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Okay, I'm gonna tell you one
of my favorite English expressions.
Like I use this a lot.
It's a bit much.
First, the pronunciation.
You want to stress the word much.
So practice with me.
Copy how I say it.
A bit much.
What does it mean? How do we use it?
For example, you meet your friend's new boyfriend.
Hi, nice to meet you.
- Oh my God, hi!
I love all of her friends.
All of her friends are like family to me.
- (scoffs) He seems nice but something extra, right?
But then, you make small talk because you're polite,
and you say I saw the new Batman movie.
That was pretty good.
- Oh my God, Batman!
Batman's the best thing ever.
That's so incredible.
That is just whoa, whoa, whoa.
You saw Batman?
Whoa.
- We've all met this type of person, right?
Their personality is so extra.
By the way, this isn't a real situation.
This never happened,
that I remember.
Anyway, later, she asks you,
"So what do you think?"
And of course, you want to be nice,
but you also want to be honest.
So in this situation, I might say he's nice,
but he's a bit much.
This is kind of a nicer way of saying that someone
or something has something extra.
You see, no one needs this energy level.
It's a bit much.
Remember the intonation.
Remember the pronunciation.
It's a bit much.
Not just for people, but for things, too.
For example, if someone makes you dinner
and it is a mountain of food,
again, if you want to say in a kind of nice way,
wow, that's an unnecessarily large amount,
you can simply say wow,
it's a bit much.
So if your stomach isn't like this big,
you want it to be polite and say it might be too much
for me, then say it this way,
but remember the pronunciation.
You're gonna stress that word.
It's a bit much.
Maybe I can't finish this.
Again, practice. Say it with me.
Copy how I say it.
It's a bit much.
Or very commonly, maybe recently,
you have had a very busy time at work,
lots of projects, lots of stuff to do,
not just work, school too, university too.
It doesn't matter.
You have a lot of things to do.
Maybe for you, it's too much.
So again, you can say something like this.
Hey, how's work going?
(groans) Lately, it's been a bit much,
but hopefully, it'll calm down soon.
Now we're adding some grammar to this.
Lately, that's from now to a recent time in the past.
It's been a bit much, present perfect.
So from a short time in the past until now,
it's been a bit much.
Recently, very busy, very busy,
but hopefully, it'll calm down soon.
Another piece of vocabulary for you, it'll calm down.
We say that when work becomes less busy, it calms down.
So use that phrasal verb
when you want to say work gets less busy.
Let's practice.
If work, uni, school has been quite busy for you recently,
I want you to answer me saying just this expression,
it's been a bit much.
Remember to stress the word much.
It's been a bit much, right?
Ready?
So how's work or school or uni been for you recently?
Oh, really? That sucks.
Yeah, I hope it calms down.
And let's practice this in your writing.
Let me know in the comments,
have you met anyone recently this year,
in your life who was a bit much?
Let me know what happened.
Why were they a bit much?
But the main topic of today is the word bit.
And this brings me to the next expression, bits and bobs.
My non-British friends always ask me,
"Hey Ali, what is bits and bobs,
"and why British people speak weird?"
So first, American English has the same thing
with the same meaning, but they say bits and pieces.
Actually, we say that, too.
That's okay in British English, but also in British English,
we say odds and sods.
I know, we're weird, and I'm sorry.
English is weird.
So bits and pieces, bits and bobs,
odds and sods, what do they mean?
Basically, basically, those expressions mean
a small amount of things, usually unimportant things.
Before we do the examples, pronunciation.
We have some options here because of connected speech.
starting with bits and bobs.
We don't pronounce it bits and bobs.
We're not robots. We're humans.
So with connected speech,
the and can become an M sound,
bits mm bobs, just like a mm, bits mm bobs,
bits mm bobs.
Say it with me. It's fun.
Bits mm bobs.
Next one, bits and pieces.
Again, the and becomes mm,
bit mm pieces.
And finally odds and sods.
We won't change and to an mm.
This will only be an nn, odds nn sods,
odds nn sods.
You say it.
Well done.
So now an example of those in a sentence.
I'm gonna get some bits and bobs
for the barbecue, all right?
- Cool.
What, what are you getting?
- Oh, just bread, salad, odds and sods?
I've already got drinks for the party,
but I still need some bits and pieces.
- Uh-huh.
Bobs.
- And they all mean the same thing,
but we usually just shrink this expression to just bits.
- Hello?
- All right, are you coming to the barbecue?
- Yeah, no, I'm coming.
I just got some bits to do first.
- It can also mean a small amount of time.
- Oh, hello. How was the barbecue?
- What?
No, only went for a bit.
- Or a small measure of something.
- Did you have a bit to drink?
- I'm actually a bit, I'm a bit drunk, actually.
I'm gonna sleep for a bit. Is that all right?
- So notice when we talk about time, we say a bit.
I'm gonna sleep for a bit,
singular, not bits, plural.
No, we don't say I'm gonna sleep for bits.
No, just no.
The word bit is so interesting.
No, it's not.
But we do use it in very interesting ways.
For example, we can use it to make verbs
or situations seem softer, less strong.
For example.
- Hey.
- What a nightmare.
So I get there, and then Owen, he's already drunk
when I get there. - Uh-huh.
So he carries on drinking. - Uh-huh.
- And I just.
(sultry music)
Said "I got to home to Maria."
You even listening.
- What? Sorry, I got a bit distracted.
What were you saying?
- So, yeah, it just means a small amount of some thing.
But intonation can completely change this.
It could mean a lot of things, depending how you say it.
Let's compare two different ways.
The only thing I'll change is the intonation.
Hey, how much money do you have?
- A bit.
- And how much money do you have?
- A bit.
- When I said it the normal way,
my intonation went down, a bit.
It sounds normal, so it has the normal meaning,
a little amount.
But when my intonation goes up
and I emphasize the word, a bit,
now it has the opposite meaning.
it means a lot.
Okay, now listen to this conversation.
In this conversation, the guy will use a bit
when talking about time,
but does it sound like he means a short time or a long time?
Hmm.
Have a listen. What do you think?
- All right, I'm going to go hang out with Owen.
- What, now?
But we're going to watch "Downton Abbey".
Should I wait for you?
- I might be gone for a bit.
- Hmm, very interesting.
What did you think, short time or long time?
Well, when we talk about a length of time like that,
I'm going for a bit,
it usually means not a short time
relative to the situation.
Yeah, so basically, that guy is saying,
"I don't know how long, but yeah,
"it's not going to be short, so don't wait for me."
So if you really want to be clear
that you just mean a small amount,
use words like just a bit or little bit.
(light music)
- You're doing some work, love?
- Yeah, just a bit, though.
Do you like it?
- Yeah, just a little bit.
- Or only a bit.
- All right, I'm off.
- How long will you be gone?
- Only for a bit.
Don't start "Downton Abbey" without me.
- So now listen to this conversation,
and hopefully you can understand everything.
- Hey, can we chat for a bit when you get back?
- Yeah, about what?
- Just bits and bobs.
- Yeah, all right. I'll be back in a bit.
- Okay, now let's practice using those expressions
in the comments.
If you need ideas, try answering these.
What are you going to do this weekend?
Do you have chores to do, errands, work to do?
How much?
Are you going to buy some things?
Another question, ah, okay.
How long do you have to wait
before you can go on holiday again?
By the way, in British English,
we tend to say go on holiday.
American English tends to say go on vacation,
but both use both.
No one cares. It's fine.
Don't worry about it.
Just practice those expressions in the comments.
Now, you know I love to help you develop
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(relaxing music)