I bet I can get a better score than you. Bring it on!

Jo:  Hello I’m Jo and this is BBC Learning English Question and Answer of the Week.
 
Li:  Hello I’m Li and today we’re going to answer a question from Ricky.
 
Jo:  Yes he wants to know what bring it on means.
 
Li:  是啊，bring it on 这个短语究竟是什么意思呢？他说，他曾听到很多老外使用这个短语。
 
Jo:  Well I spoke to Catherine Chapman from BBC Learning English to get an expert answer for you. But first of all – is this a commonly used phrase in English?
 
Li:  首先我们要搞清，这是一个通用短语吗? Here’s Catherine.
 
Insert
 
Yes I think it’s used really commonly but we use it mostly in speaking. It’s very informal – you wouldn’t really say it to your boss, your teacher or probably not your parents. It’s something people use to say with friends. Especially young people so it’s very much modern informal colloquial English.  
 
Jo:  So Catherine says it is used really commonly but it is used mostly in speaking. It’s very informal.
 
Li:  很随便的一个短语。一般你不会对自己的上司 boss，老师或父母说这句话。多数情况下只限于朋友之间，特别是年轻人。这是一个现代的，非正式和带有通俗口语特点的短语。现代 modern 非正式的 informal 通俗语的 colloquial.
 
Jo:  Modern informal colloquial English. So we know it’s used a lot but what
does it mean then? Listen to Catherine again.
 
Insert
 
The basic meaning of the phrase bring it on is I’m ready. Sometimes we can say a phrase like just do it and we can say bring it on when we mean just do it, I’m ready, let’s go, let’s do it.  
 
 
Jo:    So the basic meaning of bring it on is I’m ready. 
 
 
Li:  这个短语的基本意思就是我准备好了，想做什么就开始好了 just do it.
 
Jo:  Let’s go, let’s do it! Bring it on!
 
Li: Jo，你能不能举一两个更好的生活实例？
 
Jo:  OK have a listen to these.
 
Insert
 
-  Shall we go for that drink now?
-  Bring it on!
 
-  I’m really looking forward to the football game on Saturday.
-  Yeah bring it on!
 
Jo:  So if someone asks you for a drink you could say bring it on – meaning yes let’s do it, I’m ready for that.
 
Li:  第二句对话也是同样意思，一个人说它渴望着周六的足球赛，对方回答说，bring it on – 意思是，没问题，咱们一起去吧!
 
Jo:  On today’s BBC Learning English Question and Answer of the Week we’re answering Ricky’s question about the meaning of the phrase bring it on.
 
Li:  是的，这个通俗短语的基本意思就是，我准备好了，开始行动吧。不过 Catherine 还提醒大家，这个短语还有更深层的含义。
 
Insert
 
But we can also use bring it on especially when we’re talking about a challenge or a task, so if somebody wants us to do something quite difficult and we want to say that we’re confident, that we can do it successfully – we can say bring it on. So when someone challenges us or gives us a difficult task – bring it on means I’m ready and I’m gonna succeed.
 
Li:  原来，这个短语还有一层意思，就是在我们接受某种挑战或重任的时候可以说 bring it
on…
 
Jo:  A challenge or a task.
 
Li:  任务。 
 
Jo:  So if someone wants us to do something quite difficult and we want to share that we’re confident and we can do it successfully we can say…
 
Li:  Bring it on! 这句话反映了讲话者充满了信心，能够完成艰难任务 bring it on.
 
Jo:  So bring it on can mean I’m ready and I’m going to succeed when someone challenges us or gives us a task. Here’s some more examples.
 
Insert
 
-  Come on! Let’s see who can get the best score in this game. 
 
-  All right. Bring it on!
 
-  Are you ready for your vocabulary test today?
-  Bring it on!
 
 
Li:  我们一起设想一下，你的同学问你是否做好了准备来接受一项词汇测验，对于这个挑战，你很有信心，于是回答说 bring it on. 或者几个同学想在某个新的电子游戏上比试比试，你也可以回答说 bring it on.
 
Jo:  Finally, Ricky wanted to know about the pronunciation of bring it on.
 
Li:  单词的发音。在使用这个短语的时候怎样的发音才是自然的呢？我们还是听听 Catherine 怎么说吧。
 
Insert
 
English people don’t say bring…it…on. We kind of run them together in the same way that you don’t say how…are…you we say how are you. We don’t say bring…it…on we say bring it on. Sometimes we stress the ‘on’ bring it on and sometimes we can say it like this bring it on.
 
Jo:    So we run the words together.
 
Li:  连读。这很像大家经常说的问候语，你能麽样？ 你好吗？ 我们不说 how…are…you. 而是更为自然的 how are you? 同样的发音规则也适用于今天学习的短语…
 
Jo:  We don’t say bring…it…on, we say bring it on.
 
Li: Jo, 刚才 Catherine 还提到了这个短语的重音,也就是 stress, 对吧？
 
Jo:  Yes she said you can either put the stress on ‘on’ bring it on. Or sometimes you will hear the stress on ‘bring’. Bring it on.
 
Li:  Very well demonstrated Jo. 我想 Ricky 一定很满意，我认为这是一个非常好的问题，因为英语中的俗语或俚语的确不容易把握。欢迎大家经常登陆我们的网页 www.bbcchina.com.cn. 学习更多内容。
 
Jo:  Or if you have a question about English you can email us chinaelt@bbc.co.uk. We’ll be answering another question next week – bye
for now.
 
Li: Bye.  

Ricky wrote to us asking if we could explain the meaning of the phrase bring it on.

BBC Learning English language expert Catherine Chapman explained that it is a commonly-used phrase in English, but mainly in spoken English. It is a modern informal colloquial English phrase that is used a lot by young people in particular.

It basically means I’m ready to do something. It’s similar to the phrase just do it and when you use it, it can mean let’s go or let’s do it.

A: Shall we go for that drink now?
B: Bring it on!

A: I’m really looking forward to the football game on Saturday.
B: Bring it on!

Catherine told us it’s a phrase that is used especially when talking about a challenge or a task.

If someone wants you to do something quite difficult, you can say bring it on to mean you’re confident you can do it successfully.

A: Are you ready for your vocabulary test today?
B: Bring it on!

A: Come on! Let’s see who can get the best score in this game.
B: All right. Bring it on!

And as for the pronunciation, we don’t say each word separately. We run them together, which is quite usual in English. The stress is sometimes on the word 'on' and it sometimes on the word 'bring'.

Listen to the programme to hear lots of examples.

Thanks for your question Ricky. If you have a question like Ricky’s about the English language, email us: questions.chinaelt@bbc.co.uk.

Glossary 词汇

expert 专家

commonly-used 常用的/通用的

mainly 主要的

informal 非正式的/随便的

colloquial 俗语口语的

in particular 特别（是）

a challenge 挑战

a task 任务

confident 自信的

successfully 成功地

as for 至于/关于

pronunciation 单词的发音

separately 分开的/隔开的

run them together 连读/连起来

stress 重音