This is the Rachel’s English 30-day challenge: Learn 30 phrasal verbs in 30 days: jumpstart
your vocabulary in 2017.
Today is day 2, and we’re studying ‘bang’ phrasal verbs.
I used the phrasal verb “bang out” not long ago, and so when I started thinking of
what verbs to use for the 30-day challenge, I immediately thought of ‘bang’.
When we bang something out, we do it quickly, without nuance, without being totally careful
or precise about what you’re doing.
The sentence I used it in is, “I can bang it out on the piano.”
I can’t play well, but I can get through it.
I can bang it out.
Probably playing loudly.
You can also bang out something like a report.
Oh, I don’t have much time, I’m just going to bang out the report.
Quickly, without as much attention to detail as you would like to take or as you could
take.
You can bang out something you write like an article, a book.
Bang it out.
Actually just the other day, I found someone banging something out on the piano.
>> Stoney, are you banging out a tune?
Banging away can mean the same thing: she banged away at the piano.
She played without much skill.
But it can also mean something opposite, to really work on something over time, to work
hard.
That’s the opposite of quickly banging out a report.
He banged away at the speech for days.
Bang down: we tend to use this a lot with ‘fist’.
You might bang your fist down on the table.
Loud, forceful.
If you bang into someone or something, you hit it with your body.
You might bang into a desk or bang into someone as you’re rushing down the street.
Bang. Ow!
If you bang into something, you might get banged up.
If you get banged up, you’re injured, hurt.
It can range from something small to something serious: He was in a car accident and was
banged up pretty badly.
The word ‘bang’ is pronounced with the B sound, and then the AA vowel followed by
the NG nasal consonant.
When the AA vowel is followed by NG, it’s no longer the pure AA vowel, but something
more like the diphthong AY.
So not baa- baang, but bay-, ay-, bang.
Jaw drops at the beginning, bang, then comes up as the back of the tongue reaches up for
the soft palate.
Bang, bang.
To review, ‘bang out’ and ‘bang away’ can both mean the same thing: to do something
quickly, crudely, without great skill.
She’s banging away on the piano, I’m going to bang out a piece on the piano.
But ‘bang away’ can also mean to spend a lot of time working on one thing: He’s
been banging away at that project all week.
You can also bang down your fist, bang into something or someone (ow!
I banged up my arm!).
And you can also bang something up.
I banged up the car, I banged up my knee.
To catch all of the videos in this 30-day challenge, be sure to subscribe to my YouTube
channel and like Rachel’s English on Facebook.
Click the links in the description.
This 30-day challenge is leading up to a phrasal verbs course that will be available in my
online school on February 1.
Rachel’s English Academy is a collection of online courses focusing on English conversation,
pronunciation, and listening comprehension.
You will understand Americans better, and speak better English, with these courses.
Visit RachelsEnglishAcademy.com to sign up and get started today.
See the 30-day challenge playlist here and be sure to subscribe to my channel.
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