Premier Vocabulary is a mini-podcast for you to learn football English one word at a time. We have three different levels for you: easy, medium and hard.

This episode is easy so we’re looking at common football words and phrases. Things you use and need to know to play the game.

Summary

Learn more football vocabulary with Premier Skills English. Each lesson in our Premier Vocabulary section looks at one football word or phrase. This lesson looks at the word foul.

You can find more lessons on the side of this page.

Transcript

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich and welcome to Premier Skills English - Premier Vocabulary.

Jack: Hi there! I’m Jack. We’re here to help you with your football English. Premier Vocabulary is a mini-podcast for you to learn football English one word at a time.

Rich: We have three different levels for you: easy, medium and hard.

Jack: This episode is easy so we’re looking at common football words and phrases. Things you use and need to know to play the game.

...

Rich: The word we are looking at in this episode is foul.

Jack: A foul is when a player stops an opponent illegally.

Rich: Illegally?

Jack: The player breaks the rules of the game. Maybe a player pushes an opponent or kicks an opponent. This is against the rules of the game and a foul will be given by the referee.

Rich: A foul will be given by the referee. A foul is a noun but it can also be a verb. Listen:

Jack: Referee! That was a foul. Referee! He fouled him.

Rich: Here you can hear the noun and the verb being used.

...

Jack: Let’s have a look at some of the words that we often hear with the word foul.

Rich: The strongest collocation is probably to commit a foul. A player doesn’t do or make a foul. A player commits a foul.

Jack: The player committed a bad foul and was given a red card.
Rich: What about a professional foul? We hear that phrase quite a lot.

Jack: Yes, a professional foul is when a player fouls an opponent to stop a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Rich: If a professional foul happens outside of the penalty area, the referee will give the player a red card.

...

Jack: OK, so the word foul can be a verb or a noun, players commit fouls and professional fouls are quite common. Anything else?

Rich: You might do a foul throw. That’s when a player doesn’t throw the ball back on the pitch correctly - the player needs to have both feet on the ground for example.

Jack: OK, a foul throw. Oh, the word foul can also be an adjective. Players get sent off for foul or abusive language sometimes.

Rich: That’s not very nice is it but yes, foul language. Here foul means very rude - not polite. I don’t ever use foul language.

Jack: I don’t believe you! The other day when Manchester United scored you said ...

Final whistle

Rich: There is the final whistle!

Jack: We’ll be back soon with more Premier Vocabulary from Premier Skills English.

Rich: Bye for now and enjoy your football.

Discuss

What is the worst type of foul?