Come in

Come in

“Come in” is a phrasal verb we use to describe the variations of a product.

So let’s think about products that have a variation. A shirt can have multiple variations. It can have different sizes and different colors. A shirt can come in blue, black, green, yellow, whatever. It can come in small, medium, large, and extra-large. When we say a shirt “comes in four sizes,” we mean that the same product is available in four variations, small, medium, large, and extra-large.

I just ordered some new Tide Pods. Do you know what those are? Instead of pouring laundry detergent liquid into the washing machine, you can just toss a few of these little pods—little packets—into the washing machine. They come in many different scents. And they come in different sized packages. I usually get the big one, 84 pods. But they also come in smaller sizes if you don’t need as many.

So far we’ve talked about size, scent, color. How about flavor? In today’s lesson, I said that ice cream here in the U.S. used to come in just three flavors : chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry. Who would want to live in a world like that? I don’t know; somehow people survived. Did you ever get one of those tubs of ice cream that had all three flavors in a row? It was weird; nobody ever wanted strawberry, but there it was.

Anyway, now ice cream comes in more flavors than you can imagine. Ice cream is available in many, many flavors.

I’ve mentioned before I drive a Mazda3. The Mazda3 comes in two body styles: a sedan and a hatchback. It’s the same car, same interior, same color options, same front, same engine, same frame, same options, all that. The only difference is that the hatchback has a hatch and the sedan has a trunk.

Can you think of other cars that come in both a sedan and a hatchback style? The names might be different where you are, but the Toyota Corolla now comes in both a sedan and a hatchback. The Honda Civic also comes in a sedan and a hatchback.

If you want to say that there’s just one variation available—like, you might think or expect multiple variations, but there’s only one variation. You can say, “it only comes in…” So the Volkswagen Golf is a great example. That only comes in a hatchback. That’s the only body style available. You can’t get any other. You know, the Mazda3 comes in a sedan and a hatchback. That’s not true for the VW Golf. The VW Golf only comes in a hatchback: there is only one variation available. Sure, it comes in many colors, but it only comes in one body style.

There’s a funny saying in English about the Ford Model T, the first big mass-market car. The saying goes like this: You could get the Model T in any color you wanted, as long as you wanted it in black. That’s because the original Ford Model T only came in black. Today, cars come in lots of different colors, but that original Model T only came in black. That was your only option.

JR’s song of the week

JR is back for a song of the week. Did you enjoy meeting him on Monday for the 500th episode? He did great, right? Well he’s back behind the controls and he has selected “Drive” by the electronic music group Clean Bandit and the German DJ Topic. The video shows a truck driver, performing in the cab of his truck, as it goes from the country to the city to outer space. “Drive” by Clean Bandit and Topic is the song of the week from JR.

See you next time!

As we conclude here, I want to say a special thank you to all of you who recorded videos for the special 500th lesson—I am in shock at how many of you participated and I loved hearing all your stories. I’ve left testimonial videos for other brands, too, and it’s not easy, and that’s in my first language! You all were doing it in your second language. And I just loved all your enthusiasm and your stories, so thank you so, so much.

If you haven’t seen the final product, it’s available at PlainEnglish.com/500, right below the video of the lesson.

And that’s all for today, number 501. Remember to join us on Monday for the end of the story about Ben & Jerry’s.