Como falo em inglês: De uma certa maneira…

Hi, everybody.  Hoje eu falo sobre idioms super comuns do inglês com a palavra way.

Transcrição

Hi, everybody. This is the new episode of the Inglês Online podcast.

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So, you know when you ask for someone's help and you can tell that person went beyond the basics and actually put in some effort in order to help you? We say that this person went out of his or her way to help you. Let's say you talk to Shelly, who works in your office. You need her help to find a document, but deep down you don't really believe she'll be able to find it.

A couple of days later Shelly gets back to you and says she's found it. She made a few phone calls, tracked down someone who had kept an old copy with them, and when she finally got her hands on it, she scanned it and emailed it to you. This is way beyond Shelly's job description. She didn't really need to go through all that trouble.

Shelly went out of her way to get that document for you. She went out of her way. You had initially asked her whether she had a copy and she said no... And you thought that was the end of it. But she spent time making phone calls and tracking people down in order to get it for you. I think most people who work for a company know someone like that. There's always that person who will go out of their way to help others.

Imagine that you're driving one day and, all of a sudden, your car just stops and simply won't start again. You call your good friend Mark, who lives in that neighbourhood, and he comes to pick you up. He calls a tow truck for you. He then takes you home and you have dinner with his family. He offers to drive you back home after dinner. The next day he texts you, just to check on you and ask if you need anything. Mark is going out of his way to be helpful and to be there for you as a friend.

Now here's another popular expression with way. It's very simple, and very common. Let's say you're telling someone about how you and your brothers were raised by your aunt Maria after your parents passed away when you were kids. So you say "In a way, aunt Maria was a mother to us." She is not literally your mother, but she filled the role of mother for many years. She did most of the things a mother would do, so, in a way, she's like a mother to you and your brothers.

Your friend John is now telling you about this manager at the company he works for. The manager is a very authoritarian person who likes to boss people around and he'll even throw a tantrum if someone challenges him. John says "In a way, he's like a dictator who thinks our company is his country to run."

Yesterday I was late to catch a train and ended up missing it. As I waited for the next train, I had time to make a phone call and catch the person just when they were about to leave. So, in a way, it was a good thing I missed the train.

Now, I'm sure you know someone who goes out of their way to help others. Who is it? Let me know in the comments, and talk to you next time!

Key terms

* in a way

* go out of one's way

Vocabulário

deep down = lá no fundo

track someone/something down = conseguir encontrar ...