Do you know how to show that you are excited about something?
Today we’ll kick off the episode with a quick role play:
- A: Hey Michelle what is your favorite thing about summer?
- B: I feel like the summer can’t come soon enough. My favorite is the 4th of July.
In that conversation I used the phrase “can’t come soon enough.”
What did I mean when I said that?
I mean that I can’t wait for it to come.
I want it to come soon.
When would you use this?
- Seasons changing
- Birthday, big events, parties, celebrations
- Anything you are super excited about
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Would you use it for something that you don’t want to happen?
No!
It’s about a sense of urgency and wanting something to happen soon.
Let’s look at a question from a listener:
Hello Lindsay and Michelle, My name is Wichanan, you can called me Jay. I have listened your podcast for 3 years and it confers huge development of my English skills especially speaking and listening. I have a question about a phrase “can’t come soon enough” What does it stand for? I saw the this phrase on Facebook. Thank you so much. -Jay
Okay good question!
Again, it means you are really looking forward to something
Other situations where we use this:
- A loved one is coming to visit you or maybe a lover
- A big promotion you’re going to get. You’d use this if you really needed the money.
- A trip you’re going to take
What about tone of voice? Does that play a role in this?
Always!
Yes you do vary your tone of voice a bit.
Please listen to the episode for examples of this.
Examples:
- A: So when is that trip to Hawaii- isn’t that coming up soon?
- B: Oh my gosh it’s not until July 15. Can’t come soon enough.
- A: Oh well the time will go by fast. It’ll be here before you know it.
*Bonuses:
- It isn’t until: This is a nice structure and we use it when something is far away.
- It’ll be here before you know it: This is a way to say that something will come fast. It’s used to encourage someone.
Takeaway:
This was a straightforward episode today, but don’t take it for granted guys!
A phrase like this is a building block of an advanced speaker’s vocab.
If you’re not using this phrase then you should be experimenting with it or some of the bonus phrases we talked about.
Good luck! Get out there and start speaking!
What questions do you have today?
Let us know it the comments below.
