This mini episode teaches you an interesting way to use the word “tops.”
Episode 239 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you an interesting way to use the word “tops.” 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, guys. This is Elieden Estevam, from São Paulo, Brazil. And you are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 239 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
In this episode, I want to teach you an interesting way that we use a common word. The word I’m thinking of is tops. Tops. T-o-p-s. You probably know the word top, meaning “the upper part of something.” The top of a pot. Or the top of your car.
But there is an interesting way that we use tops as an adverb. We use tops as an adverb to mean “at the most” or “the upper limit of something” or “the maximum.” Or “no more than this.”
Let me give you a couple of examples of sentences that use tops in this interesting way.
“If you want to ride the subway downtown, that will take you 20 minutes, tops.” If you want to ride the subway downtown, that will take you 20 minutes, tops.
What does this mean? It means if you want to ride the subway downtown, it will take you 20 minutes at the most. The maximum will be 20 minutes. It will not take you more than 20 minutes. It will take you 20 minutes, tops.
Here’s another example:
“A good motorcycle will cost $10,000, tops.” A good motorcycle will cost $10,000, tops.
In other words, if you want to buy a good motorcycle, you will need to spend a maximum of $10,000. You will not need to spend more than $10,000. You will need to spend $10,000, tops. That is the most you will need to spend.
(I should say, I don’t know anything about motorcycles, so I don’t know if that is an accurate number. But it’s still a good example sentence.)
One thing you must know about using tops in this way is that tops goes after the number or after the amount:
It will take 20 minutes, tops. It will cost $10,000, tops.
You cannot say, “It will take tops 20 minutes,” or “It will cost tops $10,000.” Tops goes after the amount or after the number.
And that is tops—an interesting and useful word that I think you should know.
Outro
That’s the end of episode 239 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 Elieden Estevam 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.