۴۱ اصطلاح و کلمه در مورد نظافت منزل

(upbeat music)

• Hello, everyone and welcome back to “English with Lucy.”

Today, I’m very excited about this video,

it’s a video about cleaning.

I have noticed so many people making loads of errors

when they’re talking about cleaning.

It’s a very popular topic online nowadays.

I’m going to give you lots of cleaning verbs,

these are essential.

But also the corresponding phrasal verbs

that a lot of people struggle with.

I’m also going to give you some phrases and vocab words

related to cleaning at the end.

Right, let’s get on with the lesson.

Firstly, we’re going to look at some cleaning verbs,

and their examples of course,

‘cause I know you love examples.

But afterwards, we’re going to look

at their corresponding phrasal verbs,

how you can transform them

into cleaning related phrasal verbs.

I’m going to show you a really cool trick

that will help you remember

which preposition goes with which verb.

But let’s begin with the verbs.

Number one is to wipe.

To wipe.

This is to clean or dry something by rubbing a cloth,

your hand or some paper.

For example, make sure you wipe the surfaces

with a clean cloth.

Number two, we have to clean.

It’s important because it relates to the phrasal verb.

This means to make clean, not dirty,

free from marks and dirt.

For example, I’m going to clean the bathroom

because it’s in a terrible state.

Number three sounds similar to, to clean,

it’s to clear, and the meaning is different.

It means to remove unwanted items or objects from.

So, with to clean, you’re simply removing marks and dirt,

to clear, you’re removing actual objects or items.

For example, I cook the food, my fiance clears the table.

He’s clearing objects, he is removing used

and unwanted items from the table.

If I clean my workspace, I’ll probably be wiping down

the surfaces or washing the table.

If I clear my workspace, I’m probably organising it,

removing pens and old bills and things like that.

Number four is to sweep.

To sweep.

This is to clean an area by brushing away dirt or litter.

I wouldn’t say to brush the dirt or brush the patio,

I would say can you sweep the patio.

An example, please sweep the floor carefully

last time you missed a spot.

A spot is a small area.

Number five is to wash.

This means to clean with water

and usually soap or a detergent.

For example, when you wash the dishes,

don’t use a metal brush on my nonstick pans.

Two things to note here, I say wash the dishes,

but I also talk about pans.

When we say wash the dishes, we’re speaking about dishes

plates and cutlery, but also any other kitchen utensils

that have been used in the process of preparing a meal.

Nonstick pans are different to normal pans

because they have a special coating

that makes sure that food doesn’t cling and burn.

The next one, number six, is to hang.

This means to suspend something from the top

leaving the bottom part to dangle free.

For example, why does it always rain

just as I go to hang my washing on the line?

Number seven is to hoover or to vacuum.

This means to clean with a vacuum cleaner.

Now, to vacuum is the universal phrase,

but to hoover is very common in British English.

And this is because for many years

Hoover, which is a brand of vacuum cleaner

basically dominated the market,

so we just said we were going to hoover something

instead of to vacuum something.

Now even if our vacuum cleaner is made by a different brand,

we are still inclined to call it a hoover.

An example, when my mother hoovers the carpets

she likes to leave visible vacuum cleaner marks

so that everybody can notice the effort that she’s made.

True story, I love my mom.

I always used to wonder why she would hoover so hard

to leave these marks.

Now I get it, when I hoover I want people to notice

that I’ve hoovered.

Number eight is to tidy.

This means to organise or to arrange neatly

or to put something in its place.

For example, I’m terrible at tidying my own bedroom,

but I’m very good at telling others to tidy there’s.

Number nine is to mop.

This means to clean something by soaking up water or liquid.

For example, if you see any spilt drinks,

be sure to mop the floor.

Number 10 is to polish.

This is to make the surface of something smooth and shiny

by rubbing it usually with a cloth.

For example, please could you polish the cutlery

before setting the table.

Note, to set the table is to place all of the things

that you need on a table before dinner: cutlery, napkins,

plates, salt and pepper, sauces, everything.

To set the table.

We can also say to lay the table.

Number 11 is to scrub.

Scrub.

This is to rub something hard,

usually with a brush and water in order to clean it.

For example, you’ll have to really scrub those baking trays,

unfortunately, they’re covered in burnt cake.

Number 12 is to scour.

To scour.

This means to clean the surface of something

by rubbing it hard usually with an abrasive or a detergent.

For example, you should scour that pan with a metal brush

and lots of washing up liquid.

And the last one number 13 is to dust.

This means to remove the dust or dirt

from the surface of something by wiping it or brushing it.

For example, please could you dust the ornaments

on the mantelpiece?

A mantelpiece is a wooden stone

or sometimes marble structure above a fireplace.

It’s like a shelf, and we like to put photo frames

and ornaments there.

Right, so we’ve got these 13 cleaning verbs.

How do we transform them into phrasal verbs?

And how do we know which verb goes with which preposition?

Ugh, I can make this so much easier for you.

Every single one of these verbs can be used

with the preposition up.

And up,

simply adds emphasis.

To wipe up,

to clean up, to clear up.

Up implies that you’re making something better.

So, to clean up means to clean something

in order to improve it.

Because up is adding emphasis it doesn’t necessarily change

the meaning of the verb before it.

You can use these cleaning verbs with confidence

with the preposition up,

knowing that the meaning is not changed.

To clean is the same as to clean up.

Just the latter has a little bit more emphasis.

Now, another preposition that you will hear a lot

with cleaning verbs is out.

The first seven verbs in the verb list

can also be used with out.

The following six cannot be used with out.

I mean you could try, but they would sound a bit weird.

Using out with a cleaning verb implies that something

like an unwanted object, or dust or dirt

is being removed from the inside of something,

whether that be a room or a hollow object.

To wipe out.

This could be the inside of a bag.

Can you wipe out your lunch box?

I’m removing all the dirt and old food

from the inside of a lunch box.

To clean out or to clear out,

these are commonly used with rooms.

To clear out your garage, for example.

To throw away unwanted items, and to make it cleaner.

To hang out is an exception in this case

because if you hang out the washing,

it doesn’t mean that your washing is unwanted

it just means that the washing is going to be hung outside.

But because to hang out is used quite frequently I thought

it was important that it was included in this list.

To hoover out, to vacuum out, to wash out, to sweep out.

This is all talking about removing dust

from somewhere or something.

To tidy, to mop, to polish, to scrub, to scour, and to dust

are not usually used with out,

but they are commonly used with up.

English is a very diverse and complicated language.

So, yes, you might hear someone say,

“Can you scrub out those pans?”

But I wouldn’t recommend it because it’s not commonly used.

Right, let’s move on to the next part of the lesson.

I’m going to give you some vocabulary words and phrases,

some are quite idiomatic, that describe cleanliness.

Words and phrases that you can use

to talk about things that are very clean.

A couple of words first.

The first one is spotless.

Spotless.

She cleaned the kitchen until it was spotless.

Next, number two, we have immaculate.

Immaculate, this means absolutely perfect.

By the time he’d finished the flat was immaculate.

Number three is orderly, orderly.

This means that something is very organised or tidy,

everything has a specific place.

The library was very orderly, every book had a place.

And number four, the last vocabulary word

is shipshape, shipshape.

This means in good order, very clean.

Sarah vacuums every day to keep her house shipshape.

Now, let’s move on to the phrases.

The first one is as clean as a whistle,

as clean as a whistle.

The sink was as clean as a whistle

after using the new detergent.

We also have as neat as a pin, as neat as a pin.

This means the same thing.

An example, their hallway was as neat as a pin.

The next one, number three, is spic and span, spic and span.

The guests left the hotel room spic and span, very clean.

And the last one is you could eat off the floor.

And this normally talks about someone’s kitchen,

if their kitchen is so clean,

it would actually be hygienic to eat off the floor.

Their home was so clean you could eat off the kitchen floor.

It’s a huge compliment to be told

that someone would eat off your kitchen floor.

Right, that’s it for today’s lesson.

I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you learned something.