AEE 2396: What Gives? English Vocabulary For Expressing Surprise

This is an Aller's English Podcast, episode 2396. What gives English vocabulary for expressing surprise? Welcome to the All-Ears English Podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection with your American host, Aubrey Carter, the Isle Twizz, and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer. Coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com/subscribe. Are you ever shocked by what you see in the news, especially these days? Today, get six native ways to say that you're surprised in varying levels of intensity. Listen in today. Have you ever listened to native speakers and thought, "I understand the words, but I still feel slightly lost?" That's because real English conversations include more than vocabulary, their speed, their connected speech, their cultural references and casual phrases. Your brain has to process all of this in real time. If conversations sometimes feel overwhelming, it may simply mean you're ready for the next level of training. Find out your exact level with our quick free Fluency Quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com/fluencyscore. That's allearsenglish.com/fluencyscor. (upbeat music) Hello, Aubrey, what's shaking? Hey, Lindsay, how are you? Hey, I'm happy to be on the mic today, Aubrey. Has anything surprising happened to you recently? Yes, I just got back from an amazing trip to Rocky Point. And before we left, we had seen that immigration laws were sort of changed that now you have to provide your passport and an immigration form. The Mexican Consulate is requiring this. And so we expected to have like a long line, a long wait at the border. And we were getting there the Friday of ASU spring break. So I would expect a long wait, but surprisingly, I got to the border. There was no line. I was like, what gives? This is what I expected. We went through with no wait. And it was the best trip to Mexico of my life. I had the experience, I hope all of you are having in English, where I was able to like make jokes. There were my friends wanted like a second massage on the beach, and I was good with one. So I went and found some vendors playing cards on the beach. And in Spanish, I'm like asking them to teach me. And I started playing and we're like making jokes. They were like telling me to play cards that weren't worth anything. I was like, oh, Basura. And they're like laughing. I'm funny in Spanish. That's so fun. Yeah, that's so fun. Those moments of travel when you connect, especially with the language, this is like euphoric, right? It's euphoric. It's amazing. The best. I know a lot of you out there have shared with us. Your goals to be able to have those experiences to connect with local people on vacation. It's so fun. I love it. I can't wait for you guys to get there in English. So I love it. So good. And that's why we're here. Our show is based on human connection, connection, not perfection. So that's why we want to recommend that you all hit the follow button right now. So you don't miss a single episode of Allers English. Because that's how Allers English was born as an idea based on wanting to make those connections, right? As we travel, as we live abroad, we want to connect with everyone in the world and not be blocked by language. Absolutely. We are right there with you. It is so-- and I intentionally used when I was so surprised to not have to wait at the border. What gives? I say this a lot. It's like, what gives? That's what gives. What's going on? What's happening? And there are so many other phrases we used to say this to get this meaning, the surprise, across English. And I think this also came up in an episode, too, apri, right? One of us said this in an episode. So clearly, it's a natural expression. So that's the first one. So today, we're going to show you ways you can express surprise in English. Yeah, we have six fun ones today. So let's get through these. The first one is, what gives? Do you say this? Let's see. I say this a lot. Yep. Yeah, for example, I can't believe she's late again. What gives? And it also expresses a little bit of-- I don't know your frustration. Yeah, something's not quite right. Exactly. You're never going to be like, this cake is delicious. What gives? No. It definitely has that connotation of irritation. Sure. What's another example? You might say, you haven't heard back about the job yet. What gives? So I'm irritated for you. Like, I can't believe you haven't heard. Yet, back yet. It's frustrating. Yes. I love it. So that is one really good option. And I like that one, because it's a little less common. But there are other things we could say when we're truly surprised, Aubrey. Right? Absolutely. One is, what's up? Or, what's up with that? You might say, he's always arguing me with me. What's up with that? Yeah, what's up with that? And I like your intonation there. What's up with that? I'm up with that. Yes. It's very emphatic. We might hear this on TV, or just saying, what's up? You seem upset. So here I'm actually starting a conversation with someone. Right? Yeah, exactly. So this definitely has less of a connotation of surprise. You definitely could share it if you're surprised about something. Like, what's up with that? What's up? I'm surprised about this. But it's tricky, because we also use it just to mean what's going on with how, like, how are you? What's up? Yeah. So we want to share that here. Right? That's tricky, because we also will say this to sort of see, like, I'm recognizing behavior in you that's unexpected. I'm a little surprised. I might be like, what's up? Or what's up with you? You seem upset about something. Yeah, as I love that. And another one we could say, Aubrey, what would be our third option? Yeah, third is what is going on? So you might say, everyone really seems on edge today. What is going on? And again, the emphasis, the intonation really matters. What is going on? Right? Or maybe what is going on? We've tried three restaurants, and they all had an hour wait. So really what you're saying is, like, I am surprised and frustrated by this, but we have all these more fun ways to say that. When I was in LA last weekend, I wanted to say that about sitting in traffic for three hours to go 20 miles, but I know who to expect it. So it's okay. What else do we have to do with what we're talking about? We're trying to drive home. But we still might, even if we know what's causing it, we'll still be like, what is going on? I mean, everyone knows the traffic. It's crazy there. So that's okay. All right. What else? What is happening? Is a third is a fourth option? My flight has been delayed three times. What is happening? Yes. Very similar to what is going on, same meaning, same intonation, right? You might say, what is happening? Kids are being so mean to my daughter, right? You might be sharing like a story with someone. And you're kind of saying, like, what is happening with society in general with kids these days? Yeah. You just kind of are saying, I am surprised by what I'm witnessing. Yeah. It expresses a bit of a sense of disbelief, too. Exactly. Yeah. And disbelief, and frustration, all of those emotions. We really don't use these for positive things, right? No. What is happening? There are so many great movies in the theater. No, right? We just don't really use them. Instead, we'd be like, that's awesome. Yes, exactly. Or number five, a little less common, is this real life? So I don't really say this, but you might say this, Aubrey. Is this one of your two more kids? I do. I hear my kids say it, and I'm hearing it. Or in more like in podcasts, I feel like this is very trendy and new. Someone might say, I can't believe he said that. Is this real life? Especially if you hear someone say something inappropriate or maybe racist, you'd be like, is this real life? Or are people really behaving this way? I'm really shocked. And here's a slightly higher level sentence, which is very natural. I was shocked when I heard that. I was like, is this real life? Right? So here I'm reporting my thoughts, right? Which is a higher level skill, but a very common one. And we need to know this to have that conversation with native speakers. Right? So this is some of our courses narrating speech, especially in the past. There are so many phrases we do to use to do this very naturally. Yes. And the next one, am I taking crazy pills? I love that. You want for me too? You want for me too? This one? This one. This is also trendy, newer, but I'm hearing it a lot. It's definitely being like adopted into the vernacular. It's not just teenagers saying it. Okay. We might hear, I couldn't believe what I heard. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. And it's just another way of saying like, I'm shocked. I'm extremely surprised, but a really fun way to say that. Now I have something to say when I read the news, that's great. I order the next one. Nothing makes sense today. Okay. We're hearing this more and more in the US with like a device of politics and whichever side you're on. You might feel like you're taking crazy pills because it almost seems like we're living in different realities from people who disagree with us. It's really interesting. For sure. And it really does. It's important to have something to say when something's going on. And it also reduces your own stress when you have something to say. We can articulate some of our feelings and kind of come out through our words. That's important to reduce our stress. And it is important to point out that these all have sort of different levels of extremeness. So what gives is just kind of like a little bit. bit shocked, right? I wouldn't say, you know, I can't believe she's late again. Am I taking crazy pills? No. That doesn't make sense because this one's much more extreme for something that is extremely shocking, extremely surprising. So these do all have context just more about the severity of shock to know. So pay attention to the examples we gave so you can know like when they're appropriate depending on how shocked you are. Good to know. And so important, right? We don't want to have our tone off and we know that at the B2C1 level for our listeners, you don't want your tone to be wrong. It has to be right. It has to mesh with the conversation. Exactly. Love it. Many English learners focus on grammar. They want their sentences to be correct, but fluency isn't just about being correct. It's about sounding natural, choosing the right phrase, responding quickly without translating every thought in your head. That's why someone can know a lot of grammar rules and still feel uncomfortable in conversations. Real fluency comes from understanding patterns, tone and natural expressions. Our free two-minute fluency quiz helps you discover your level and what skills will move you forward. Go to all earsenglish.com/fluencyscore to take the quiz right now. That's all earsenglish.com/fluencyscore Okay, I'll be role play time here. We're talking about something surprising that happened to us. Okay. And this is going to give you a chance to hear a lot of that reported speech reporting narrating thoughts. So let's do it. I will start us out. Then she started yelling at me and I was like, what is happening right now? It was really confusing. I wasn't sure what to do. I just stood there thinking what is going on. Yeah, you missed a lot of what happened. It was crazy. I was so shocked because when I walked in, she was just yelling. Oh my gosh. This felt so natural. It's so natural. This is when you'll hear these the most often when you are telling a story of something that was very shocking and surprising. We will use these maybe to exaggerate a little or maybe just to be accurate about how crazy something seemed. How shocking it seemed. I love it. So good. So good. So where did we use our key phrases? What did we say? I started first. I said, then she started yelling at me and I was like, what is happening right now? So we use this one. What is happening or what is going on to say, especially to share like and all I'm saying is I was really surprised by what I was hearing by what I was seeing. But you've got so much life in the voice, so much intonation, so much energy that you bring the person into that situation. That makes the story much more interesting. Yes, very important. And again, then I said, then I said, I just stood there thinking what is going on? And you know, I think we could do another episode on how to change our intonation when we go into reporting our thoughts. I just do their thinking. There's a little bit of a hang there. I'm hanging over that. There's a comma when I look at my notes here, right? That would be a great episode. And you need to vary your intonation because if you said this with a monotone, I was like, what is happening right now? That would be kind of strange. Some people are a little more deadpan than that. But usually you need varied intonation. I love that idea. Lindsay. So be sure to hit follow guys for the follow-up. That'll be great. Great one. Yeah. And then you said, yeah, you missed a lot of what happened. It was crazy, right? And then what did I say? I, you said, yeah, I was shocked. I walked in and she was yelling. And sometimes we'll stack them like that to exaggerate how surprised we were. Yeah. I love that idea of stacking a different comments on top of each other. Two, three of them. Yes. Just make it more emphatic. Exactly. You totally could have said, what is happening? Is this real life? All of that is emphasizing even more how shocking it was. All right. Good. I feel like this is a very timely episode because we could all use these phrases for, you know, who knows what? But shocking conversations are part of our hearing or seeing the news. Whatever is going on. Now we have the resources as like global community. We have the resources to express our feelings a little bit, right? Any other takeaway for today, Aubrey? Yeah. I think this goes back to you want, if you're going to tell a story of something shocking that happened, make the most of it, right? I love telling stories. If I tell this story, I'm going to use these, if I tell any story, I'm going to use these phrases to draw in the listener to make it more fun and interesting. And so, you know, I think people are excited when I start telling a story because it makes it, it makes it fun. It makes it entertaining, even if I'm exaggerating a little bit. I love it. Really good. All right, guys, hit the follow button for more great episodes from all ears English and we'll be back soon, right? Aubrey? Yes. See you next time. All right. Take care. Bye. Bye. Thanks for listening to All Ears English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz. Go to all earsenglish.com/fluencyscore. And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.