English Expressions: 5 Popular English Proverbs

Do you know what a proverb is? Proverbs are wise words of advice. They are also the most common expressions that native English speakers use. In this lesson, I'll teach you five popular English proverbs. By watching this lesson, you'll not only learn to speak and understand English better, you'll also gain the wisdom of these proverbs! Before you start using these expressions, take the quiz to make sure that you know exactly how to use them! http://www.engvid.com/english-express...

You can also check out my list of 50 common proverbs in English here: http://www.engvid.com/english-resourc...

If you like this lesson, make sure to watch my other proverb video at    • 5 common sayings in English  

TRANSCRIPT

Hi, everyone. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on five popular English proverbs. First, what is a proverb? Well, every culture has proverbs. They are sayings, or wise words, or words of advice that people use in given contexts/situations.

Now, again, I mentioned that every culture has proverbs. They are culturally specific. There are some that, you know, go across various cultures, various languages. And maybe some or perhaps all of the ones I will look at today, you will be familiar with in your own language. But the key is to learn it in English so that you know which verb we use with the proverb or what the correct phrase is. So the important thing is to memorize them, because you will hear them all the time in movies, you'll read them in books, you'll hear them in conversations.

Let's not waste any more time, and let's start with number one. "Actions speak louder than words." So, this is a very common proverb across many languages. Again, in English, it's: "Actions speak louder than words." So the important thing, again, memorize the exact phrasing because if one word is different, some people might not understand what you mean. So this proverb simply means actually doing something means much more than just talking about it. If you have a friend who always talks about doing great things with their life, but they never do anything about it, it doesn't mean anything. Their words are meaningless. So, in this situation, I will only believe you once I see you doing it. Actions speak louder than words.

Let's look at number two. "Laughter is the best medicine." So, this is a proverb which simply means that laughing makes it easier to deal with difficult situations. So if you're having a hard time, you know, in school or you've received some sad news about someone in your family, maybe your friend invites you to watch a comedy movie at the movie theatre, and they say: "Come on. Laughter is the best medicine." If you're in a difficult situation, it helps to remind you that, you know, there are good things in the world and just laugh about it. You will feel a little bit better. So, laughter is the best medicine.

Now, let's move on to number three. "Two wrongs don't make a right." So in this context, we mean that revenge will not fix the problem. If someone does something to you and you want to do something bad to them, that's not going to fix the problem. They're wrong, you're wrong, it doesn't make it right. And it can also mean that morally bad actions-this is a philosophical question; it's up to you to decide what is morally bad-do not justify their results. So if you just keep doing bad things, but you're getting, let's say, a lot of money for these bad things, those bad things don't make it right. Okay? So remember: two wrongs don't make a right.

Now, let's move on to number four. "Better late than never." So, this simply means exactly what it says. It's better to do something, even if it's late, than to never do it at all. So if you have a writing assignment at school, it's better that you finish it, obviously, on time, but if it can't be on time, do it late because it's much better to do it late and lose 20%, 30% than to not do it at all and to get a zero. So, better late than never.

Finally, let's look at number five. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." This simply means that when you are in a new situation or a new place, do your best to follow the expected customs of that situation or of that place. This is a very common expression that people use, especially when they're on vacations. So, if you're in a new place, for example, Paris, France, and let's say that the stereotype is people drink wine, eat baguettes with butter and cheese, maybe that's what you want to do and say: "Okay, well, when in Rome..." Even though you're in Paris, you still say "Rome". "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."