Who Does the Dishes? — Easy English Conversation

Transcript

Introduction

A: Today we’re talking about housework — the jobs nobody wants, and the phrases everybody needs.

B: Twelve of them. Listen for these six: to do the dishes, to load the dishwasher, to do the laundry, to tidy up, It’s your turn, and to split the chores.

A: We’ll go room by room, hear two short scenes with roommates, and finish with a practice where you answer out loud.

B: You can practice today’s phrases in Recursio — link in the description.

A: Let’s start where the mess usually starts. The kitchen.

In the kitchen

B: First, the big word for all of this: chores. Chores are the small jobs you do regularly to keep a home clean and working. And the verb is “do”: to do the chores.

A: “I do the chores on Saturday morning.”

B: Perfect. You’ll also hear “household chores,” and “do chores” without “the.” “I have to do some chores before I go out.”

A: Why “do” and not “make”?

B: In English, we usually “do” jobs and tasks. That’s why it’s “do the chores,” “do your homework,” “do the shopping.” We have a whole guide on “make” and “do” — it’s linked below.

A: Is there any chore with “make”?

B: One very common one: “make the bed.” You pull the sheets and the blanket flat in the morning. “I make my bed every day.” So it’s “make the bed,” but “do the chores.”

A: Make the bed, do the dishes. I’ll need to practice that.

B: You will. And here’s a good question to ask a roommate or a partner: “Which chores do you hate the most?”

A: Easy. All of them.

B: Fair enough. Let’s start with the one after every meal.

A: Okay. Dinner is over. The table is full of dirty plates, glasses, and forks.

B: Then somebody has to do the dishes. It means washing everything you used for cooking and eating.

A: “Do the dishes.” Can I say “wash the dishes”?

B: Yes, that’s correct too, and very common. “Do the dishes” is maybe a little more everyday. In British English, you’ll also hear “do the washing-up.” In the US, it’s usually “do the dishes.”

A: And if I have a dishwasher?

B: Then you don’t wash by hand. You put everything into the machine. That’s: to load the dishwasher.

A: “Load,” like loading a truck.

B: Exactly — you fill it. And when it’s finished, you take everything out. That’s “to unload the dishwasher.” “I’ll load it tonight, and you unload it in the morning.”

A: In today’s short video, someone says, “Put the plates in the machine.”

B: And everyone understands — but “Load the dishwasher” is the phrase people actually use. It’s shorter, too.

A: Last kitchen job. The trash can under the sink is full. It smells a little.

B: Then it’s time to take out the trash. You carry the bag outside, to the big can or the dumpster.

A: “Take out the trash.” I’ve also heard “take out the garbage.”

B: Both are common in American English. In British English, you’ll often hear “take out the rubbish” or “take the bins out.” And notice it’s a phrasal verb — you can split it: “take the trash out.” “Can you take it out?”

A: “Take it out” — not “take out it.”

B: Right. With “it,” the little word goes in the middle.

Laundry day

A: Now, laundry. My least favorite job.

B: Laundry means dirty clothes — and also clothes that are clean but not put away yet. The whole job is: to do the laundry.

A: “I do the laundry on Sundays.”

B: Good. It usually means washing and drying the clothes. Some people include folding in the whole job, but we’ll give that step its own phrase. In British English, you might hear “do the washing.”

A: And “laundry” — is it one laundry, two laundries?

B: Usually no plural. Laundry is uncountable, like “water” or “music.” “I have a lot of laundry.” “There’s a pile of laundry on my bed.”

A: That’s my bed right now.

B: Then you need the next phrase. The clothes are dry and clean. You take each shirt and make it flat and neat. That’s: to fold the laundry.

A: “Fold.” Like folding a letter.

B: Exactly. “Can you fold the towels?” “I folded your shirts — they’re on your bed.”

A: Honestly, folding is the part I skip.

B: A lot of people do. The laundry is done… but it sits in a basket for three days.

A: Three days is optimistic.

B: Quick tip before we move to the living room. If you want to remember these phrases, save them in Recursio and review them later.

The living room

A: Living room. There’s dust, crumbs on the floor, and the dog’s hair everywhere.

B: Then you need to vacuum. You use a machine that pulls up dust and dirt from the floor.

A: “Vacuum” is the verb and the machine?

B: Both. “I need to vacuum the living room.” “Where’s the vacuum?” — that’s the machine. You’ll also hear “vacuum cleaner.” In British English, people sometimes say “hoover,” from a brand name.

A: How do you spell it? It looks strange.

B: V-A-C-U-U-M. Two U’s. It’s one of those words.

A: Okay. The floor is clean. But there’s stuff everywhere — books on the sofa, shoes in the middle of the room, three cups on the table.

B: Then the room isn’t dirty, exactly. It’s messy. And you need to tidy up — to make it neat and organized.

A: “Tidy up the living room.”

B: Yes. “Tidy up” is understood, but in American English, “clean up” and “pick up” are often more natural. You might hear “Pick up your room” or “Let’s clean up before dinner.”

A: “Pick up your room” — my mom said that every day.

B: Mine too. And “tidy up” usually means one main thing: put things back where they belong. That’s our next phrase: to put things away.

A: “Put away your shoes.”

B: Or “put your shoes away.” It’s another phrasal verb you can split. “Put the books away.” “Can you put it away?”

A: “Put it away” — again, “it” in the middle.

B: Exactly. “Put away” means put it in its place — the closet, the shelf, the drawer. Not just somewhere else.

A: Not just on a different chair.

B: Not just on a different chair.

A: And when I walk in and see the room before all this?

B: Then you say: What a mess! It’s what you say when a place is messy or dirty.

A: “What a mess!”

B: You can say it about a room, a kitchen after a party, or a desk. “What a mess! What happened here?” If it’s someone else’s space, your tone matters — it can sound like criticism.

A: And about a situation? Like my schedule this week?

B: Yes. “My week is a mess.” “The project is a mess.” It works for problems too, not just rooms.

Sharing the work

A: Now the most important part. Who does all this?

B: In a lot of homes, that’s where the arguments start. One way to share the work is to split the chores — to divide the jobs between people.

A: “Split,” like “split the check” in a restaurant.

B: Exactly the same idea. You share it. “We split the chores: I cook, he does the dishes.” “Let’s split the chores fairly.”

A: And how do people split them?

B: Some families make a list on the fridge. Some take turns. A fair split doesn’t always mean the same number of jobs: cooking dinner can take longer than taking out the trash.

A: So you can think about the time each job takes.

B: Exactly. Which brings us to the last phrase. When it’s someone’s job this time: It’s your turn.

A: “It’s your turn to do the dishes.”

B: Perfect. “Your turn” plus “to” plus the verb. And you can say whose turn it is: “Whose turn is it to take out the trash?” “It’s my turn.” “It’s his turn.”

A: “I did it last time. It’s your turn.”

B: That’s the sentence that ends a lot of arguments — or starts them.

A: Is it rude?

B: It depends on your tone. With a shared plan, it can sound friendly. If you’re annoyed, it can sound like an accusation. You’ll hear it in games too: “Okay, your turn.”

Saturday morning

A: Let’s put all twelve together. We’re roommates, and it’s Saturday morning.

B: Okay. Good morning! Wow — what a mess! Was there a party last night?

A: Just a few friends. Sorry. I’ll tidy up this morning.

B: I don’t mind your friends coming over. I do mind finding their cups in every room.

A: That’s fair. I should have picked them up last night.

B: Thanks. Can we talk about the chores? I think we need to split the chores better.

A: Sure. What’s the problem?

B: I did the dishes three times this week.

A: I didn’t realize it was three times. We said we’d take turns, but I lost track.

B: We never wrote down whose turn it was.

A: You’re right. It’s my turn. I’ll load the dishwasher right now.

B: Thanks. And the trash is full again.

A: I’ll take out the trash, too. What about laundry?

B: I did the laundry yesterday. It’s in the basket.

A: Then I’ll fold the laundry. You did the hard part.

B: Deal. I’ll vacuum the living room after you put things away.

A: Wait — why after?

B: Because I can’t vacuum around fifteen pairs of shoes.

A: Fair. Half of those shoes are mine. I’ll put things away, then you can vacuum the whole floor.

B: Perfect. And next Saturday? I don’t want us to have the same conversation again.

A: Let’s make a list and put it on the fridge. Every week, we switch who does which job.

B: And if one of us cooks, the other can do the dishes. That way dinner doesn’t become one person’s job every night.

A: Good idea. Let’s write that down too.

B: So we take turns doing the chores. That sounds easier to remember.

A: Deal. I’ll find a pen after I put these cups in the kitchen.

B: And I’ll clear the table for breakfast.

Thirty minutes before the guests

A: One more short scene. The following Friday evening, friends are coming to the same apartment for dinner in thirty minutes.

B: The pasta bake is in the oven, but the apartment isn’t ready.

A: The living room definitely isn’t. Let’s get moving.

B: Okay! I’ll do the dishes from lunch. Can you vacuum?

A: Sure. But first I need to put things away. There are bags on every chair.

B: Good idea. Oh no — the trash is full again.

A: I’ll take out the trash, then get the drinks from the fridge.

B: Thanks. The dishwasher is full of clean plates. I’ll unload it, and then I’ll load it with these.

A: What about the laundry on the sofa?

B: There’s no time to fold the laundry. Just put the basket in the bedroom.

A: That’s not really tidying up.

B: You’re right. We’ll fold it after everyone leaves. For now, we need the sofa.

A: Fair enough. The trash is out, the bags are away, and I vacuumed. Ten minutes left.

B: I put clean plates on the table, and the pasta bake is nearly done. The room looks much better.

A: Did we remember napkins?

B: They’re in the drawer. Can you put them on the table while I take dinner out?

A: On it. Oh, the doorbell! We nearly made it.

B: Don’t worry. They came to see us, not inspect the floor. It’s your turn to get the door.

A: Why is it my turn?

B: Because I’m holding this hot dish. Go — they’re waiting!

Practice

A: Here’s how it works. You’ll hear a situation. Answer out loud in the pause, then listen to our answer. First one: you did the dishes last night. Your roommate will do them tonight. What do you say to him?

B: It’s your turn to do the dishes.

A: “Your turn” plus “to” plus the verb.

B: Your kitchen trash can is full, and there are dirty plates in the sink. What two jobs do you need to do?

A: I need to take out the trash and load the dishwasher.

B: “Take out the trash” and “load” — you fill the machine.

A: You washed and dried your clothes, but now they’re in a pile on the bed. What do you say you did, and what do you still need to do?

B: I did the laundry, but I still need to fold it.

A: “Do the laundry” for washing and drying, and “fold” for the next step.

B: You walk into the living room. Books and shoes are everywhere. What do you say first?

A: What a mess!

B: That can sound like criticism, so tone matters.

A: There’s dust on the floor, and your things are all over the sofa. What two things will you do?

B: I’ll put my things away, and then I’ll vacuum.

A: “Put away” means back in their place, and “vacuum” is the verb, too.

B: You live with two friends and want to share the housework fairly. What could you suggest?

A: Let’s split the chores.

B: “Split,” like splitting the check — everyone takes a part.

Outro

A: Today you practiced twelve phrases for housework, from “do the dishes” to “split the chores.”

B: Tomorrow, we’ll look at the most common mistakes people make when they talk about home.

A: Until then, open the link below and practice today’s phrases in Recursio.

B: See you in the next one.