In this mini episode, you will learn an interesting meaning of the phrase “could use.”
Episode 290 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you an interesting meaning of the phrase “could use.” 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 290 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 am going to teach you about an interesting phrase. It’s a phrase that might look very simple, but I think we use this phrase in an interesting way.
And that phrase is “could use.” Could use. That’s c-o-u-l-d u-s-e. Could use.
If you think about this phrase in a literal way, you might assume that it means “had the ability to use something.” For instance, I can say, “When I was young, I could use a computer well.” When I was young, I could use a computer well.
That is a kind of literal meaning of this phrase, “could use.” But we use it in a different way also. We also use “could use” as a kind of softer or polite or even sometimes humorous way of saying, “I want that,” “I wish I had that,” or “I would like you to give that to me.”
Let me give you an example of this way of using the expression “could use.” Imagine that someone visits her friend at her apartment. When she gets to her friend’s apartment, the friend says, “Would you like something to drink?” And she answers, “I could use a cup of coffee.” I could use a cup of coffee.
If we think about the literal meaning of that sentence, it’s very strange. She is saying she is able to use a cup of coffee? That doesn’t really make any sense. But she’s using it in a different way. She’s using it in a kind of softer way of saying, “Yes, I would like a cup of coffee.” Or “Yes, please give me a cup of coffee.” Sometimes it’s even a humorous way of saying that.
So when she says, “I could use a cup of coffee,” it’s like she’s saying, “I want this coffee, but I don’t want to say that too strongly. I don’t want to say, ‘Yes, give me a cup of coffee! I want a cup of coffee!’ So instead, I’m going to say it in this softer way.
And in this way it means something like “If I had a cup of coffee, that would be good. I would be able to use it” or “I would be able to enjoy it easily.”
“I could use a cup of coffee” means “I would like a cup of coffee. If I had a cup of coffee, I would drink it eagerly. I would enjoy it.” So this is that less literal meaning of the phrase “could use.”
I think this is an interesting and common phrase that you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 290 of Everybody ESL. Remember: if you have questions about English, or if you have comments or suggestions for me, 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 a new episode, and until then, keep going, keep practicing, and keep learning. I’ll see you soon. Goodbye!