.
Yeah, I think it's just a chunk.
It's just a native, natural chunk.
And this is what you guys want to learn.
You could say either, right?
I expect him any minute.
I expect him any minute now.
It's just it flows off your tongue, doesn't it?
Yeah, but it's interesting to listen to your intonation.
It is different, right?
We would say I expect him any minute and we go down or I expect him any minute now and we go up.
Something, a sense of impending, right?
Something's coming.
Yeah, there is a little bit more anticipation in any minute now, right?
Yeah, maybe like something more exciting, I would say.
Yeah, yeah, almost like a surprise element to it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Totally.
I love that.
I love that.
So that's the first one.
What's the next one, Aubrey?
Okay.
The second one is to say it will happen any day now, or just we'll use the expression any day now, right?
Okay.
So we've got the now in there again.
So clearly, guys, that is the bonus for today that now obviously adds some impact.
Yeah, definitely.
Right.
We also use this for events that will happen soon, but the exact time is not known.
So very similar to any minute now.
Right.
Any day now, any minute now, pretty interchangeable.
Okay, so for example, her baby is due any day now.
And again, it's used here.
It's exciting.
There's a baby coming, but we don't quite know when.
And so we're adding that any day now.
Right.
We might have the due date, but that doesn't necessarily mean that's when this baby will come.
Any day now.
Right, right, right.
Yes, I love that.
So like, for example, if I say, has your dad called you lately?
How might you answer?
No, but I expect him to any day now, right?
So some kind of exciting call coming.
Okay.
Yes, exactly.
Okay, let's do a mini role play.
I'll ask you another one.
Okay.
When will your passport come in the mail?
Any day now.
Sounds like I'm ready to travel.
I'm ready to go, which I am.
Are you ready to travel?
Yes.
I can't wait until we can travel again.
I know I've got my passport waiting.
Do Do you have a list of places picked out that you want to travel to, Aubrey, when we can travel?
Yes.
My husband and I have wanted to go to Fiji forever.
And we probably would have gone last year, but then COVID.
So once we can travel again, that's on the list, on the short list.
That's awesome.
So hopefully any month now.
So you guys will see we use this expression by itself to just say any day now, right?
If someone asks us when we are thinking something will happen.
And it's the same with any minute now.
You can just say, ooh, any minute now.
Yeah, so good.
So good.
So that okay, so those are the first two.
And then the next one, guys, is it's just around the corner.
Yeah, this is natural.
These are natural ways to say the future, right?
It's not will and going to it's this kind of thing that I love.
Exactly.
We use these all the time.
This is especially for things that you do know exactly when, like you might say, Valentine's Day is just around the corner.
Yeah, exactly.
Kind of like warning someone, get ready.
Get ready.
It's coming up.
And for a lot of these, yeah, you know the date, but like, okay, it's coming.
You got to get ready, right?
If Christmas is just around the corner, you better start shopping.
Exactly.
So for example, this year is flying by.
It's almost springtime.
I know.
It's right around the corner.
Yeah.
So you imagine, yeah, it's just maybe it's in a couple of weeks or the weather's about to turn.
Just right around the corner.
So good.
Exactly.
We use this a lot for dates for something that's coming up, but that's more like a holiday or a date or a season, right?
I don't use this as much for an event.
Like I wouldn't say, oh, you know, I'm going dancing this weekend.
It's right around the corner.
That would be awkward, right?
We use it a lot more for dates that are planned well in advance.
Like a holiday or a season.
Yeah.
Kind of like calendar dates.
It's kind of in the same way that you imagine a city.
Where's the corner store?
It's right around the corner.
It's physically, it's always there.
It never changes.
Same with dates on a calendar.
The spring always comes after the winter.
That never changes.
Right.
That's a good point.
Exactly.
That's when we use it.
Yeah.
Yeah, I love it.
So good.
Okay, that is fantastic.
And then what's the next one, Aubrey?
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Okay, this next one is I'll get right on it.
And this is usually used for urgent tasks.
It means you're going to do it right away or very soon.
And you want to use this to say that you'll do it as soon as possible.
Yeah.
So for example, I just realized my essay is due in class today, so I'm going to get right on it.
So you might say this to a teacher, to a manager, or to yourself.
Exactly.
Yeah.
It's sort of giving yourself a sense of urgency or telling someone I'm giving myself some urgency here.
I know this needs to be done right away.
I'm going to get right on it.
Yeah, so good.
And there's some fun ways to shorten this too.
I like to say I'm on it, right?
Or, or just say on it, right?
If you maybe you know, we email between our team and someone asked someone else to do something.
Someone might reply and just say on it right, with an exclamation point.
Exactly.
Or if you were at work and someone said, oh, can you get me those figures right away?
It almost would be weird to be like, yes, I'm going to get right on that.
Right.
It's so common for us to just be like, yeah, on it.
Yeah, guys, this is so natural.
This could also be great for business English, right?
Yeah, definitely.
Okay, let's do our mini roleplay.
You ready?
Okay.
We need this quarter's numbers for the meeting this afternoon.
I'll get right on it.
Yeah, that's true.
I think of that.
I'm like, I probably would just say on it.
I'm on it or on it.
Yeah, guys.
So you can always shorten stuff here.
I mean, not always, but in this case, you can.
So write that down too.
Right, exactly.
Okay, I found a little activity for us.
I thought this would be fun.
We're going to take turns asking each other questions about sort of things that are coming up soon, kind of like the one I asked you earlier about.
What's something you're looking forward to today?
And you have to.
We both have to make sure to use one of the phrases that we learned today somehow in our answer.
Got it.
In our answer or in our conversation back and forth with each other?
We could do a conversation back and forth either way.
Yeah.
Okay.
Okay.
All right.
So you want to ask me the first one or I'll ask you the first one.
What do you think?
You ask me first.
Okay.
Here we go.
So Aubrey, what is something that you're planning to accomplish today?
I have a hip hop class tonight.
Which I am really excited about.
I went once last week and it was a little hard because it's difficult to work out with a mask on.
You're required to wear a mask.
And cardio is hard with a mask on.
And I totally get it.
Like we're inside.
We need to have masks on.
But it makes it difficult.
But so I thought about after last week I was like oh, I don't know if I'm going to go to that class anymore.
So now it's sort of like, it's something I have to accomplish.
It's something I'm like forcing myself to do.
I'm not really looking forward to it that much.
So, I'm like, okay, this class is, you know, it's going to happen any minute now and I have to go.
I have to force myself to go.
You have to decide.
So, any minute now.
So, it's coming.
It's coming soon, right?
It's right around the corner today, right?
Exactly.
A few hours.
Yeah.
Oh, my gosh.
That's so cool.
I have to say, what kind of hip hop are you learning?
Are we learning 90s boy band hip hop?
It is.
It's old school.
Yes.
Okay.
So it's really fun.
She teaches us like old school moves from the 80s, 90s.
Like Michael Jackson types of moonwalking.
I learned the wave last time where you just wave with your own body, right?
From like one arm to the other.
It was so fun.
Those are handy skills to have you know to pull out of your bag of tricks at a wedding or something.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Because they're just funny and silly because they're, you know, older.
You're not like trying to be hip and cool.
And I'm like, okay, I'm a mom, but I can do these old moves and it's fun.
That's cool.
I love that.
I love that.
Okay.
I'm going to ask you one.
Ready?
Okay.
Yes.
What is a change at All Ears English that's coming up?
Oh my gosh.
Well, right now we're in the end of February.
So right around the corner is the month of March.
And the month of March is hopefully our launch month for the Android app.
Yeah, it's going to be so good, Aubrey.
Our listeners have been waiting, to be honest, a couple of years for this.
Yes, I know we've had listeners commenting and asking when will you have the Android app?
For a long time.
So we've been hoping to get this done.
So this is exciting for us to be able to launch this.
It's so true.
It is so exciting.
And guys, by the way, if you are an Android user and you are dying to try this app, as you should be, because it has some really cool things, like a way to save your personal power vocab list, a way to see transcripts right inside the app.
If you want to be one of the first to know about it, go to allearsenglishcom.
Slash Android to get on that list.
That's an early insiders list.
That's where we're going to announce it first.
And we'll also offer opportunities to beta test only to that list.
So guys, get on the list.
Cool.
Perfect.
And I love that you used it's just around the corner.
And you know, it's kind of pointing out that it doesn't have to be a holiday or season, but just something that's set like.
This is pretty well set.
We're trying to get this done in March.
So that's definitely something we can say is right around the corner.
Exactly.
Hopefully, by the time this episode comes out, we'll still be on track for that.
Never know when it comes to building software.
But I will keep you guys updated if you are on that list.
All right, Aubrey, one more question for you.
Are you ready?
Yes, I'm ready.
Okay, so what plans do you have for this weekend?
Oh, I have a friend who's coming into town from New York City, and I have not seen her in 10 years.
So we have sort of kept in touch a little bit over.
You know following each other on social media, but I haven't seen her.
And so I'm really excited for this.
It's...
I feel like I'm going to start making plans of fun things that we can do together, you know, because I just wanted to be the best trip.
So I'm going to get right on that and plan, you know, a couple of fun things to go to.
It's a little tricky with quarantining, but I think we can find a couple of fun events or places to go.
Yeah, I love that.
So you got to get right on that, making those plans.
Right, exactly.
Okay, I have one more question for you.
Okay, okay.
And you'll have to think of one a little further than today.
Oh my gosh.
I already asked you about today, right?
So what's something else that you're looking forward to?
Oh my gosh, something I'm looking forward to.
Well, this weekend, I'm going to be going skiing on Sunday.
So I'm looking forward to that.
You know, it's coming up soon.
And it's actually, to be honest, it's hard to put these phrases into that answer.
It really is.
Because it's like, well, it's not like it's going to happen any day now.
You're just talking about something that will be this weekend.
That's true.
It would be a little.
I had a little bit of a hard time, too.
It's tricky because these are often more for something that you're looking forward to, but you don't know when it is.
So if you start talking about a skiing trip, it's like, I know when that's happening.
So I can't use a lot of these, right?
Yes, I really should have done something that's a little more vague, right?
Something you don't know when it's going to happen.
Exactly.
And something that might happen to me, like there may be some kind of a surprise, right?
And so that would have been a better.
You know I have a clear plan this weekend to go skiing on Sunday.
I know exactly what I'm doing.
So that doesn't actually quite fit into this.
My question should have been more instead of something that's going to get you know, it's kind of forcing you to choose something planned like this.
Maybe if it were something like, what's something that is around the corner that you're dreading?
Oh my gosh, that I'm dreading.
It's harder to think of something you're not looking forward to, right?
It really is harder.
Well, that's a tough one.
Something that I'm dreading.
Geez, there's nothing I'm dreading, to be honest.
Okay, I can think of a few.
I'll answer.
Okay, go for it.
So I made the mistake of signing my kids up for all these classes because where we live the community got a federal grant to pay so that all of the community classes are half price because this grant is covering half of them.
Sort of to help the community with everyone dealing with COVID and the financial struggles with that.
So I was really excited and I signed my kids up for so many classes.
And now, every day after school, I'm driving one to basketball and one to soccer and one to a dance class.
Oh, no.
And I signed myself up for a hip hop class, same thing.
So it's too much.
And now I'm sort of dreading every day after school because all I'm doing is driving everybody around and it's crazy trying to figure all of that out.
And so I'm like, oh, school ending is right around the corner.
It's going to happen any minute now.
And I'm really not looking forward to it.
Oh my gosh, you set yourself up there, right?
Oh no.
I wasn't thinking about that it would be me driving the kids to all of these activities.
That's so funny.
I gotta figure out a carpool.
Yeah, that's so funny.
Well, good luck with that.
That's tricky.
That's tricky.
Oh boy, I got to figure out.
So yeah, carpool is the key, I suppose, when you have a lot of kids, right, Aubrey?
Yes, it's really vital.
But if you can't, you know, if none of their friends can attend, then it's a matter of like...
Meeting other friends.
And COVID has made this complicated too, because it's sort of awkward for me to offer someone else's child a ride, knowing we're all going to be in the same car.
You don't know how strictly people are quarantined.
And should I?
Should I have someone else in my car?
So I'm just driving everybody on my own.
Yeah.
Yeah, no, that's tough.
These days, I'm just used to throwing down the windows when I get in a lift or something.
I know it's zero degrees out, but do you mind if I put the windows down?
Stick your head out the window like a puppy.
Like a dog.
Get some fresh air.
Yeah, exactly.
All right.
This is good.
So I think we proved to our.
I think we clearly showed our listeners how to use these by our mistakes here.
Right.
Obviously, that's so good.
You guys need to use these when you are in situations where maybe something's going to happen to you or there's going to be some kind of a surprise.
Not so much clear dates and times.
Right, Aubrey?
Exactly.
Yeah.
A lot of these are for when the exact time isn't known.
So if you're talking about something where you don't know when it's going to happen, it's a specific plan.
These don't fit.
Yeah.
But guys, the point is I mean the overall point today is get away from will and going to especially will.
I hear a lot of students saying it wrong, overusing it, and overusing it in the wrong times, when will doesn't even work.
Guys, don't do that.
Try something new.
Okay.
It's better to misuse one of these than to keep using will and to get into that calcified habit.
Right.
That's the key.
That's a good point.
You guys will need to practice a little bit to know in which situation which one is appropriate.
But when you use them, just like you said, you sound so much more native and natural, instead of that rote saying I will or I am going to.
You want to spice it up a little bit.
Yeah, I really think, Aubrey.
If we were to make a list of the top 10 changes our listeners could make to their repertoire to sound more natural, this would be one of the shortcuts cutting out will constantly using will.
So guys, really go back, listen to this series.
It's coming up.
We have another episode coming up soon in the next couple of weeks.
Pay attention to this series and take notes.
It is a shortcut to sound more natural.
All right?
And Aubrey, one more time, where can our listeners go to get on the app list for Android?
If you have an Android phone, you guys need to go to allearsenglish.com slash Android.
So you can get on that early opt-in list.
You want to be first to know when it is ready.
So definitely go there today.
I'm excited about that app.
I know.
It's going to be great.
It's going to be great.
All right.
Awesome.
Good to hang out with you today, Aubrey.
I'll see you very soon.
Yes.
See you next time.
Okay.
Take care.
Bye.
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