“Do you like living in New York?” “It depends.” “Should I buy a new laptop?” “Well…it depends.” “Is English difficult?” “That depends.” “It depends” is one of those little English expressions that we use all the time in everyday English. But did you know that the phrase, “It depends” has a number of different meanings and uses? Most of the …
1081 – Bring vs. Take: Which One Should You Use?
Can you bring me a coffee? I’m only taking one suitcase. What should I bring? Don’t forget to take your umbrella. Bring your laptop. Take this to the office. Bring and take seem like simple words, but they’re easy to mix up. You’ve probably learned that bring means “move something toward the speaker” and take means “move something away from …
1078 – What Does “Go Ahead” Really Mean?
Go ahead. Go ahead and start without me. You go ahead. I’ll catch up. Go right ahead. Go ahead, I’m listening. Go ahead. Two simple words that you’ll hear all the time in everyday American English. Sometimes we use it to give someone permission. Sometimes it means start or continue. Sometimes we use it to tell someone to go before …
1077 – How Americans Really Use “Come On”
Come on, let’s go. Oh, come on! Come on, you can do it. Come on in. Come on over. Come on. Two simple words, right? But depending on the situation and your tone of voice, those two little words can mean hurry up, I don’t believe you, you can do it, enter, visit me, or even… that’s ridiculous. It’s one …
1075 – How Americans Really Use “Guess”
I guess so. I guess not. I guess you’re right. Let me guess. Guess what? You probably learned that the verb guess means to answer a question when you don’t know the answer. And that’s true. But in everyday American English, guess has several other meanings. In fact, when native speakers say, “I guess,” they’re usually not making a guess …
1074 – How Americans Really Use “I’m Good”
I’m good. We’re good. You’re good. It’s all good. You probably learned that good is the opposite of bad. So you might think, “I’m good” is simply a conversational reply to “How are you. And it is. But in everyday American English, I’m good has several different meanings. We use I’m good to politely refuse something, to say we don’t …
1073 – How You Can Really Use Kind Of
I’m kind of tired. That’s kind of expensive. It was kind of weird. I kind of forgot. If you’ve ever listened to English speakers, you’ve probably heard the phrase kind of over and over again. But here’s the interesting thing. Most of the time, when we say “kind of” we’re not talking about a type of something. We’re using kind …
1072 – How to Use “That Works” Naturally
That works. Works for me. Does that work? That doesn’t work for my schedule. Did you notice, these expressions all use the verb work, but they’re not about having a job. In everyday American English, we often use work to talk about whether a time, a plan, an idea, or a solution is acceptable, convenient, or possible. So if someone …
1071 – How Americans Talk About Hot Weather
Man! It’s hot as hell. It’s like an oven out there. I’m melting. Crank up the A/C. Time to beat the heat. Hot weather. Everybody talks about it, right? But in English, especially in American English, we don’t only say, “It’s hot.” We have lots of natural expressions for hot days, humid days, uncomfortable days, and those summer days when …
1070 – How Native Speakers Really Use “I’m All Set”
I’m all set. You’re all set. Are we all set? We’re all set. Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m all set,” and wondered what they meant? You won’t find this expression in many English textbooks, but if you spend any time in the United States, you’ll hear it everywhere. At restaurants, coffee shops, doctor’s offices, airports, hotels – just …