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  • Hey guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on: "Dress up" or "Get dressed?"

  • So these are two very common expressions that we use regularly in English to talk about putting on clothes.

  • However, there is a slight difference in the usage, and we're going to look at that today.

  • So let's look at the top three sentences on the board, and see if you can tell me which expression I should use to complete them.

  • So the first one says: "It's your mom's 50th birthday! You should __________."

  • The second one says: "The bus leaves in 5 minutes! __________!"

  • "Do you __________ for Halloween?"

  • Okay, if you're screaming and saying, "Wait, this one should be 'get dressed' and this one should be 'dress up'", ask yourself why are you saying that?

  • So first, before we actually do the answers, let's do the definitions.

  • So when you "dress up" for something - over here, we'll put it in the middle - you basically dress formally.

  • So if you're going to a wedding, you have to dress up; if you go to a nice restaurant you have to dress up.

  • Or you can put on a costume of some kind.

  • So those of you who maybe are comic book readers and if you have been to a comic book convention, people dress up at comic book conventions.

  • Now, the other one "get dressed" is much more general.

  • It just means to put on clothes in a general way.

  • So every morning, you know, you get dressed.

  • If you're going out somewhere, you have to get dressed; just put on clothes. Okay?

  • So now that we know this, let's look at the top three sentences and do them one more time.

  • So, "It's your mom's 50th birthday! You should 'get dressed' or 'dress up'", what do you think?

  • Well, your mom's 50th birthday is a special occasion, so I'm giving you the advice that you should probably dress up.

  • Wear nicer clothes. It's her 50th, you're going to a nice restaurant. Okay?

  • The second one: "The bus leaves in 5 minutes!"

  • So you're going to school or you're going to work and you just woke up, and you're still not ready; you're in your pajamas so you have to get dressed.

  • So this could be a mom yelling at her son or daughter, or a dad I suppose as well.

  • And finally: "Do you __________ for Halloween?"

  • Again, Halloween is a holiday where you... Well, not really a holiday; people have to work.

  • But it's a fun day in October where people wear costumes.

  • So "Do you dress up for Halloween?" Okay?

  • Now, again, we wouldn't say, "Do you get dressed for Halloween?" That just means like, "Do you wear clothes at all?" or "Do you go naked for Halloween?"

  • So two very different meanings. Right? Okay, so now that we... I think we have the basic meaning of these two expressions, let's look at three more to perfect it.

  • First: "There's a dress code."

  • So imagine, you're going to a restaurant and some restaurants have dress codes; you're not allowed to just go in jeans and a t-shirt.

  • You have to wear either a suit or nice pants or a belt.

  • So "There's a dress code. You have to dress up."

  • Today, zombies are very popular, at least at the time of this video.

  • Maybe 10 years from now when you're looking at this, maybe... I don't know, what could be popular? Police officers? I have no idea.

  • So imagine there is a costume party and it's a zombie-themed party; the theme is zombies.

  • So "Everyone is____", everyone is doing what?

  • "Everyone is dressing up." Everyone is going to dress up. So you can say: "Everyone is going to dress up."

  • Or "Everyone is dressing up for the party." They're putting on zombie costumes, zombie makeup.

  • Finally, "In the morning, I __________ after I brush my teeth."

  • So after you brush your teeth, generally you put on clothes in the morning. Right?

  • So you get dressed.

  • That's it.

  • So I hope I have cleared up this... These two very common expressions for you guys.

  • So one more time: "get dressed", very general, put on your clothes. Usually we're talking about when you get up in the morning or before you leave the house, you have to get dressed.

  • "Dress up", if it's a formal occasion, if you're putting on a costume of some kind for a party or a special occasion.

Hey guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on: "Dress up" or "Get dressed?"

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