Episode 0281

Hello everyone and welcome to English pod. My name is Marco.

That's right. Today we have a very sad but interesting dialogue of something that happens all the time. Um, maybe you have a girlfriend, maybe you had a boyfriend and you break up. That means you are no longer boyfriend and girlfriend. Let's take a listen to today's dialogue and we'll be back in a moment to talk about what's going on.

Hello?

That's so cliché. Mark's not worth your time, Lydia. You deserve so much better.

Talk about being cliché, Maggie. But you're right. There's no use for me to sulk around. Let's go out tonight.

All right, we're back. So obviously this girl Lydia is very torn, she's very sad because her boyfriend broke up with her.

That's right, she's crying the whole time this dialogue was going on.

That's right. So, uh, but she did mention her and her friend mentioned some interesting things. Why don't we take a look at some of the words they used on language takeaway.

So first of all, her friend says, hey, do you want to go out tonight? And what does Lydia say?

She says, no, I think I'll pass.

All right, I think I'll pass, I will pass. So what does this verb mean to pass?

So that means she is politely rejecting the offer or the invitation.

So, no thanks.

No, thanks. That's basically what it means.

I won't go. So, um, hey Marco, you want to go see a movie in a couple hours?

No, I think I'll pass. I got homework to do.

All right, so Marco will not come. That means um to decline an invitation.

That's right. So that's what it means to pass. Now, uh, as they continue to talk, they mentioned some of the problems with their boyfriend, but Maggie said, ugh, that's so cliché.

So the boyfriend said something and Maggie thinks that what he said was very, very cliché.

So what is something that is cliché?

Cliché means something that is said or done very often. It's almost like we would expect it.

So like for example, what's a cliché phrase or a cliché action?

Well, in the dialogue they were talking about ways of breaking up with people. So, um, for example, it's not you, it's me. Let's break up. So that's a cliché because it's a sentence, it's a phrase everyone always says. It's not very, maybe not very honest.

That's right.

Or like a movie cliché would be, um, you know, a couple, they're getting married, but they're their parents, the parents of the bride, they're they're divorced, they hate each other. But then at the wedding, they get back together. They're, they're going to get married again. That's a cliché story.

That's right.

Because you've heard it before.

Right. All the time. It's very common.

So something that's very common, something that you would expect, that's almost, that's a cliché. And a cliché, calling something a cliché is not a good thing. It's usually a bad thing.

That's right. Okay. So Maggie goes on to say that, uh, you know, this guy Mark, her ex-boyfriend, he's not really worth it. She says, you deserve so much better.

Okay, so to deserve is a verb and it means that you should receive something, uh, or you should expect something. So, um, almost like, you know, in this case, you deserve better, you have earned something better. You're a good person, you should receive a, you know, uh, you should have a, a good boyfriend.

That's right. So when when she says you deserve so much better, she's talking about deserving a better guy, a better man.

Or for example, so Marco, you work so hard at school, you're always doing your homework. You really deserve good grades.

Okay.

I mean you should receive good grades.

Very good. Now, when Lydia said, yeah, you know what? I I just thought we were having some problems and uh we had hit a rough patch. So she's talking about a rough patch. What is that?

A rough patch is actually something we talk about a lot in spoken English. Uh, it's a way to describe a a period of time, so maybe a week or a month, when things are difficult. You know, when maybe you argue with your boyfriend or girlfriend, or when you're sad a lot, or when you're confused. And so a period of time when you're angry or sad with your boyfriend or girlfriend, that's a rough patch.

So maybe we can apply a rough patch to another situation like at work, maybe you're going through a rough patch at work.

That means I'm always busy, I'm always tired, I don't feel happy with my job. I'm going through a rough patch.

So it's usually a temporary period of time where things are going bad.

It could be it could be a week, it could be a month, it could be a year. But it's a it's a a fixed amount of time. It's not forever. It's just a period.

Right. Okay, very good. And uh Lydia went on to say that, you know, she thought that maybe he was going out with someone else and uh she was suspicious because she was he was spending a lot of time with some other girl.

Okay, so to be suspicious is to think that something is happening, but you don't know. So for example, Marco, I think you've been taking the milk from the kitchen. You are always drinking coffee and you always take milk in your coffee and there's no more milk. So I think it was you. I'm being suspicious. I'm thinking that maybe you did something bad or wrong.

That I'm guilty.

Mm. So maybe you're suspicious that someone is stealing the milk or maybe um you suspect or you're suspicious that your next door neighbor is maybe a car thief.

Mhm.

Right. So you're very suspicious. That means you're always thinking that this person or someone else is doing something bad.

That's right. Okay, so a lot of words there talking about relationships, talking about clichés. Why don't we go back, let's listen to the dialogue again and we'll be back in a bit with fluency builder.

Hello?

That's so cliché. Mark's not worth your time, Lydia. You deserve so much better.

Talk about being cliché, Maggie. But you're right. There's no use for me to sulk around. Let's go out tonight.

All right, we're back. So now let's take a look at some of those phrases on fluency builder.

All right, so Marco, these are cliché phrases that we hear in English when people are breaking up, okay? So there's some breaking up phrases, but there's also phrases that you might hear from your friend after you have a breakup, okay? The first phrase we're going to look at, I think, is to need space. So he said he needed some space.

Right. And that's a cliché phrase, as we said, but it means that maybe her, her ex-boyfriend or Mark needs more space, needs more time to be on his own or needs more time to do his own things.

That's right. So when you're in a relationship, you have a boyfriend or a girlfriend, you're always together. I need some space means I want to be alone. I don't want to be with my boyfriend or girlfriend. Sometimes this is just a small period, sometimes it's forever.

Mhm.

It depends.

That's right. So when somebody says that they need space, it means they need a little bit of more time to be on their own or to be alone as you said. And also he he had also given her another cliché phrase. Mark said that she is not the one for him.

Okay, so the emphasis here is the one. She's not the one for him. So in English, we often talk about the one and this means the person that you will marry. The love of your life.

The one. Your your significant other, your your other half.

That's right. And so you hope that you will marry the one. Um, but her boyfriend realized, he said, listen, I like you, but you're not the one. You're you're not the person that I will marry. So this is a a phrase you often hear in breakups.

So if you're single, maybe you don't have a boyfriend or you're not married, you might say that you haven't found the one.

Or yeah, you have a lot of different boyfriends, but you still haven't found the one. That means the one you will marry.

That's right. Okay, very good. And uh now towards the end of the dialogue, Maggie also gives her some advice and said, you know what? Forget about him. There are many more fish in the sea.

Okay, so this is a phrase that we often say when we're trying to make somebody feel better. So the person is sad and we want to make them happy. And so there are many more fish in the sea means that um there are other men in the world. Okay, you're sad. You broke up. I understand, but there are so many other men you could date. So she's trying to say, hey, listen, look at this world. There's so many different options.

That's right. So it's the it's the similarity of how in the sea you have so many fish, in the world you have so many men, so don't worry about it.

And you can say this about women too. So for example, if I'm talking to my male friend or my brother and my brother just broke up with his girlfriend, I can say, hey, listen, there are many more fish in the sea. Many other women.

So don't worry about it.

And Lydia says, you know what? I think you're right. And there's really no use for me to sulk around. So what does she mean to sulk around?

To sulk. Now, this is something that is very visual for me. I see somebody sulking, their head is low. They are sad. Someone who's sulking often wears their sweatpants or their pajamas, they don't they don't make themselves look good. Um, to sulk around means to be in your house, to be sad, to watch TV and eat ice cream. So stop sulking. Don't look sad. Be happy.

Right.

So to sulk is to act sad and to, you know, be very down.

So it's kind of like you're very, it's kind of a combination of being lazy but and also sad at the same time because something bad happened to you.

Exactly. And so we often say that in English, teenagers like to sulk. You know, oh, I'm so angry at my parents. And your parents will say, hey, stop sulking. Go study.

Right. That's right. Very good. Okay, so a lot of great phrases here. I think we can go back. Let's listen to this dialogue one last time.

Hello?

That's so cliché. Mark's not worth your time, Lydia. You deserve so much better.

Talk about being cliché, Maggie. But you're right. There's no use for me to sulk around. Let's go out tonight.

All right, so talking about breakups, these cliché lines and and uh well, Maggie's obviously upset. What other cliché lines or breakup phrases have you heard apart from it's not you, it's me?

I need some space.

I need some space.

I I think of you more like a friend, you know, because there's like a boyfriend, a girlfriend, but then there's a friend. And so, listen, I like you, but I think of you more like a friend.

Yeah, I think that's a typical one, especially if you're asking someone out on a date, they might say that, you know, oh, I really like you, but I I see you more as a friend than anything else.

So there's another one that's very popular. Sometimes you hear people say, I'm just not ready for a relationship.

And that's also a cliché line.

Or I'm not ready to commit.

I'm not ready to commit. Yeah. And and it's interesting because I think breaking up is one of the hardest things that people can do. And I think maybe this is why you just use one of these phrases that are so popular and common because I guess it's kind of a a good way to explain in very soft terms what you want to say and to break up with someone.

That's right. And I think that sometimes people are afraid to make the other person sad. And so they say these things that are very, you know, general like it's not you, it's me. Uh, but sometimes this makes the other person even more sad because they don't understand why that they're breaking up. So.

What about breaking up over the telephone or breaking up with a letter?

Ugh. Generally, uh, at least in America, we say that breaking up over email or letter or phone is not a good way to end a relationship. It's very cold.

It's very cold. So the other person would be very angry if if uh if that happened.

That's right. You just want to see the person and say, listen, let's have a conversation. Let's talk about this face to face.

Okay. So this is actually very interesting because as as we say, maybe in other countries or in other cultures, it's not really a negative thing to break up over the phone or maybe send an an email saying, you know what, I don't want to see you anymore.

Right. So I'd be very curious to hear about you guys and your cultures and what happens when people break up where you live. So let us know. Our website is englishpod.com. We hope to see you there. And of course, we hope that you haven't had any very bad breakup experiences, but if you're comfortable sharing, we'd like to hear about your culture and your background.

All right, so we'll see you guys there. Bye.

The English audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

End a romantic relationship.

Break up.

To deliver or express in speech.

Talk about.

Think about something until understand.

Figure things out.

A saying or idea that is overused.

Cliché.

Go through a difficult time.

Hit a rough patch.

Solve, overcome.

Work out.

Let's try that faster.

Solve, overcome.

Work out.

Go through a difficult time.

Hit a rough patch.

Think about something until understand.

Figure things out.

A saying or idea that is overused.

Cliché.

End a romantic relationship.

Break up.

To deliver or express in speech.

Talk about.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

I think I'll pass on the broccoli.

Cindy said she would pass on the offer.

This offer is too good to pass up.

Cliché.

The things he says are very cliché, but very sweet.

Cliché.

Even though it may seem cliché, I truly believe that love is blind.

Cliché.

That movie is so cliché, it's not worth watching.

I've worked really hard. I think I deserve a better pay.

This is such a nice gift. I don't deserve this.

Tim is suspicious that his neighbor, Janet, is stealing from him.

You can't have a healthy relationship if you're both so suspicious of each other.

Anna is suspicious of everybody. She doesn't even trust her own family.