This mini episode teaches you the interesting phrase “not much of a...”
Episode 222 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the useful phrase “not much of a…” 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
“Hello, everyone! This is Mia from South Korea. You are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 222 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 topic for today’s episode is a very interesting phrase. The phrase is “not much of a…” something. Not much of a. That’s not: n-o-t. Much: m-u-c-h. Of: o-f. A. “Not much of a” something. What kinds of words can we use where I used something? Not much of a… what? We use it with certain kinds of people or jobs or hobbies.
And here is what this phrase means. It means “not very good,” or “not very authentic” or “not a good example of something.”
For instance, you could say “not much of a tennis player.” A tennis player is a kind of person, or it’s somebody who does a certain kind of thing—somebody who plays tennis. And if you are not much of a tennis player, that means you are not a very good tennis player, or you are not a good example of what a tennis player should be like. Or you are, in some way, not a real tennis player or not an authentic tennis player.
That is what “not much of a” means. It means not very good or not authentic or not a good example of that thing.
Here is another example:
Let’s say you have a professor, and you do not think this professor is very good. You don’t enjoy this professor’s classes, and you don’t think the professor is really very good at being a professor.
You could describe this professor as “not much of a professor.” What you are saying is this person is a professor, but is not a very good one or is not a good example of what a professor should be like. Or this person is not an authentic professor in some way, not a real professor.
We can use “not much of a” with any kind of a noun that describes a certain kind of person or a person who does a certain kind of thing, or who has a certain job or a certain hobby or plays a certain sport or anything like that.
That is “not much of a,” a very useful expression that I think you should know.
(beep beep! beep beep!)
When I was recording this episode, I wanted this to be as simple as possible. But now I think I should give you just a little bit more information about “not much of a.” The truth is, we can use “not much of a” with any noun. You can say, “Not much of a house.” “Not much of a car.” “Not much of a computer.” You can use with any noun to mean “not a very good thing” or “not an authentic thing” or “not a very good example of that thing.” Okay. I just thought that this lesson should contain all of this information.
Outro
And we have reached the end of episode 222 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 use at the beginning of future episodes—the same way Mia 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.