In this mini episode, you will learn the “too (something) for (somebody’s) own good” construction.
Episode 414 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the “too (something) for (somebody’s) own good” construction. 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
“Hi, everyone! This is Bianca from China. And you are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 414 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 construction that we can call the “too (something) for (somebody’s) own good” construction.
That sounds a little bit confusing, doesn’t it? “Too (something) for (somebody’s) own good.”
What kind of thing can be that first something? “Too (something) for (somebody’s) own good.” This will usually be an adjective that sounds positive. An adjective that sounds positive. Something like smart, friendly, funny, strong, pretty, rich. Things like that. These are adjectives that name positive conditions or positive traits.
And what can take the place of that somebody’s? Remember I said the construction is “too (something) for (somebody’s) own good.” So, what can take the place of that somebody’s?
Well, it can really be any person. It could be “for my own good.” “For your own good.” “For his, for her, for our own good.” “For my neighbor’s own good.” In this construction, somebody can be any person.
Okay, so that’s how we build the construction. What does it mean? Why should we care about this construction? How do we use it?
We use this construction when we want to say that somebody has so much of this positive quality that it almost becomes negative. I have a feeling this still sounds very confusing. So let me give you an example of an entire situation and a sentence that uses this construction, and then I think you will understand what it means.
Imagine that I have a friend who is extremely smart. She went to college. She went to graduate school. She is always studying. She knows everything. We normally think of being smart and very well educated as good things. But in her case it is almost a negative thing.
She knows so much that she has a hard time just relaxing and enjoying things. She’s always thinking about the bad things that might happen. She’s always thinking about some article she read about some new danger in the world. I could say this about my friend: “She is too smart for her own good.” She is too smart for her own good. It’s hard to have a good time with my friend. Sometimes I think she is too smart for her own good. Sometimes I think she is too smart for her own good. She is so smart that it has a negative consequence. She’s so smart that it becomes negative in some way.
And here is another example:
Maybe you know somebody like this. Maybe you know somebody who is so friendly. This person always has time for other people, is always helping other people, is always listening to other people’s problems. This person always has sympathy for other people and always has a kind word to say. This person will never say no to anybody.
We usually think of that kind of friendliness and compassion as very good things. But what if you have a situation where many people take advantage of your friend? Your friend is really just too nice. People take advantage of him. You could say that your friend is too friendly for his own good. “He is too friendly for his own good. Yes, it’s wonderful to be friendly, but I think maybe, in some ways, he is too friendly.”
That’s what we are saying when we use this “too (something) for (somebody’s) own good” construction.
We are saying that because somebody has so much of some quality, it has become a bad thing for that person. We are talking about somebody experiencing a negative result of having some positive quality. This person has so much of this positive thing that it is almost harmful. It is bad for the person.
That is “too (something) for (somebody’s) own good,” a useful and common construction that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 414 of Everybody ESL. Remember: if you have any 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 Bianca 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!