Hi, I'm Alex 👋
This was a live stream, so it’s real, unscripted survival English! Press play, read along and I’ll show you the British versions of the American lines.
Welcome to Raccoon City! 🧟 In this live stream of Resident Evil 2 Remake, the English is fast, urgent and very natural: commands like “Get down!” and “Hold on!”, emotional reactions, phrasal verbs and short questions like “Live around here?”. The game is set in the US, so most of the dialogue is American English, and I stop now and then to give you the British equivalent.
Tap any line of the interactive script to jump to that moment. Lines without a name are game dialogue, and the Alex lines are me explaining. Then flip the vocabulary cards and try the exercises.
▶️ Watch and read along
Survival English
- Alex: This isn’t your average “good morning, how do you do” kind of lesson, is it? This is full-on <mark>survival English</mark>.
- Alex: We’re talking about urgent commands, emotional reactions and loads of everyday spoken expressions, the kind that don’t usually show up in textbooks, right?
- Alex: Things like “Run!”, “<mark>Back up!</mark>”, “We gotta get out of here.”
- Alex: Now, most of the dialogue in the game is American English, because it’s set in the US. But don’t worry, I’ll be pausing now and then to show you the British equivalents.
- Alex: For example, you’ll hear “We <mark>gotta</mark> get out of here.” But in British English, we might say “We’ve <mark>got to</mark> get out of here.”
- Alex: Or even “Let’s <mark>leg it</mark>!” That’s a British expression.
- Alex: Also, keep your ears open for phrasal verbs like <mark>take out</mark> the target, <mark>turn around</mark>, <mark>hold on</mark>, <mark>keep it together</mark>.
- Alex: We don’t have much time anyway. We’re <mark>running out of time</mark>.
- Alex: Right, that’s our little warm-up done. Let’s <mark>crack on</mark> with the game.
A story from the bar
- I’m serious, okay? I saw it with my own eyes.
- Oh, I believe you, buddy. I believe you. Just tell us the story.
- Okay. Well, it was last Friday night. I was walking home from the bar and this woman started coming towards me. She was <mark>staggering</mark>, you know, so I figured she was drunk.
- Whoa, whoa. Okay, be honest now. How many drinks did you have?
- Oh, man. I barely had a <mark>buzz on</mark>.
- Look, just listen, all right? She got closer and I got a good look at her… her whole face. It looked like it was <mark>rotting</mark>.
- She looked like a <mark>corpse</mark>. Like a walking corpse, man.
- Sounds like my wife.
- I’ve never seen anything like it. I haven’t been able to sleep since that night.
- All right, calm down, buddy. You gotta stay strong, okay? Don’t <mark>give in to</mark> fear out there, right?
- Yeah. Well, you got that right. If you <mark>freeze up</mark> around these things, they’ll <mark>sink their teeth</mark> in…
I got this
- <mark>Something’s not right.</mark>
- Stop moving.
- Officer, you need help?
- <mark>Stay back</mark>, sir. <mark>I got this.</mark>
- Are you sure you got this?
- <mark>Freeze!</mark> I’ll shoot!
- Alex: Okay. Let’s <mark>leg it</mark> before these guys <mark>get up</mark> again.
Loads of imperatives
- Don’t shoot! <mark>Get down!</mark>
- You all right?
- Yeah, I think so. Thanks.
- You can <mark>thank me later</mark> when we’re safe.
- <mark>Get in!</mark>
- <mark>Hold on!</mark>
- Alex: Loads of <mark>imperatives</mark>. Loads of instructions, you know, commands. Do this, do that, hold on, get in.
- Claire: What the hell is going on?
- Leon: I don’t know. Hopefully they’ll have some answers at the police station.
- Claire: Wait, you’re a cop?
- Leon: Yeah. Leon Kennedy. You are?
- Claire: Claire. Claire Redfield.
- Leon: <mark>Live around here?</mark>
- Claire: No. <mark>Looking for my brother.</mark> He’s a cop, too.
- Leon: Well, it’s a good thing we <mark>found each other</mark>.
Into Raccoon City
- Radio: Attention all citizens. Due to the citywide <mark>outbreak</mark>, you are advised to <mark>take shelter</mark> at the Raccoon City Police Station. Free food and medical supplies will be provided to everyone in need.
- Looks like we’re walking from here.
- More like running.
- Yeah, <mark>good call</mark>.
- This is <mark>out of control</mark>.
- They’ve all <mark>turned</mark>.
- Alex: The graphics are amazing, <mark>aren’t they</mark>?
My recap: sounds and ellipsis
- Alex: Off the top of my head, I remember… “Get down,” right? Get down. For example, “get in”.
- Alex: But in the UK, you will usually say “get in”, right? Pronouncing that <mark>T sound</mark>.
- Alex: Another interesting thing we came across was that Leon and Claire <mark>omit</mark> some information when asking questions.
- Alex: For example, Leon says at one point, “Live around here?” And what he meant was “<mark>Do you</mark> live around here?”
- Alex: And then Claire said, “No, I’m looking for my brother.” So, we call this <mark>ellipsis</mark>: omitting information in English because it’s usually understood from the context of the conversation.
- Alex: In the US you would usually say “brother” with the R. But in the UK, “brother”, without pronouncing the final R.
- Alex: There’s loads more where this came from, and much more to come in part two!
Short excerpts are quoted for teaching purposes; all rights belong to their owners.
Watch the whole live stream on YouTube: Learn British & American English LIVE with Resident Evil 2 Remake, part 1.
💡 Grammar box: ellipsis in questions
In fast spoken English we often drop the auxiliary and the subject when the meaning is clear. In the game Leon asks “Live around here?” = “Do you live around here?” and Claire answers “Looking for my brother.” = “I’m looking for my brother.” Some more examples of my own: “Want a coffee?” (Do you want…), “Seen my keys?” (Have you seen…), “Sounds good!” (That sounds…). Use it with friends, not in an essay!
🃏 Words from this episode
- gotta / have got to: must. Americans often say “gotta”, British people more often say “’ve got to”.
- leg it: to run away fast
- crack on: to start or continue doing something, without wasting time
- stagger: to walk with difficulty, as if you are going to fall
- have a buzz on: to feel a little drunk
- rot: to decay slowly, like old food or a dead body
- corpse: a dead body
- give in to: to stop fighting a feeling and let it control you
- freeze up: to suddenly be unable to move or act because you’re scared
- I got this: I can handle this, don’t worry. British people often say “I’ve got this”.
- Live around here?: short for “Do you live around here?” We drop words the listener can guess.
- take shelter: to go to a safe place for protection
- good call: a good decision
- out of control: impossible to manage or stop
🔗 Exercise 1: Match the word to its meaning
- stagger
- corpse
- give in to
- freeze up
- take shelter
- crack on
✍️ Exercise 2: Fill the gap
- “She was ___, you know, so I figured she was drunk.”
- “Oh, man. I barely had a ___ on.”
- “It looked like it was ___.”
- “She looked like a ___. Like a walking corpse, man.”
- “Don’t ___ in to fear out there, right?”
- “If you ___ up around these things…”
- “You are advised to take ___ at the Raccoon City Police Station.”
- “This is out of ___.”
🔽 Exercise 3: Pick the right word: imperatives
- “Don’t shoot! Get ___!”
- “Get ___!” (into the car)
- “Hold ___!”
- “Stay ___, sir. I got this.”
- “Let’s ___ it before these guys get up again.”
🧠 Exercise 4: Quick quiz
- Leon asks “Live around here?”. What’s the full question?
- “We gotta get out of here” is typical of…
- “If you freeze up around these things, they’ll sink their teeth in…” This is a…
- “Let’s crack on with the game” means…
- How do many British speakers say “brother”?
- “More like running.” “Yeah, good call.” Good call means…
Team UK or team US? Which version do you prefer: “We gotta get out of here” or “Let’s leg it”? Tell me in the comments on YouTube, and stay safe and mind the zombies! 🧟
Alex