We had a big presentation to do last month but when I got to the presentation venue, I realized we had forgotten the projector. Oh no! I said panicking. Does anyone know where the projector is? Everyone just shrugged their shoulders. “beats me” “no clue,” “got me.” Well, I said. “Did anyone pack it in their car? *Search me,” “no idea.” “Who know.s” were the only answers I got. Well I wasn’t any closer to having that projector and the meeting was starting in a few minutes. So I ran back to my car and what do you think I found sitting on the passenger’s seat? The projector was sitting right there. I guess I was the one who forgot it!
I’m Paul Durant. From VenturEnglish this is three minute English, a podcast in English, about English for English learners.
Well that was a scare, but did you hear how my team answered my questions? They said phrases like *Beats me,” “got me” and “search me.” They also said “no clue, “no idea,” and “who knows?” Were they really answering my question or is this some kind of code? Well, they were answering the question and, well, it is a code, I suppose. You see in English we have many different ways to say “I don’t know.”Maybe that’s true in any language, because nobody really likes to admit they don’t know! So, in English we use these phrases a lot.
Let’s repeat these phrases so you can recognize them next time you hear them. “got me”, or “you got me” means you have reached the end of my knowledge. “beats me” means because you have reached the end of my knowledge you won the game. “Search me” means “you can search me and see that I don’t have the information with me.”
We also say “no clue” or “I don’t have a clue” The same is true with “no idea.” This means I don’t even have a piece or a hint of the information you need. Finally, “who knows?” means probably nobody has the information you need.
Well those details are probably more than you need to use these phrases, but it is interesting. We don’t like to admit we don’t know, but these phrases help. So listen for “got me”, “beats me”, search me”, “no clue”, “no idea”, and “who knows?” You may not like the answer, but at least you know what it means!
Thanks for listening to three minute English from VenturEnglish. If you have an English question please leave a comment or send me an email! You can contact me on our website venturenglish.com. That’s v-e-n-t-u-r English.com. And if you like the podcast leave a comment on Apple podcasts or google play. It really helps to reach more listeners. I’m paul Preston. Thanks for listening to three minute English!