English with Friends: The I Hate Rachel Club

Have fun and learn a lot with this very short clip from the TV show Friends!

See below to get all the new vocabulary, expressions, cultural references, and pronunciation tips.



Vocabulary:

  • went out / go out with someone: to be “going out with someone” mean that you are in a relationship with that person. Ex, she is going out with a guy from her work.
  • have a pact: to have a formal agreement with someone, often used between nations. In this case Ross and Will (Brad Pitt’s character) must have had an agreement to not date Rachel.
  • binding: in the case of an agreement (Ross’ pact), if something is binding it means it cannot be broken.
  • didn’t handle it very well: to not deal with a situation very well; to not have an appropriate response to a situation.
  • Say mean things about me: To say bad things; an alternative expression is to talk shit about someone.
  • Start a rumor: to create a story about someone, often a bad story, and start telling many people that it is true.
  • No big deal: an expression used to say that it is not important. *See alternative uses below
  • Have a hint of something: to have a little bit of something. Ex, this tea has a hint of cinnamon in it.
  • I am afraid I’m gonna need proof: the term “I am afraid” is used to show that you don’t necessarily believe what the person is saying. *See alternative uses below

Learn more about Fluent with Friends

Pronunciation:

In American English, you will constantly see how the “tt” sound very often becomes a “dd” sound. Go back to the video to see these examples below.

  • Little relieved I gotta say = Li-duhl  re-leeved  I-goh-dah-say (0:41)
  • We did a little more than that  = We  di-dah-li-duhl  morr-than-that (1:14)

Cultural References:

  • I hate rachel club: a club in this case is when children get together and create a small group of friends that do the same thing. Ex, the chess club (play chess), the book club (read books) etc.
  • Exchange student from Thailand: The funny thing about the exchange student is that he probably didn’t understand English so well, and didn’t really know what the club was about.
  • Flipped a coin: It is common to flip a coin when you have a decision to make with two different options. One person will say heads (the side of the coin with a person’s head on it), and the other person says tails (the other side of the coin). Whoever gets the right side gets to make the decision.

  • Hermaphrodite cheerleader: The fact that Chandler had heard of the hermaphrodite cheerleader means that the rumor travelled really far.

Alternative Meanings:

Deal:

  • A business deal: a negotiated business plan
  • It’s a deal: expressions used to say – yes, i agree to that.
  • Deal with a person/problem: the way that you react and behave

I’m afraid:

  • I’m afraid to tell you I can’t come to your birthday party: I am sorry to tell you; used to deliver bad news

Watch This Learn English with Friends Lesson

If you enjoyed this lesson, then you’ll LOVE our popular new course, Fluent with Friends, which teaches you English with the TV Series Friends. Learn more here.

  • Vera Lucia Figueiredo Nogueira says:

    It’s amazing!!! tks for sharing it!!!!!!!!

  • shanmathy says:

    Thnk u This is really useful

  • Fábio Zoroastro says:

    Hey, Chad. Very good post blog. 😉

  • Jose Brol says:

    Amazing I like this. Awwwww, Yeahhhhhhh.-