This mini episode teaches you the useful expression “Don’t get me wrong.”
Episode 200 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the useful expression “Don’t get me wrong.” Send your questions about English and your suggestions for future episodes to EverybodyESL@gmail.com! (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
Intro
“This is Ilahe from Azerbaijan, and you are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 200 of Everybody ESL, the podcast for everybody who wants to improve their English, practice their English, or just learn more English. My name is Ben, and I have a mini episode for you today, where I am going to teach you about one English topic. You can subscribe to the Everybody ESL podcast at Apple podcasts, on the Stitcher app, and wherever you find your podcasts. If you like Everybody ESL, leave it a good review so other people can find out about it, too. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for me, please send an email to everybodyESL@gmail.com. Okay! Let’s get on with this mini episode.
The episode
The expression I want to teach you today is “Don’t get me wrong.” Don’t get me wrong. That’s don’t: d-o-n-apostrophe-t. Get: g-e-t. Me: m-e. Wrong: w-r-o-n-g. Don’t get me wrong.
Before I tell you what this expression means, let’s look for a moment at the word get. This verb has many different meanings, and we use it in many different ways. And one way we use it is to mean “understand.” So you might hear somebody say, “Okay, I get it.” I get it. Meaning “I understand it. I understand that.” And if you know this, then I think you will be able to understand what “Don’t get me wrong” means. Because “Don’t get me wrong” means “Don’t misunderstand me. Don’t understand me in the wrong way.”
This was even the name of a song from 1986.
(Chrissie Hynde sings, “Don’t get me wrong.”)
That’s right: she is singing, “Don’t get me wrong.” In other words, she is saying, “Don’t misunderstand me. Please understand what I am saying.”
If you are telling somebody something, and you think maybe they will misunderstand you, and maybe this will turn into an argument or something, you can say, “Don’t get me wrong.” And then say it again, maybe in a different way or in a more clear way.
“Don’t get me wrong” is a very useful and a very, very natural-sounding expression. If you think somebody might misunderstand what you’re saying, and you say, “Don’t get me wrong,” that will sound like very natural spoken English.
That is “Don’t get me wrong,” a very useful expression that I think you should know.
Outro
We have reached the end of a very short episode 200 of Everybody ESL. Remember, if you have any questions about English, or if you have comments or suggestions about the podcast, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can play at the beginning of future episodes—the same way Ilahe recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode—send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. I’ll be back soon with another episode. And until then, keep going, keep practicing, and keep learning. Goodbye! I’ll see you soon.