1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:04,120 Speaker 1: Somebody asked me the other day how many phrasal verbs 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:08,960 there are in English. That's a tough question, so I said, 3 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:14,400 beats me. And then she said, but you're an English teacher. 4 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:19,719 I don't know. I have no clue how many phrasal 5 00:00:19,839 --> 00:00:24,839 verbs are there. Who knows. 6 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:30,480 Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from 7 00:00:30,519 --> 00:00:34,280 New York City, and here's your English teacher, Michael. 8 00:00:35,039 --> 00:00:39,880 Speaker 1: All right, thank you, Jan and thanks everyone. It's Michael 9 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:44,799 here from Happy English and I help people speak English better. 10 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:51,039 And this is Happy English Podcast, Episode eight fifty eight. 11 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:58,960 How to say you don't know in English? Hello, and welcome. 12 00:00:59,479 --> 00:01:03,399 Thanks for tuning in. Let me ask you something. What 13 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:06,959 do you usually say when you don't know the answer 14 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:11,480 to something in English? I know it's not good to 15 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:15,560 answer my own question, but if you're like a lot 16 00:01:15,599 --> 00:01:20,200 of people, you probably say I don't know, and hey, 17 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:25,959 that's perfectly fine. There's nothing wrong with I don't know. 18 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:31,319 By the way, the most common and casual pronunciation of 19 00:01:31,599 --> 00:01:36,760 I don't know is I don't know, I don't know. 20 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:41,480 The stress comes on the eye, and the tea sound 21 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:48,719 at the end of don't gets dropped, don't becomes don't, 22 00:01:48,959 --> 00:01:52,359 and when you put that all together, you get I 23 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:56,400 don't know. I don't know. When you use this phrase, 24 00:01:56,480 --> 00:02:01,480 make sure you stress I I don't know, Otherwise the 25 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:06,519 other person won't understand what you mean. I don't know. 26 00:02:07,599 --> 00:02:11,120 That's the only correct intonation for this phrase. So if 27 00:02:11,159 --> 00:02:14,919 your friend asks, Hey, how many drinks did Jack have 28 00:02:15,199 --> 00:02:19,439 last night? You can tell her I don't know. You 29 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:22,879 know what? Native English speakers have a lot of ways 30 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:26,120 to say that they don't know, and I'm going to 31 00:02:26,199 --> 00:02:29,520 guess you also have various ways to say you don't 32 00:02:29,560 --> 00:02:33,960 know in your native language, too, right, I mean, nobody 33 00:02:34,039 --> 00:02:38,520 speaks like a textbook in any language. That's why today 34 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:42,439 I want to share some fun and natural ways to 35 00:02:42,599 --> 00:02:46,879 say I don't know, the way native speakers really talk. 36 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:52,080 So let's dive in. One of the most casual and 37 00:02:52,599 --> 00:02:55,680 kind of funny ways to say you don't know, is 38 00:02:56,240 --> 00:03:01,439 beats me, Like when your favorite side team beats their 39 00:03:01,599 --> 00:03:09,199 rival team. The question beat me? I lost to that question? Yeah, 40 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:15,560 beats me, like I have no idea. It sounds very casual, 41 00:03:16,159 --> 00:03:20,560 maybe even a little sarcastic. And remember the intonation here 42 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:26,319 beats me, distress is on me, And there's an extra 43 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:31,840 kind of syllable there right beats me, like you're singing. 44 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:36,560 So if someone says, hey, why is the train so 45 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:42,000 late today, you can shrug your shoulders and say, beats me, 46 00:03:43,159 --> 00:03:47,319 I've been standing here for twenty minutes. It's very conversational 47 00:03:47,639 --> 00:03:51,039 and you'll hear it all the time, especially in the US. 48 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:57,560 Another common one is I have no clue, like a 49 00:03:57,639 --> 00:04:02,520 detective who is new on the case. I have no clue, 50 00:04:03,199 --> 00:04:07,800 and notice the stress here, I have no clue. The 51 00:04:07,919 --> 00:04:12,400 stress is on the word no, Like someone asks who's 52 00:04:12,479 --> 00:04:16,560 calling you from that weird number? You can reply I 53 00:04:16,759 --> 00:04:22,000 have no clue. I'm not answering it. You can also 54 00:04:22,199 --> 00:04:29,279 say I have no idea or just no idea. It 55 00:04:29,319 --> 00:04:33,000 has the same meaning, just a slightly more neutral tone. 56 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:41,600 The stress is on no and idea no idea. Like 57 00:04:41,879 --> 00:04:45,120 your coworker shows you an error message on their computer 58 00:04:45,199 --> 00:04:48,000 and asks you, hey, do you know how to fix this? 59 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:55,439 You can say, no idea, I'm terrible with computers. The 60 00:04:55,519 --> 00:05:01,279 next one is who knows. It's like saying I don't 61 00:05:01,319 --> 00:05:07,279 know and I can't imagine anyone else knows? Who knows? 62 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,879 And if you may have noticed, the stress is on 63 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:17,279 both words with a pause, between them who knows, Like 64 00:05:17,639 --> 00:05:21,720 if your sister asks you, why is Dad in a 65 00:05:21,759 --> 00:05:27,759 bad mood? You can answer with who knows. The last 66 00:05:27,759 --> 00:05:33,600 one is search me. Literally, if you searched me, if 67 00:05:33,639 --> 00:05:38,079 you searched my brain, you wouldn't find the answer. But 68 00:05:38,199 --> 00:05:43,120 to be honest, search me is kind of old school slang. 69 00:05:43,639 --> 00:05:48,639 It sounds like how teenagers talk in those old nineteen 70 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:53,959 fifties movies, like Hey Bobby, how come Tommy quit the 71 00:05:54,120 --> 00:06:02,000 chess club? Search me? He didn't tell anyone? Okay, let's recap. 72 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:05,920 When you don't know, you can let someone know by 73 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:10,480 using the following phrases from this lesson. Again, keep in 74 00:06:10,519 --> 00:06:16,279 mind the pronunciation and stress I don't know beats me, 75 00:06:17,639 --> 00:06:23,920 I have no clue, I have no idea, no idea, 76 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:31,040 who knows? And search me, which again comes under the 77 00:06:31,079 --> 00:06:35,680 category of good to know, but not good to use. 78 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:39,959 Unless you want to sound like a nineteen fifties teenager. 79 00:06:41,319 --> 00:06:44,360 Try using one of these next time instead of just 80 00:06:44,399 --> 00:06:47,759 saying I don't know. It's a great way to sound 81 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:53,560 more natural and more confident in your everyday English. So 82 00:06:53,759 --> 00:06:56,199 let me ask you which of these phrases do you 83 00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:59,879 like the most. Come and let me know. On Instagram 84 00:07:00,199 --> 00:07:03,920 at Happy English and why or leave a comment on 85 00:07:03,959 --> 00:07:06,800 the blog, and keep in mind the best way to 86 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:10,199 remember English like this and any other word or phrase 87 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:14,040 in English, is to take that word or phrase write 88 00:07:14,079 --> 00:07:17,439 it in a sentence that's true for you or true 89 00:07:17,439 --> 00:07:21,639 in your world. Then memorize your sentences and remember to 90 00:07:21,759 --> 00:07:25,319 check out my AI tutor. It's a great way to 91 00:07:25,399 --> 00:07:29,000 practice your English, get answers and more twenty four to 92 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:31,839 seven and it's all free. 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Plus you get 100 00:07:59,439 --> 00:08:03,879 access to the pdf, transcript and audio download for every 101 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:08,040 Happy English podcast in the past and in the future. 102 00:08:08,319 --> 00:08:12,199 And on top of that, each episode has exercises where 103 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:15,680 you can practice this English point with speaking and writing 104 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:19,639 checked by me. To learn more, well, just visit Myhappy 105 00:08:19,680 --> 00:08:25,360 English dot com and choose podcast lesson eight fifty eight. Remember, 106 00:08:25,879 --> 00:08:29,759 learning another language is not easy, but it's not impossible, 107 00:08:30,079 --> 00:08:34,200 and I'm here to help you on your journey. 108 00:08:35,279 --> 00:08:38,360 Speaker 2: This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please 109 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:42,960 visit Myhappy english dot com. 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