In this mini episode, you will learn how to use the noun “record.”
Episode 370 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you how to use the noun “record.” Send your questions about English and your comments and suggestions to EverybodyESL@gmail.com! (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
Intro
“Hello. This is Katherine, from South Korea. And you’re listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 370 of Everybody ESL, the podcast for everybody who wants to improve their English, practice their English, or just learn more English. My name is Ben, and I have a mini episode for you today, where I am going to teach you about one English topic. You can subscribe to the Everybody ESL podcast at Apple podcasts and wherever you find your podcasts. If you like Everybody ESL, leave it a good review so other people can find out about it too. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for me, please send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. Okay! Let’s get on with this mini episode.
The episode
In this episode, I am going to teach you how to use the noun record. Record. Record is spelled r-e-c-o-r-d. Record.
You are probably familiar with the verb form of this word, which is record [re-CORD]. But the noun form is pronounced RE-cord, with the stress on the first syllable. RE-cord.
Record has more than one meaning. But the meaning that I’m going to talk about in this episode is something like “a top performance, the best of something.”
I don’t think that’s very clear, but you have probably heard examples like this: Last summer, the city was so hot, it was a record. It was a record. In other words, it was an example of the most of something, or the highest of something, or the best of something. A record is a top performance, or an example of something being the most of something.
And I want to tell you the three verbs that we often use with this noun, record.
If you establish a record, if you are the person who has that top performance in something, we often say that you set a record. You set the record. That’s s-e-t. Set. To set a record means to establish that top performance.
And if you are the person who set that top performance, if you are the person who has that record, or who set that record, then we often use the word hold. You hold the record. We could say that somebody holds the record for the fastest 10-kilometer race, or August 8 in that city holds the record for the highest temperature. The person or the thing that set a record holds the record.
What if somebody else holds the record, and then you have an even better performance? If you set a new record, we often use the word break. Break. You break the old record. If you set a new record, that means that you broke the old record, where broke is the past tense of break.
You will often see record used with those three verbs: to set a record (meaning to make the best performance, to make the top performance), to hold a record (meaning to be the person or the thing that made that top performance), and break a record (meaning to set a new record, to do something better than the old record).
That is “set a record,” “hold a record,” and “break a record,” three very useful expressions that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 370 of Everybody ESL. Remember: if you have questions about English, or if you have comments for me, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can play at the beginning of future episodes—the same way Katherine recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode—send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. I’ll be back soon with a new episode. And until then, keep going, keep practicing, and keep learning. I’ll see you soon. Goodbye!