Imperatives (Commands and Instructions)

Start here. Health conversations are full of instructions: “Take the medicine three times a day,” “Stay off your feet,” “Drink plenty of fluids.” This lesson teaches you how imperatives work in English so you can follow and give health advice naturally.

Drugs and Medication

Steve has a bad cold and a doctor’s prescription that does not seem to be helping. His friend Carla has a different idea: her mother’s herbal tea, four times a day. A short, natural conversation full of imperative language and everyday health vocabulary around symptoms and treatments.

Cold Remedy

Randall shares what he actually does when he gets sick: extra rest, hot chocolate to clear his nose, limited exercise, and reducing contact with others to avoid spreading germs. A short, practical video delivered entirely in imperatives and first-person advice, and a direct follow-up to the grammar and vocabulary you just practiced.

Health Club

A man tries to impress a woman at the gym by helping her move some weights and immediately hurts his back. He spends the rest of the conversation on the floor in pain. Good practice for following natural, humorous dialogue.

Eyeglasses

A recorded voicemail message from an eyewear store giving store hours, a Saturday discount, and a reminder that eye exams are free. Good practice for following recorded business messages in English, a common real-world listening situation.

Modals of Advice (should, ought to, had better, must)

Modals of advice are essential for health conversations. This lesson covers the key forms, from gentle suggestions (should, ought to) to strong warnings (had better, must), so you can follow medical advice and understand how urgent it is.

Health Insurance

A conversation between a young man who thinks he does not need health insurance and a friend who knows better. He turns 26 on Friday and will no longer qualify for his father’s plan. Good practice for following advice-heavy dialogue.

Cost an Arm and a Leg

This idiom means something is very expensive, and one of the sample sentences uses it directly in a health context: “If I had to pay for my own health insurance, it would cost me an arm and a leg.” A natural follow-up to the Health Insurance activity and useful for understanding how English speakers in the United States talk about the cost of medical care.

Present Real Conditional (If + present, present)

Health conversations rely on conditional logic: “If you have these symptoms, you may have this condition,” “If you feel worse, call the doctor,” “If you don’t rest, you won’t recover.” This lesson teaches the present real conditional so you can follow and use conditional reasoning when discussing symptoms, treatments, and medical decisions in English.

Medical Advice

A man calls a doctor’s office for the first time to schedule an appointment after an accident at home. The receptionist quickly realizes his situation is more urgent than he thinks. Good practice for following a formal phone conversation and for building vocabulary around medical appointments, symptoms, and injury descriptions.

Online Medical Information

A woman is convinced her friend has a rare and dangerous disease, but her friend is skeptical about the source. A humorous conversation that builds vocabulary and raises an important question about how much to trust health information you find online.