Speak Better English with Harry | Episode 64

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• 00:10

  Hi there.

• 00:10

  This is Harry with the second sentence for this particular week.

• 00:13

  And here we're taking a look at some unusual vocabulary.

• 00:21

  It wasn't too long ago that border walling was a non controversial proposition tucked into larger spending legislation.

• 00:33

  Okay.

• 00:34

  So again, it wasn't too long ago that border wall in was a non controversial proposition tucked into larger spending legislation.

• 00:46

  So what exactly does that mean and what are we talking about?

• 00:49

  Well, it's an extract from an article I read in relation to the United States, in particular, the proposals that have been discussed over several years of the Trump administration.

• 01:02

  This proposition or proposal that he has to build this large wall between America and Mexico.

• 01:13

  Parts of it have been built, but not necessarily in the way he had intended.

• 01:17

  Some of it has been just reinforcing what is already there.

• 01:20

  But so in this particular sentence, we're using a few unusual words and expressions, and we're also using negative expressions as a positive.

• 01:33

  Okay, let me explain what I mean.

• 01:35

  It wasn't too long ago.

• 01:37

  So here we're using negative was not, it wasn't too long ago, which literally means recently or very recently.

• 01:44

  So we could say very recently.

• 01:47

  But here they use the negative to emphasize the point it wasn't too long ago.

• 01:53

  And then we follow it with a relative clause that it wasn't too long ago.

• 01:58

  That.

• 01:59

  And here's the first example of some unusual wording, border walling.

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