Hi, all. How’s everything?
Nesse episódio do podcast Inglês Online falamos sobre expressões com MAKE. Para ver e ouvir podcasts de semanas anteriores, clique em Podcast Inglesonline na barra lateral. Você pode também assinar o feed do podcast ou encontrá-lo no iTunes (veja o menuzinho ali ao lado).
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Transcrição
Hello, everyone. How’s it going? Today we have a new episode of the inglesonline podcast. To download or just listen to other episodes and download transcripts, go to inglesonline.com.br and click Podcast Inglesonline.
Let’s talk about a few expressions with the word make. We’ve had a podcast before that revolved around MAKE, but today we have different expressions. The first one is really easy to understand, and it is one way… It is one more way you can agree with someone, or a way to express that you feel the same way as someone else. Imagine that you’re dicussing movies with a friend. She says that she enjoys watching a good drama, but she can’t stand excessive violence in movies. You realize that your friend has described exactly the way you feel about movies, and so you say That makes two of us. What does that mean? That means that, just like your friend, you enjoy a good drama but you can’t stand watching too much violence. So when you hear your friend express her opinion, you say That makes two of us. You and I have the same opinion.
Another example: you’ve just gone through a one-hour long karate training and you feel exhausted. You think the instructor is pushing his students a little too hard. Too much weight-lifting! You don’t understand why you should have to do so much weight-lifting for a karate class. You’ve been sore for weeks, and you tell another student “I don’t know why our instructor is pushing us so hard. What’s with all the weight-lifting? I’m thinking about quitting this class”. And, to your suprise, the other guy says That makes two of us. I’m glad I’m not the only one. What is he saying? He’s saying that he feels the same way and he’s been thinking about giving up karate and taking up tap dancing. So when you tell him that you’re tired of this class and you’re thinking about quitting, he says That makes two of us.
Now let’s focus on another term that also has the words make and two, although this one is used for a different purpose. Let me give you an example: you’re at a bar with people from your office, and you order a beer. John, who’s sitting by your side, immediately tells the waitress Make it two. Make what two? Hmm… the number of beers, I guess. Instead of bringing only one bottle of beer, the waitress will bring two. So what John meant when he said Make it two was, I want the same thing that he or she just ordered. Instead of bringing just one unit of that, bring two units. Make it two.
Well, you said you wanted a beer, then John said Make it two, and then Molly, who was sitting next to John said Make it three! She wants to have beer as well. So now she’s telling the waitress that she should bring three units of beer. In Portuguese we would say something like “Pra mim também, uma cerveja” or “Mais uma pra mim”, right? In English, if the person next to you orders exactly what you want to order, you can say Make it two. Or if someone has already said Make it two because this person is ordering the same as another person, you can say Make it three, and so on.
And here’s our final expression with make: imagine you’re driving somewhere with your family. Your wife or husband, and the kids. It’s a long trip and you’re tired, and you can’t wait to get to your final destination so you can rest and relax. But one of your kids is desperate to pee, so you make a stop at a gas station, and you tell your kid Make it fast! What does that mean? That means you are telling your kid to be fast. Don’t go into the restroom and spend 5 minutes looking at yourself in the mirror; don’t go into the convenience store, don’t start a chat with the store clerk. Just get in and out as fast as you can. Make it fast.
Here’s another example: you’re waiting for an important phone call in the next thirty minutes. Your friend Melissa sees your cell phone and says Can I use your phone real quick? I just have to let my friend know that I’m going to be late. You say OK, but make it fast. I’m waiting for a life-changing phone call. Make what fast? Make ‘the act of calling your friend’ fast. Don’t be long. In my previous example, the one at the gas station, make ‘the act of going to the restroom’ fast. “Make it fast” to me sounds a bit more bossy than “Don’t be long” or “Please don’t be long”, so don’t say that to your boss, for example.
Talk to you next time.
Key expressions
- That makes two of us
- Make it two
- Make it fast
Glossary
sore = dolorido(a)
What’s with… ? = que que é todo esse negócio de…?
to take up (an activity) = começar a fazer uma atividade
tap dancing = sapateado
you can’t wait = você não vê a hora
bossy = mandão, autoritário
don’t be long = não demore
say Jennifer is having dinner at a restaurant. She orders a pizza. When the pizza arrives, she takes one look at it and immediately spots a band-aid. Yes, someone’s band-aid ended up on Jennifer’s pizza. She calls the waiter and he takes the pizza away, and ten minutes later comes back with another pizza. By now Jennifer is really hungry, and she’s about to go for her first slice of pizza when she realizes that this is a pepperoni pizza! She didn’t order pepperoni. She hates pepperoni! She ordered the cheese and mushroom toppings on her pizza.
OK, so let’s move on to another set phrase in English. This is an expression you can use when someone tells you a secret, and then asks you not to tell anyone. You can say My lips are sealed. My lips are sealed. When you say that, you’re telling that person that the secret won’t come out of your mouth because your lips are sealed. You won’t tell anyone. You won’t tell a soul.