AEE 2637: Can't Get Over It? How to Talk About Sunsets, Concerts, and More

This is an All-Ears English Podcast episode 2637. Can't get over it. How to talk about sunsets, concerts, and more. 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 hosts, Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York Radio Girl. Coming to you from Colorado and New York City, USA. To get real-time transcripts right on your phone and create your personalized vocabulary list, try the All-Ears English app for iOS and Android. Start your seven day free trial at allyoursenglish.com/app. One of the greatest moments in life is when you are in awe of something and you can't get over it. Today, get the phrase you need to talk about this like a native speaker in English. Have you ever finished a conversation in English and thought, "I know I can say that better." You understood everything that was said. You had ideas, opinions, maybe even a joke. But when it was your turn to speak, your answer came out shorter than you wanted. Or more basic than how you would say it in your own language. This happens when your understanding is stronger than your speaking fluency. The good news? That gap is very common and very fixable once you know exactly where you are. Take our free two-minute fluency quiz to discover your current English level and what to work on next. Go to allyoursenglish.com/fluencyscore. That's allyoursenglish.com/fluencyscore. Hey there, Michelle. How's it going? Hey, Lindsay. I'm good. How are you? Michelle, have you ever been through a bad breakup in your dating life? Yeah. I mean, not like an evil breakup or anything, but I've been through a breakup sentence. It's painful. Yeah. How long does it? Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Oh my gosh. Yeah, absolutely. In the dating world, it can be tough. It can be tough, especially if you take it really personally. But for you, Michelle, how long does it usually take to get over a breakup? Would you say? I mean, I think I couldn't take a good, it could take six months, it could take a, it depends. Yeah. And more so is like, you know, how do you get over it? And I think it's, I honestly think the only thing is just time. Keeping busy and time. What do you think? Yeah, I think we talked about, I think, Aubrey and I talked about this a little bit recently on the show, you know, getting into a new hobby, just like making sure that your life is full of really great things. So you're not thinking about the person all the time, right? Yes. Yes. Exactly. So today we're going to talk about an expression with Get Over. And this is really, really useful. So this is, I can't get over something. So for example, I can't get over how beautiful this beach is. So this interest, it's interesting because this is not necessarily what we were using for the breakup idea, right? I can't get over him. Yeah. I'm not really talking today so much about breakups, right? This is no context of talking about a breakup. It's more about something that brings awe to your mind. Like it, you can't understand, like you can't, you just can't conceive of how beautiful something is or how something, something is right. Yes, something is something something is. Yes. You can't stop thinking about it. It could be short term. It could be long term. It just has really impacted you. It has affected you in some way. And again, I can't get over someone, maybe used after a breakup. So, but more we're going to talk about it in another context today. But guys, make sure you hit the follow button where you're listening to all your English. Don't miss anything from us. And let us jump into your queue. Yeah. So again, this is normally used to describe something that is surprising, amazing. Michelle, can this be good or bad? Would you say, or is it more just for good things or what? I think it could be either. What do you think? Yeah, I agree. It's just, it's more like something that's kind of shocking. Right? You can't believe how you feel about it in a way. Yes. Yes. That's absolutely right. Yeah. So it could be good. It could be bad. So really, Michelle, this is something that makes you feel a strong emotion. Right? That's right. Exactly. So let's do some more examples. Okay. So here's one. I can't get over how unique your house is. Yes. I have some friends and they live in a house with so much character and charm. Interesting. And it's really beautiful. So that's something I might say. Oh, that's very cool. Yeah. Every time you walk in, right? Even if it's not the first time you're walking in. Yes. Sure. There's always something new to notice. Yeah. Yeah. Something to feast your eyes on. Right? Hmm. Feast your eyes on. I love that expression. Or I can't get over how good that concert was. So maybe you already left the concert. You said that was great. And then you get back home. Maybe you're having ice cream and you're like, oh, I can't get over how good that concert was. You're reflecting on it again. Right? Exactly. Exactly. It's Lindsey. Is there a really good concert you've been to? I know you've been to a lot of concerts. Yeah. I haven't been to too many concerts. But I went to see Madonna last year and I love that. That was amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That was my favorite. Lady Gaga was good. Not too many. I'm not a big concert girl or Michelle, actually. No. No. Okay. Not a lot. I know you've been to Adele. Adele was really good. Yes. Yeah. Well, of course, I'm going to say pink was amazing. I've seen Beyonce. She was amazing. So yeah, so definitely. That's a really good one to use it about as concerts because that's an interesting thing with concerts. You feel so connected to it. It's a good concert. You feel so connected to that performer and to your experience. It's really, it can be like a very emotional and moving experience to go to a concert. Surprisingly. Yeah. Surprisingly moving. I feel like when I buy a concert tickets, I just think about the price. I'm like, oh my god. You know, and I don't, because you know, whatever, I'm just going to a concert. I don't value them that much. But then I get there and something like the Adele performance or and you're just you're you're really sucked into it. And it's incredible. Your whole your whole body in mind are both there. They're both present. Right. And then you feel this incredible support for that person. And so what happens to me is I'm always like, why? You know, like I mean, I sometimes I buy a cheap shirt outside of this outside of the concert. Yeah. But I'll like, and I'm like, and I'm going to just like wear this with pride and everyone will see. And it's like, you like kind of get sucked into this moment. And then and then when I actually time for you, like, I don't want to wear the shirt. That's funny. That's so funny. So you have a lot of t-shirts of like, not that, not that many, but not that many, but I did. Yeah. It's like, you just have this feeling like right afterward. That's like this dopamine effect. I guess. I know like something. There's something everyone to know how amazing this. Yeah. No, I totally know what you're saying. There's totally something there. It can bring you to tears that the music, the performances. I mean, yeah, I definitely was brought to tears at Adele's concert in Vegas. I mean, it was just incredible. And I'm not even like I like Adele, but my partner's more of the Adele fan. And okay. But I was like, wow, she's amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then Michelle, we said on the negative side, it can be used to say you're outraged by someone, right, or something. So what would that look like? Yeah. I can't get over his audacity. He's so rude. Yes. You're outraged. You're shocked. Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah. And audacity. What does that mean? That's a great word. Yeah. I think we've done a whole episode about audacity. I think so. Yeah. I should see if I can find it. But well, number one, it's the software that we use. Right. Yeah. Right. It's also audio recording software. So thank you. It is. It is. It is. And it's just like, like I'm looking it up like, yeah, like boldness, right? Boldness audacious. Right. You're bold. Maybe you're noisy. You're not afraid. You're confident. But it can be in kind of a negative way if it becomes rude. Right. Yes. Yes. Yeah. That's exactly right. So yeah. So there we go. Audacity. So it Lindsay, is there something? What's the thing that you can get over good or bad? Well, on my last road trip, my road road, the one where I drove across the country, I think actually to create the connected communicator back in 2016, I couldn't get over the Texas sunsets. The Texas sunset is like something very special. I think our listeners that live in Texas know this. It's, it becomes, the sun becomes really huge. I think it's just, I don't know, something about positioning or something about Texas. And it's just magical. The way the sun sets look in Texas don't look, it doesn't look that way anywhere else. It's incredible. So Texas sunsets, I couldn't get over them. - I love it. - I can't get over how expensive grocery is on. I mean, you know, every time I go, I'm like, really? So yeah, for sure. No, I think inflation hit us hard a few years ago. And it hasn't gone away completely. Right, prices never go down. That's just the reality. Like it's just not gonna happen. So we're still shocked by those inflated prices that maybe went up three years ago, but we're still shocked by it, right? - Yes, that's true. (laughing) - Good stuff. All right, we'll take a quick break. (upbeat music) - Imagine being in a fast conversation with native speakers. Someone makes a quick comment, another person jumps in, everyone reacts instantly, and by the time you've fully processed what was said, the conversation has already moved on. It's not that you don't understand English. It's that real conversations move quickly with slaying, tone changes, and interruptions. When you are fluent, it means being able to follow and participate in that natural rhythm. The first step is understanding your current English level. Take our quick free two-minute fluency quiz and see exactly where you are. Go to allersenglish.com/fluencyscore to take the quiz. That's allersenglish.com/FLUNCYSCOR (upbeat music) - All right, so Michelle, when would we maybe use this in natural conversation? - Well, I mean, you just did, right? To describe a place, right? - A scenery is a really good time to use. I'll say, can't get over this Texas sunsets, right? - Totally. - Or if you're eating something that tastes amazing. - Right? - Yeah. - I can't just get over how good this is. I just keep eating it, or it could be after you've had the meal. I can't get over how good that food was, right? - Yeah. - Yeah, exactly. I'm excited because I'm going tonight out for a Middle Eastern food. - That will be my friend. - Having a mom dinner. - Yeah, it's nice because whenever we hang out, we're with the kids, so tonight we're going on a mom date. But I have this place is supposed to be really good, so I'm excited. - Oh wow. - So. - The Middle Eastern food is like, I mean, it's about the Beirut. - Oh wow. - Okay, well you should tell us about that on the show when you come back. - I will. - All right, good stuff. - Yeah. - Or someone's actions, right? So like, you know, how nice someone is, how rude someone is, right? How funny someone is, how nice it was of somebody to do something for you. Like I have an extremely generous kind friend who I'm always saying, oh, I can't get over how sweet she is. She's just like so friendly and amazing. - Oh, that's amazing. - That's amazing. Yeah, so it's just when you are surprised about how you feel about something. - Yes. - Right. - Yeah. - So for better or for worse. So other ways to say this, you might say, I'm amazed by something. Like I'm amazed by how funny this comedian is. I just wasn't expecting it. Or I can't believe how, I can't believe how fast this year went by. - Yes, perfect. Let's do a role play to show our listeners how to do this in action. All right, so here we are vacationing at the beach. Oh, let's imagine we're in a Caribbean island. I love it. (laughing) Okay, all right. I can't get over how blue this water is. I know it's gorgeous. I'm amazed by how busy it is here though. Same, I can't believe how many people are on vacation at this time of year. - Yeah, that's the only problem when you go to these beautiful places. Sometimes it can be really torsty, you know? - Yeah. - Yeah. - Oh. So I said, I can't get over how blue this water is. That's a common thing that people comment on. Right, when you're at the beach, how blue the water is. 'Cause a lot of places like, I don't know, at least on the east coast, the water is this greenish. - Blash. - Yeah, blue black. I think people often say like, I can't get over how clear this water is. - Right. - Yeah. - Green blue or clear. - Yeah. - Kind of a Caribbean look, right? - Yeah, yeah. That's the best. - Yeah. - You see that. - That's really beautiful. - Yes, I went to Panama a few years ago to the Sandbloss Islands and it was, yeah, it was just like that. It was incredible. It's like a series of like 100 different islands off the coast of Panama. And just I've never seen water that clear before. I haven't spent a lot of time in the Caribbean. I really haven't done a lot of Caribbean vacations. Have you, Michelle? - No, not too many. I mean, and it's always like what the cruise is. - Yeah, the cruise, right. - For a short time. - Yeah. - But I haven't spent a lot of time there. - Yeah, so it's kind of crazy when you see that for the first time. It's amazing. You can see straight down, right? Incredible. So then I said, I know it's gorgeous. - So it's interesting because yeah, that's not necessarily a positive thing. So you can be amazed by something that is sort of annoying. Or yeah, right, exactly. Just time is amazed by it, right? - Yeah, sure. Yeah, just because you say the word amazing, it doesn't mean, or amazed, doesn't mean it's necessarily always a good thing. - It has to be a good thing, right? - Right, exactly. And then I said, say it, and I can't believe how many people are in vacation at this time of year. - Yes, all right. - Good stuff. - Yeah, guys, I was able to find that episode about audacity because that's a good word for today, a good bonus word. So guys, check it out to hear more. This is a little ways back, but definitely worth listening to. It's episode 2436. That was the audacity. Have the nerve to connect in English. - Yes. And for takeaway, I love any episode that gives us words to express when we are just taken aback by life a little bit, right? Like I said, the Texas sunset. Like I'll never forget how that looks. It's really unique and incredible. An amazing Middle Eastern meal, right? We hope that your Middle Eastern meal tonight is worth saying this, right? - Yes. - And so these are like the great moments of life and you need something to say in those moments to build connection and this is one of them, all right? - Yes. - Exactly, exactly. - Good stuff. - Anyway, well, I'm glad that we talked about this today, Lindsay and I'll talk to you next time. All right, Michelle, have a good one. Bye-bye. - All right, bye. (upbeat music) Thanks for listening to All Ears English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two-minute quiz. Go to allewersenglish.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. (upbeat music)