Now first and foremost I want to tell you about a way of expression that
native English speakers use time and time again but are much, much less used
by learners of English I am of course talking about binomials or binomial
pairs now I will say this loud and clear if you are learning English and you want
to sound fluent, even if you're not fluent, you should start using them. It is
after all part and parcel of the English language from Shakespeare to Lady Gaga
everyone uses binomials and sooner or later, in order to reach an
advanced level, little by little and step by step, you have to start adding them to
your conversation as soon as you do native English speakers will think "wow
this person speaks English good and proper he or she is using binomials", ok
that's a slight exaggeration because even though they use them all the time
I don't think native speakers know the linguistic term binomial pairs
unless you're a nerdy English teacher like me but after this video you will
because today we are going to get to the nitty-gritty of binomials you're going
to learn 60 of them give or take one or two but I'll keep it short and
sweet so please, take a moment away from the
hustle and bustle of your daily life to study this important lesson because it's
now or never so stay tuned
Hello and welcome to letThemTalk and today we're going to talk all about
binomials so think of them as kind of a library of short fixed expressions
usually in pairs but sometimes with three or four words which are often
joined with AND such as "loud and clear", "I hear you loud and clear" or OR such as
"take it or leave it", "this is my final offer you can take it or leave it" though
there are other forms too and we'll look at that. the human brain is far too lazy
and limited to invent original expressions for every conversation when
we communicate we usually follow a formula which borrows heavily from
pre-existing terms so when native speakers are communicating they will
pepper their expression with binomial pairs which are clear, short and
understood by everyone. Did you know that binomials are just as common in English
as phrasal verbs? that's right so do use them. So let's have a look at some
different types of binomials first of all binomial word order is generally
fixed so, for example, you can say "rise and shine",
"wake up now it's already 9:00 a.m. rise and shine" but you cannot say "shine and
rise" that doesn't mean anything. Binomials can contain nouns for example
"flesh and blood" which means a relation or a member of the family for example "I
know he's rude and cruel but I can't abandon Tommy he's my brother is my flesh
blood". They can use verbs for example "sink-or-swim" which means either
you fail or you succeed, for example, "new businesses entering the market don't get
any help from anybody so it's sink or swim", or adjectives for
example "sick and tired" which means to be fed up of something or someone "every
time we meet you at least 20 minutes late I'm sick and tired of it". Now
let's have a look at the sound patterns that most binomials fall into first of
all you have rhyming binomials such as "mumbo jumbo", "astrology is just a load of
mumbo jumbo", "culture vulture", "she goes to the museum, the opera, the theater
something like that every day she's such a culture vulture". "Wine and
dine", "our hosts were very kind they wined and dined us throughout our stay". You
have alliterations where the first letter or sounds in the phrase is the
same as the second one for example you "live and learn" from "rags to riches", "this
is a story of rags to riches from a poor child in the ghetto to a multi-million
dollar business empire". I guess you could reverse this one a tale of riches to
rags when you you start off rich and end up poor but almost all the time you
can't reverse then "tried and tested", "wearing a helmet is a tried and tested
way of making a bike journey safer so you
do it". Next we have repeating the same word. "time after time", "you make the
same mistake time after time". "Let bygones be bygones", "the argument we
had happened over 10 years ago let bygones be bygones and let's be friends
again". "All in all", "all in all this is the best smartphone on the market". Now as
well as binomials which have two main words you do have trinomials
for example "beg steal and borrow", "I will do anything to make you happy I will beg
steal and borrow". "Tom Dick or Harry", "look ask any Tom Dick or Harry and they will
tell you broccoli is good for you why do you think you know better". "(Any) way shape or
form", "no absolutely not you cannot be part of this organization in any way
shape or form". What's interesting is that some words that are obsolete in genuine
English are still used and understood when they are used as a binomial pair so
for example "spick-and-span" which means very clean or tidy "when I get back I
want this house looking spick and span" However the words spick and span
separately are not used in modern English they are archaic by "hook or by
crook", "by hook or by crook I'll find out the
name of the person who betrayed me". so we are more or less halfway through
so let's go through a few more binomials so we can reach the magic figure of 60
that I promised to teach you let's go. "By and large", "by and large, pigs are
more intelligent than dogs" it's true by the way so love dogs but
love the pigs too. "Tall dark and handsome", "Detective Smart was tall dark and
handsome and about 30 years old". "Safe and sound", "Oh there you are, it's
late I was worried about you I'm glad you are safe and sound."
"Ups and downs", "life has its ups and downs there are joyful times but difficult
moments too". "Pure and simple", "you are the best pure and simple"
"Pride and joy", "Our new grandson is our pride and joy". "Now and then", "now and then
I wonder what life would have been like if I had stayed in Scotland". "Back and
forth", "grandmother sat in her rocking chair swaying back and forth all evening".
like that. "Wear and tear", "The uniform needs to be replaced every couple of
years because of wear and tear". "Down and out", "after his wife ran off with the
butcher and he lost his job at the post office
he ended up down and OUT (*not about) asking passers-by for spare change in the city
centre". "Tooth and nail", "I will fight this case tooth and nail in the court until I
am proved innocent". "High and dry", "when the principal actress got sick at the last
minute without a replacement the theatre was left high and dry". "Law and order",
"after the Revolution there was a complete breakdown in law
and order". "Odds and ends", "I'll be back soon I've just got a few odds and ends
to finish up at the office". "Odds and ends" can also refer to an
assortment of small things for example "in this box I keep the odds and ends I
need for sewing" "Song and dance",
"ok the spoon was dirty sorry but it's not that serious don't make a song and
dance about it". "An arm and a leg", "My new car is my pride and joy but it cost me
an arm and a leg". "Tit for tat", "Jane didn't come to Sara's birthday party and now
sara has not invited Jane to her wedding it's clearly a case of tit for tat". "Black
and white", now this also has two meanings so "free trade is not a black and
white issue there are advantages and disadvantages", "you have no excuses the
rules were written in black and white before you started". "Done and dusted", "now
the deal is done and dusted we can go out and celebrate". "Far and wide", "we have
looked far and wide for a replacement but so far without success". "Pros and cons",
"there are pros and cons of living in a big city". "(Any) ifs and buts", "now I don't want
to hear any ifs and buts just do what I told you to do".
"Born and bred", "I'm a Londoner born and bred". "Rough and ready", "the accommodation
in the village was rough and ready but it was good enough for our needs".
"Through thick and thin", "My wife has stood by me for over 30
years through thick and thin". Now it's your turn write a sentence using a
binomial in the comments and I want no Ifs and bats from you just do it don't
make us some dance bout it I've been with you through thick and thin dear viewer but
now it's time to rise and shine I don't want any mumbo-jumbo though ...