15 useful English wordpairs (binomials)

11,138 views ・ 2021-01-15

Simple English Videos


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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Hi and welcome to another video on English word pairs.
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They're words that often go together so they're a kind of collocation.
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When you hear the first word, you can often predict the second one.
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This is the third video in our series, and we've got lots of new examples for you today,
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American and British ones.
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And best of all, we'll show you how we use them in action.
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Some of the expressions we're looking at today have slightly different meanings in British
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and American English.
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When that happens we'll tell you.
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Because I'm British.
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And I'm American.
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It's been a while since we played this game.
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Do you remember what to do?
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No, I don't have a clue.
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OK.
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I'm going to say a word and then you're going to say the word that follows it.
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And you can play along as well.
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Oh, oh, these are word pairs.
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They're word pairs.
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OK, gotcha Fun and ...
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Fun and games.
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Fun and games.
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Those are, yeah, those are activities that aren't serious.
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Now fun and games are enjoyable and playful activities but it's interesting because we
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often use this phrase in a disapproving way.
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Oh will you stop the fun and games and just get to work.
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So I wanted you to be more responsible and serious there.
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But here's another use.
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We often say 'NOT all fun and games', so we use it in the negative.
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For example, college isn't all fun and games.
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You have to study hard too.
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So it expresses the idea that something that's fun can also be serious or difficult.
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OK, next one.
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Alive and...
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Well.
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Alive and well.
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That's right.
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And when do you say alive and well?
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Um, usually when I've been rescued from a sinking boat.
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So do you often get rescued from sinking boats?
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Not often.
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But alive and well is what we say if someone has been in danger.
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Yeah, for example a missing child could be found alive and well.
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It would mean that they're not injured or harmed.
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Hello?
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Hello?
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I'm alive and well.
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Please send a million dollars and chocolate.
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Well I'm hungry.
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There's another one with alive.
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Alive and...k, k Alive and what?
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K, k, k Kk?
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What's what?
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Alive and ki...
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Alive and kicking.
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Oh OK.
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Yes.
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Of course literally 'kicking' means hitting something with your foot.
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Ow But in this expression kicking just means
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active and doing things.
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If we were talking about someone who we hadn't seen for a long time, then I said, 'Oh how's
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Bill?'
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You might say...
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Alive and kicking.
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Yes, and that would mean that he was busy doing things.
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He was active.
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Gotcha.
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So alive and well...?
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Not injured or harmed.
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And alive and kicking...?
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Active.
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OK.
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Next phrase.
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Here and ... Now.
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Here and now.
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And basically it just means now, immediately.
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The present.
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Yes.
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So we use this phrase to emphasize we mean the present time.
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For example, we should stop worrying about what happened in the past or what might happen
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in the future.
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We need to focus on the here and now.
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Orwe might say it when we don't want to wait for something.
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So those were the figures for last month.
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Is that everything because I've got to go.
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No!
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We need to talk about the temperature in this office because it's freezing.
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Let's talk about it later.
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You always say that!
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Let's settle this argument here and now!
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Gotta go!
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So I wanted to discuss it in the present.
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I didn't want to delay it.
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But I like our office temperature just as it is.
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And there's another one with here.
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Here and...
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Here and ...? Here and there.
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Oh right.
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And it means in different places.
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In various places.
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So for example our house needs painting here and there.
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Some in the living room.
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Some in the kitchen.
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Some in the bedroom.
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Here and there.
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Yes.
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Not everywhere, but different places.
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OK, are you ready for a harder one?
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Let's see.
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Here's one.
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Trial and...
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Error.
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Trial and error.
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Yes.
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This is when we solve problems by trying different things to see what works.
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Some plants grow well on our deck, but others die.
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I'm learning what to plant through trial and error.
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When I write computer programs, for example, I'll have a section of code that I'm not sure
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about.
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I'll run it and I'll see if it worked.
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If it didn't work, I'll try something else.
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And I'll keep doing that until I find the right solution.
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Trial and error.
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OK, so you prefer trial and error to using logic then?
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Notice the prepositions here.
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We can find solutions to problems BY trial and error or THROUGH trial and error.
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And it means testing lots of different methods to find out what works.
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Next one.
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Quick and...
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Quick and easy?
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Yes.
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And it just means quick and easy to do.
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Here's a quick and easy way to chop vegetables.
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OK, another one with quick.
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Quick and...
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d, d, d ,... Quick and dirty.
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Yes.
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So if you have a job that's going to take time to do right, but you find a way around
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the correct method and do it faster, that's quick and dirty.
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Yes, so it's probably not the best way to do something, but you might find a quick and
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dirty solution to
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a problem.
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OK.
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The next phrase has an extra meaning in American English that we don't have in British English.
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See if you know it.
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Pins and...
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Pins and needles.
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OK, these can be the literal things you use when you're sewing.
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But it has another meaning for me.
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Which is if I go to sleep perhaps in an awkward position, and the blood in my arm stops flowing,
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and then I wake up and shake my arm.
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There's an uncomfortable feeling when the blood starts flowing again and we call that
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pins and needles.
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But I think you have another meaning for it in American English.
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Oh yes, when we're on pins and needles we're filled with excitement in anticipation of
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something that's going to happen.
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For example, I'm on pins and needles waiting to hear about my new job.
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Oh right.
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OK.
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Does it also mean nervous?
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It can mean that as well.
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Yes.
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OK, we don't say that in British English.
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We don't know who will win the next election, but we're on pins and needles waiting for
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the result.
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So for me this phrase has two meanings.
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It can be things for sewing or the funny feeling.
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It can mean those things for me too, but it can also mean nervous or excited.
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OK, next one.
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Odds and...
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Odds and ends Yes and ...
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We have a drawer full of odds and ends We do.
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In our kitchen there's a drawer that's full of rubbish.
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There's nothing valuable in it and we should clear it out.
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It's sort of different things of different sorts.
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They're not connected in anyway.
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Right.
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You'll find buttons in there and screwdrivers.
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In British English we also say odds and sods.
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That's a ruder way to say it.
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We definitely wouldn't say that in American English.
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Odds and sods?
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Mmm, there's a similar one.
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Bits and...
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Bits and pieces?
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Yes.
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OK.
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So what are bits and pieces?
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Ah well they're what's left after something's been broken up terribly.
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So bits and pieces can be fragments.
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A fragment is a small part of something that has broken off.
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For example, if you break a bottle you could have bits and pieces of glass on the floor.
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Yeah.
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Now a bottle is a physical object, but you could also use the phrase more metaphorically.
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When might you say bits and pieces?
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Um, let's see.
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The bits and pieces of my life had to be put back together after I declared bankruptcy.
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Oh right.
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OK, nice one.
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Now here's the thing.
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I can use bits and pieces to mean fragments too, but in British English it has other meanings
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as well.
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For example, I might put my bits and pieces in my bag before I leave a place.
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So for you 'bits and pieces' are personal belongings?
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Yes, they're small things that belong to me.
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Or I could go to the supermarket to buy some bits and pieces.
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Just small things.
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I'd say odds and ends in American English.
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(Vicki nods) In British English we have another one that's
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similar.
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Do you know it?
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Bits and b...
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Oh bits and bobs.
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Right.
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I've heard that.
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Uhuh.
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Would you say it in American English?
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No.
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Bits and bobs means the same as bits and pieces.
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And it's definitely British English, not American.
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Do you want me to wash these trousers for you?
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Oh thank you.
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She means pants.
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I'll just check to make sure you haven't left any bits or bobs in the pockets.
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Great.
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She means odds and ends.
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V: OK, the next word pair is very common.
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More or ... More or less.
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Yes.
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And it means almost.
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So American English grammar is more or less the same as British English grammar.
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Yes, they're almost the same.
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So I might say to Jay have you finished editing the video and he might say...
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More or less.
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Yes, and it means actually he hasn't finished it.
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But it's almost finished.
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Exactly.
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Supposedly.
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OK, we should stop now or I won't have time to edit this one.
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OK, just one more quick one.
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It's very common again.
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More and...
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More?
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Yes.
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Oh.
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More and more.
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So it means in greater and greater quantities.
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If you keep watching our videos you'll learn more and more English.
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That's true, so make sure you subscribe to our channel and click the bell so you get
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notified.
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And your friends can learn more and more English too if you share this video with them.
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Bye everyone.
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Bye-bye.
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