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Hey everyone, welcome back to the channel and to another learn English with movies video. Today we're learning English with the new and absolutely amazing movie Project Hail Mary. If you're into this genre, of course. And if you are and you haven't watched it yet, oh my god, I highly recommend it. It is a perfect mix of sci-fi, mystery, survival, humor, and surprisingly emotional friendship moments. People compare it to Interstellar or The Martian, but it feels more fun and hopeful than super dark sci-fi. Okay, so as usual, we'll take a couple of scenes and learn vocabulary and some grammar through them. And I literally took just bits and pieces of those scenes because this is how YouTube allows them. And first we'll watch all of them and then break them down.
Why not you tell them yourself when you return home, question? This is a one-way ticket for me, pal. What? Oh, I have I got enough food to last me at least a couple years, maybe a couple more if I stretch Why didn't you tell me? It slipped my mind. No. Grace, say grace, go home. I got to do all this amazing stuff. I'm good. I've made peace with it. It's usually not something one does by themselves. Oh. I Wait, I do the same? Would you just get in here? He has incredible hearing. He can see through walls. Personal space is at a premium.
Oh my god, this is such a great movie. Okay, with no further ado, let's get to it. Okay, so this sentence, "This is a one-way ticket for me, pal." So, one-way ticket, this phrase. Normally, a one-way ticket is a ticket somewhere with no return trip. Why not you tell them yourself when you return home, question? This is a one-way ticket for me, pal. What? But people also use it figuratively to mean there is no going back from this, which is what it means in our example, or this is going to completely change everything for me. It often sounds dramatic, emotional, or serious. Let's take a look at this example. This job is my one-way ticket out of this town, which means this is my chance to leave
and start a new life. Now, we also have the word pal here. So, pal is an for friend, buddy, or dude. And depending on tone, it can sound a friendly, sarcastic, threatening, or emotional. For example, friendly, "Thanks, pal." Or aggressive, "Listen here, pal." I got enough food to last me at least a couple of years, maybe a couple more if I stretch it out. I've got enough food to last me at least a couple of years, maybe a couple more if I stretch it out. Let's focus on the words to last me. So, to last means to continue being enough for a period of time. So, enough food to last me a couple of years means enough food for me to survive or eat for a couple of years before it runs out. For example, this pizza will last us all weekend, which
means we will still have enough pizza for the whole weekend. Now, we have this phrase stretch it out, which means to make something last longer by using it carefully and slowly. In our example, he means that they could make the food supply last longer if they ration it carefully. Okay, let's take a look at this example. I tried to stretch out my paycheck until Friday. So, this means I tried to spend money very carefully so it would last longer. Why didn't you tell me? It slipped my mind. No. Race a greyhound. Now, we have a phrase, it slipped my mind. This is a very natural English expression people use when they forget something. So, it basically just means I forgot about it. But, this phrase sounds
softer and more casual than simply saying, I forgot. It creates the image of a thought literally slipping away from your mind. You can say something like, her birthday totally slipped my mind, which means I accidentally forgot about her birthday. Or, you can say something like, I was going to call you, but it slipped my mind, which just means I forgot to call you, but sounds kind of softer, right? It's usually used for things you intended to remember, like tasks, plans, appointments, or birthdays. I got to do all this amazing stuff. I'm good. I've made peace with it. Now, here we will learn the phrase to make peace with something. So, I've made peace with it. So, this means that you
accept that something emotionally, even if it was painful, disappointing, or difficult. Now, it does not necessarily mean you like it. It just means that you stopped fighting it mentally and emotionally. This is a very calm, mature-sounding expression. So, you can use this phrase in this kind of sentence. For example, things didn't work out, but I've made peace with it, which would mean I accepted it and moved on emotionally. Or, I never got closure, but I've made peace with it, which would mean I accepted the situation even without answers. Or, getting older is scary, but I've made peace with it.
Speaking of, it was my birthday a couple of days ago and I turned 35. And it is scary getting older. It is truly scary. But I have to make peace with it. I have not yet, but I hope I will. Basically, what it means I accepted that reality. Native speakers often use this phrase when talking about breakups, loss, disappointment, um life changes, or things that they can't control anymore. It has a very reflective and emotional tone. It's usually not something one does by themselves. Oh, wait, I do the same? Would you just get in here? Okay, now this sentence is very grammatically interesting. It's usually not something one does by themselves. In this sentence, one
means a person in general or people. You know, it is a formal and general way to talk about humans without saying you, we, they, or a specific person. It is similar to the word someone or a person. Okay, so now let's compare. In casual English, like everyday English, you would say it is not something you do by yourself. More simplified, sounds more natural, right? But this is a more formal, general English. It is not something one does by themselves. So, people usually use one when they want to sound first, more formal, or let's say philosophical, reflective, academic, or emotionally detached. It just sounds less personal than you. In our example, he was talking about people
in general. Why did he choose to say this sentence like this? Well, I don't know, just because he wanted to. Okay, now let's compare this example. So, we have casual English, you should not carry everything alone. You should not carry everything alone, sounds very natural. And now this formal or general sentence, one should not carry everything alone. It does sound very generalized, right? Okay, now, why themselves and not himself? Well, this is a really interesting modern English part. So, traditionally, using like older formal grammar, it would be it is not something one does by oneself. And this is still grammatically correct, but modern English often uses they them themselves as gender-neutral
pronouns. So, one does by themselves sounds more natural today, less stiff or formal, and more inclusive. So, the sentence structure is one equals a person in general or people, themselves equals gender-neutral reflexive pronoun referring back to one. Okay, now again, natural modern version, it's usually not something you do by yourself. More formal philosophical version, it's usually not something one does by themselves. And very traditional old formal version, it's usually not something one does by oneself. But, nobody talks like that in normal conversational English. It's uh usually not something one does by themselves.
Oh, I Wait, I do the same? Would you just get in here? Okay, now another grammar point. Why do we use does here? Because one, as we already established, is grammatically treated like he, she, or a person in general. And with a person or he or she in present simple, we use the word does. So, one does, one thinks, one walks, one says. He has incredible hearing. He can see through walls. Personal space is at a premium. Interesting sentence. So, what does it mean? We'll focus on these words at a premium. So, this means that there is very little personal space available. At a premium is an expression that means something is limited, rare, or very hard
to get. So, when someone says personal space is at a premium, they mean that people are crowded together and there is not much room or privacy. You might hear someone says this on a packed airplane, in a tiny apartment, for example, on a crowded train, or during a family gathering. For example, with five people in the house, personal space is at a premium. Meaning, there is barely any alone space or privacy because the house is so crowded. So, this sounds a little more advanced and natural than simply saying there is not much personal space. Although, obviously, you could also say it like this, more simplified. Okay, guys, thank you for watching this video. I hope you found it useful and learned something
new. Thank you again for watching and I'll see you in the next one.
