Learning English

Mary and Macbeth both felt very guilty in this episode of Shakespeare Speaks. Hopefully you haven't put pepper in anyone's pies - or murdered a King - but it is normal to feel guilty from time to time. So, we're going to look at some useful phrases relating to guilt.

To do

The phrases below contain the word guilt or guilty, but they have different meanings.

Look at the image and examples below and pay attention to the phrases in bold. Can you work out what they mean? Try the quiz to find out if you are correct.

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1) Ok - I admit it, I'm listening to One Direction. Listening to boy bands is my guilty pleasure!

2) That’s the second time this month you’ve bought me flowers. Have you got a guilty conscience?!

3) I’ve made a guilt-free chocolate cake! It’s got no fat in it - and no taste either unfortunately.

4) Dad, stop trying to guilt-trip me into visiting more often, I just don’t have the time at the moment!

Well done if you worked out the meaning of all the expressions with guilt. We hope it's been a pleasure learning with us - not a guilty pleasure of course!

Over to you

We asked you to either...

• Tell us about something you did that you felt guilty about afterwards. Did you find it easy to say what's done is done and move on - or do you still feel bad about it today? 

Or, if you haven't made any mistakes and don't have a guilty conscience...

• Tell us about one of your guilty pleasures. Are you a secret chocoholic? Do you love reality TV? Tell us everything! We won't tell anyone - except for your fellow learners! 

Here are some of your stories...

Rashad, Egypt

First I'm very grateful for your marvelous lessons, I've discovered that addition to your learning effect, you have a sanative effect too; I was having  a guilty conscience because the other day I was having an exam and there was question I don't know, I decided to leave this question without answering but I found a book by me and I couldn't resist this dishonest chance so I took the answer from the book.

I felt very guilty after the exam and I didn't know what to do and you are very sympathy by suggesting that what's done is done but that isn't enough so I decided to tell my professor about that.

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Nelly

I have a two and a half years old toddler, and every time I put him in time out I felt guilty afterwards. I get a guilty conscience cause I thing I have being very strict to him.

I often follow advices from positive discipline books to make sure I keep my guilty conscience clean. Once he made me so upset that I get blushed and shouted at him “YOU ARE IN A BUG TIME OUT YOUNG MAN!!”. After that I have to repeat to myself… What is done is done!!

On the other hand my guilt pleasure is buying books. I have got so many hard cover books, ibooks, kindle books that I cannot count them!!!.

I need to stop but it is just my pleasure to get into a subject and buy all the books I can find about it.

I have to confess that I have read just a quarter of my entire library and I always made a promise to read them all before buying a new one, but I keep breaking the promise!!!

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Huey, Malaysia

Watching youtubers is my guilty pleasure. I like watching youtubers because they are so funny and I've got so much inspiration from them. I once told my friends about that and they all showed a face like "You're weird!". Then I decided not to tell anyone about it. They all are very into K-pop but me. So sometimes it's hard for me to join in their conversation. That's my little secret. Thank you, BBC. 

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Ia 

Nothing   is  a coincidence, you  know.    I   came   across  this topic ‘’What’s done is done” yesterday. It  reminded  me of  my  past . At  that moment , I  realized  that I  had  to use  this phrase  a long  time  ago.

   Imagine ! I am a student ….my desk is  full  of  historical  books and copies  and  just  the same is  the floor( in my study),however, everything  is  in  particular order  and  not  higgledy-piggledy . I  am  so  keen  on  writing and crazy  about  getting  some  new specific  information for my  topic  I  have  been working on  for so long. The more , the better. But  you can  see  that there was ‘’a method in my madness’’  because  just  this  way  I was  able  to  find  information straight  away.

And   what  happened  next?  My  topic  was  the  winner of  the  research  student  conference. How  wonderful !  Put yourself  in  my  place ….Times change  and  we  with time “ .  So did  I.  I  was  satisfied   because  I  had  already  known  what  I  was  good  at – writing (as they said to me ) .So  that  it  seemed  that  I  stuck  to  that  topic  forever, instead  of  moving  on  to another  puzzle  and  not  to  be  so bored . My  boredom  kept  me  away  from  success –I  have  always  wanted  to be a  researcher, to  dig  deep  into a subject  that  interests  me . But now ,  I  know that  what  is  done  is  done . Have  you  done  it ?  It  doesn’t  mean  you  have to stick to it .You  should  do all  your best  and  try  something new  which  gives  you  the possibility  to  be  successful  in  life.  If   I  had  known William  Shakespear’s   this  phrase  then, it  would  have  been  so useful  and  valuable for me . But  wait !  just  the same  is  it  now- so,  not  to  worry  about  the past ! Just  look  forward  and  move  on – what’s done is done !

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Mono

Several years ago when I was studying in a college, I liked to tickle one cute girl. And on forth years of studying (it was last year of studying) she said me that if I would trickle her again time, she wouldn't never speak with me. I didn't believe her, and on the next day I tickled her. You won't believe, she keeped own promise, although till this moment she wasn't observed in such tendencies. After that I tried one time to speak with her. And even I asked her to excuse me, but she didn't answer to me. I thought: "what's done is done". She wasn't my girlfriend, but she was liked by me. It's my guilty conscience. In last half year of studying in college I was on practice, and haven't been seeing her.
I understand that crying over spilt milk, it's not better for me, but I don't may let bygones be bygones. I don't know why, but  sometimes I've been remembering about it. 

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Gaetano 

My friends don't like each other that much. They often try to get rid of the opponent when they fall in love with someone. However, when they play football in the same team, they become efficient strange bedfellows.

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Maria, Brazil

I have my guilty-pleasure and that's admiring and being a big fan of Cristiano Ronaldo. 

Yesterday I was watching the documentary 'Chef's Table' and I came across two Shakespearean phrases: 'the be all and end' all and 'the world is my oyster'. That was really cool.

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Francisco

Hello, it's a pleasure to have an opportunity to communicate with you while learning English. Well, my guilty pleasure is the English language. Maybe you think I'm dumb because learning English could never be crazy. On the one hand I have to say that I'm studying English without needing it, it's only for pleasure. On the other hand, I liked this language so much that I'm practising it even when I'm in the bathroom. Besides, when I'm walking on the street I'm listening podcast in English and if someone asks me what I'm listening I usually tell them I'm listening music in order not to seem obsessed with it.

End of session

That’s all for now. Make sure you don't have a guilty conscience about not studying enough - come back to these pages soon to find out more about William Shakespeare's life and work - and to learn a useful new English expression. In the meantime, go to our Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram pages for more fun with English!