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In the United States, football means American football: the game with the oval ball, helmets and pads. It's the most-watched sport in the country, and fall weekends are built around it. If you live in the U.S., you'll be invited to watch at some point, and people will assume you know a little.
Here's the idea. One team has the ball and tries to move it down the field toward the other team's end zone. They get four tries, called downs, to move ten yards. If they make ten yards, they get four new downs. Carrying or catching the ball in the end zone is a touchdown, worth six points. Kicking it between the posts is a field goal, worth three.
Don't mix it up with soccer, which most of the world calls football. In a U.S. conversation, "Are you watching football?" is always about the helmets and the oval ball.
Phrases
the American game with an oval ball and helmets
one play; a team gets four to go ten yards
a unit of distance, a little less than a meter
reaching ten yards and getting four new downs
the area at each end where touchdowns are scored
the six-point score, made in the end zone
three points for kicking the ball between the posts
the player who throws the ball and leads the offense
bringing the ball carrier to the ground
the team with the ball, and the team without it
throw the ball forward to a teammate
drop the ball while carrying it
Say it out loud
Tap a sentence to hear it. Say it after the voice.
Practice · 3 min
Say one natural line for each situation.
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Say it today
Use it once in a real conversation before tomorrow. Out loud counts, even to yourself.