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.

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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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TN-j7xM_oY&t=14s

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.