Show notes:

Today's podcast is a short vocabulary lesson about binomial pairs, which are common pairs of words (e.g. rise and shine) which will help you sound more natural and to understand native speakers. Here are all the examples from today:

I’m sitting on a back road in my car. I’m looking at the trees, I’m looking at the forest around me, the different plants, the wind is blowing through the leaves—I’m far away from the hustle and bustle of life. 

When I saw the avalanche starting, I knew it was do or die—I ran as fast as I could.

When they handed her the microphone she knew it was her only chance—it was do or die. She started to sing. 

When you are a solo entrepreneur, it is sink or swim. If you don’t do the work, no one will! 

Although I didn’t know how to play electric guitar, only acoustic, It was sink or swim, so I tried my best! 

Jump in the pool, Timmy! It’s now or never! You have to learn to swim someday. 

John said to himself, “Okay, it’s now or never, I’ve got to propose tonight, the sunset looks so perfect and it’s the last night of our vacation.” 

Oh, John, you didn’t know she would say no. Live and learn buddy. You’ll find a better partner, there are plenty of fish in the sea! 

I bought a car and it turned out to be a total lemon! I had to sell it as scrap metal and buy a new one—oh well, live and learn, eh? 

If you made it to the end of this episode's show notes, let me know by commenting the name of an English song you like which has a binomial pair in the lyrics! 

See you soon—over and out. 

Informal English with Eric

Live and Learn: 5 more binomial pairs 

If you want to sound natural in English, you need to know the other meanings of common words. 

Today, we’re talking about the word “go.” You might think it is easy and simple, but it’s actually more complicated than it seems. 

“Go” is used with sound, music, and poetry. Let’s look at some examples. 

Example 1: 
Do you know the song that goes (hum the great pretender)? 

Example 2:
Yeah, the lyrics to that song go “Oh yes, I’m the great pretender…” But I can’t remember the rest of the words. 

Example 3: 
There’s a famous American poem that goes “Two roads diverged in yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveller long I stood…” 

We also use “go” for idioms, in the same way. How does that idiom go that starts “The grass is always greener…”?

Example 4: 
The truck reversed and went BEEP BEEP BEEP. It hit a window, which went CRASH.

Example 5: 
Cats go meow, dogs go woof, birds go tweet, and cows go moo. 

Example 6: 
I was talking to the cashier at the store, when the lady waiting in the queue behind me went, “Hey, chat later, pay now. I’ve been waiting and waiting!” 

Subscribe for more! Thanks for listening! 

Common Expressions you didn't know (with words you already know!): GO

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening and welcome back to informal English with Eric.
Today we’re talking about the word “get." This word is extremely common in English, but it has some meanings you might not know. 

American English: get got gotten 
British English: get got got 
(Note: British people do use "gotten" sometimes). 

Examples which I use:

1
I got the bus downtown and went to a party with my friends. 
I got a cold last week and I was sick for three days. 

2
I didn’t get what the professor was saying today. Can you help me understand? 
got it! 
got you! 
got you! (pronounced "gotchya"): VERY common! 

3
It got too cold outside so I came inside. 
You’ve gotten so tall! You grew! 

4
I didn’t get to work until 10am, so my boss was not happy. 
I got to the train station at 9:30. 

For instance, if you are at the train station, the announcement might be (use train station voice) Train 5 has arrived on platform 12. But if you were speaking to someone, you would say “My train just got to the station.” 

5
Sorry, I need to get going. See you later. 
More examples:
We need to get this done today, team. Get working! 
Get moving! Why do you drive so slowly?! 

6
A flirtatious flight attendant got me to try coffee the first time. 
Fiona said she’ll see if she can get Dan to agree to join us. 
I'm trying to get you to learn the meanings of "get."

I hope you got all that! 
I've you've gotten the idea of "get," post some comments with your own example sentences!

The other common meanings of words you already know: GET

Today we're discussing some vocabulary about babies, children, teenagers, and young adults. The phrases we cover are:

a bundle of joy 
the awkward stage
teenage angst 
spreading one's wings
coming of age 
making a name for yourself 
staying young at heart

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Common phrases: Growing up 

No one likes being angry (Well, most of us don't like it!). But when you are angry, it might help to be able to express that in English! 

Here is what's covered today:

to get on someone's nerves 
to drive someone crazy
to drive someone nuts 
to drive someone up the wall 
to be fed up 
to be fed up with someone or something 
furious 
livid
to lose it 
I'm losing it! 
to lose composure
to cool off (of course, there is more than one meaning here)
to cool down (of course, there is more than one meaning here)
to calm down 
to chill out (of course, there is more than one meaning here)
to let it go 
to let off some steam 

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Common expressions: What to say when you're angry

I’ve been busy lately: as busy as a bee, but don’t worry, I’m not stressed, I’m as cool as a cucumber. In fact, I’m as happy as a clam. 

You can compare someone to something by using the word “as.” We do this with an adjective between “as” twice, followed by a thing to compare to: as busy as a bee. These comparisons can be positive, neutral or negative. It should be clear from the context whether something is a good thing or a bad thing. 

Example 1: as happy as a clam 
It’s raining outside, but I have a cup of coffee, a nice book, and a warm blanket. I’m as happy as a clam.

Example 2: as quiet as a mouse
Jack has been as quiet as a mouse after he was embarrassed giving a speech at school.

Example 3: as old as the hills 
I went for a long ride on my bike yesterday. When I woke up this morning, I felt as old as the hills. 

Example 4: as strong as an bull/ox
Oliver has been working out at the gym all the time. He’s as strong as a bull now—I’m sure he could help you move your piano. 

Example 5: as cool as a cucumber 
On the roller coaster, I was so scared. I was sure my friend would be too, but when I looked, he seemed as cool as a cucumber. 

Example 6: as tough as nails 
Tina might not be very tall, but she’s as tough as nails. She runs marathons. 

Example 7: as thick as thieves 
As teenagers, Caleb and Daniel were as thick as thieves, but they grew apart in their 20’s. 

Note: 
If you've read this far, you're interested in the details. So here's a reward for your curiosity: You can drop "as" from the beginning of these expressions: You're cool as a cucumber. This is common in speech. 

Thanks for listening! 
