Say MORE with LESS: 2-Word Expressions in English

Hi.

I'm Rebecca from engVid.

In the next few minutes you're going to learn 10 common expressions that you will hear native

English speakers using at home, at school, at work, and in all kinds of social situations.

These are actually very easy because they only have two words.

Okay?

Now, that means that you will not only be able to understand people when they use them,

but that you, while watching this video, your goal should be to learn them and start using

them yourself because they're really quite easy and they're very common.

Okay?

So, let's get started.

Now, before we begin, let me just tell you that there are only five of them here.

I'm going to show you five more in a few minutes.

And these are not the meanings.

This is for a little bit later-okay?-when we're going to do a little quiz.

So, just stay with me and listen to what I'm saying, and then you can follow.

Now, some of these are compliments, some are offers, some are replies to what other people

say, some are suggestions, some are warnings, and some are just comments on something that's happening.

And just to remind you: What's a compliment?

A compliment is when we say something nice to somebody.

Okay?

All right, so let's get started.

So the first one is: "Well done!"

When do we say to somebody: "Well done"?

We say: "Well done" when somebody does something really well, when we want to praise them.

So it's a compliment. Right?

We say: "Hey. Good job. Great work. Nice going."

Things like that, all of these expressions mean: "Hey, you did a great job."

So you could use it to tell your son or your daughter:

"Hey, you did a good job on the exam, so, well done."

Or you could say it to a colleague who did a successful presentation.

You could just say to him or her: "Well done."

Okay?

So, that's the first one, when we're complimenting somebody or praising somebody on something

they did well and successfully.

Okay.

The next one, it's kind of close, it's: "Well said!"

So, here, we are also complimenting someone, but this time we're complimenting them or

praising them on something that they said.

So we say: "Hey, you said that very well."

Maybe it was just one comment, maybe it was a toast to somebody, maybe it was an entire

speech, but what you're saying is: "I really like what you said, you said it very well and I agree with it."

Okay?

So when we say: "Well said", it means you did a really good job in what you said.

Next: "My pleasure."

Okay?

When do we say to somebody: "My pleasure"?

Well, it's just like: "You're welcome", but it's a little more formal, it's a little more polite.

It shows that I really enjoyed helping you. Okay?

So, if somebody says: "Thank you", you can simply say to them: "My pleasure."

Okay?

And it's very elegant, it's very refined, it's very educated, and you will sound that way. Okay?

Next.

The next one is: "Allow me."

So, when do we say: "Allow me"? Okay?

So imagine this situation: Two people are approaching a doorway, and both of them are

about to reach out to open the door, and then one person says to the other person:

"Allow me."

That means: "Allow me to open the door" in this situation.

Okay?

It means: "Let me do this for you. Let me do this."

Not always, but sometimes men do this for women, but women can do it for men or women

can do it for other women, and men could do it for other men.

It's just saying: "Let me help you. Let me open the door",

let me do something that's a little bit awkward.

Okay?

That's a little bit difficult, maybe, for the other person.

Okay, so: "Allow me."

It's a nice gesture.

It's just a suggestion, it's an offer to help. Okay.

The last one here is: "Help yourself."

So, when do we say to somebody: "Help yourself"?

Well, usually we say it most often probably when there's a lot of food and drinks on the

table, and we say to somebody: "Hey, come on in. Help yourself."

So what we're telling them is that nobody is going to serve you, you should please go

around and help yourself, have as much as you like of the food, of the drink, of the

desserts, or whatever.

It doesn't have to be only food.

It's often that.

It could be other things, it could be materials.

Maybe you went to a seminar and there's a lot of information on the table, and they

just say: "We're not going to hand it to you, but you can help yourself."

That means: "You can take whatever you wish."

All right?

So, do you have the basic idea of those five?

All right?

Let's check if you did.

And now let's try to match up some of these with the expressions. Okay?

You help me to choose.

So, the first one is when you're...

When you want to say to somebody: "Let me open the door for you."

Okay?

So, which of these five expressions would you use if you want to express that idea?

What do you say?

You would say

number four, here: "Allow me."

Okay?

So, you'd say to somebody: "Allow me", and then you open the door.

Could be the car door, or a regular door, or anything.

Okay?

Next one, the idea you want to convey to somebody is: "Please eat as much as you like."

So, what would you say to them to give that idea?

You would say, which one?

Okay, yes, it is number five.

Okay?

"Help yourself." Okay? Remember? "Help yourself."

At a buffet or a party where there's a lot of food and drink.

Okay.

"Good job!"

What's another way, kind of a little more formal way and little more professional way,

a little more business-like way of saying: "Good job"?

What would you say?

Okay, good, number one: "Well done!"

Okay? Good.

"You said that well. I agree with you."

How could you say that to somebody?

How could you compliment somebody?

Which two words would you use?

I'm making it easier for you because I'm crossing out the ones that we already used. Right?

Okay, so, what do we say?

We have only: "Well said!" or "My pleasure."

So, what do we say?

It's number two: "Well said!" Okay?

That means you said it really well, and agree with what you said.

And then the last one: "You're welcome" is, of course: "My pleasure."

Right?

And "My pleasure" is a more formal way to say: "You're welcome."

Okay?

There are five more, so stay tuned and we're going to do those in a second.

Let's continue.

Number six: "Watch out!"

So, when do we say to somebody: "Watch out"?

Not: "Watch", but: "Watch out!"

"Watch out!" means basically: "Be careful."

So, maybe somebody's about to fall, maybe there's a puddle in the street, maybe there's

a hole in the ground, maybe a motorcycle is about to come and they're about to step off

the curb.

So you want to tell them just be careful of something that's happening around them, so

you say: "Watch out!"

Okay?

So this is a warning that we give someone.

Okay?

Next: "After you."

Okay?

That's like a polite thing to say.

"After you."

So, when do we say that?

Well, it could be in all kinds of situations.

It could be, for example, if two people are trying to enter a doorway or a bus and somebody's

being very polite, they say: "After you."

That means: "You go first. I'll go after that."

Okay? Or it could be that two people are standing in line for...

And they're both reaching for their plate in a buffet and somebody says:

"No. You go first. After you."

All right?

Or whatever, in any kind of business situation also.

Okay?

Next: "No problem."

Okay, you hear this a lot.

"No problem."

So, "No problem" can have two different kinds of meanings.

One meaning is...

Not meaning, but one usage is when you wanted to say: "You're welcome."

So somebody says: "Thank you", and you say: "No problem" instead of saying: "You're welcome."

So let's say there's: "My pleasure", which is really formal and very polite; and then:

"You're welcome", which is the standard thing we say; and then a very casual, informal way

to say: "You're welcome" is to say: "No problem."

Okay?

That's one way that we use "No problem."

Another way that we can use "No problem" is if somebody asks you to do something, and

you say...

It's like saying: "Sure. Yes. Of course. No problem."

Okay?

So, like: -"Can you get me that book please?"

-"Sure. No problem."

All right?

So that's: "No problem."

Next one: "Take care!"

Now, you hear native speakers saying this and writing this all the time in their emails.

"Take care", right?

What does that mean, "Take care"?

Does it mean the same as: "Watch out"?

No, it doesn't.

Not usually.

Okay?

Once upon a time in very formal English, "Take care" meant something like that, but not today.

Today it's used in an informal way to say: "Look after yourself."

Okay?

"Be well."

All right?

So we usually say it as like: "Bye. Take care."

Or sometimes we just say: "Take care", instead of saying the word: "Bye." All right?

It means, like: "Look after yourself until I see you next."

All right? That's: "Take care."

And we do use it not only when we're speaking, but also in emails.

All right?

But it's usually when we know that person and we care about them a little bit, so don't

use it so much in business email unless you know that person well.

All right?

Don't use it unless you have a relationship with that person. Okay.

The last one: "Will do."

So, "Will do" is a very nice expression, and it'll save you lots and lots of words, so

it's really helpful for you to learn this expression. All right?

So, "Will do" is basically saying: "Yes, I will do what you ask me to do."

So let's say somebody says:

"Could you make sure to bring the charger for the phone because I forgot it at home?"

So you just say: "Will do."

Instead of saying: "Yes, I will bring the charger from home because I always bring the

charger from home", blah, blah, blah, instead of saying all these words, you can simply

say to that person: "Will do."

You could also just say: "Yes, I will", but we use this expression: "Will do."

And it could be for any kind of situation.

Okay?

So it's a little bit similar to: "No problem", but it's a little bit more businesslike, it's

a little bit more elegant, and it's a little bit nicer.

Okay?

So, now let's try to match these up to see what you remember.

All right?

Always, always practice. Okay?

The fact that I'm explaining it to you once and the fact that you are listening to it

once is not always enough.

The more you use it, the more it will enter your daily life and your daily English language.

Okay?

So, let's review.

So, if the idea you want to convey to somebody is: "Look after yourself", what's the way

that we say that?

You're saying: "Bye.

Look after yourself."

What do you say?

Which one?

Right. Okay?

This one, number nine: "Take care!" Okay?

"Take care" means: "Look after yourself."

All right.

"I'll do what you said."

Okay? "I will bring the charger from...

From home like you asked me to do", or: "I will finish that project

by this evening and get it to you. Yes, sir, boss." Okay?

So, how do you say all that with just two words, "I'll do what you said"?

Which one?

It's number 10: "Will do."

Okay? "Will do."

Next: "Be careful." How do you...?

Which words convey that idea: "Be careful"?

All right?

Good, number six:

"Watch out!" All right?

What's an informal way of saying: "You're welcome"?

"Thanks."

What do you say?

Is it: "After you", or is it: "No problem"?

It's: "No problem." Okay?

And so, this one which is the only one that's left:

"You go first. I'll follow." Okay?

Is: "After you." Okay?

And usually when we say: "After you", there is some hand movement involved.

Okay?

So it's like: "After you. After you."

Or a little nod of the head, or something to acknowledge that you can go first.

"I'm giving you permission because I'm such a nice person."

That's the idea. Okay?

That's the feeling that people get when you say: "After you."

So, as I said, if you want to really bring these expressions into your personal vocabulary...

Okay?

Into your English language skills, then start to use them.

Now, does it mean tomorrow you're going to go out and use all 10 of them?

I don't think so.

Choose one.

Okay? For the next 10 days, choose one and each day look for some opportunity where you might

be able to use it if you're living in an English-speaking country, or mentally use it if you're in another country.

All right?

So if somebody is saying something to you in...

Even in another language, you can still reply in your mind in English and practice using

those expressions.

Once they come to your mind easily, they will also flow through your mouth easily.

All right.

So, if you want to practice a little bit more, please go to our website, www.engvid.com.

There, you can do a quiz on this because every little bit of review helps.

You can also do lots of other quizzes and watch lots of other videos.

Okay?

And don't forget to click on the "Subscribe" button so you can keep getting lots of very

useful videos of mine, which will help you to learn English so much faster.

Okay?

Thanks very much for watching.

Bye for now, and good luck with your English.