In this mini episode, you will learn the expression “common sense.”
Episode 430 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the expression “common sense.” 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! This is Selina, from Zibo, Shandong, China. You’re listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 430 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 an interesting expression. The expression is “common sense.” Common sense. That’s c-o-m-m-o-n, s-e-n-s-e. Common sense.
What is common sense? How do we use this phrase?
“Common sense” means the kind of knowledge and judgment and understanding that we expect most people to have. “Common sense” refers to a basic understanding of how the world works or how people work—how people think and feel.
If you say that somebody has common sense, you are saying that this person has a good, basic understanding of practical things like the way the world works and the way people think.
I wanted to teach you two other ways to say this same thing.
Instead of “common sense,” you will also hear people say “good sense.” Good sense. If somebody has good sense, that means they have a basic level of judgment and understanding. It means they are able to understand how the world works and how people work and how to live in a basic, practical way.
There is also a kind of old-fashioned way that we can say “common sense” or “good sense.” I don’t think you will hear people use this expression very often, but I think it’s a good one. It is “horse sense.” Horse sense. H-o-r-s-e, s-e-n-s-e. Horse sense. “Horse sense” means the same thing as “common sense” and “good sense.” I don’t know where this expression comes from. Maybe people think of horses as very sensible animals? They have a good, basic understanding of the world? I don’t know. Is that why? I’m not sure.
But we also use (or sometimes still use) “horse sense” to mean this same thing.
How do we actually use these phrases? How do we use “common sense” or “good sense” or “horse sense”? Usually we use them with the verb have. We usually say that somebody has or doesn’t have common sense.
Usually it’s that simple. You can say, “Let me tell you about my friend. He really has common sense.” Or maybe you are very frustrated with your other friend, and you ask your friend, “Don’t you have any common sense?”
So, have is usually the verb that we use with common sense. Of course, this sometimes will be don’t have or not have, if we are saying that somebody doesn’t have this basic understanding or judgment about things.
And that is “common sense” and “good sense” and “horse sense.” And these are interesting expressions that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 430 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 Selina 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!