BOX SET: English vocabulary mega-class! 😍 Learn 8 English 'expressions with 'on' in 20 minutes!

Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.

I'm Feifei ... ...and I'm Neil.

I hear we have a new recruit joining

our team today.

Yes, we have. It's good to

have someone new in the team.

Yes, soon he'll be able to do all

those mundane tasks I usually have to do.

I hope you don't mean

presenting this programme?!

Of course not!

Anyway, before he does

anything we need to do some onboarding.

You mean like getting on board a ship?

Sort of.

Onboarding - in business terms - is

about a new employee

familiarising themselves

with the business and

ensuring they have the right skills and

knowledge to do their job.

So, we need to make our new recruit

feel at home.

I can do that - but let's

have some other examples of onboarding first.

We're onboarding some

new recruits today, so please make them welcome.

The onboarding process

includes learning this new

computer software program.

A familiarisation day is part of our onboarding

strategy for all new employees.

This is The English We Speak

from BBC Learning English,

and we're talking about

'onboarding', which is the

process of a new employee

getting used to the job at the business.

Neil, how are you going to help

with the onboarding?

I can show him where the

canteen is, where the

biscuits are stored and

how the coffee machine works.

So, he can make you coffee!

I don't think that's how

onboarding is supposed to work.

It's more about learning how to do the job.

OK, I'll show him how to do all my boring tasks.

And then what will you do

afterwards - make the coffee?

Probably!

Do you want one now?

Yes, please.

Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.

I'm Feifei and joining me is Rob...

Hello!

Hey, Feifei.

Have you heard the news?

Gossip, you mean.

No, no - it's true!

We've been given the day off!

So, sorry, I'm not going to hang

around - I'm off to the beach.

Hold on!

Who says?

Neil. He said the boss told him that

we've all worked so hard we don't have to

work today!

Hmm.

It sounds like a wind-up

to me - a wind-up is another way

of saying 'a trick or joke'.

I'm sure Neil was joking!

April Fool, Feifei!

I was joking!

I wanted to trick you - to see

if you'd leave the office

and... take the day off.

Ha ha, very funny.

Well, actually, I have

got the day off today.

So the joke is on you, and it starts now.

Goodbye.

Feifei, where are you going?

Come back and explain what 'the joke is on you' means...

please!

...OK, Rob!

When 'the joke is on

someone', it means the person

who has tried to make you look silly has

ended up looking silly themselves.

The joke has backfired.

And now you look silly, Rob.

Point made, Feifei.

Here are some

more examples of this phrase in action...

Daisy laughed at my 'terrible' dress sense,

until she found out I was

wearing a designer dress -

I guess the joke's on her now!

Ha, you thought I'd never beat your

time for completing the marathon.

But I have, so the joke's on you!

I know you were trying to be funny

by saying I'd never pass my exam.

But now you're the only one who hasn't,

so the joke's on you, I'm afraid!

This is The English We Speak from

BBC Learning English and we're looking at

the phrase 'the joke is on someone,'

which means someone has tried

to make someone else look silly but

ended up looking silly themselves!

So this perfectly describes you, Rob - the

joke about taking a day off is 'on you'.

I was just having a laugh at

April Fool's Day.

But, hold on.

Where is everybody?

The office is empty.

Ha - not another one of your 'jokes'?

No, seriously - look, there's an email.

It says 'Due to a power failure the office

is out of action.

You can all take the day off.'

Ha, looks like we've all got a day off

after all - the jokes on you, Feifei!

Ah well, enjoy your free time.

Fancy going to the beach?

No, thanks.

Bye, Rob.

I was joking.

Bye.

Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.

I'm Feifei.

And I'm Rob.

Feifei, feeling hungry?

Rob, they smell amazing!

Almost there.

We're having a special treat today... waffles!

Rob is making waffles: those lovely,

crispy little cakes with raised squares on the surface.

Absolutely!

My favourite.

But what are we going to put on them?

Oh that's simple: strawberries and syrup.

What about you?

OK, I'm not so sure.

I mean, I used to

always love them with honey and bananas.

But they do taste amazing with melted chocolate.

Or... with cream.

You know, I recently tried one with

peanut butter: not a good experience.

I guess strawberries would be worth trying...

Or mango.

But only if the mangoes are fresh...

Rob?

Yes?

Can you stop waffling on?

Ah, very clever.

Perfect time to use that phrase!

I do need to stop waffling on, don't I?

Yes, please.

To 'waffle on' means

to talk and talk without saying anything

very useful or interesting.

I am sometimes guilty of that.

Let's hear a few more examples.

I think I did really badly in the interview.

I wasn't sure how to answer the

questions, so I just waffled on.

Meetings with Frank are frustrating.

He always waffles on about unimportant things.

Someone needs to have a word with him.

I used to find her blog really interesting

and inspiring, but these days

she just waffles on about her pet tortoise.

There we are.

To waffle on.

At least we don't waffle on in this programme,

do we Rob?

Well, I must admit that sometimes

people have said I do talk rather a lot,

especially when it's about travel or

languages... which reminds me I really

should book my next holiday...

I've been considering Croatia, though I...

Rob?

Ah. Am I waffling on?

I'm afraid so.

Ooh, it's waffle time!

Great. Hopefully these tasty

waffles will keep you quiet for a while.

Are you saying the waffles will

stop me waffling on?

Yup! Now, enough talk...

Oh, these waffles are delicious.

Not bad, eh?!

Bye.

Bye.

Hello and welcome to The English We Speak with me, Feifei…

…and hello, I am Neil.

Neil, was that a brand-new bike I saw you arrive on today?

It was – thank you for noticing.

It’s a racing bike with 21 gears and ‘go faster’ stripes on it.

Nice – but didn’t you buy a new mountain bike last week?

I did, to go with the spare one I bought last month.

I love bikes!

Neil, if you don’t mind me saying – you need to put the brakes on your spending.

Err, you want me to slow down?

You think I’ll got too fast?

Not exactly.

I’m talking about slowing down how much money you’re spending.

The expression ‘put the brakes on’ or ‘to put a brake

on’ something means to stop or slow down an activity.

So, Neil, would you like to hear some other people putting their brakes

on something?

Will it cost me anything?

No. They’re free!

We’ve put the brakes on our plans to expand the

business – there’s not enough demand anymore.

Let’s put the brakes on our holiday plans –

we haven’t got enough money at the moment.

The company’s putting the brakes on recruitment because of the economic downturn.

This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning English.

We’re learning about the phrase ‘put the brakes on’ something,

which means to slow down or stop an activity.

And Neil, I think you’re buying too many bikes,

so you need to put the brakes on your spending.

Good advice, Feifei!

You know what?

I’m going to sell them – what do I need three bikes for?

Finally, Neil has listened to me.

He’s going to sell his bikes!

That’s right.

I’m going to put the brakes on cycling and start a new hobby…

I’m going to get an e-scooter – much quicker!

More spending!

I’m going to put a brake on giving you advice – you never listen.

Sorry, what did you say?

Bye, Neil!

Hello and welcome to The English We Speak

with me, Feifei…

..and me, Roy.

In this programme, we have an

expression which describes when someone has read the message

you’ve sent them, but hasn’t replied.

That reminds me, Roy - did you get my message yesterday?

Oh… yes, I did.

I read it and then

totally forgot to answer you.

Was it something important?

I can’t believe it!

You completely ignored my message.

I got left on read!

What’s the colour ‘red’ got to do with

the fact I forgot to reply?

Red is actually my favourite colour.

Not red the colour, but ‘read’ as in the

past of ‘read’.

Ahhh, got you.

Sorry, I didn’t mean to leave you on read.

It’s just I was in the middle

of something … and then I got distracted, and then…

OK. Roy. I understand!

What was so important that you couldn’t reply?

I was eating a really nice banana, and

then I just forgot… sorry.

That’s a terrible excuse – it’s

a good thing we’re friends or I might think

you were ignoring me.

Anyway, let’s listen to these examples…

I can’t believe I was left on read.

I sent him a message and I can see he’s looked

at it, but he hasn’t replied!

My partner always leaves me on read.

They get really distracted and then don't message

me back.

You shouldn’t assume the worst if you get left on read.

If someone reads your message

and doesn’t reply, they might be really

busy and planning to respond later.

This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning

English and we’re talking about the expression

‘left on read’.

We use this when someone

has read a message, but hasn’t replied.

So, were you really eating a banana and that’s

why you left me on read?

Yeah, sorry.

Well, I was also playing video

games which might have been the main reason.

Haha – I knew it!

Well the next time I want

to offer you free tickets to the ‘Rob’s

Rolling Biscuit’ rock concert, hopefully

you’ll reply and not just leave me on read!

What!?! Free tickets?!

Let me read the message again!

Can I still have the tickets?

Sorry, it’s too late now.

I gave them to Neil.

He didn’t leave me on read.

Hello and welcome to The English We Speak with me, Feifei

and me, Roy.

We may sound a little different – that’s

because we are not able to record in our normal

studios during the coronavirus outbreak.

In this programme, we have a phrase that means

to keep talking about something - usually

in a boring or annoying way.

You kept talking about some band this morning.

What were you banging on about?

What do you mean ‘banging on’?

I wasn’t hitting anything this morning with a pan!

I was just talking about music with Neil.

Exactly! You were talking about it so much,

and I was trying to work.

‘Banging on about something’ isn’t literal,

and why would you mention a pan?!

It means you were talking about something to

a level that it became annoying.

Ahhh, the way in which you kept talking about

that film ‘Unicorns Eat Bananas in the Stars’!

You banged on about it so much last week that

people left the room.

That film is amazing.

Feifei, you kept giving people spoilers, and

nobody went to see the film in the end because

you kept banging on about everything that happened.

Well, that’s your opinion, Roy.

Anyway, let’s listen to these examples…

My friend keeps banging on about where he’s

going to go when he buys his new car.

It’s really frustrating.

That person on the bus was really annoying.

She kept banging on about how the prices had gone up.

Will you please stop banging on about my project!?

If you think you could do a better job,

you can do my work for me.

This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning

English and we’re talking about the expression

‘bang on about something’, which is used

to say that someone is talking about something

so much that it is annoying or irritating.

Sorry, Feifei.

I didn’t mean to say you

were banging on about that film.

Everyone did love your enthusiasm about it.

I’m sorry too, Roy.

I just wanted to know

more about the band you were talking about,

so I found it annoying that I didn’t understand.

Well, next I’ll tell you more about it.

That’s OK.

I think I’ve heard enough about

your taste in music for one lifetime,

but thanks anyway.

Bye, Roy.

Bye.

Hello and welcome to The English We Speak

with me, Feifei…

…and me, Roy.

In this programme, we have an expression to

describe when someone is very tired and has

used all their energy.

It can also be used

for things when they’re out of battery or fuel.

Speaking of which, Roy - you look exhausted!

Thanks, Feifei!

Do I look that bad?

I do feel tired though!

Roy, you look like you’re running on fumes.

You mean my car has run out of petrol?

I usually say my car is running on fumes when the fuel

needle shows empty, but somehow the

car keeps going!

Yes, the phrase ‘running on fumes’ does

relate to cars, but we also use it to talk about people!

You look like you have no energy,

so you’re running on fumes!

I suppose I am.

It must be all the hard work

I’m doing to help people learn English.

Hard work?!

I saw you sleeping at your desk

the other day!

Exactly! I was so tired and running on fumes

that I fell asleep!

Hmmm anyway, let’s listen to these examples…

He’s been working so hard at work recently,

he’s running on fumes.

I’m worried about him.

Towards the end of the match, the footballer

said she was running on fumes.

I was running on fumes yesterday.

I couldn’t concentrate in the meeting.

This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning English.

We’re talking about the expression

‘running on fumes’, which describes a

situation where you have no energy, but you

keep going.

So, why else are you so tired?

Well, I have a baby and he cries a lot.

I spend all night looking after him, so I have

no energy.

Ahhh, that makes sense.

Why didn’t you call

me to say you you’d be in work later?

Well my phone was running out of battery.

It was running on fumes.

Sounds like everything in your life is

running on fumes!

You, your car, your phone!

True, but I’m really impressed you compared

me with a car earlier.

If I were a car, I’d

probably be a really expensive sports car.

Roy, if you were a car, you probably wouldn’t

even have all four wheels.

Bye!

Bye.

Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.

I’m Feifei.

And I’m Neil.

Hey Neil, would you like to try

one of my homemade cookies?

Well, we shouldn't really eat while

we're presenting but… go on then…

I made them last night and I thought I'd try them out on you!

You've got a sweet tooth so

I know you can't resist!

OK then...

Mmmm.

Well, what do you think?

Well, they're… OK. Perhaps not the best I've ever had.

Oh, so you think my cooking isn't great?

Let's say it's something to chew on.

Right!

So you're saying my homemade cookies are chewy?

No, I'm not. In fact, they're… crunchy.

But when someone says they need to chew on something,

it's an informal way to say they

need to think about it before making a decision.

Well, Neil, I will chew on a response to your insult

about my cooking while we hear some examples…

Our extension plans are great

but we need to chew on

it before we give them the go-ahead.

Hmm, it's very expensive to fly

to Australia for a holiday.

Let's chew on it, shall we?

My boyfriend asked me to marry

him and I said I'd chew on it.

He didn't seem that pleased!

This is The English We Speak

and Neil has been using the expression 'to chew on something'

or 'something to chew on' which means to

'think about something before making a decision'.

And Neil, I've

made a decision about what to say to you!

Oh yes?

If you don't like my cooking,

I will not be inviting you to my dinner party tonight.

Oh Feifei!

Ah well, at least I'll avoid your cooking.

I’m not cooking.

We're getting a takeaway curry and lots of wine.

I suppose you could come…

if you pay for the take away?

Hmm that is something I don't

need to chew on.

The answer's 'no' –

I'll stay at home and…

bake my own cookies!

See ya.

Bye.