Learn British English with Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (First Gameplay): Chuffed to Bits, Have a Knack and Make Amends

Hi, I'm Alex 👋

This live stream is almost four and a half hours long, so I’ve picked the best moments for you. Tap any line to jump straight there!

In this live stream I play Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery for the first time. 🦉 Our character, Alex Medway, buys a wand, starts at Hogwarts and has to deal with Merula, the school bully. On the way we learn lots of natural British English: I couldn’t be more excited, chuffed to bits, you’re a natural, have a knack for, stand up to, fed up with, make amends and have a fit.

There’s grammar too: look forward to and my first step to + -ing, the present perfect continuous, should have, and a second conditional. Tap a line of the interactive script to jump there, then try the exercises.

▶️ Watch and read along

I couldn’t be more excited

Rowan: You too. I couldn’t be more excited to get to Hogwarts.
Alex: This is a great expression: I couldn’t be more excited to do something. You can even say “I couldn’t agree more with you.”
Rowan: I know. I haven’t stopped staring at my acceptance letter since it arrived. Can I see yours?

Reading dates

Letter: Term begins on September the 1st. We await your owl by no later than July the 31st.
Alex: When we read dates like this in English, we say “September the first”, even if it’s written “September 1st”.

Ollivander’s wand shop

Ollivander: Dragon heartstring, nine inches, rigid. Go on, give it a twirl.
Alex: Twirl: that’s the pronunciation of this word in British English.
Ollivander: Go on now. I look forward to seeing what becomes of you.
Alex: Look forward to doing something, guys, because as Ollivander says: “I look forward to seeing what becomes of you.”

Stand up for myself

Player: I can stand up for myself, but I’d feel better if I knew you were on my side.
Rowan: Understood. I’ll use my extensive vocabulary to verbally pummel anyone who attempts to besmirch your reputation.
Alex: Besmirch means to try and ruin somebody’s reputation. It’s not a very common word: it’s literary.
Alex: Chapter two: Welcome to Hogwarts. “Perched atop a high mountain with its turrets…” This is so literary, so bookish!

Chuffed to bits

Rowan: For now, let’s just take it all in.
Alex: I’m chuffed to bits. That would be a British expression to say you’re really pleased.
Rowan: Here we go, Alex. Our first step to becoming great wizards.
Alex: You say “your first step to becoming a great wizard”, not “to become”. It’s just like look forward to doing something.

You’re a natural

Professor: Yours was still better. You’re a natural.
Alex: To be a natural means that you’re talented at something.
Alex: In informal British English there’s another expression: to have a knack for something.
Alex: If you have a knack for something, it means you’re a natural at it.

Merula the bully

Merula: I should put you out of your misery before you ruin Hogwarts like your brother tried to.
Alex: To put someone out of their misery means to kill them, to stop their suffering. (In everyday life it also means to finally tell someone news they’re anxious to hear.)
Merula: You think you’re good enough to be friends with me? You really are as mad as your brother.
Game: Based on the bewildered look in your eyes, this could very well be your last.
Alex: Look at that word: bewildered. That means confused.

Potions with Professor Snape

Alex: Sabotage: that’s a difficult word, isn’t it? SAB-uh-tahzh.
Alex: I’m sorry, Professor Snape! I meant to say: I didn’t mean to let you down.
Alex: Coat: to cover something with a layer of a particular substance. To coat something in something.
Alex: “When the biscuits are cool, coat them in melted chocolate.”

Belligerent and standing up to bullies

Alex: Belligerent. Belligerent. What does it mean?
Alex: Belligerent is an adjective. It means wishing to fight or argue. You can have a belligerent person.
Ben: Ben Copper. I’m a first-year like you. Just wanted to say thank you for standing up to Merula.
Alex: To stand up to somebody means to say something to a person who is being unfair, maybe to you.

Sneak up on someone

Ben: I’ve been following her, so she can’t sneak up on me. And if she sees me, I’ll at least have a chance to run away.
Alex: “I’ve been following her”: this is the present perfect continuous.
Alex: That’s a great phrasal verb, isn’t it? To sneak up on someone: to come close to someone quietly, without them seeing you.

Should have kept a closer eye

Prefect: Considering what your brother did to Ravenclaw’s reputation, I should have kept a closer eye on you.
Alex: Can you say that, guys? I should have kept a closer eye. Listen to the linking R: closer‿eye.

Fed up, a credit to the house, despise

Alex: I think I’m a bit fed up with being accused of being like my brother.
Alex: Being fed up, guys, means that you’re tired of something.
Player: I know my brother broke school rules and damaged Ravenclaw’s reputation, but I want to be a credit to our house.
Alex: “Probably because he despises you.” To despise somebody means to dislike somebody very much.

Make amends

Alex: It seems we’ve got a chance to make amends, to set things right.
Alex: Make amends: to do something good to show that you are sorry about something you have done.

I take it and have a fit

Professor: And I take it you once again don’t have any proof.
Alex: That’s a great expression. “I take it that something is the case.” I assume you once again don’t have any proof.
Game: Professor Flitwick will have a fit.
Alex: Have a fit: literally, a sudden attack of uncontrolled movements. Informally, it means to become very angry or upset.

If I were a broom…

Player: Would I listen to me if I were a broom?
Game: Yes, you’re the one who got tangled up.
Alex: Tangle up, guys. Getting tangled: when ropes, hair or branches get twisted together, or you get caught in them.

🃏 Words from this episode

I couldn’t be more…: I’m extremely… (nothing could make me more)
give it a twirl: spin it around quickly; try it
besmirch: to damage someone’s reputation
take it all in: to look at and understand everything around you
chuffed to bits: very pleased
be a natural: to be naturally talented at something
have a knack for: to have a natural skill for something
bewildered: very confused
let someone down: to disappoint someone
belligerent: wishing to fight or argue
stand up to: to defend yourself against someone who is unfair
sneak up on: to come close to someone quietly so they don’t see you
fed up with: tired and annoyed with something
make amends: to do something good to show you’re sorry
have a fit: to become very angry or upset (literally: a sudden attack)

🔗 Exercise 1: Match the expression to its meaning

chuffed to bits
a knack for
bewildered
fed up with
make amends
belligerent

🔗 Exercise 2: Phrasal verbs from the game

stand up to
sneak up on
let someone down
take it all in
tangle up

✍️ Exercise 3: Listen and fill the gap

“I couldn’t be ___ excited to get to Hogwarts.”
“I haven’t stopped staring at my acceptance letter ___ it arrived.”
“Go on, give it a ___.”
“I look forward to ___ what becomes of you.”
“I’m ___ to bits.”
“Yours was still better. You’re a ___.”
“I should put you out of your ___.”
“I didn’t mean to let you ___.”
“Thank you for ___ up to Merula.”
“I’ve been following her, so she can’t ___ up on me.”
“I should have kept a closer ___ on you.”
“Professor Flitwick will have a ___.”

🔽 Exercise 4: Choose the right preposition

“Coat them ___ melted chocolate.”
“I want to be a credit ___ our house.”
“I’m a bit fed up ___ being accused.”
“If you have a knack ___ something…”
“Thank you for standing up ___ Merula.”

📘 Grammar box: when “to” is a preposition

In some expressions, to is a preposition, so the next verb takes -ing:

I look forward to seeing what becomes of you.
Our first step to becoming great wizards.
Thank you for standing up to Merula. (after for, too!)

More grammar from the game: “I’ve been following her” (present perfect continuous: an action that started in the past and is still going on). “I should have kept a closer eye on you” (a regret about the past). “Would I listen to me if I were a broom?” (second conditional: an imaginary situation).

🔽 Exercise 5: Grammar challenge

“Our first step to ___ great wizards.”
“I look forward to ___ what becomes of you.”
“I’ve ___ following her, so she can’t sneak up on me.”
“I should have ___ a closer eye on you.”
“Would I listen to me if I ___ a broom?”

🧠 Exercise 6: Comprehension quiz

How do we usually read “September 1st” aloud in British English?
What does “besmirch” mean?
Why does Ben thank our character?
If someone despises you, they…
“I take it you once again don’t have any proof” means…

🧙 More from the Harry Potter series

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (PS1), Part 1
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (PS1), Part 2
’S = is or has? (Deathly Hallows)
LIVE: Hogwarts Legacy, Part 1
Hogwarts Mystery: First Gameplay (you are here)
Silent Letters, Idioms and Hogwarts Mystery Chapter 4 (Live)
The Tale of the Three Brothers (Deathly Hallows)

All my game episodes are on the Learn English with Games page.

Are you chuffed to bits with your English, or a bit fed up with it? 😄 Tell me in the comments on YouTube, and write a sentence with have a knack for!

Alex