In this mini episode, you will learn the very common phrase “after all.”
Episode 427 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the very common phrase “after all.” 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 Gamze, from Izmir, Turkey. And you are listening to (the) Everybody ESL podcast.”
Welcome to episode 427 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 very common phrase. You will hear this phrase very often, I believe. The phrase is “after all.” After all, a-f-t-e-r, a-l-l. After all.
This phrase has more than one meaning, but today I am going to tell you about this meaning of “after all.” What is this meaning of “after all”?
“After all” can be used to mean “When we consider all of the facts, or when we remember everything about the situation, or when we think about all of the things we have already talked about or all of the things that are important to the situation.”
I don’t think that sounds very clear. Let me give you an example of a situation where somebody might use the phrase “after all,” and then I think you will understand.
Let’s say that you have a friend who is a singer. And she tells you that she will be performing at a club in the city. She will be singing in this club. She invites you and some other friends to come see her performance, to come listen to her sing.
After the show, one of your friends says, “Wow! She is a really good singer. I didn’t know that she could sing that well.” And you say, “Of course! After all, she has been a professional singer for 10 years.”
Did you hear that? After all, she has been a professional singer for 10 years.
What does “after all” mean here? Why might someone say “after all” in this kind of situation?
In this situation, “after all” means “Yes—when we consider all of the facts, when we consider the entire situation, when we remember that this person has been a professional singer for a long time, it’s not surprising that she sings very well.”
When one of your friends is surprised that this person can sing so well and you say, “Of course she can sing well. After all, she has been a professional for a long time,” you are saying, “Of course she can sing well. And this isn’t surprising when we consider or think about the whole situation, when we remember everything that’s important, when we remember that she has been a professional for a long time. When we remember that, then it’s not surprising. It makes sense. There’s no reason to be surprised.”
After all, she has been a professional for a long time.
We can express this same idea using “after all” by putting “after all” at the end of the sentence. So if your friend says, “Wow! I didn’t know that she was such a good singer,” you can say, “Of course! She has been a professional singer for 10 years, after all.”
It’s the same as the first example, but here “after all” comes at the end. It works in both places. It works at the beginning to introduce your idea, and it also works at the end, where it kind of summarizes your idea. It works at the beginning, and it works at the end, and has the same meaning.
When you’re listening to people speak English, listen for this phrase, “after all.” I think it is very common, and I think you will be able to hear people use it in a similar kind of way.
And that is “after all,” a common phrase that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 427 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 Gamze 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!