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While many people focus on trying to learn idioms, collocations, and phrasal verbs to make their English sound more natural, there is another important group of expressions that is not as well known - binomials! Binomials are very common in spoken English, and you’ve probably heard a few of them already without even noticing, but… what is a binomial?
A binomial is a fixed expression of two words connected by a conjunction such as “and” or “or,” such as “peace and quiet” or “more or less.” So, aside from these examples, what are some commonly used binomials?
Here are 5 more common ones:
1. bright and early: very early in the morning
Ex. Let’s get started bright and early tomorrow!
2. first and foremost: most importantly
Ex. First and foremost, let’s consider the cost and whether we can afford it.
3. hustle and bustle: busy, noisy activity
Ex. The holiday season brings a lot of hustle and bustle to shopping malls.
4. neat and tidy: orderly and clean
Ex. I try to keep my kitchen neat and tidy, but it’s a struggle!
5. rain or shine: whatever the weather
Ex. She goes for a morning walk rain or shine.
As you can see from the examples above, binomials can function as different parts of speech. For example, hustle and bustle functions as a noun, while neat and tidy functions as an adjective.
For a list of 100 binomials that every English speaker should know, check the following link:
https://www.englishgrammar.org/binomials-english-speaker/
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