AEE: Once You Get It, You Got It!

This is an All Ears English podcast. Once you get it, you got it. 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 whiz, and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer. coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com forward slash subscribe.

How do you know when to respond with I got it versus I get it? Find out today and learn what you should avoid when you're talking with someone you're not close to.

You can be technically correct in English and still not sound natural. Maybe your sentences are grammatically right, but something feels stiff, a little robotic, not quite how a native speaker would say it. That's nuance. Fluency lives in collocations, phrasal verbs and word choice, not just grammar rules.

If you keep using the same safe phrases, it may be time to stretch. Find out your level and what vocabulary skills you're missing in our free two minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com slash fluency score. That's allearsenglish.com slash F-L-U-E-N-C-Y-S-C-O-R-E.

Hello, Lindsay. How are you? Hello, Aubrey. Doing great today. How's everything for you? Excellent. Yeah, I had a good weekend. I'm excited to be here recording with you today.

All right, good. I have a question for you to start off today's episode. You ready? Okay, yes. Has someone ever explained something complicated to you and you still just didn't get it?

Has this ever happened to you? Just this weekend, actually. We got this game called Bang. And it's initially originally it's an Italian game. So all of the instructions are in Italian and then translated into English.

And it's complicated. Yeah. So it was being explained like, I'm just going to need to look at the rules myself. But then, you know, however they were translated, it wasn't very clear.

I'm like, I feel like I need to speak Italian to be able to understand these instructions. So I didn't get it. We struggled to understand this game. Oh, no.

Were you able to actually play or did you have to? pick out another game. We ended up being able to play, but it did take a while to like figure out. It would say like, if this happens else, something, something, I'm like, okay, I understand what's meant there.

But it is a fun game. It ends up being, it's a little bit like the game Mafia, if you've heard of that, where you sort of have a secret role that people, and you're kind of trying to figure out who's on your team. But it's based on the American West. So you have like guns and bullets, you can like shoot someone and they dodge it or not.

And Okay, wow. Wild West. I don't know if like the Westerns are popular, like the Western Wild West movies are popular around the world. I'm not really sure if they are, but maybe they are based on this game, the fact that they made this game in Italy, right?

Right, maybe, right? There's got to be some people out there who love the West. And I'm curious if all those Clint Eastwood movies, the outlaw Josie Whale, I remember my grandpa and my dad loving that movie. But yeah, I don't know how popular that is around the world.

Yeah. So what are we getting into in the episode? We have a question from a listener. What are we talking about today? Yeah, you had said, you were asking me if there was something that I just didn't get, meaning didn't understand, right?

We got a really good question from a listener about get it, got it, how we use these phrases. Do you want to read the question for us? This question's from YouTube from CJ Jackson. Guys, don't forget that we have an amazing YouTube channel.

Go ahead and find Allers English and hit subscribe to make sure you don't miss anything. Here's the question. Hello, Lindsay Aubrey and Michelle. My name is Rose.

Thank you so much for your podcast. I've been listening for several months now and it's become part of my daily routine. I've learned so many natural expressions from you and you've helped me become more confident speaking English. Thank you.

Ooh, love the question. Love it. I do too. This is so great. And thank you so much for your positive feedback. It's amazing to hear this. Thank you, Rose, for listening.

I love that it's part of your daily routine. And thanks for letting us know. Yeah. Thank you so much, guys. Don't forget to send in your question. If you have a question like this, send it to our support team at support at allersenglish.com and our team will make sure the question gets to us.

All right. Absolutely. And wherever you find your podcast, hit follow and you can send comments there. In Spotify, you can leave comments with questions.

Or if you watch the episode on YouTube, you can always leave a question in your comment as well. Yeah. So let's break it down. I mean, it's a great question, Aubrey, right?

So once you understand, should you say got it? Should you say get it? Where do we start? Let's break down each phrase. Let's do it. So let's start with I get it, right?

Which means I understand. You might say, I didn't understand at first, but now I get it, right? It means like I have figured it out. I now understand.

Exactly. Or I get it. You're saying we should focus on quality rather than speed. Right. And this can be said, yeah. Yeah. It can also be used to ask someone to stop talking or explaining.

So we'll do a little mini role play to show how that could look. I'll start us out. Okay. Can you text Mark and let him know we're running about 10 minutes late, but make sure you apologize because last time we were late, he seemed a little annoyed and maybe let him know we're stuck in traffic.

So he knows that we have a legitimate reason to be late. Okay. I get it. I get it. So he's just given me a lot of information and you've made it clear that you're really concerned what he thinks about the fact that we're late and it feels like an overkill.

Exactly. So we might say it like that. Okay. I might even say it twice. I get it. I get it. Or like, okay, I get it. Especially we'll use different intonation to express sort of our annoyance here.

Something's being over-explained or we're being patronized too. And often we'll say that. It means like, okay, stop. I've got it. Of course, be careful, guys, because if you're at work and maybe a manager or a boss is explaining these things, it might be because something has happened in the past or

Right. Where a ball was dropped or they're really concerned about this particular issue. And, you know, there could be a reason. That's a good point. This is so informal, right?

This is like an informal, playful way to respond to someone who's a friend, to someone that you know really well. Right. This actually in like a work situation or with a superior in that kind of this would be extremely rude and inappropriate. So that's a really good point.

Yeah, really unprofessional. So save it for your friends and that's it, right? What about I got it, Aubrey? Yeah, so this is interesting. It can have a few different meanings.

It could mean I understand or that you've received something or that you're saying you'll handle something. So depending on the context, this could mean a few different things. Okay, so the meaning of I understand looks like this. Oh, I got it.

Now I understand what you were trying to say. Exactly. Or, okay, I got it. So we turn left after the bank. So someone's explaining something to you and you're saying, I have understood, right?

I understand what you said. Yeah. And the second meaning, these are all really relevant too, really natural. The second meaning was I'll take care of it, right?

So this is what that looks like. Don't worry about cleaning the kitchen. I got it. Okay. Or, oh, someone needs to call the client. I got it. Or you can go home early.

I got it from here. Interesting. And the grammar is interesting here because really this is present perfect. In order to be correct grammar, it's I have got it.

Right. But we don't say that. We don't say that. Right. We just say I got it. And we'd probably even write that in a text or in super casual written English because we just really drop the have entirely.

Yeah, that can be a real trap for our listeners. But once you get it, you get it, right? Once you get it, you got it. Once you get it, you got it. Oh, that's so funny.

And then the last meaning is that you've received something, right? So if I said to you, did you get the document I sent? Yep, I got it. Yeah. And interestingly, you can always shorten this and just say, got it.

You don't have to say, I got it, or I've got it. You can just say, got it, meaning understood, or I've received that, or I'll take care of it. Exactly. Perfect.

All right. So let's directly answer the listener's question, right? Rose asked this question. So how can we make sure it's super clear for Rose? Yeah.

So now that we've kind of broken down how to use these different phrases, if someone says, did you get it? The question is, do we say, I get it or I got it? Oh, interesting. Yeah.

So for example, this could mean, did you pick something up, right? So for example, did you get the pizza? So that's what's interesting. If someone's saying, did you get it?

That could mean several different things. The question could mean several different things. It could mean, did you pick up the pizza? It could mean, did you understand what I just said?

Right. So it kind of depends on what they're asking. So if they say if they if they mean, did you get the pizza? What would you say, Lindsay? Did you get it?

I would say, yeah, I got it, right? I got it. And that's because it's past tense of I picked it up. That's the same meaning as I picked it up. Yep, I picked it up.

Yep, I got it. We couldn't say I get it because in that sense, that would only mean I understand, which you wouldn't use to answer if someone's asking if you picked something up. Exactly. But then it gets more nuanced when you look at the answer for, did you get it?

Because I guess you could say, I got it. But you could also say, yeah, I get it in the present tense. Like I understand. Don't you think? Right. So if you, if what they mean is, did you understand a pro tip here is that usually they would say, did you get that?

Right. I probably wouldn't say, did you get it to mean, did you understand? But I might say, did you get that? Meaning, did you hear correctly? Did you understand what was said?

So that's one way you can kind of figure it out from the small words that we change. We would say, did you get that? Yep. Got it. Yep. Got it. Or I got it.

Yeah. Yeah. Who are you in your native language? Confident, funny, opinionated. Now, who are you in English? If you feel smaller, quieter or less expressive, that's not because you're bad at English.

It's because fluency is tied to identity. When you're unsure, you hold back. And when you hold back, people don't see the real you. You don't need perfect grammar.

You need clarity about what is holding you back. In just two minutes, you can discover your English level and what's slowing your progress for free. Go to allearsenglish.com slash fluency score. That's allearsenglish.com slash F-L-U-E-N-C-Y-S-C-O-R-E.

Let's see a role play here, Aubrey, and break this down because I could see how this, I mean, this is so important for natural English, but it could be a little confusing still. So let's get a little closer here.

Here we're making plans to meet friends for dinner. Okay. All right. Perfect. Did you call the restaurant and change our reservation? I forgot. I got it though.

I'll call them after work. And we're changing it from nine to 10 people. Last time you called, they accidentally changed the date. So make sure you...

I get it. I'll tell them 10 people, same date, and make sure they've got it right. I appreciate it. And sorry, this is the first time I've planned a surprise party, so I'm trying to make sure everything is set.

I get it. I'll take care of it. And I'm going to pick up the cake, but you've got the balloons, right? Yeah. Thanks for your help. Yeah, and again, even for a friend that you don't know that well, don't use that.

Don't say, I get it, right? Well, you definitely, I'm intentionally wanting you to know I'm frustrated, right? Never say this unless that's your intent to let them know like, okay, I'm not a child. I understand, right?

I am saying that. for the express purpose of letting you know that I'm frustrated, that you're not trusting me, that you're micromanaging me even as a friend. If you say that, that's what they will receive. So if you don't want that fight, then don't say this, right?

Yeah. I mean, I think even still you'd pick your battles here. Like I would only say, I get it, right? In that unhinged kind of way. If someone is like a sibling, right?

or like a really, really close friend. I think for more distant friends, I would just internally roll my eyes a little bit. I wouldn't even, I'd be like, all set. I would kind of be a little bit more collected.

When we say, I got it, I get it. It's kind of losing control a little bit. Yeah, that's true. It can definitely hurt the connection, right? Even for very close friends like this, it is showing irritation, annoyance, impatience when we use it that way.

And so this is sort of a warning for this phrase, because depending on your intonation, you could even accidentally make it sound like you're responding in that way. Yeah, I would be super selective about who you're willing to open up to because you are kind of losing that emotional control, which is who do you want to show that to, right? Right. Someone would probably respond to this like, okay, chill.

Right. You were really nice. You're like, okay, sorry. I'm just, you know, really wanting to make sure everything's right. You probably would be like, have you had a bar?

Are you okay? Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. What's going on with you? Yeah. So that's just really selective. Be really careful there, guys. But let's go through the rest of the role play, Aubrey.

So I said, did you call the restaurant and change our reservation? And you said – I said, I forgot. And I was like, I got it though. So what I mean is I will take care of it.

I will take care of it. I have it under control, right? Exactly. Is what you're saying, essentially. And then we talked already about the unhinged, I get it, right?

I get it. And I even cut you off. That's rude. This is a rude interruption, right? I get it. Yeah. Very, very select people. And then I said, I'll tell them 10 people, same date, and make sure they've got it right.

Meaning to make sure they understand. Yeah, meaning that they understand everything, that that's all set. Yes. And then what? And then you're apologizing.

So you're like, okay, I haven't planned a surprise party before. I'm just trying to make sure everything is set. And I said, I get it. And honestly, if we were friends, I probably would apologize there and be like, I get it.

And also, I'm sorry I snapped at you. I've had a rough day, right? We probably would recognize like that was a little much. Yeah. Yeah. An apology is in order here.

And maybe that could be another episode for another day. How do you apologize when you've lost control, emotional control? That's a good idea. Yeah. But this is the use where I think this is what makes this get it, got it a little confusing.

Like this is probably why Rose wrote in about this, because here I'm saying I get it. And what I mean is I totally understand. It's kind of like accepting your apology, right? And so I'm not saying...

Um, you know, the, let's see, I want to look at the original question here was if someone says, did you get it? Right. We wouldn't answer. Yes, I get it.

Because that question is either about like, did you pick something up? Did you understand? But we will say, I get it when someone's like, Hey, I'm sorry. I've had a bad day.

I get it. Meaning like, I understand. It's okay. And it's very, very distinctive. I get it because the intonation is very clear. It's very different. I get it.

I'll take care of it. Right. Intonation is really key on all of these, right? The rude one when you're interrupting, you would never be like, I get it.

There it's like, I get it. We're adding that irritation to our voice. Yeah. These all have very different intonations. And then at the end you said, and I'm going to pick up the cake, but you've got the balloons, right?

Meaning you have the balloons under control. Like you are responsible for the balloons and you know it. Exactly. Interesting. There's a lot there, meaning like you're going to pick them up or whatever.

You're taking responsibility for that. You've got it. Yes. Oh, great episode. Great question. Guys, going over to 2715, giving up on English, hang on now.

We really had fun teaching you the difference, like how to use this expression, hang on now, right? Hang on. Or no, that one was about now, using now at the end. Yes, there are a few phrases where we do that.

Come on now. Hang on now. So that's a good one. I thought of that with this. I get it because these are also some expressions for showing a little bit of irritability that we do use, but we want to be careful with those as well.

For sure. What's our final takeaway for today, Aubrey? I love what you were saying, Lindsay. There are phrases like this that you do need to be careful with, especially at work or among people you don't know as well.

This could hurt the connection if you are letting your irritability show. And so just super close friends, maybe siblings and other than that, you're going to want to avoid that use of this. Exactly. Exactly.

All right, Aubrey, thanks for being on the show today, guys. Hit the follow button if you love our style here at All There's English, and we'll see you next time. All right. Awesome.

See you next time. Bye. Bye. Thanks for listening to All Ears English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com forward slash fluency score.

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