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When Something Breaks: Landlord, Repair Person and DIY | Real American English #165
When Something Breaks: Landlord, Repair Person and DIY | Real American English #165
13:29
Oct 27, 2026 4:06 AM
Description
Sooner or later, something at home breaks. The sink leaks, the air conditioning stops, or the dishwasher makes a strange noise. Learners often translate directly and say "The sink is giving water," "The AC is not doing work," or "Come and repair my house." These can confuse a landlord or repair person. In this episode: • Describing what's wrong • Reporting the problem • Scheduling a visit • Diy: doing it yourself • Invented scene: the leaky sink • Practice • Self-check questions with answers Key phrases from this episode: The sink is leaking. — water is coming out where it shouldn't (neutral) There's a drip under the sink. — small drops of water (neutral) The AC's not working. — the air conditioning is broken (casual) The heat's out. — the heating stopped (casual) The toilet's clogged. — it's blocked (neutral) The drain's backed up. — water won't go down (neutral) The light keeps flickering. — it turns on and off quickly (neutral) It's making a weird noise. — a strange sound (casual) It's on the fritz. — it's not working right (casual) I need to report a problem. — I want to tell you something's broken (neutral) Could you send someone to take a look? — please send a repair person (polite) It's kind of urgent. — it needs fast attention (neutral) It's been like this since Monday. — the problem started Monday (neutral) I submitted a maintenance request. — I filled out a repair form (neutral) When works for you? — what time is good? (neutral) Does Thursday morning work? — is Thursday morning okay? (neutral) Someone will be out between nine and noon. — the arrival window (neutral) Season 2 · Real American English: the complete spoken course for learners worldwide — accent, everyday grammar, prepositions, articles, phrasal verbs, idioms, slang and real conversations at home. Listen, repeat out loud, then take the 52-question quiz. Audio voiced with AI from an original script by Dr. Rashmi R Nair.
Podcast Channel
Real American English | American Accent & Everyday Spoken English Course
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