This BBC Podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Du, jag skulle ju köpa några nya palpställd i lagret. Det kanske blev lite mer grejer. De hade ju allt, man hade en skribd, jag köpte en sån här, och kontorstolar, och så hade de en skit snygg typcontainer. Vi har inredning för hela arbetsplatsen. All your products out. Town stuff. Tänk dig i tanken vad du gör om fem år. Tio. Med rådgivning som verkligen gör skillnad hjälper vi dig att spara för framtiden du vill leva i. Upptäck mer på
Are you scared of speaking English? You're not alone. I am Hanan. And I'm Georgie, and our new series Beating Speaking Anxiety helps you fight your fears of speaking English. Hear from learners and experts and get practical advice about how to improve your speaking skills. Find Beating Speaking Anxiety on our website BBClearning English dot com
Hello and welcome to the English We Speak, where we explain phrases and expressions used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too. I'm Fei Fei. And I'm Phil. Can I ask you something, Fey Fey? Yes, sure. Okay. You know, you were going to take next week off work, and I was going to take the week after that off. Turns out I mixed up the dates I booked flights for next week. Could I swap weeks with you and take next week off? Um I know it's a big ask. Phil, that is a big ask.
I don't think I can do that. I've already got everything planned out. Okay. I I get it. It was a big ask. Shall we just explain this expression a big ask? Well, that's not such a big ask. Let's do that. Okay, so a big ask is a request for something that you know will be difficult for the person that you are asking. You asking me to change my holiday was too big an ass.
I just can't do it. That was probably an unreasonable thing for me to ask for. We often use a big ask at work to say that you know a task is difficult when you're asking for it to be done. I know it's a big ask, but can you do it? And we also use it to say that what someone is asking us for might be too difficult. That's a big ask, but I'll try and get it done. Let's hear some other examples of people using a big ask. Asking me to do anything before I've had my morning coffee is a big arse.
I know it's a big ask, but can you pick me up from the airport next weekend? My flight gets in at three AM. To start with, my neighbour asked me to water his plants while he's on holiday, but now he's added mowing the lawn, and that's a big ask. We've been learning the expression a big ask to talk about difficult requests. Now, ask is usually a verb, but it's actually being used as a noun here. Um we don't often use ask as a noun outside this expression. No we don't.
That's it for this programme, but join us again next time to learn more English phrases and expressions. Make sure you listen. It's not a big ask. Goodbye. Bye. Hallo, hallo. Får jag be dig om legitimation, tack. Har du en legitimation? Ja, du har ett leck jag kan försöka på. Okej, har du ett leck, tack. När det kommer till ålderskontroll. Begränsa tillgång till alkohol mälsan bättre. Hittar du lägget heller? Systembolaget annorlunda av en anledning.