Uploaded January 2018 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Improve your English with this useful vocabulary lesson! You'll learn 10 common word pairs to improve your vocabulary and to give you more tools to speak like a native English speaker. I'll also give you examples and explain when these expressions are usually used. The word pairs include: "now and then", "quick and easy", "then and there", "slow and steady", "little by little", and many more. Learn these short informal English phrases and you're guaranteed to sound more confident and comfortable in your English conversations.
TAKE THE QUIZ: engvid.com/vocabulary-english-word-pairs-time
TRANSCRIPT
If you're lost, you can look and you will find me, time after time. Hey, everyone. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on some common word pairs or expressions with time. So, not just the word "time", but different expressions we use to indicate time, or different expressions or word pairs we use to talk about how long something takes, or when something happens. So, first we're going to look at five, and then we're going to look at another five, and each time we go over one of these word pairs I'll give you an example sentence, and I want you to, you know, see if you can guess the meaning of this expression from the context, and then I will tell you the actual definition of, you know, what this expression or this word pair means. So, let's not waste any more time and let's begin.
Number one: "then and there". The sentence is: "I was hired then and there." Now, if you know the meaning, obviously, of "then", at that time; and "there", in that place - it means at that moment. Okay? So at that exact moment. At that moment. So, imagine you go to a job interview in this case and the interview goes very well, sometimes the person who does your job interview says: "Okay, we'll... We'll call you back and we'll let you know." But sometimes if they know that you're the right person for the job, they will tell you when... They will ask you, actually: "When can you start?" and they will hire you on the spot, they will hire you then and there, in that moment. Okay? So that's what "then and there" means, at that moment. Or: "She kissed me then and there.", "I was hired then and there."
Next: "sooner or later". Sooner or later. "You'll have to do it sooner or later." So, most of us I think don't like washing dishes or we don't like doing the laundry, and we just look at it in the corner, you know, telling ourselves: "Okay, we will do it. Not now, later. Later." Okay? And maybe, you know, somebody will tell you: "Okay, can you...? Can you do it now? Because you will have to do it sooner or later." And in this case it means eventually. Okay? So, to say something a little more serious: "Sooner or later we're all going to die." You know, it's going to happen. It's going to happen. That's not the happiest memory or the happiest image, but you know, I think you get the meaning. Sooner or later.
"Wait and see". Very simply: "Let's wait and see what happens." This just means let's be patient. Be patient. Okay? So, if you are watching a movie with a friend and your friend wants to know what happens next in the movie because you have seen the movie before, and your friend's like: "Oh, what happens next? What happens next?" And you just say: "Wait and see. Okay? Just wait and you will see what happens next." So, just be patient.
Now, the final two on the first board are very similar: "now and then", "from time to time". Both of these, if you look at the sentences: "I talk to him now and then.", "She reads biographies from time to time." What do you think these expressions mean? Sometimes, that's right. So, infrequently or sometimes. Sometimes. Another word, maybe might be new for some of you guys: "infrequently", not frequently, and these are interchangeable. Okay? So: "now and then", "from time to time". "We go to restaurants from time to time.", "We go to restaurants now and then.", "I read mystery novels from time to time.", "I read mystery novels now and then." -"How often do you call your mom?" -"Now and then.", -"From time to time." Okay? So, we have: "then and there", "sooner or later", "wait and see", "now and then", "from time to time". And now let's look at five more. So, magic. Ooo.
Hwah! Okay, so the next five. First: "quick and easy". "The test was quick and easy." So, something that doesn't take a lot of time, is not very difficult, basically let's just say very easy. Doesn't take time, doesn't take a lot of effort. So, often, if you like to cook and you see recipes on the internet or in a cookbook, you know, some of the cookbooks are called: "Quick and Easy Recipes". So, a quick and easy recipe for pancakes, for example. Okay? So something that doesn't take a lot of time and something that is simple, not complicated.
The final four are all very much related to making progress […]
Improve your English with this useful vocabulary lesson! You'll learn 10 common word pairs to improve your vocabulary and to give you more tools to speak like a native English speaker. I'll also give you examples and explain when these expressions are usually used. The word pairs include: "now and then", "quick and easy", "then and there", "slow and steady", "little by little", and many more. Learn these short informal English phrases and you're guaranteed to sound more confident and comfortable in your English conversations.
TAKE THE QUIZ: engvid.com/vocabulary-english-word-pairs-time
TRANSCRIPT
If you're lost, you can look and you will find me, time after time. Hey, everyone. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on some common word pairs or expressions with time. So, not just the word "time", but different expressions we use to indicate time, or different expressions or word pairs we use to talk about how long something takes, or when something happens. So, first we're going to look at five, and then we're going to look at another five, and each time we go over one of these word pairs I'll give you an example sentence, and I want you to, you know, see if you can guess the meaning of this expression from the context, and then I will tell you the actual definition of, you know, what this expression or this word pair means. So, let's not waste any more time and let's begin.
Number one: "then and there". The sentence is: "I was hired then and there." Now, if you know the meaning, obviously, of "then", at that time; and "there", in that place - it means at that moment. Okay? So at that exact moment. At that moment. So, imagine you go to a job interview in this case and the interview goes very well, sometimes the person who does your job interview says: "Okay, we'll... We'll call you back and we'll let you know." But sometimes if they know that you're the right person for the job, they will tell you when... They will ask you, actually: "When can you start?" and they will hire you on the spot, they will hire you then and there, in that moment. Okay? So that's what "then and there" means, at that moment. Or: "She kissed me then and there.", "I was hired then and there."
Next: "sooner or later". Sooner or later. "You'll have to do it sooner or later." So, most of us I think don't like washing dishes or we don't like doing the laundry, and we just look at it in the corner, you know, telling ourselves: "Okay, we will do it. Not now, later. Later." Okay? And maybe, you know, somebody will tell you: "Okay, can you...? Can you do it now? Because you will have to do it sooner or later." And in this case it means eventually. Okay? So, to say something a little more serious: "Sooner or later we're all going to die." You know, it's going to happen. It's going to happen. That's not the happiest memory or the happiest image, but you know, I think you get the meaning. Sooner or later.
"Wait and see". Very simply: "Let's wait and see what happens." This just means let's be patient. Be patient. Okay? So, if you are watching a movie with a friend and your friend wants to know what happens next in the movie because you have seen the movie before, and your friend's like: "Oh, what happens next? What happens next?" And you just say: "Wait and see. Okay? Just wait and you will see what happens next." So, just be patient.
Now, the final two on the first board are very similar: "now and then", "from time to time". Both of these, if you look at the sentences: "I talk to him now and then.", "She reads biographies from time to time." What do you think these expressions mean? Sometimes, that's right. So, infrequently or sometimes. Sometimes. Another word, maybe might be new for some of you guys: "infrequently", not frequently, and these are interchangeable. Okay? So: "now and then", "from time to time". "We go to restaurants from time to time.", "We go to restaurants now and then.", "I read mystery novels from time to time.", "I read mystery novels now and then." -"How often do you call your mom?" -"Now and then.", -"From time to time." Okay? So, we have: "then and there", "sooner or later", "wait and see", "now and then", "from time to time". And now let's look at five more. So, magic. Ooo.
Hwah! Okay, so the next five. First: "quick and easy". "The test was quick and easy." So, something that doesn't take a lot of time, is not very difficult, basically let's just say very easy. Doesn't take time, doesn't take a lot of effort. So, often, if you like to cook and you see recipes on the internet or in a cookbook, you know, some of the cookbooks are called: "Quick and Easy Recipes". So, a quick and easy recipe for pancakes, for example. Okay? So something that doesn't take a lot of time and something that is simple, not complicated.
The final four are all very much related to making progress […]
