Transcript of AEE 2712: Confused By English Vocabulary? What Now?

This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2712: confused by English vocabulary, what now?

Welcome to the All Ears English podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection, with your American hosts, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS quiz, and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA.

Hey, Lindsay. How are you today? Hello, Aubrey. I'm doing great today. What's going on in your world? Oh, well, it's a beautiful summer day, quite warm. Oh, I actually found out that we have these ficus trees that we had planted in our backyard that are pretty new trees, and we realized that the—

What now?

There you go. A ficus tree. Oh, what now?

Hey.

Nice. That was well done, Lindsay.

What now?

Yeah, thank you. I was—I've never heard that word before, so that legitimately was—I wasn't sure about that. What do ficus trees look like, by the way? Are they tall?

They're very green, and they can be just like a big, sort of regular-looking tree, but the ones I'm referring to are called column ficus that are planted to end up looking more like a really thick hedge, and we have them against one of our walls. But we found out they're not getting any water. They haven't. They just started looking really sad, like they're dying, and we realized the water, like the irrigation was—the controls weren't correct, and they haven't been getting water for weeks, so now I'm really worried they're all going to die because it's been so hot. It's been like 110 degrees every day.

Oh, for sure. Oh my gosh. Well, I hope you can get that figured out.

Hopefully they'll survive. I'll keep you guys updated.

Save those trees. Save the trees, Aubrey. Save the trees.

Save the trees.

But I love how you said, as soon as I said "a ficus tree" and you said "a what now?" because that's what we're getting into today. I heard this recently. I was like, "Oh, we got to talk about this on the podcast. This is great."

Yeah. Nothing sounds more natural. It's very—it's a very American phrase, I think. But first, let's get into thanking one of our amazing listeners for leaving a great review. So thank you to Omit Shah, who reviewed us from France recently. Guys, we love to read your reviews. When we get lots of detailed reviews, we will send them to the team, and it keeps us going. It keeps our energy levels up. It keeps us, you know, keeps us happy as podcasters, doesn't it, Aubrey?

Yes, absolutely. Right? It's really validating. It's so exciting. Wherever you leave your reviews and your comments, wherever you're listening to the podcast, we read them. We appreciate them. If you haven't left a review and a rating, please do so. It means a lot to us.

Yes. Yeah. We'll do our best to announce your name out loud on the show if we see your review as well. All right. So I said "a what now?" You said "a ficus tree," and I said "a what now?" Right? Are we—yeah. I mean, what are we talking about? Like a credit score here? FICO credit score?

Yeah. It's a ficus. F-I-C-U-S. Yeah, it's funny. They probably maybe aren't that common in Denver. They do really well in heat and the desert, so it makes sense that—yeah. But they're a beautiful tree. A ficus tree. But yeah, this is a great expression. If someone says a word you're not familiar with, in American English we'll often say this, "a what now?"

Yes. Yeah. And when I hear this, what is—when you hear it, what's the connotation? Like, how does it feel to you? I mean, it feels natural to me. What else? Any other connotations?

It feels natural and fun. Right? If you do like "a what now?"

Fun.

That's playful.

Yep.

Yes.

It's friendly. It's fun. It feels a little folksy to me. A little traditional. Kind of a little old school in a way. Like, do you know what I mean? But in a good way.

I still hear it. I still use it. I think when I heard it recently, someone said "Pilates reformer," and then the other person was like, "a what now?" because they had never heard of those machines.

Yeah. Yeah, for sure. So we're going to show you guys exactly how to do this. These are—this would be in the list of the top 25 most natural episodes, for sure.

Absolutely.

Things you can add to your English that'll make you very natural. Okay?

Yes. So we use this when if we didn't hear or understand a word correctly, or if we're unfamiliar with it. Someone refers to something that we've never heard before. This is such a fun thing to do, to say "a what now?" So let's do a couple mini role plays.

Yes. All right.

I bought a new bidet yesterday.

A what now?

Yeah.

So maybe I haven't traveled and I haven't seen, you know, in Europe, they often have bidets next to a toilet. We don't do that in the—like, we don't have that in American, in the US, really, do we?

Right. Not really.

Not really.

Yeah.

Yeah. I do. I love a bidet. I have one on all of my toilets because there—you can now buy like a separate seat that is a bidet, like to convert a toilet into a bidet.

Interesting. Okay.

And I am a—I think ever since living in Europe, right? I'm a huge fan of a bidet.

Yes. Love that.

But yeah, some people in the States, some people wouldn't even be familiar with that. Or I feel like we also do this to more express that we're like, surprised someone would buy that, right? If I'm like, "I'm getting a bidet," and you're like, "a what now?" And really, you mean like, why would you do that?

So you're saying it's not just I don't understand the word. It's I don't get why you're doing that.

It could be either.

I don't get why you're making that purchase.

Yeah. Right? We use this a few different ways. So someone could mean like, "What are you talking about? I've never heard that before." Or it could be like, "What are you talking about? Like, why would you do that?"

Yeah. This next one's really good because silent discos are something I had not heard of until we were touring wedding venues. So let's go and let's do this little role play first.

Okay. We're going to a silent disco tonight. A what now?

Yeah.

Right?

Perfect.

Because if you haven't heard of that, instead of saying, "What's that?" this is more fun to say, "a what now?"

Yeah. We were looking at wedding venues, and there was one venue down by a river. But of course, there are noise ordinances, right, for the neighborhood, and they were kind of promoting the silent disco as something really cool and a great differentiator for this space. I'm like, "What? Why? Why?" It seems weird. I mean, people like it, I guess. It definitely looks very strange. Have you ever participated in a silent disco, Aubrey?

Yes. One time. And it wasn't that long ago. It was at a wedding, just like you were saying, in Cancun. And it was brilliant because they gave everyone the headset, and then there were like four different DJs, like four different options.

Wow.

It was like hip-hop or Latin music or like—or more EDM, like electronic music. So you could choose, but it made it strange because everyone's like dancing to a different beat.

Everyone's dancing differently.

Right. But it was really fun. And then you take off the headphones and there's no music at all, and you just see everyone dancing. It looks kind of crazy.

So odd, right? So I can understand. These are good examples of when you might say "a what now?" if maybe it's new. It's kind of new, this concept of a silent disco, at least in the US, I think. Okay. So next one.

And then we often use this just to express surprise, right? If I said like, "We got a Burmese python." Like, you've heard of a Burmese python.

A what now?

Like, a what now? Like, why?

Yeah. No. I've heard about the infestation in Florida of Burmese pythons. They're everywhere.

Yes. I think there's like a reward being offered if people catch them, right?

There is.

Yeah.

That's what I've heard. Yeah. Crazy. So these are all great examples of not just not understanding the word or the concept or the trend, but also sort of saying, "Why are you doing that? Why are you keeping a Burmese python in your home?"

Yes. It's a really fun way to do that. But we also want to share a few other related phrases. This is really interesting. When we say "what now?" there are so many possible meanings. So that's just one of them. When we say "a what now?" when someone has said like a noun, they've said a thing, and we want to say, "Wait, what are you talking about?" Then we'll say, "a what now?"

Yeah. And before we—before we go any further with this, I think we should ask the question that a lot of our listeners are going to say, "Why are we adding 'now' to all these phrases?" Like, what does that—just in that, what does that mean or what does that do here?

Yeah. This is really interesting. It's really unnecessary here. So why? Because for this, you could just say, "What? Why did you get that?"

Right.

What?

Exactly.

So adding "now," it's really colloquial. It's really just like part of—and this could be pretty regional, how often you hear these expressions. Could be pretty specific to the United States. I actually would be really curious if this is common in the UK or in Australia because it's just a feature of speech that's unnecessary. It's added just sort of almost as slang, as fun. It doesn't change the meaning at all to add the "now."

I think it makes it a little bit more friendly. It makes it a little bit more, "I'm with you right now in this conversation, and I want to understand it." I also would probably argue that this is used—I don't have the data on this. Don't quote me. This is not research-based. This is my vibe, my feeling. I think this is probably used more in like suburban rural places than urban places.

Could be?

Because it feels a little like, like I said before, kind of folksy. It feels—I mean, maybe you could disagree, Aubrey, if you think, but it just feels more like, "I'm here. I have the time. I want to understand." A what now? Right?

Yeah. Yeah. No. I think you're not wrong. I think in urban areas, sometimes we do speak a little more formally, right? Instead, might say, you know, "What are you referring to?" or something, right? But this is like it's informal. It's casual, which often is more common in rural areas.

I think so. There's a sense of like, "I'm here with you. I want to understand when you use this 'now.'" It's interesting.

It is.

It is.

It is interesting. So that's pretty specific to this chunk, "a what now?" Because these other phrases, when we just say "what now?" there's a few different meanings, and it's different. So let's talk about the second one. And we usually say "wait" first.

Yeah.

"Wait, what now?" to signal surprise or confusion. It actually means like, "Hold on. I need you to repeat or explain that." So let's show a quick mini role play to hear how that would sound.

Okay. I'm thinking about moving to Alaska.

"Wait, what now?"

Yeah.

Right. So it's because it's a noun, right? It wasn't, you know, you wouldn't say, "Ah, what now?" But we will say like, "What now?" meaning like, "Wait, what? Explain that to me."

Yeah. It's kind of saying like, "Slow down. Let me understand this." And maybe that's something that's less likely to be said in a rural area because things—sorry, in an urban area because things keep moving fast in an urban area.

Right. It's kind of a phrase that means like, "I need more details."

Yeah. "I need more details." Right. Right.

Or if I say, "She said she's getting married next month."

"Wait, what now?"

Yeah.

Yeah.

And that one again, this is similar to "a what now?" One's really if you've said like a noun or a subject, and then this one's more about a situation or a scenario because you can't say, "Ah, what now?" meaning like, "What thing are you talking about?" in general. Like, "What now?" meaning, "What? Give me more details."

Yeah. The grammar kind of has to work there. And just as a bonus here, another alternative to this, and this is not what we're talking about today. We're focusing on the "what now?" today, but just saying, "Wait, what?" Right? "Wait, what?" You might hear that more in an urban area, for example.

Yeah. Good point. Because the "now" is extra. It's unnecessary. It kind of makes it more informal, and it's not necessary. So you could definitely just say, "Wait, what?"

"Wait, what?" Also very common, right?

Totally.

And then just "what now?" alone by itself.

Yes. Which means, "What are we supposed to do next?"

Oh, sorry.

In this, there's a few meanings of this, right?

Okay.

So for example, "We've finished everything on the list. What now?" And you can hear the intonation is very different, right?

It's different. And I did it wrong the first time. But when I first introduced it just now, I did the intonation wrong. "What now?" Right? It's different from, "What now?" Right?

There's no surprise here. Those other, the first two we shared are signaling surprise or confusion. This means like, "What's next?"

Right. "What's next?" Exactly. So let's do a role play, Aubrey.

Okay. "Ugh, the restaurant's closed."

"Okay. What now?"

Right? It just means like, "Okay, then where do we go?" Right? It's just like, "What's the plan?" So this is more straightforward. But crazy that these same two words, "what now?"

Yeah.

All these different meanings. And there's still another one.

And I just want to add a bonus to this one too. You could also reverse those words and say, "Okay, now what?"

Good point.

"Now what?"

Totally.

But I don't want to go off in too many different directions, guys. We'll cover that another day. Okay?

Yeah. Good point. It means the same thing.

Yeah. Next one, Aubrey. What's the second meaning then?

Okay. So this one's interesting. Sometimes we say, "What now?" to express frustration. And it means like, "What else can go wrong?" Right? So for example, if I say, "Ugh, everything's been going wrong today, but I have more bad news." What might you say, Lindsay?

"Ugh, what now?"

Exactly. Right? And they'll say, "The air conditioning isn't working." Right? So that's, again, a totally different intonation, but the exact same words.

And you can feel that frustration in my voice. You really, with these differentiations here, you really need to make it clear what is the situation, right? We need to react to the situation appropriately with the right intonation, guys. Okay?

Yes. Exactly. If you just have the words, it'd be crazy to be like, "Ugh, sorry, I have more bad news." And then you do like, "A what now?"

"What now?"

Right.

All friendly.

It just doesn't work.

Exactly.

The intonation is vital.

Perfect.

Okay. Now we have another variation, the last one for today, guys, because we're giving you a lot of good content today that you can apply right away. The fifth phrase is what?

Is "you did what now?" And this is interesting. It expresses, you know, surprise or disbelief and usually mild judgment.

Yeah. So this is more similar to the first couple of the first couple ones. "Wait, what now?" Similar theme, right? Something's kind of coming out of nowhere, right? It's not similar to "now what?" Right?

Right. That's true, right? Instead of it being like.

"What now?"

About a specific noun or a scenario now that's about someone's action or choice where we would say, "You did what now?" But the difference, I feel like those other two can be fun and friendly. This one usually is always going to imply some kind of judgment. Like, you think whatever they've done is a bad idea.

And how is it different if, well, let's go through the examples. Then we'll talk about how it would feel if you just took off the "now," right? So here we go. "I accidentally sent the email to the entire company."

"You did what now?"

Ooh.

Or, "I bought a motorcycle yesterday."

"You did what now?" All right. So how would it feel different if I just said, "You did what?"

Yeah. That's really interesting.

Yeah. That's what you could say.

Because you definitely could just say, "Wait, what?" or, "You did what?" and drop the "now." And it is, I think, the same as these others. It is making it a little more informal, a little more casual to add the "now."

Yeah. It's almost showing that you have a little more patience. Like, let's say.

It's a little more lighthearted, right?

Yeah. Yeah. Like you're the manager of that company, and one of your employees comes to you and says, "You did this thing, right? You sent this email to the entire company." You're trying to say, "I'm like, my head's going to explode right now," right? Like, "What were you thinking?" But also, I'm trying not to be too harsh.

I'm trying not to be too harsh. Yeah. Exactly.

And with the way we say it, right? If I were to say this, I might even say it sort of like laughing. Like, "You did what now?"

Right.

Yeah. Because it's going to create a major problem, but you're trying to show, "Okay, you have a little patience. You're being civil, remaining civil."

Right. Everything's going to be okay.

Yeah. Exactly. Okay. In this role play then, "We are friends catching up."

Yeah. Okay. Let's use some of these.

Okay. Let's start.

"Hey, I ran into Jake yesterday. He told me he's moving to Spain next month."

"Wait, what now? Spain? I thought he was moving to Chicago."

"I know. Apparently, he changed his mind."

"Wow. So what now? Is he selling his house?"

"Yep. And apparently, he's taking his dog with him."

"A what now? I didn't even know he had a dog."

"Oh, yeah. I guess he got a dog a few months ago."

"Honestly, at this point, I'm not surprised by anything."

That would be crazy. You find out a friend is moving and has a dog. You're like, "I thought I knew him."

I know.

I guess I'm not.

"Did I know this person?" Right?

"I guess I don't know this person."

"We're not as good friends as I thought."

Finding out all these things. So we have some good examples of how we use this. So first, again, I said, "I ran into Jake. He told me he's moving to Spain." And you said, Aubrey.

I said, "Wait, what now?" And I could have just said, "What now?" Yeah. It's just the way we express surprise, but in a very informal, casual way.

And you're surprised because you had probably talked to him, and he said he was moving to Chicago, and now it's Spain. So that's the surprise. Now, if this is someone who's likely to move abroad and he just booked his flight, you might not say, right? You're not surprised because you expected them to do that.

That's true. And this is kind of for like big surprises. That's when it comes out of us. Like, we're shocked, and we'll say one of these, "Wait, what now?"

Right. Exactly. And then I said, "I know. Apparently, he changed his mind." And you said, "Wow. So what now?" Totally different, right? This means what will happen next.

Right. So what's his plan? Yeah. I'll be like, "What now? He's going to sell his house or what?"

Yeah.

"What's the next step?" Right?

And then you said, "Yeah, apparently, he's taking his dog with him." And this is when I would say, "Ah, what now?" Because there's the noun, the dog, right, that I'm referring to when I say, "Ah, what now?"

Yeah.

I didn't even have a dog.

Right. All these surprises. Yes. Okay. This is great, guys. You could implement this, I mean, a really good way. As a connection skill, I love the fact that adding "now" in many cases does show, I think we came up with it here, Aubrey, a sense of patience, a sense of kind of a focusing it's like, "We're on the same level, kind of. I'm here with you, right? I'll listen to you." That kind of thing.

I agree. It's bringing down that wall of formality we talk about sometimes, right? Because you're making your speech more informal and casual and friendly. And like you said, like implying that you have the time you want to hear more.

Yes. Exactly. So it's really a connection skill. Start to listen for this first, then you'll hear it, and you can start to throw it into your speech, guys. Go over to 2708 on this show. Honestly, you'll be happy about these pronunciation tips. Okay?

Yes. And be sure to hit follow here on the podcast because we're going to do a part two to this series. As I was planning it, I found other phrases where we add "now" like that. Like, "Come on now" and "Hold on now." There's a few of them. So we'll dive into those in another episode.

That's going to be a great one. Yeah. Hit that follow button, and we'll see you in the next episode. All right, Aubrey. Have a good rest of your day. Talk soon.

You too. Thanks, guys. Bye.

All right. Bye.