How To Describe Old Things In English

In this English lesson, I'm going to help you learn

how to describe old things in English.

I'll teach you 10 different ways

to describe something that's old.

This is my tractor.

It was built in the late 90s.

It's over 20 years old, which believe it or not,

is quite old for a tractor,

but it's an oldie, but a goodie.

What that means, if you say in English

that something is an oldie, but a goodie,

it's kind of an old-fashioned phrase, but I still use it.

It means that something is old,

but it's still really, really good.

This tractor starts.

This tractor runs really well.

This tractor is always ready to do some work

when I go to use it.

So it's an oldie, but a goodie.

So once again, in this English lesson,

I'll teach you a few more ways

to describe something in English that's a little bit old.

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So we've had this picnic table for a very long time.

In fact, I used to do livestream

sitting at this picnic table, but my back would get sore.

But this picnic table is old,

and an English phrase we might use to describe that

is to say, it's falling apart.

If you move this picnic table,

you have to be careful where you grab it,

because some of the boards are in place,

but some have come loose.

This picnic table is definitely falling apart.

It was actually on my list of jobs for the summer

to put some screws in it and to fix this,

but it's one of the jobs I didn't get to,

but this picnic table is definitely old,

and it's definitely falling apart.

Another phrase we sometimes use in English

to describe something that's old is the phrase, worn out.

If you look at this manure spreader behind me,

if you look at the tire here,

you'll see that it's tilted,

something underneath is bent,

something underneath is rusted.

This manure spreader is worn out.

It still works, but I don't want to put manure in it

and drive it because I feel like the tire will fall off.

This is definitely worn out.

I have used this manure spreader for many years,

and I think over time through use, it has become worn out.

So another way we describe something that's old

in English is to say, it's worn out.

Another phrase we use in English

to describe something that's old is to say,

it's starting to show its age.

The other day, I noticed that there is

a rust spot on my van

and the paint is starting to fall off down here.

This van is only about 10 or 11 years old,

but it's starting to show its age.

That's the English phrase I would definitely use

to describe something like this.

This van is kind of old.

It's not that old.

In my mind, it still seems quite new,

but it's definitely getting old.

It's definitely starting to show its age.

Another way to describe something that's old

and not usable anymore is to say, it's shot.

This chair is shot.

We've used this for many years,

but one day someone sat in it and this piece broke off,

this piece fell off and it's not repairable.

I would describe this chair by saying, it's shot.

In English, when you say something is shot,

it means it's old.

It means it's broken.

It means you can't fix it.

And it's no longer usable.

This chair is definitely shot.

Another funny phrase, I think,

to describe something that's old in English

is to say, it's as old as the hills.

I'm up here in my barn

because I wanted to show you this beam.

This barn was built almost 100 years ago.

So this beam is as old as the hills.

In English, when you say something is as old as the hills,

you're kind of saying that whatever you're talking about

is as old as the earth, as old as the hills

and valleys that we see around us.

So this beam is doing a really good job.

Even though it's as old as the hills,

it's still keeping the barn straight and level.

It's still doing what it's supposed to do,

even though it's as old as the hills.

So interestingly enough, I found this old TV

while I was up here in the haymow,

and it reminded me of a couple more words.

You could say this TV is obsolete.

You could say this TV is outdated.

Not a lot of people use TVs like that anymore.

Most people have big flat screen TVs,

and they hook them up to a satellite dish or to cable TV.

Not a lot of people use a TV

like this anymore with an antenna.

This one's definitely obsolete,

and it's a little bit outdated.

And it's also very, very dirty.

I guess it's been up here for quite a few years.

I think my brother used to have

a climbing wall in this haymow,

and his friends and him used to come and climb,

and then watch this little TV.

So anyways, now it's obsolete.

Now, it's outdated.

The phone I use is a Pixel 3.

It's a little bit old,

but it still does everything I want it to do.

But someone could describe this phone

as an old piece of crap.

Sometimes instead of crap, we use the S-H-I-T word,

but I don't want to say that word in an English lesson.

I think this is a good phone,

but it is getting a little bit old.

Someone who likes to buy a new phone every year

might say to me,

"Bob, your phone is an old piece of crap."

I wouldn't really appreciate that.

I like to take care of my phone

and use it as long as I possibly can,

but, you know, the more I think about it,

in about a year or two, I'll probably replace it,

but I would never call it an old piece of crap.

This phone has been very good to me.

I've really enjoyed it.

Another phrase we sometimes use in English

to describe something that's old is wear and tear.

This hay elevator has a lot of wear and tear.

We have used this hay elevator every year

to send hay bales up into our haymow for storage.

As we use it, though, the pieces wear on each other.

We oil it so that there's not as much wear and tear,

but as you use something like this,

as it turns and as the chain moves and as the gear turns,

there's a certain amount of wear and tear.

So another way to describe something

that's old in English

is to say it has a lot of wear and tear.

My trailer has a lot of rust on it.

In fact, if I do this, I can even pull some of the rust off.

This trailer is a bit of a rust bucket.

When we say something is a rust bucket in English,

we mean that it's old.

And we definitely mean that it's rusting.

You can see here, there's a lot of rust.

We could say, it's rusting out.

We could say, Bob's trailer is a rust bucket.

It's been a good trailer, but it's so rusty,

I'm not sure how to fix it.

I'm gonna make an attempt this winter to fix it,

but I think it's actually rusted through.

It might not be a very easy job to fix this trailer

because it's such a rust bucket.

Well, thank you so much for watching this English lesson

about how to describe things that are old in English.

Remember, if this is your first time here,

don't forget to click that subscribe button there,

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helped you learn a bit more English.

And if you're interested in other English lessons

about how to describe people

who are good at something or bad at something,

you can watch these English lessons right here.

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