A drink can be too weak, have a small trace of another flavour, or come almost level with your favourite. Useful English reviews say why you prefer something, not just that it is good or bad. This lesson practises that extra detail.
Sydney compares drinks in trying every coffee shop in New York... (part 2). We use short excerpts at 2:57, 5:14, 11:42 and 12:12. Her ratings describe her visit and preferences at the time; this is an English lesson, not an updated recommendation for those cafés.
Pace myself: a small verb with a clear reason
At 2:57, she reminds herself that the tasting day is not over. Listen for the reason after the expression: more drinks are still ahead. The grammar is useful beyond coffee, for example when you have several dishes to taste or a long afternoon of tasks.
The practice sentence changes coffee to food so you can keep the idea while replacing the objects. Say why you need to control the pace. A short reason helps the sentence make sense instead of becoming a phrase you repeat without a purpose.
You are tasting five dishes and want to avoid eating everything too quickly at the start.
There are five dishes to try, so I need to __________.
Show the answer and usage
Control your speed or effort so you can keep going.
There are five dishes to try, so I need to pace myself.
Use pace after need to. Myself matches I; with you, say pace yourself. This expression is about managing your own pace, not walking back and forth in a room.
Watered down: describe your impression carefully
At 5:14–5:27, Sydney says the coffee tastes diluted and explains that she has just received it. Those lines belong together: they tell you what she notices and which possible explanation she is setting aside.
You can say It tastes watered down without claiming you saw someone add water. That distinction is useful when writing your own review. Change the example to juice or soup, but make clear whether you are reporting a taste or something you actually observed.
The juice tastes much weaker than usual, as though someone added extra water.
The juice tastes __________.
Show the answer and usage
Weaker in flavour because it is diluted, or tasting that way.
The juice tastes watered down.
After tastes, watered down describes the drink. It can express your impression without proving how the drink was made. Water down can also mean weakening an idea, but this scene concerns flavour.
A hint of: name a subtle flavour
At 11:42, Sydney searches for a word that describes a slight nutty quality. The hesitation is part of ordinary speech. You can learn the useful phrase without copying every interruption in the caption.
A hint of lemon tells a listener that lemon is noticeable but not dominant. It does not tell you the exact recipe. Try describing a familiar food: keep the food as the subject and choose one small flavour after of. The cake example below is written for practice.
The cake is mostly vanilla-flavoured, but you notice a small trace of lemon.
There is __________ lemon in this cake.
Show the answer and usage
A small, noticeable amount of a flavour or quality.
There is a hint of lemon in this cake.
Keep a and of in the full phrase. Lemon supplies the flavour after of. A hint of is lighter than a strong lemon flavour, but it is not a numerical measurement.
Close second: compare without calling it a tie
At 12:12, the phrase puts one café just behind her favourite. Notice the extra word really in the source: it makes the gap sound especially small. You can use the simpler a close second in your own sentence.
Change cafés to mugs, films or desserts. Give your favourite first, then name the nearly equal choice. The exercise already supplies a, so check the whole sentence before filling the blank. Learning the phrase includes noticing what is already there.
You slightly prefer the blue mug, but the green one is almost as good and ranks just behind it.
The blue mug is my favourite; the green one is a __________.
Show the answer and usage
Second in a ranking, with only a small gap from first.
The blue mug is my favourite; the green one is a close second.
The article a is already in the sentence, so fill only close second. Close describes the small gap, not physical distance. For a tie, say they are tied for first instead.
Make a review that explains a preference
Choose one drink or food you know. Describe its strength, name a small flavour if you notice one, then compare it with another choice. Leave out any phrase that does not match your experience; you do not need to force all four into every review.
In the final review, recall from the situation before opening the answer. If you forget, replay the short passage and read why the example fits. After a break, try a new item instead of repeating only the original coffee story.
Try the final blanks before opening the answers. Each card keeps the meaning, practice sentence, explanation and a button to replay the source scene. Return later and try again with a detail from your own day.
Review what you learned
Hide the answers and recall each phrase from its situation. Each card keeps its meaning, example and note.
You are tasting five dishes and want to avoid eating everything too quickly at the start.
There are five dishes to try, so I need to __________.
Show the answer and usage
Control your speed or effort so you can keep going.
There are five dishes to try, so I need to pace myself.
Use pace after need to. Myself matches I; with you, say pace yourself. This expression is about managing your own pace, not walking back and forth in a room.
Sydney remembers she has several more coffees to taste and should not finish the first drink immediately.
need to + pace myself
The juice tastes much weaker than usual, as though someone added extra water.
The juice tastes __________.
Show the answer and usage
Weaker in flavour because it is diluted, or tasting that way.
The juice tastes watered down.
After tastes, watered down describes the drink. It can express your impression without proving how the drink was made. Water down can also mean weakening an idea, but this scene concerns flavour.
Sydney describes the second coffee as tasting diluted. The following caption says she has just received it, so she is not blaming ice left to melt for a long time.
taste / be + watered down
The cake is mostly vanilla-flavoured, but you notice a small trace of lemon.
There is __________ lemon in this cake.
Show the answer and usage
A small, noticeable amount of a flavour or quality.
There is a hint of lemon in this cake.
Keep a and of in the full phrase. Lemon supplies the flavour after of. A hint of is lighter than a strong lemon flavour, but it is not a numerical measurement.
At the last café, Sydney searches for a description and mentions a slight nutty flavour. She is describing taste, not confirming an ingredient list.
a hint of + flavour / quality
You slightly prefer the blue mug, but the green one is almost as good and ranks just behind it.
The blue mug is my favourite; the green one is a __________.
Show the answer and usage
Second in a ranking, with only a small gap from first.
The blue mug is my favourite; the green one is a close second.
The article a is already in the sentence, so fill only close second. Close describes the small gap, not physical distance. For a tie, say they are tied for first instead.
In her final ranking, Sydney calls Plant Shed a really close second to her favourite. The phrase expresses a narrow preference, not a tie.
be + a close second
You recalled every phrase. Say a sentence about your own day, then come back later.