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Talking about DIY

Episode 260515 / 15 May 2026

(Photo: Getty)

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Introduction

Georgie and Phil have a real conversation in easy English about DIY – doing work yourself, without hiring a professional. Learn to talk about the difference between putting things up and putting things together, what DIY actually stands for, and the highs and lows of flat-pack furniture.

Vocabulary

DIY
jobs completed without hiring a professional, such as fixing or painting things around the house; stands for Do It Yourself

decorate
paint something or change the way it looks

flat-pack furniture
furniture which is sold as a collection of parts, with instructions to build it

put (something) up
fix something to the wall

put (something) together
build something 

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Transcript

Georgie
Hello and welcome to Real Easy English. We're back with another conversation in easy English to help you learn. I'm Georgie.
 
Phil
And I'm Phil. And you can find a video version of this podcast with subtitles to help you on our website. And that's at bbclearningenglish.com.
 
Georgie
Hello Phil. How are you?
 
Phil
I'm good, but I'm also a little bit tired because I've been doing DIY all weekend.
 
Georgie
Well, that's lucky because today we're talking about DIY. DIY stands for Do It Yourself and it means doing things to your home, such as fixing and painting. So, what kind of DIY have you been doing this weekend?
 
Phil
Yes, I've been trying to fix my water tank.
 
Georgie
OK. And do you do a lot of DIY?
 
Phil
More than I want to. I'm not very good at DIY. If it's something I can do, I will try and do it. Some things I would never touch, like electrics. I wouldn't go anywhere near that or gas because it's not safe. But if it's something that looks safe and I think I can do it, I will try it.
 
Georgie
OK. So, what kinds of things do you do around the house?

Phil
It could be things like painting and decorating your house, making it look nice – that I quite like. I can do that. Sometimes fixing things with bits of wood that need to go somewhere – I can do that. Putting up fences – I could do that, but that's probably it. What about you, Georgie? Do you do much DIY?
 
Georgie
No, I don't. I actually rent my flat, so that means I can't really do much to the place because it's not mine. But recently I have put up some lights in my room, because I changed rooms, so I've put up some nice fairy lights on the wall, and I've put up some frames with art and photos, so that's probably my limit. I wouldn't do anything else.
 
Phil
Do you enjoy DIY?
 
Georgie
No, I don't, because I'm quite a lazy person. So, if I see that something is broken or needs fixing, I will just ignore it – procrastinate, which means to delay something, postpone it – and wait for someone else to do it. I kind of get used to things being broken and forget that it's like that. So, yeah, I'm just a bit lazy. Phil, have you ever put together furniture, like flat-pack furniture?
 
Phil
Yes. Yes, I've done that. Yeah, quite a lot. Because, yeah, a lot of furniture you buy that's fairly cheap – you have to do that. I don't actually mind that. I quite like that. It's quite good to do it with someone and you work as a team.
 
Georgie
Mmm. Like an activity?
 
Phil
Yes. Yes, it can... Well, sometimes it's fun. Sometimes it's stressful.
 
Georgie
Yeah. If it goes well that can be a nice thing to do with someone, but if it goes badly it could lead to an argument. Do you have any big plans for your house?
 
Phil
I would really like to get a very nice bit of wood and make a nice bar for my kitchen. I'd love to do that, but it's expensive and I haven't done it yet. I keep procrastinating and not doing it. What about you?
 
Georgie
I rent my flat so I can't do anything big. I don't have big plans, but we do have an outdoor terrace, which at the moment it's not very... it's not in a very good state. So, I would like to clean it, maybe get some plants for it. I'd like to put some lights out there, actually, so that when people come round it will be really nice in the evenings. So, yeah, that's my plan. Ready for the summer.
 
Phil
That sounds lovely.
 
Georgie
OK. Let's recap the language we heard during the conversation, starting with DIY, which stands for Do It Yourself. These are jobs you do around the house, like fixing or painting. For example, I don't like DIY – I'm too lazy.
 
Phil
We also heard decorate, which means paint a room or change how it looks.
 
Georgie
We heard flat-pack furniture, which is furniture which comes with instructions so that you can build it yourself.
 
Phil
And we heard a couple of phrasal verbs. If you put something up, you fix it to the wall. So, for example, Georgie put up some picture frames in her bedroom.
 
Georgie
And if you put something together, you build it. For example, Phil likes to put togetherflat-pack furniture with someone else.
 
Phil
And that's it for this episode of Real Easy English. You can practise what you've learnt with a worksheet that's on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
 
Georgie
And we'll be back next week with another conversation in easy English. Goodbye for now.
 
Phil
Bye!

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