Improve Your ENGLISH FLUENCY with BINOMIALS

I'm Rebecca from engVid.

In this lesson, I'm going to show you how to get a higher score on the speaking and

writing section of your IELTS or TOEFL or PT or any other exam, English exam that you

might be taking, and also just a way to speak more fluently in general, okay?

And that is by using something called binomials.

Now, what are binomials?

Binomials are two-word expressions that are joined by a conjunction.

A conjunction is a word like "and", "or", "by", and so on, okay?

Now, what are the characteristics of these binomials?

So, as I said, they're two words, they're joined by a conjunction.

Usually, they are the same category of words, so we may have a noun-noun, verb-verb, adjective-adjective,

adverb-adverb, okay?

And they have to follow a certain order.

You cannot really change the order because people are used to hearing them in a certain

way.

So, now, let's look at lots of examples, then after that, I'm going to show you exactly

how to use them in an IELTS exam.

In the speaking section, we're going to take eight different topics, we're going to show

you how you can get a higher score just by using these expressions, and then we'll look

at a piece of writing and see how that is enriched by using these simple expressions,

okay?

Here we go.

So, first of all, what you see here is that binomials are of different kinds, okay?

These are just some of them.

If you look them up on the internet, you'll see lists of lots and lots of binomials, okay?

But the categories are something like this.

There are binomials, which are synonyms.

What does that mean?

It means both words mean basically the same thing, okay?

So, if they mean the same thing, you're asking me, "So, why do we need to repeat the word?"

Well, because this is the beauty and the music of the language, okay, of the English language,

and sometimes we use these kind of pretty expressions just to make things more interesting,

more lively, more dramatic, more fluent, okay, and more expressive.

So, they could be synonyms where the two words mean the same thing, they could be antonyms

where the two words are opposites, they could be where one word is repeated after another word

for emphasis, or it could be some kind of advice, okay?

So, let's look at some of these examples.

Synonyms, pick and choose.

So, here we see two verbs, right?

I love to go to the library where I can pick and choose any book I want, okay?

Or, peace and quiet, two nouns.

I love to take a walk in the park because of the peace and quiet.

Or, bright and early, we're going to see.

Here, these are two what?

Two adjectives.

We're going to see in our next section how we can use this expression, bright and early,

in one of your IELTS speaking questions, okay?

Very possible for you to use it.

Next, first and foremost.

So, first and foremost is a very kind of educated and cultured expression.

It's also used in a lot of business situations.

So, instead of just saying, "First, I want to tell you about this."

We say, "First and foremost", it's like first and most important, okay?

I want to say whatever.

So, if you were to use this expression when you're speaking, when you're writing, it's

an excellent way to begin any particular explanation or topic, okay?

In any part of your IELTS exam or TOEFL.

Okay, neat and tidy.

What does that mean?

Everything is clean and everything is in its place.

Everything is neat and tidy.

Again, these words are synonyms, but I like things to be neat and tidy in my home, not

just I like things to be clean in my home, okay?

It's more poetic when we use these expressions.

Safe and sound.

So, you might be wondering why those are synonyms.

They are because there is a meaning to the word sound which means the same as pretty

much safe.

So, safe and sound basically means that everybody was completely safe.

They returned, there was some problem, but they returned home safe and sound.

Everything was fine, okay?

So, those were synonyms, some examples, okay?

As I said, there are so many more.

Next, let's look at some antonyms where there are opposites.

Here and there.

What did you - what do you usually do on the weekends?

This is a common IELTS speaking question.

Well, we go here and there, sometimes we go to the mall, sometimes we go to the park,

sometimes we go to the library, okay?

Off and on, okay?

For example, how often do you see your old friends?

Well, we meet off and on, but nowadays, we're all busy with our own lives, okay?

Pros and cons.

What does that mean?

The positives and the negatives.

The advantages and disadvantages, alright?

And you can't actually use these two words by themselves at all.

You can't really say the cons are this or the pros are this.

Not so much.

We usually use this as an expression, okay?

Well, if I - the internet has its pros and cons, okay?

Next, up and down.

How's business?

Oh, up and down, okay?

Sometimes it's good, sometimes not so good, alright?

This and that, okay?

What have you been doing all weekend?

Oh, nothing special.

This and that.

This and that means nothing special.

A little of this, a little of that, nothing specific, okay?

So, here we see how some of these antonyms are used.

Let's - here they were all connected with the conjunction "and", and here we'll see

some examples with "or".

You've probably heard some of these.

I'm sure you've heard, because these are very common, everyday expressions.

If you watch TV, you'll definitely hear them being used on TV shows, and in movies, and

so on, okay?

Sooner or later, that means one day, okay?

So, you could say, for example, "Sooner or later, I will know English very well."

Sooner or later, I will speak English well.

Sooner or later, I will write very well in English, alright?

So, that's how you could use that.

More or less, okay?

How's his French?

We won't talk about English.

More or less, not too bad, okay?

It's coming along, alright?

Rain or shine.

Rain or shine is a very kind of cute expression, which means at any time.

It doesn't matter what the weather is, okay?

It doesn't matter if it's raining or if the sun is shining, something is happening.

Rain or shine, okay?

For example, in most places, you get your mail, doesn't matter what the weather is,

right?

The postman comes, he brings you mail or she brings you mail.

Rain or shine.

Next, win or lose, okay?

You should play the game, win or lose, doesn't matter, okay?

Most people, it does matter, but anyway.

Okay, let's look at...

I'll come back to this one.

There's also some pieces of life advice that exist.

For example, live and learn.

That's a lovely expression.

That just means that, let's say somebody has something happen in their life and they were

sorry they did that, and you say, "No, it's okay.

Live and learn."

That means as we live, we learn, and hopefully we improve and we get better at living life,

okay?

And we don't make as many mistakes.

The other one, forgive and forget, okay?

If you're discussing relationships, if they ask you to talk about relationships in one

of your exams about family relationships or couples and things like that, you can say

in a relationship, it's very important to forgive and forget.

To forgive someone and to forget about the bad things that happen, okay?

A number of binomials also repeat.

For example, day by day, your English is improving.

Step by step, little by little.

Here's another one which means something else, very interesting one.

Hustle and bustle, okay?

So, if you're talking about urban life, city life, right?

You can talk about the hustle and bustle.

That means how people are rushing around everywhere, and it's crowded, and it's busy, and you like

it.

Some people like that, okay?

The hustle and bustle of city life, okay?

So, here are just a few binomials.

Again, I encourage you to look up and find others, but learn some of these.

Write down the ones that you like.

And now, let's look at how some of these can be incorporated into IELTS responses.

So now, let's look at some typical topics that you're asked about on various English

exams.

I'm going to take the IELTS as an example, okay?

And on the IELTS, you could be asked this in part one, part two, part three of the speaking,

okay?

Part one with the general questions, part two with the specific two-minute speech monologue

that you have to give, and part three where you're asked more sophisticated questions,

okay?

We're asked to elaborate and describe things more, okay?

All right.

So, here are some of the type of topics that you might be asked about.

For example, you might be asked to describe your everyday routine.

So, you could say just, "I wake up at 6 o'clock", okay?

Or, what if you added a binomial expression there and you said, "I wake up bright and

early at 6 o'clock"?

So, who do you think would get more marks, right, a higher score?

Someone who just said, "I wake up at 6" or "I wake up bright and early at 6"?

Obviously, the one who's using the idiomatic expression, the binomial, bright and early,

okay?

So, that's what we're going to do with each of these.

We're going to read the ordinary words, okay?

Not that these are wrong, it's just that these are not going to get you the highest scores,

and your goal is to always get the highest scores.

All right.

So, suppose they ask you about your home and your routine around your home.

So, you could say, "I like to keep my apartment clean."

You could say that.

Or, "I keep my apartment neat and tidy."

Right?

Remember we used that expression before?

Neat and tidy.

Good.

Suppose they ask you about the importance of exercise, and you say, "In your life."

The importance of exercise in your life.

And you say, "I exercise every day, no matter what the weather."

So, what was the binomial expression that we had learned that you could use here?

You could say, "I exercise every day, rain or shine."

Okay?

So again, that expression is going to get you the higher grades.

Okay.

Number four.

Suppose they ask you to talk about urban living or urban life.

That means living in a city.

So, you could say, "I enjoy the busy life of the city."

Or, remember the expression we had talked about?

"I enjoy the hustle and bustle."

Of city life, of urban life.

Okay?

Again, if you upgrade...

Everywhere you can upgrade something, and if you do it, you'll get a higher score.

So, even here, even though it's not a binomial, instead of saying "city", if you said "urban

living", "urban life", then "urban" is a more advanced word than "city".

Okay?

So, that's another way to upgrade your score.

Next, suppose they ask you to speak about technology, which is such a common topic.

All right?

So, you could say...

Or they ask you to speak about the cell phone, specifically.

You could say, "I think the cell phone has its good and bad points."

Now, that's not incorrect English, but it's much better ways to express that idea.

So, you could say, "In my opinion, the cell phone has its pros and cons."

Okay?

So, instead of good and bad points, you're saying pros and cons.

All right?

Next, another very common topic, health.

So, suppose you wanted to express the idea that the most important thing is to follow

a healthy diet.

So, instead of saying "the most important thing", "thing" is a very weak word, okay?

You want to try to improve it, so you could simply say, "First and foremost", right?

Remember that?

"First and foremost, you should follow a healthy diet."

Okay?

If you're writing this, remember, after that expression, "First and foremost, you should

follow a healthy diet."

Okay?

Suppose they ask you about your holidays, and you could say, "I enjoy going on holiday

to relax."

Okay?

So, there is an expression we can use.

Instead of just saying "relax", there is an expression called "relax", "rest and relaxation".

Okay?

"I enjoy going on holidays for some - r and r - for some rest and relaxation."

Okay?

If you're saying it, you could say "r and r", if you can say that very clearly.

If you can't pronounce it very clearly, then don't use that short form.

Just say "for rest and relaxation".

Okay?

Again, that was one of those binomials where we're using synonyms, because "rest" and

"relaxation" are pretty close in meaning.

And suppose they ask you to talk about your friends.

"Do you meet your old friends?

How often do you meet them?"

And you could say, "We meet about one time in a month."

That's actually not even good English.

Okay?

But instead of that, you could say, "Well, we meet once a month, more or less."

Okay?

Again, "more or less", using those antonym binomials.

Okay?

So, the point is to get to know these binomials.

Try to start using them in your - when you're practicing speaking, when you're practicing

writing, okay?

They're not hard words by themselves, they're quite easy to understand.

The trick is just to learn what they are, remember the order, and start using them.

Now, let's see how we can integrate them in writing.

Okay, so let's read.

I wrote a little something for you, okay?

About our engVid.

So, first and foremost, I'd like to welcome you to our website, engVid.

Here, you can pick and choose from thousands of English lessons.

By watching regularly, you'll improve your English day by day and step by step.

Then, slowly but surely, you'll optimize your communication skills.

Okay?

So, that was just a little fun thing that I wrote to show you how you can use binomial

expressions while speaking, while writing, and so on, okay?

So, of course, if you're preparing for an English exam, like the IELTS, or the TOEFL,

or the PTE, or anything else, use these expressions.

They will help you to get a better score, alright?

And also, just use them in regular conversation, and even in your emails, and so on, okay?

Now, the next thing you can do is visit our website at www.engvid.com.

There, you can do a quiz on some of these expressions that we've - that I've introduced

to you here.

And also, don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more really targeted lessons

on how to do better and get a higher score on your English exams, alright?

Because I know how very important those exams are, and how hard you work to score high on

those exams.

And don't forget to ring the bell when you subscribe, because that way, you will be notified

whenever I have a new lesson, okay?

Thanks very much for watching, and all the best with your English.

Bye for now.