In this mini episode, you will learn the expression “around the corner.”
Episode 353 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the expression “around the corner.” Send your questions about English and your comments and suggestions to EverybodyESL@gmail.com! (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
Intro
“Hey, what’s up, everyone? This is Rio, from Korea. And you’re listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 353 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 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 a common and useful expression. And the expression is “around the corner.” Around the corner. That’s a-r-o-u-n-d, t-h-e, c-o-r-n-e-r.
First, do you know what a corner is? Corner can mean more than one thing, but in this expression, a corner is something that you see when two streets cross. At an intersection, there are four corners.
And we can use the phrase “around the corner” in a literal way to mean that something is on a street that crosses the street you are on.
For instance, you might say, “My friend lives around the corner.” That means I live on this street, but if I walk to the next street and then turn, I will come to my friend’s street. My friend lives around the corner.
Or I could say, “I like to go to the restaurant around the corner.” I like to go to the restaurant around the corner. That means I like to go to the restaurant that is around the corner from my location. I can walk to this other street and then turn, and I can find this restaurant.
That’s not a very interesting way to use this expression “around the corner.” There is a more interesting way, a way that is not literal. It’s not really talking about streets and turning left or right. Instead, we can use “around the corner” to mean very close, or happening very soon, or coming soon.
For instance, students who are very excited about a school vacation might say, “Oh, I’m so glad that the vacation is around the corner.”
That means I’m so glad that this vacation is coming soon. Or, we will meet it soon. We will see it soon because the idea is it’s very close. All we have to do is turn at the next street. It’s around the corner. And, in this case, that means we will see it soon, or it is coming soon, or it is happening soon.
When we use “around the corner” this way, we often use it with another word. We often use it with the word right. In other words, “The vacation is right around the corner.” And when we use the word right with this phrase, it means “very close, happening very soon.”
We can also use the word just with the phrase “around the corner.” Just around the corner. Again, this means it’s very close. It’s coming soon, or we will see it soon, or it will happen soon.
“I’m so glad that the vacation is just around the corner.”
And that is “around the corner,” an interesting and useful expression that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 353 of Everybody ESL. Remember: if you have questions about English, or if you have comments for me, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can play at the beginning of future episodes—the same way Rio 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!