This mini episode teaches you an interesting way that native speakers use “man” and “boy.”
Episode 232 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you another Secret of Native Speakers: an interesting way that we use the words “man” and “boy.” 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
“Hi! This is Lucas from Chile, and you are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 232 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
It’s been a while, but I am back with… a Secret of Native Speakers.
That’s right. I have another Secret of Native Speakers for you. This might not really be a secret, but I think it is the kind of thing you will probably not find in an English textbook or an English class. And this episode’s Secret of Native Speakers is an interesting way that we native speakers use the words man and boy.
I’m just talking about the common words man and boy. We sometimes use these words in an interesting way. Instead of using man and boy to refer to a man and a boy, we can also use them as interjections. Do you know what an interjection is? An interjection is a word that we use to express some kind of emotion or automatic response. It’s the kind of thing that usually has an exclamation point at the end of it. Like “Hey!” or “Ouch!” Those are interjections.
And it might seem strange, but man and boy can also be interjections.
What do man and boy mean when we use them this way, when we use them as interjections? What they mean is something like “I am expressing great emotion. I am expressing something like admiration. I am expressing the idea that I am impressed by something, that I think something is impressive.” Or I might be expressing surprise or frustration or anger. We can use man and boy as a way of expressing all of those kinds of feelings.
Let me give you some examples of this way of using man and boy. I can say sentences like these:
“Man! It is raining really hard today.” Man! It is raining really hard today.
And that means something like “Wow! It is raining hard today,” “I am surprised by this,” or “I think this is remarkable.”
I can say, “Boy! I do not want to go to work today.” Boy! I do not want to go to work today. And that means “Listen to this: I really do not want to go to work today.”
Man and boy are kind of a way of emphasizing our feelings or conveying our feelings without having to use words to describe those feelings.
I really want to make sure that you understand this point: when we use man and boy in this way, we are not talking about a man or a boy. And we are not necessarily talking to a man or a boy.
You should also know that you will often hear man and boy used this way after the word Oh: Oh, man! Oh, boy! Those can be ways of expressing some kind of strong emotion. I think we often use “Oh, man!” to express disappointment or frustration. And we often use “Oh, boy!” to express admiration or excitement. But when we use those words by themselves, as in “Man! It is raining hard today” or “Boy! I really do not want to go to work”—in those cases, I think man and boy feel pretty much the same. And they are used as interjections to express some kind of strong emotion.
And you can tell from the context or from the tone of the person’s voice what kind of emotion is being expressed.
Well, that is this special use of man and boy, and I think this is… a Secret of Native Speakers that you should know.
Outro
And we have reached the end of episode 232 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 Lucas 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.