Bob's Short English Lessons Learn the English Phrases TO FREE UP and AS FREE AS A BIRD
Read along to practice your English and to learn the English phrases TO FREE UP and AS FREE AS A BIRD
In this English lesson I wanted to help you learn the English phrase to free up. This is a phrase that we use when we want to make space or time available to ourselves. Let me give you a few examples. In my classroom, I have a bookshelf and there were a lot of books on there that I didn't need anymore. So I got those books and I put them in the recycling because I wanted to free up some space. I wanted to make some space available on the bookshelf for other books. The other way you could use this is to talk about time. Tomorrow, I have a dentist appointment. If I canceled that appointment, it would certainly free up some time for me to do some other things. So when you free up something in English, it usually means to make some space or some time available to you.
WANT FREE ENGLISH LESSONS? GO TO YOUTUBE AND SEARCH, "BOB THE CANADIAN"
If you enjoy these lessons please consider supporting me at: http://www.patreon.com/bobthecanadian
The second phrase I wanted to teach you today is the phrase as free as a bird. It's a little windy out here today. When you are as free as a bird, it means you have no obligations. Tomorrow I don't actually have a dentist appointment. That was just an example. Tomorrow is actually a holiday here in Canada and I'll be as free as a bird tomorrow. I don't have to go to work, I don't have to do anything. In fact, Jen and I are taking the day off. I'll be as free as a bird. Tuesday though is the day that school starts so I'll be back at work. If you think about the school year in Canada, at the end of the month of June, when the school year ends, I'm also as free as a bird. But that's gonna end quickly in just a couple of days.
So to review when you free up space or you free up time, you make it available again. Maybe you take some books off a bookshelf to free up space. Maybe you cancel an appointment to free up time. And when you are as free as a bird, it means that you don't have any obligations. You don't have anything to do for a certain period of time. You are free as a bird in the sky.
Anyways, let's look at a comment from a previous video. And this comment is from Roberto and Roberto says, "Hi, Bob. I knew the expression, same old but only used once not twice. Why did you use it twice?" And my response was it's just another way of expressing the same thing. But in a more general way, if someone asked how was work, I could respond and say, you know, same old, same old. Or I could say, you know, same old lesson planning, same old boring colleagues or coworkers, sorry. By the way, my coworkers aren't boring.
But that was just an example, but great question, Roberto. In English there are many ways to say different things. So one way with same old, same old, it's just a little more general. And then with same old, you usually need to specify what is the same.
Anyways as I mentioned in a couple of days, I think you'll be watching this on Monday. I'm actually recording this on the weekend. On Tuesday of this week, I will be back at school. The school year will begin. We have a nice holiday on the Monday of this week. It's called Labor Day. So again, I'll be free as a bird because I don't have to do any work. But for you, if you're watching this on Monday, the day after today, Tuesday is the first day of school. I will be back at work.