Medium: Do the double

Premier Vocabulary is a mini-podcast for you to learn football English one word at a time. We have three different levels for you: easy, medium and hard.

This episode is medium so we’re looking at football words and phrases you need to describe what’s happening on the pitch or words and phrases fans and commentators on TV might use. There are lots of phrasal verbs to learn at this level.

Summary

Learn more football vocabulary with Premier Skills English. Each lesson in our Premier Vocabulary section looks at one football word or phrase. This lesson looks at the phrase to do the double. 

You can find more lessons on the side of this page.

Transcript

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich and welcome to Premier Skills English - Premier Vocabulary.

Jack: Hi there! I’m Jack. We’re here to help you with your football English. Premier Vocabulary is a mini-podcast for you to learn football English one word at a time. 

Rich: We have three different levels for you: easy, medium and hard.

Jack: This episode is medium so we’re looking at football words and phrases you need to describe what’s happening on the pitch or words and phrases fans and commentators on TV might use. There will be lots of phrasal verbs to learn at this level.

Rich: The phrase we are looking at in this episode is to do the double.

Jack: Have a listen and see if you can understand the phrase to do the double.

Rich: Liverpool are more than 20 points clear in the Premier League and we’re still in the FA Cup. We could do the double this season, you know.

Jack: You’re definitely going to win the Premier League but do the double - I’m not so sure. You’re away to Chelsea in the next round of the FA Cup. 

Rich: So, to do the double is to win the league and the main cup competition in the same season.

Jack: Doing the double is winning both of the main competitions in English football in the same season. The word double is connected to the number two and is used to say that there are two similar things or actions.

Rich: We use it as a noun in the phrase to do the double. Another couple of examples where double is used as noun include are in a hotel where you might ask for a double which means a double room or when we play tennis - we play singles or doubles.

Jack: The word double is probably more common as an adjective. In a hotel, we might ask for a double - and use it as a noun but it really is an adjective - a double room.

Rich: A word can have a double meaning, you might want a double espresso when you have a coffee or you might have double maths at school.

Rich: In England, the double is winning the English League and the FA Cup. This actually hasn’t been done that often and only eight teams have ever done the double and only four of them have done it since the start of the Premier League.

Jack: In the Premier League, Chelsea have done the double, Manchester City did the double last season, Arsenal have done the double twice and Manchester United have done the double three times.

Rich: And Liverpool are going to do the double this season!

Jack: Maybe. You may also hear the phrase to do the treble. This is connected to winning three trophies. Manchester City won the domestic treble last season - they won the league, league cup and FA Cup.

Rich: We also hear the phrase to do the double over another team. This has a slightly different meaning.

Jack: Yes, it means to beat another team home and away in the same season. 

Rich: Liverpool have done the double over every team they have played twice this season apart from Manchester United.

Jack: There is the final whistle!

Rich: We’ll be back soon with more Premier Vocabulary from Premier Skills English.

Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football.

Discuss

• Is anyone going to do the double in the Premier League this season?
• Which team has done the double most times in your 

Write your answers in the comments section below.