If you ever decide to move to an English-speaking country, you may be looking for an apartment or house to rent. Let's take a look today at some of the basic English terminology related to renting a place of your own! Note that in some countries like the UK, an apartment is often informally called a "flat."

Are you still looking for an apartment?

Caption 3, Side by Side: Beginners Looking for an apartment

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The first step in finding an apartment is to look for one! Sometimes people also say they are "apartment-hunting."

Hi, I'm calling about an apartment that I saw listed on craigslist?

Caption 33, Jessica and Liz: How Much and How Many

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How much does it cost? -A thousand a month.

Caption 36, Jessica and Liz How Much and How Many

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Looking on the internet is one of the best ways to find listings for rental apartments. Some people still use a website called craigslist, but in the United States, one of the most popular current websites is Zillow. Once you have found an available apartment that meets your requirements for size, price, and neighborhood etc., you can make an appointment to see the apartment.

Many employers don't check references at this stage of the application process.

Caption 4, Business Life: Curriculum Vitae

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The video above is about a job application, but when you find an apartment you like, you will then need to fill out an apartment application. In your application, you state things like job and landlord references. Sometimes potential landlords will ask your permission to run a credit check on you, which in some cases requires you to pay a fee. You may have to pay this fee whether you get the apartment or not, so be careful in these situations!

And how soon can you send us the contract to finalize the deal?

Caption 48, The Company: Difficulties with Coworkers and Contracts

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Once your rental application and credit check are approved, the next step is for you to sign a rental contract. This is often referred to as a "lease."

And if you're interested you can put down a deposit. How much money do you want for the deposit? 200 for the deposit and I'd like the first month's rent up front.

Captions 49-51, Jessica and Liz: How Much and How Many

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In most cases, you will be required to pay a rental deposit, either directly to the landlord, or into a shared escrow account. The amount is usually the equivalent of two or three months' rent.

Where are my keys?

Caption 50, Parts of Speech: Question Words

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Once you have signed the rental contract, it is standard for the landlord to give you the keys to the apartment.

I'm so excited to show her our new apartment.

Caption 3, The Apartment: Maggie's Visit

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Congratulations on getting your new place, at least in theory! A good English vocabulary will help you in your quest, but you'll need a little bit of luck too!

Further Learning
Go to Yabla English and watch the entire Looking for an Apartment video, then practice any new words that you've learned. Happy holidays from Yabla!

English speakers often use phrases taken from sports as metaphors in business and everyday situations. This can be a bit difficult to understand for those who speak English as a second language, and especially so when the expressions are taken from such particularly US American sports as baseball and American football. Let's take a look today at the way some sports expressions are used in other contexts. 

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I've been workin' on my game plan perfectly!

Caption 16, David Haye - Video Blog June 2011

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A "game plan" is a general sports term that is often applied to any kind of project, and thus means the plan for implementing a project.

But, yeah, we've been scoring surf...

Caption 42, Naish Kiteboarding TV - Meet Team Naish

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The verb "to score" is derived from scoring a goal in sports or scoring points in a game, but in slang usage also means "to get" something that isn't just taken for granted or to get a good deal, such as "I scored a new computer for 50 dollars!" 

Been here for eight years. Tips are good, call my own shots...

Caption 12, Drivers Wanted - Pizza Delivery - Part 4

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A person who "calls the shots" originates from the team captain in sports, but is used to mean a person who is in charge ("Who calls the shots around here?") or has control of a situation.

Applicants often use buzzwords such as "hard-working," "motivated" or "team player"

Caption 50, Business English - Curriculum Vitae - Part 2

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The term "team player" comes from team sports, but in a business sense it means somebody who works well with other people, not just independently.

Here are some other commonly used sports terms you may hear in non-sports contexts: 

— to fumble This term originates from American football, and means "to drop the ball", or in a figurative sense, "to make a mistake" or "to perform poorly."

—to hit a home run This is an American baseball term, and in non-sports contexts it means "be be successful."

—in the home stretch This is a horse racing term, where it means the horse is in the last part of the racecourse between the last turn and the finish line. In other contexts it means "nearly finished" or "in the last stages" of a project.

—to jockey into position Another horse racing term, otherwise meaning "to find one's place" or "to maneuver" or "to manipulate" as a means of gaining advantage.

—to pitch The verb "to pitch" originates from American baseball, but in a business sense it means "to make a proposal" or "to try to sell" something. The noun "pitch" is often used in the business sense as a "sales pitch", which is a business proposal.

—to play ball This general sports term means, in other contexts, "to participate" or "to follow the rules."

—to play with a full deck This card game term means that somebody is well-informed or well-prepared, whereas "not playing with a full deck" suggests that somebody is mentally unstable or not intelligent.

—second stringer This American football term refers to players who are not the best on the team and are the second choice in playing on the field, usually only appearing if a "first stringer" has been injured or if winning the game is already a foregone conclusion. In business parlance, it means that the person is not the first choice to fulfill a designated task.

—to strike out Much like the American football term "to fumble", this term is from American baseball and means the batter fails to hit the ball completely or fouls out. In a non-sports context, it means "to perform poorly" or "to fail" at an assigned task.

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Further Learning
Look online for the above terms used in non-sports contexts, and see if you can formulate some sentences using the terms in a similar fashion.