- If you wanna learn expressions
that you can use in everyday conversation,
then you need to learn binomial pairs.
That's coming up.
What's up everyone?
My name is Wes.
This is Interactive English,
which is all about helping you practice
and improve your English skills.
And today, I have a great lesson,
because this is very practical for everyday conversation.
We're going to talk about binomial pairs.
If you're wondering what the heck are binomial pairs,
that's a good question.
These are phrases that contain two words
that are connected by a conjunction.
And that conjunction is either and or or. (laughs)
And, or, and, or, and, or.
Those are the two conjunctions
that are often used to connect these two words,
and these phrases are called binomial pairs.
And we use them all the time.
You can use them in formal conversations,
if you're giving a presentation,
and you can also use them informally,
if you're just talking to someone on the street.
So, I'm gonna teach you some common expressions.
I will tell you the meaning
and give you some examples,
so that way you can see how they're used in context.
Let's begin.
The first expression is bits and pieces,
and this just means an assortment of small things.
For example, maybe you drop a cup on the floor,
and you say wow, it shattered into bits and pieces.
Or maybe you're talking
about somebody giving you information.
They don't tell you everything,
they give you a little bit at a time,
and they say, yeah,
they told us the truth in bits and pieces.
- Well, I had a few spare parts I found over the years.
- And I had some bits and pieces at my work.
- This box contains over 217 bits and pieces of information.
- How's that coming, memory?
- Bits and pieces here and there.
- The next expression, and this is a good one,
I really like this one, wine and dine.
And this binomial pair means to take somebody out
and really entertain them.
And usually you would entertain them
with fine dining, maybe a fancy restaurant,
and you wine and dine someone.
And perhaps it's a special occasion,
or perhaps you're really trying to impress someone.
- He has spent the last month wining and dining these guys,
getting 'em laid.
- Being wined and dined by a rich guy might be nice.
- How is wining and dining state senators not campaigning?
- Because I have a room full of lawyers.
- Often it's associated with a restaurant,
and you are eating somewhere.
It does not mean that you have to be drinking wine.
You're celebrating, I don't know, your anniversary,
and you wanna take your wife out and wine and dine her
and treat her to a nice, fancy restaurant.
The next binomial pair, safe and sound,
and this just means that there is nothing to worry about.
There is no danger.
You are free from harm or injury,
and often you would use it to describe a situation
and say that you are safe and sound
or everyone is safe and sound.
Perhaps there was a natural disaster,
and you are okay, and you are letting somebody know,
hey, I'm safe and sound.
Don't worry about me.
I am free from danger.
Safe and sound.
If you wanna study English with us,
you're safe and sound.
THere's nothing to worry about.
You're not gonna get hurt watching our lessons. (laughs)
I don't know why you would.
- I wanna make sure it gets to my daughter safe and sound.
- We're safe and sound and the future never looked brighter.
- All here together safe and sound.
- Then we have sooner or later.
This is a expression that means that something will happen.
It's definitely going to happen.
We just don't know when it's going to happen.
It may happen sooner, it may happen later.
So, if you're describing something, like yeah I'll do that.
I'll do it sooner or later.
Then, you're basically telling someone
or you're not telling them,
when you are going to do this thing.
It'll happen sooner or later.
- Sooner or later that fire that I love about you, Rose,
that fire's gonna burn out.
- Sooner or later, Cersei always gets what she wants.
♪ Sooner or later, love is gonna get ya ♪
♪ Sooner or later, girl you got to give in ♪
- Sooner or later,
you guys are going to be fluent in English.
If you keep watching our lessons,
I promise you,
sooner or later you will achieve English fluency.
If you don't, then maybe I'll take you out.
I'll wine and dine you.
How does that sound?
The next binomial pair, and I really love this one,
because I use it all the time, ups and downs.
So, when you're talking about something having ups
and downs, you're basically saying that there are periods
when things are going really well,
and then there are some periods
where things aren't going so well after all.
You have ups and downs.
The reason I say
that I use this quite often is because I talk a lot
about language learning, especially learning English,
and whenever you're learning a language,
there are always ups and downs.
You have periods when you think you're learning so much,
and then other times
where you feel like you just forget everything,
and you think your skills are not improving.
And you could say, I have ups and downs.
- With my ups and downs.
- It's rehab for his oxy addiction, lotta ups and downs.
- I wouldn't miss the semis, how's that been going?
- Oh you know, strikes and gutters, ups and downs.
- Another great binomial pair is wear and tear.
And this is talking about damage or depreciation
that may occur due to just ordinary use.
So, for example, say that you buy a car.
You buy a car, you use it, and then you want to sell it.
You're gonna have to sell it for a lesser price,
because there is depreciation.
And you go to sell it, and you might tell the person,
there's just a little wear and tear on the car,
no big problems whatsoever, just normal wear and tear.
- During the course of business,
a copier goes through something called normal wear and tear.
- That takes care of the normal wear and tear.
- Well the shift knob is loose, you know about that?
- No, I hadn't noticed.
- Have you been picking at it?
- No, you know, it's just wear and tear.
- We can sometimes get image artifacts
related to normal wear and tear.
- The next expression is little by little, little by little,
and it just means a small amount of time.
And we often use it
when we're talking about trying to achieve some goal.
You're not going to do everything all at once.
You have to do things one step at a time,
and you are going to get there little by little.
You guys will improve your English skills little by little.
Even though there are many ups and downs,
keep at it, because sooner or later,
you will achieve fluency.
The next binomial pair,
which is another really, really great one is dos and don'ts.
So, what this means is just warnings or advice
about things that you should do or things you should not do.
And often, it's used when maybe you're giving suggestions
to somebody, or you're giving them advice about okay,
be careful of this, don't do this, do this.
You're giving them the dos and don't.
So, perhaps you start a new job,
and another employee might tell you the dos and don'ts,
or maybe you go to a new school,
and you get in the classroom
and another student tells you the dos and don'ts.
When I'm teaching, usually in the first class,
I'll go over the dos and don'ts.
- The dos and don'ts of diaper rash.
This is fascinating.
- Now, underneath each one of your chairs,
you'll find a pamphlet with a simple list
of animal rights dos and don'ts.
- Well, just a few dos and don'ts.
You don't have to read it though.
- The next one, rock and roll.
So, you have probably heard this before.
It is just a genre of music.
You're talking about rock and roll.
There are many different music groups out there
that this what they play.
They play rock and roll.
We also use it to say, let's begin, let's do something.
So, if I tell you, let's rock and roll, let's do it,
let's start, let's begin, let's rock and roll.
- Rock and roll.
- Now, let's rock and roll.
- Right, let's rock and roll.
- Another useful binomial pair, live and learn,
and we say live and learn
when we want to talk about an experience in life
that usually teaches us a lesson.
We learn something from this experience,
and usually it's something that is not good,
and we need to learn from it,
so that we don't repeat it again,
and you might describe that situation and just say,
you know, live and learn.
I learned from this experience,
and I will try not to repeat it, live and learn.
So, for example, say that you buy a car from somebody else,
and you did not do a test drive,
because this person told you,
there's just some normal wear and tear,
there's no big problems.
However, once you buy the car and you leave,
there are many problems and you have to pay
for a lot of repairs, and you'd say
that this is what happened, it's a crappy situation,
but live and learn.
- So, how much is this thing gonna cost you now,
like 5, 6000?
Well, live and learn. (audience laughs)
- But I see pity has its rewards, live and learn.
- As long as you're not driving a car
or nursing a baby.
(audience laughs) Live and learn.
- Then we have peace and quiet, which is complete freedom
from noise, stress and anything that's bothering you
in life, and often people would just say, (sighs)
I need some peace and quiet.
I just wanna rest, I don't wanna hear anything.
I just need some peace and quiet.
For example, if you're listening to rock and roll,
you're probably not getting much peace and quiet.
- I'm enjoying the peace and quiet.
- It's peace and quiet on Sunday.
- Right now he just needs peace and quiet.
- You get all that peace and quiet
that you've always wanted.
- Now that you all of those binomial pairs
that I've taught you in bits and pieces,
I wanna hear from you.
If this lesson was easy to understand,
easy to follow, and you know all of those binomial pairs,
let me know in the comments,
and I want you to write the phrase, live and learn.
That just tells me that you understood the lesson,
and you learned something new, live and learn.
I know that usually talks about experiences,
which are not that good.
I hope this lesson was a good experience for you,
but I still want you
to write that in the comments, live and learn.
Now, for some quick dos and don'ts.
Please do hit that like button
and share this lesson with others
who are trying to learn English, and the don'ts, don't what?
What do I not want you to do?
Well, I don't want you to leave.
Please, go watch another video lesson.
Thank you so much for watching,
and I will see you next time.