Podcast: You’re overreacting!

By Ana | Podcast Inglês Online

May 09
Inglês - Podcast You’re overreacting!

O podcast de hoje mostra como dizer coisas assim: “Calma, você está exagerando!” e “Fazer tempestade em copo d’água”.

Transcrição

Hey, how’s it going today? This is Ana Luiza with 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.

So, picture this: your friend finished reading a book last week and he loved it. So two days ago he told you about the book and you asked him if you could borrow the book. He said “Sure! Here it is”. So you grabbed the book and then you walked to the nearest bus stop, waited a while and when your bus came, you hopped on.

But here’s what happened then: there were no seats available so you just stood near the back exit and you decided to check out your friend’s book while riding the bus. That was a bad idea. The bus driver was apparently in a hurry and, at one point, he made a really sharp turn. In that exact moment, you were trying to hold on to the railing with one hand, and trying to turn a page with the other hand. As the driver made the turn, the book just flew off your hand and out the window. Your friend’s book? It was gone in one second.

So you got home and first thing you did was, you gave your friend a call and told him what happened. Now, people react differently to these things, right? Let’s talk about two opposite reactions people may have.

The first one would be like this: you call your friend and he says “Oh, no worries. It’s not that big a deal.” Your friend says this is not that big a deal. When something is not a big deal, that means it’s not that important, it doesn’t have serious consequences, it’s something that can be easily fixed. You know, it’s not a serious problem, it’s not a big deal, it is not that big a deal.

You know that last sentence – “it’s not that big a deal”? This isn’t very intuitive for us, Brazilians or Portuguese speakers in general. If we try to translate that literally into Portuguese, we’ll end up with something that doesn’t make sense. So, don’t do that! Maybe one day I’ll do a podcast on that particular structure, but for now just know that “it’s not that big a deal” means something like “não é tão sério assim”. You can say “This isn’t a big deal” or “No big deal” or “It’s not that big a deal”, for example.

Now, maybe your friend has the opposite reaction. You tell him you lost the book and he goes ballistic. “He goes ballistic” – that means, he gets insanely angry. He starts yelling at you over the phone! And you tell him “Jack, relax! I’m gonna get you a new copy immediately! In fact, I’m gonna get you two copies of that book.” But that’s not good enough for your friend. He’s still mad at you, and you ask him “Don’t you think you are overreacting? It was an accident!”. Listen again to this question: Don’t you think you are overreacting? This is a very common use of the word “overreact”. Don’t you think you are overreacting?

So, can you guess what overreact means? You think your friend is overreacting. That means that you think he is exaggerating in his anger. You were holding his book and it flew out the bus window. It happens! Why is he that angry? It’s not that big a deal. I mean, you would understand if he got a little upset. But he’s so mad, he’s yelling at you. You think he is totally overreacting. It’s just a book, you’re gonna go to the bookstore and get him a new copy, or two new copies, like you promised… and, problem solved! Your friend is overreacting. He’s too angry for something that isn’t that serious, for a problem that isn’t that hard to be solved.

And here’s something else you could say: “Jack, I think you’re blowing this out of proportion”. I think you are blowing it out of proportion. I lost your book, I’m gonna buy you a new one and that’ll be the end of it! You are angry for no reason. You are blowing this out of proportion! You are blowing this completely out of proportion. So, that happens sometimes, right? Sometimes we see someone blowing something out of proportion. We know it’s not a big deal, but that person doesn’t and they overreact and blow it completely out of proportion.

Now here’s a question for you: have you ever overreacted? Have you ever blown something out of proportion? And then, minutes later you realized that it actually wasn’t that big a deal? Tell us in the comments.

One more thing: I wanted to remind everyone that the feed for this podcast is available on iTunes. iTunes is this little system that is used on iPods and on the iPad to purchase and download music, movies, podcasts… The inglesonline podcast feed has been available on iTunes for a while but not everyone is aware of that, so… if you look up “inglesonline” on iTunes, you’ll find it. And there’s also a subscription link to iTunes right here on the website. Just scroll up the page and you’ll see a little menu at the top of the page. Just click on the iTunes link and you’ll be able to subscribe to this podcast on iTunes.

OK, that’s it for today. Talk to you next time!

 

Key expressions

  • it’s not that big a deal / it’s not a big deal
  • overreact
  • blow something out of proportion

 

Glossary

you hopped on (the bus) = você subiu (no ônibus)

made a sharp turn = fez uma curva fechada

hold on to the railing = segurar bem no corrimão do ônibus

flew off your hand and out the window = voou da sua mão pra fora da janela

we’ll end up with = a gente vai acabar com

Ana
Fabiano 17/05/2011

Muito boa a iniciativa! Nunca tinha procurado por podcasts para me auxiliarem a evoluir o meu inglês, vou colocá-los no celular e ouvir no ônibus a caminho do trabalho, já que é praticamente impossível ler livro algum no aperto que é dentro de um ônibus em são paulo hahaha

Parabéns, Ana!

Sérgio 15/05/2011

I think you are really amazing, you are really fantastic!! And I’m not overreacting at all!

eduardo de sordi 15/05/2011

ola
desculpe perguntar num post sobre outro tema, mas nao achei um link direto pra isso
sempre tive duvida em relaçao em como se dizer, fique a vontade e mais ou menos

stay free e pretty much?

errado?

muitoo obrigado

Luciano 14/05/2011

Ana Luiza, seus podcasts são incríveis. Baixei todos para o mp3 e vou e volto do trabalho ouvindo. A transcrição do aúdio no site ajuda muito a gente a entender e tirar dúvidas. Está perfeito e está me ajudando muito no “listening”. Parabéns pelo maravilhoso trabalho.
Grande abraço
Luciano – Curitiba – PR.

WandAvril 13/05/2011

Muito obrigado por esse lindo e maravilhoso site! Estudo inglês a um bom tempo. O seu site me deixa com mais vontade de aprender inglês! Amo os podcast!

Te adoro, professora!
Beijos e espero mais podcasts!

Glau Ribeiro 13/05/2011

I always say that you do a great job and you’re amazing and I love your podcasts. So, this is not necessary to say anymore, right? =) Just kidding.

Well, answer the question I think that I’m not a person who have overreact at all. But I think that I probably overreact if someone lost my DVD’s of my favorite series. This is maybe a blow out of proportion, but I have lots of jelous about my series. (:

I also want to know about the site to learn french, like Kantynho asked.

Anderson 13/05/2011

Ei, Ana, tudo bem? Recebo seus e-mails há algum tempo, suas dicas sãos excelentes e práticas. Confesso que fiquei um bom tempo sem estudar, mas agora voltei com carga total. A propósito, seu Inglês é ótimo; sua pronúncia, perfeita. Keep up the good work!

Um Abraço.

kantynho 11/05/2011

Well, i don´t have your address, but i will try to send using the option “contato” of the website..
Tks!

Ana Luiza 11/05/2011

@kantynho – shoot me an email!

kantynho 11/05/2011

I´m trying to learn french too.. somebody knows a website like inglesonline, maybe a frenchonline?, with podcasts and basic lessons?

Ana Luiza 11/05/2011

@Ana Raquel: veja a série “Como ter progresso na Fluência” na barra lateral.

@AnaCris: look up my podcast at Englishexperts and you’ll have the answer smile

@kantynho: no problem.. you’re welcome wink

@Cristiane: yes, I have podcasts for basic English. Actually, audio lessons – they’re in my Curso Básico (clique lá na barra lateral pra saber mais)

Cristiane 11/05/2011

Hi Anna!
Is there any possibility of your posting podcast for basic English?

sorry for my English!!
rs…
Thank you.

kantynho 10/05/2011

I love your podcasts! Almost all i know of the english language i learned by my own, and your work with this podcasts help me a lot! Thank you!

AnaCris 10/05/2011

That’s it!
The more you teach the more you learn!!
I’m absolutely amazed with all the information that you give us every day! Thanks! Really! A lot!
I re-started my studies in English after 2 or 3 years of some disappointments in other areas and became very pleased to know about your blog/website (and many others InglesnaRede, InglesnoSupermercado, elllo.org and so on)..
I got some of that podcasts that you uploaded and intend to get all of them, to listen your perfect English. It’s so clear! Are you native? or Brazilian?

So…from now on, I think my English will finally take off..with so many tools :D

Forgive me about any mistakes in the text (and please, fell free to correct them).

Stay this way…you are helping lots of people.

Thank You!

Cris

Ana Raquel 10/05/2011

Estou iniciando no momento o inglês, gostaria de saber qual a melhor forma de pegar bem as pronúncias e as escritas com mais facilidades.

Tks,
Ana

Ana Luiza 09/05/2011

Henrique – Great!! Enjoy the podcasts.

Ana Luiza 09/05/2011

Julio – ops! Obrigada por avisar. Eu tinha esquecido de mudar a introdução do post, mas agora já está OK. Não sei se entendi qual a sua dúvida – é a pronúncia de THAT? Busque essa palavra no thefreedictionary.com e você poderá ouvir várias pronúncias.

Julio 09/05/2011

Hi Ana,

this is my first post here, i don’t have practice in write, forgive me for errors.

I didn’t understand the link between the podcast and “expressões que você pode usar para dizer que não entendeu nada ou que está meio perdido”. I didn’t see this expressions there.

On a complete change of note (thanks linguee.com)i saw the movie “Last night” and the actress Keira Knightley say “No, it doesn´t work like that” (around 54 min). But is very stranger the pronounce for “like that”. Impossible that she said that. If you can help me…

thanks
Julio

Henrique 09/05/2011

Ana Luisa, congratulatios for the website!
I have been studied English for 4 years now and got my FCE last december. Since then I stopped studying because I had no longer a purpose for it. Fortunately I found your website and now it is saved on my favorites. Your pronouciation is perfect and your podcasts are very well structured and useful. Thanks a lot!

(I rewrote the comment in English, because I thought it would be more appropriated for an English learners’ website.)

Henrique 09/05/2011

Ana Luisa, parabéns pelo site!
Já estudo inglês há 4 anos, tirei meu First Certificate in English dezembro passado e estava precisando treinar pq já fazia 4 meses que não estudava. Daí encontrei esse site e achei EXCELENTE! Sua pronúncia é perfeita e seus podcasts são muito bem estruturados e úteis. Obrigado.

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