This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2050.
Have you figured out what the key to learning English is?
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Today we answer an insightful listener question about the grammar of the phrasal verb figure out.
By the end of the episode, you'll have figured out how to use this native expression to deepen your connections in English.
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Hey Aubrey, how's it going?
I'm great.
How are you, Lindsay?
Good.
I have a question for you today.
Are you ready?
Yeah.
All right.
So have you had any problems that you recently had to figure out? anything?
Ooh, yes.
We had um, the pool light went out on our pool and we'd love to be able to swim at night, but it's so dark if it's not lit from below and we got an estimate to fix it.
And it was going to be so expensive that we decided to try to do it on our own.
We had to like dig a trench and run the electricity really far.
And it's hot here in the Arizona summer.
It was so much work and so terrible that at the end we're like we definitely probably should have hired.
Did you get it working?
We did get it working, but it took so much time.
It was such a pain that we kind of regretted doing it.
Oh my gosh, that's insane.
But we were able to do it.
We did figure it out.
At first, we had like run the electricity and then it wasn't working.
And it took a while to figure out what was wrong.
Luckily, my husband's pretty handy.
He was able to figure out because I'm no electrician.
I don't know about you, Lindsay.
No, my brother would be able to do that.
But I definitely do not know how to deal with electricity for For sure.
It takes a certain skill set, right?
For sure.
And luckily, luckily, I had some help there to figure that out.
But it was a big process.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, my gosh.
Well, working on the house.
I like it.
Guys, we're going to get into today's episode now.
But don't forget that if you love All Ears English, a great way to listen is inside the iOS or Android app.
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Yes, exactly right.
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See the definition and example sentence and add it to your personal power vocabulary list.
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We love We love that.
So today's episode starts with a question from one of our amazing listeners, who I actually got to meet in San Francisco.
I love when we get to meet our listeners and this listener is our listener Jing.
Should I go ahead and read the question?
Yes.
This is related to that question you asked me about having to figure something out.
So this is going to be really good.
Let's hear it.
We're tying it back to that question at the top of the episode.
So here we go.
Hi, Lindsay.
I hope all is well with you and your team.
Can't believe it's been more than five years since we last met at the San Francisco airport in December of 2017.
That is so awesome.
A long time ago.
Wow.
Yes.
Okay.
The podcast has become even more amazing since then.
Keep up the good work.
That's so good.
Shout out to Jing.
And so cool to meet our listeners in person.
We love it.
Yes.
All right.
I have a quick grammar question that I'd love to hear your team talk about on the podcast.
In the statement, I figured out what all that noise means.
Coming from the basement is should from the basement is be from the basement was because the verb for the main sentence figure is in its past tense.
I think I've seen both.
Am I correct or am I hallucinating?
If people do use both, then when to use is and when to use was.
I'd greatly appreciate it if your team could talk about this grammar rule.
It's widely used in daily conversations.
And I know that Jing is living or was at that time living in San Francisco.
So really working in English, living and working in English, right?
Yeah.
And she's not wrong.
We use this all the time in native conversations, both at work and in our daily lives.
So I'm excited to dive into this because the grammar can be a little tricky.
I can see exactly why Jing was confused here.
You see figured in the past tense.
So you would think the verb to be would be was.
So definitely would be good to have this question in the transcripts.
I hope you guys are following along in the app, because this is one of those where, if you're following along the transcripts, it's like okay, this makes sense.
Yeah.
And I think this is also one that native speakers might get confused about too.
If they stop and think about what they're saying, they might not be able to explain.
So we've done a little research today to explain these to you.
So what do we have to know first to answer Jing's question?
So first is you can use this with both present or past, depending on the meaning of your sentence.
We'll break down the grammar for you, give some example sentences so you can use this and be familiar with how this grammar should work.
OK, cool.
So in the first case, what do we what do we need to know?
So first you have figured out just the same.
Right.
I figured out.
And then it's followed by a verb in the present tense.
The difference is the meaning of this sentence is that something is still happening.
So give us an example.
And yeah, let's let's get this from the email or the yeah.
Yeah, this episode is gonna be all about examples, right?
All about examples.
So just guys, if don't get overwhelmed with the grammar, just listen in today.
You can listen to this episode multiple times too.
So here's the example.
I figured out what the noise in the basement is.
That means that the noise is still coming from the basement.
Right.
Exactly.
Right.
Yes.
This is the example Jean gave us.
Right.
If I see this sentence, I figured out what the noise in the basement is.
You see figured in the past tense.
The noise because the noise is still coming from the basement.
We have the verb to be here in the present tense is.
You have the subject, the basement, and then the present tense verb is.
Yeah.
So we're really simplifying it for you guys here.
It depends on is the thing still happening?
So here's another example.
Aubrey, you want to give the second example?
Yeah.
Just they figured out what the problem is.
So a little more general here.
We're just saying whatever the problem is, it's still happening.
It still exists.
It has not been solved.
So we use that is in the present tense.
Love it.
So that's when the thing is still happening.
So that's really straightforward.
Obviously figured out, happen in the past.
That's done, but the problem still exists, exists exactly, and so that's where, if you're like diagramming a sentence, like picking apart the sentence, this is where you'll get tripped up.
If you just see that figured out in the past and think okay, all of the verbs have to be in past tense.
But if you really dive into the sentence and what's happening here, you see that figure out And then is at the end of the sentence are separate verbs right?
Yeah.
So for this to be verb is the subject is the noise or the problem.
And so then the verb is to be, and whether that's in past or present is all about.
Is this problem still happening or not?
I love that.
I love that.
Guys, it's all about context, right?
Don't just take language in isolation, especially grammar.
Take it in context.
So the second situation.
Let's talk about what happens when the verb is in the past tense.
Like the thing is done right.
Exactly.
Right.
So figured out will be the same.
It's still I figured out.
And then we have the verb in the past tense.
So we could have that exact same sentence that Jing shared.
It would be, I figured out what the noise in the basement was.
And you see the difference in the context changes.
This noise is no longer happening.
Right.
Like, for example, just to bring this into real life maybe last night I heard some banging in the basement.
Oh, God forbid.
Right.
I heard some banging in the basement and now it's the next morning.
It's no longer there anymore.
So I went downstairs and I figured out that the noise was the laundry machine or something.
Yes, exactly.
Right.
The noise is no longer happening.
So you're using that verb in the past tense.
Oh, I figured out what the noise in the basement was.
Luckily, it's no longer happening.
Yes.
Okay.
And then another example, they figured out what the problem was.
Problem is now resolved, but they figured out what it was when it existed.
Right, Aubrey?
Exactly.
So you can see you have the option of either having... is or was.
It all depends on the meaning you want to share.
Does the problem still exist?
Then you'll say, oh, figured out what the problem is.
It still exists.
It's still happening.
If it's finished, if it's resolved, then you'll say, okay, they figured out what the problem was.
Luckily, it's no longer a problem.
I love that.
That is so clear.
And it's pretty simple when you think about it, right?
Think about does this thing exist anymore or is it done?
Right?
Yeah.
Yep.
Okay, what else?
What are some other verbs that make sense here in this kind of situation?
When we say I figured out, right?
It means the same as I discovered or I realized and the same grammar works for these verbs.
You can replace these verbs in all of those example sentences.
You could say we discovered what the issue is, if the issue still exists, or we discovered what the issue was, if the issue has been resolved.
Yeah.
And why?
Let's come back to connection, because our motto, our value here in the podcast is connection, not perfection.
We believe that's the most important thing when it comes to learning a language.
So why is this a great phrase for connection?
Yes, it really is.
Because when we're getting deeper with relationships, we often will share discoveries we've made about ourselves.
And we'll use this phrase figured out.
For example, I might say, I've figured out what my struggle is.
I need to get more organized.
And all the other ways I can think to say that don't feel nearly as connected, right?
If I say like, okay, I know what my problem is.
I need to get more, right?
This I figured out feels so much more friendly.
Right.
Or the other words might be too conceptual.
Like I analyzed.
I don't know.
Yeah.
I like that figured out.
I like how that works right there.
So...
Aubrey, should we go ahead and do a role play for our listeners now?
Yes, let's do it.
This one is a little outside of the box, Lindsay.
In this role play, you and I are mechanics working on a car.
Switch it up a little bit.
Cool.
I love that idea.
You know, do something different, not staring at a computer screen all day, right?
Yes, I would love to be able to fix my own car and not have to pay a mechanic.
That'd be amazing.
Start us out.
I figured out what the problem with the AC is.
Oh, good.
I think I figured out what the issue with the fan was, too.
I tightened it and it's working great now.
Perfect.
This was a really tough job.
I think I've figured out what my problem is.
I don't want to be an auto mechanic.
Yeah.
That's one of those where I think in theory, oh, it'd be amazing to be able to do this myself.
And then it's just like fixing this light on our pool.
It's so difficult and so much work that I'm like okay, every penny I pay the auto mechanic is worth it.
They're earning it.
And physical work too.
Hard physical work.
Yeah.
It seems glamorous, but Not so much.
Yeah, hard.
Yeah, for sure.
So here's some examples.
Aubrey, first you said I figured out what the problem with the AC is because it still exists, right.
Exactly.
I haven't fixed it.
I haven't resolved it.
I've figured out what the problem is.
And I'm going to use present tense and say is because it's still a problem.
Okay.
And then what did I say?
And you used the past tense because you said, I think I figured out what the issue with the fan was.
I tightened it and it's working now.
So you're using past tense there because you were able to resolve the issue.
Right.
And the next one is an issue you currently have.
Right, i think i figured out what my problem is.
I don't want to be an auto mechanic, but you, you currently are not a mechanic and this is your problem.
It's not was my problem right right, and this is where we're showing this the way.
It's so good for connecting, where you can talk about something you've discovered about yourself in this way.
Okay, i figured out what my problem is, or i figured out what my goal is.
This is a great phrase for sharing something personal, Yeah.
And I think just on a human level.
I think when you are able to share things that you've already discovered about yourself, you can have higher quality friends like attract higher quality people in your life.
People that are actually somewhat reflective and introspective on their own lives, right?
Absolutely.
You can say, I've figured out the type of people that I want to be surrounded by.
Absolutely.
I love it.
So good.
What's the takeaway for our listeners?
Yeah, so this can be tricky.
Anytime there are multiple subjects or verbs in a sentence, you cannot rely on just making them all match, right?
You have to think about the meaning of the sentence, think about the context.
Today's tips will help you be able to use figured out.
Not only you know when you're talking about things you've discovered, but also discoveries you make about yourself.
Yes.
And special thank you to our listener Jing for asking this question and for being such a longtime listener.
How amazing is that?
Fantastic.
Yeah.
Shout out to Jing.
I love that you guys met up at the airport.
That is so awesome.
It was really cool.
All right, Aubrey, I'll see you in the next episode.
Have a good one.
You too.
Bye.
Bye.
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