In this mini episode, you will learn the phrase “Come to think of it.”
Episode 458 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the phrase “Come to think of it.” 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 Jiuqian from Jilin, China. You are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 458 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 useful phrase. The phrase is “Come to think of it.” Come to think of it.
That’s c-o-m-e, t-o, t-h-i-n-k, o-f, i-t. Come to think of it.
Have you ever heard this phrase before? Have you ever heard someone say, “Come to think of it?”
We use this phrase as a way of introducing a new thought, or a new memory, or a new realization. In other words, when we are talking about something, and we have a new thought, or we have just remembered something, or we have just realized something, we can introduce it by saying, “Come to think of it.”
And that is often the intonation this phrase has. It often sounds like this: “Come to think of it.” Come to think of it. It often has that specific rising and falling tone: “Come to think of it.”
Let me give you an example of a situation where you might hear someone say, “Come to think of it.”
Imagine that I am having a conversation with a friend, and we are talking about another friend of ours. We are talking about our friend, Mary. My other friend is saying that he has not seen Mary for a long time. And he asks me, “When is the last time you saw Mary?” And I say this: “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Mary for about two years now.” Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Mary for about two years now.
What this means is “Wait a minute. I am just now realizing the fact that I haven’t seen Mary for a long time. It has been two years since I last saw Mary.” And because this idea or this thought seems interesting to me, I can say, “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Mary for a long time.” When I say it like that, it makes it sound like this is sort of a new and interesting idea. Or something that I have just now recognized or understood.
Here’s another example of a situation where you might hear this phrase:
Imagine that you are talking with a friend, and you are setting up a date to have lunch together. You say to your friend, “Are you available on Friday for lunch?” And your friend says, “Yes, Friday. Yes, I’m available. Oh, wait—come to think of it, I have a doctor’s appointment on Friday.” Come to think of it, I have a doctor’s appointment on Friday.
When your friend says that, that is a way of saying, “Oh, I just now remembered something. I just realized something. I’m not available on Friday because I already have a doctor’s appointment.”
And so you can see how “Come to think of it” is a way of introducing a new idea, a new memory, a new realization. You don’t need to use this kind of phrase to introduce your statement, but when you do, it sounds very natural.
And that is “Come to think of it,” a very natural and very useful phrase to know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 458 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 Jiuqian 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!