My name is Hika Ito and I am the creator of the original Bizmates program.

And today's word or phrase is every now and then.

And what I like about this is that there are four simple words every now and then,

but when you put them together, they sound really really natural.

Every now and then.

But I almost never hear my Japanese students use this.

OK, so let's learn how we could use this.

OK, so here we have an example and this is what I often ask my students.

I say, do you go drinking with your colleagues?

And their answer is yes, I sometimes go drinking with my colleagues.

This is a perfect answer. Perfect.

But it's missing something.

It's missing that natural touch.

OK? So, to make it sound a little more natural, we could say this.

So if I ask do you go drinking with your colleagues?

You can say sure, every now and then.

Just like that.

Sure, every now and then.

Now, let's practice the pronunciation here.

So, it's sure with a pause.

Sure, it's not every now and then,

but it's every now and then, now and then. See how they connect? Now and. Nowanthen.

It's not now and then. Now and then.

Now, I want you to try.

Sure, every now and then.

One more time.

Sure, every now and then.

So, let me ask you. Do you go drinking with your colleagues?

OK... excellent.

So, for homework now.

I want you to tell me what do you do every now and then.

OK, so next time we meet,

I'm going to ask you, please tell me, what do you do every now and then?

OK, see you next time.

Thank you.