Talking about hates

Introduction Neil and Georgie have a real conversation in easy English about hates – the things that make them angry! Learn to talk about the difference between annoying and frustrating, and hear some of the things that Georgie and Neil just can't stand. Vocabulary can't stand (something) really don't like something annoying / irritating causing a slight feeling of anger or upset annoyed / irritated slightly angry or upset frustrating causing some anger because something is delayed or prevented frustrated quite angry because you cannot do or complete something Transcript Neil Hello and welcome to Real Easy English. In this podcast, we have real conversations in easy English to help you learn. I'm Neil.   Georgie And I'm Georgie. You can find a video version of this podcast with subtitles on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.   Neil Hi, Georgie. How are you?   Georgie I'm very well, thank you, Neil. How are you?   Neil I'm OK. At the weekend, I went to a concert.   Georgie Yes.   Neil And I was trying to listen to the music. Lots of people around me were talking loudly, and I really hate that.   Georgie Oh. It's quite annoying, I guess, yeah. Well, today we're actually talking about things that we don't like – things that we hate doing and things that we don't like other people doing. So, let's talk about your concert then. How... why didn't you like that?   Neil I just think it's... it feels quite rude to me because lots of people want to listen to the music and they paid money to listen to the music, but other people have decided just to talk and it means I couldn't listen to my favourite music.   Georgie Yeah, and the tickets are expensive! And you go there for a reason and other people can ruin the experience for you. This happens also in the cinema or the theatre. Yeah, I find that annoying too. I don't like it when people… when groups of people are walking down the street in a line and they don't leave space for other people to pass. I can sometimes be a bit impatient, and maybe that's my problem, but yeah, that annoys me.   Neil Do you know what I can't stand?   Georgie What?   Neil I can't stand it when people leave litter or rubbish, especially in a beautiful, natural place. So, if I'm in the countryside and then I see some old wrappers or...   Georgie Cans.   Neil ...cans left lying on the ground, that makes me sad and angry.   Georgie Yeah, because it spoils the beautiful environment. Is there anything that you hate doing personally?   Neil Oh, lots of things. I really hate DIY. DIY is when you do repairs to your own house or flat.   Georgie Yes.   Neil I'm really bad at it. And because I know I'm bad at it, when I do it and it's a failure, everything about it makes me hate it.   Georgie Another thing that I don't like doing is, similar to what I said before, I don't like going through crowds of people because again, I like to get to places quickly and if I can't move easily in a crowd that frustrates me. I find that annoying and irritating.   Neil Yeah, it's really irritating, isn't it?   Georgie And it's strange because usually I'm quite a calm and relaxed person and I just think, well, whatever happens happens. But for some reason, in these situations, I get very annoyed. It makes me very annoyed.   Neil How about food? Is there any food that you can't stand?   Georgie Actually, no. I eat most food and I really love food. When I was younger, I used to hate nuts for some reason. I don't like the texture but... or I didn't like the texture. But now I think I don't mind them so much. I just don't want nuts in my sweet treats. So, Neil, do you think that there's anything that you do that other people hate?   Neil Oh, definitely. I've got kids and kids are very honest. And so my kids think I'm really annoying in the morning, especially if I ask them lots of questions when they're making their breakfast.   Georgie I can really relate to that, to your kids actually, because I really don't like it when people ask me lots of questions in the morning. I'm just waking up. I don't want to talk to anyone at the moment. Anything else?   Neil Well probably lots, but let's leave it there. How about you?   Georgie There's definitely things that people find annoying about me. I'm very forgetful with my possessions – so, things that I own. I often leave bags, phones, jackets, umbrellas in restaurants and bars. And my friends and my sister get really annoyed because they have to follow me around making sure that I've got all of my things. And I think that's very annoying for them. It's annoying for me as well because I lose lots of things, like my phone a couple of times. Annoying for everyone!   Neil OK. Let's recap the vocabulary we've heard in this episode, starting with can't stand. If you can't stand something, you really, really don't like it.   Georgie The adjectives annoying and irritating describe something that makes you feel uncomfortable or angry when it happens.   Neil Georgie just gave the adjectives that describe the situation, but annoyed or irritated describe the way you feel. So, if you are annoyed or irritated, something has made you angry.   Georgie If you feel frustrated, you're annoyed because you can't do something. For example, if you're in a traffic jam, you can feel frustrated that you can't move somewhere quickly. The situation is frustrating.   Neil That's it for this episode of Real Easy English, but don't forget to go to our website, bbclearningenglish.com, where you can download a free worksheet.   Georgie And we'll be back next week with another conversation in Easy English. Goodbye for now.   Neil Goodbye! Now try this... Watch The London Letter Challenge. Download a free worksheet. Discover more programmes for your level.  Find all our latest programmes.