This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2132, how English grammar helps you avoid being quiet.
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Which is more valued in your culture, listening or talking?
Today we answer a listener question about three ways to use the word quiet and we dive into deeper questions of culture and life.
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How are you?
I'm doing great.
How are you?
What's going on?
Excellent.
I'm wondering, do you ever have a quiet day?
A quiet day.
Oh, it sounds so great.
Do you mean like the things going on around me are quiet or I'm quiet?
Either.
Up to you.
There are so many meanings of the word quiet, right?
Sure.
I have a quiet day sometimes.
Sometimes it's good to have like a noisy day and then a quiet day.
I miss quiet days, right?
Now that I have four children, there's never a quiet day.
I know.
If I go on vacation somewhere super chill, then I can have a quiet day.
Or if the kids go to camp or something and you have a house to yourself, but yeah.
Wow.
But sometimes I do feel a little more quiet.
I love that you said like me, am I being quiet?
Sometimes I'm a little more quiet.
My kids will be like mom, what's wrong?
Why are you so quiet?
Yeah, sometimes you're just in a more reflective mood.
Yeah right yeah yeah, yeah.
So it's interesting, this word quiet does have so many meanings and is used in so many ways.
Right, it's a noun, it's a verb, it's an adjective.
We got a really good question about this that we're going to answer today.
Give you guys lots of details about how you can use this interesting word.
All right, so i will dive in and read the question.
This question is from now or never, love it uh.
This student says hi Lindsay Michelle thanks, and Aubrey and Jessica.
Many thanks for all of what you provide for us to improve our English connection with the real English world.
I have a question about the word quiet that carries multiple meanings.
Sometimes it's a noun verb adjective.
Uh, need to break it down to know all situations it's being used in.
Nice good question.
Yeah right, very good question.
This can make english so tricky when, if you could know it's just an adjective and could you know and master how to use that easy.
But unfortunately, for a lot of words that's not the case.
So we're going to share lots of examples for how it's used in all of these different ways Yep.
And don't forget guys, go check out episode 2099, where we talked about how to switch topics like a pro for better connection, because that is a good way to learn how to move between topics, which is something we all need to work on to move to 99 fluency.
Yep.
So many great phrases in that episode to help you transition and really good advice for knowing if it's time to transition.
That was a great episode.
Love it.
All right.
Let's get into it, Aubrey.
Where do we start today?
All right.
Let's start with the adjective. quiet, right?
This just means, of course, making little or no noise.
So this is like when I said sometimes I'm being quiet, I feel quiet.
I'm using this as an adjective.
So let's give some examples.
Okay.
So my car is so quiet that sometimes people step right in front of it.
Ooh, that might be a danger of an electric car.
Actually, this happens to me a lot.
My car is fully electric and I'll be in a parking lot and someone won't hear it and they'll just step right in front of me.
You don't think about the downside of having a very quiet car.
Interesting.
I have to drive very slowly just in case anyone doesn't hear it.
I never thought about that, but that's a really good point.
Dangerous.
Yes.
And my children when they're crossing the road.
Often they're just listening for a car and I'm like you have to look because you might not hear some cars these days.
Wow.
Okay.
And then what else?
What else?
And then of course, the instructions I often have to give my children, just please be quiet.
And here we're using it as an adjective for asking someone to lower their voice, lower the sound they're making.
Maybe stop running around.
Right, right.
And then the next one is talking about kind of a personality trait, right, Aubrey?
Yeah, it means not talkative.
So this is tricky too, because just the adjective quiet has three meanings.
So first, like just something that's making little noise.
And then the second is quiet. to be not talkative as in a little bit shy.
Right, so for example, my daughter is quiet, right?
So kids can be quiet sometimes.
What would be the opposite of quiet?
Like a kid who is- Noisy.
Noisy.
Boisterous maybe, right?
Boisterous, rowdy.
Rowdy could be a good one.
Yes.
And it's like we were saying before, it's according to your mood.
Sometimes if someone says Oh, you've been quiet this morning.
Maybe someone normally is very talkative, right?
They're feeling pensive.
They're a little more quiet.
This.
Yeah.
So you might say that if you're checking in on someone, I think in American culture we have a bias towards assuming something's wrong.
If you're quiet, right?
We said this before in other episodes.
We're a very verbal culture right, it's true, it's really interesting and, for me at least, i am quite talkative and chatty usually.
So if i'm quiet, often something is wrong.
I don't usually get pensive just just to think about the state of the world.
You know, usually i'm dwelling on something, i'm angry with my children.
There's usually a reason, right for sure, for sure.
The only time for me during the week that i tend to get more quiet is like if i go to my meditation practice.
Obviously, while i'm meditating you should be quiet right, there's no talking um and like at the top.
If i'm listening to a talk um, then i would be kind of quite a little more pensive, a little more inward looking, reflective.
But yeah, in general uh, we're a culture that kind of revolves around communication, verbal communication, that's true for sure, for better.
All right, there's a third meaning of this adjective and this means unobtrusive or conservative.
We often use it to talk about colors.
We would say someone wears quiet colors if they wear like gray and blue.
And then for the opposite, we'd say loud colors for more boisterous vibrant, colorful colors, bright oranges bright, you know, greens.
Yes.
Like Allers English, the yellow.
Definitely an out loud color kind of brand.
We like loud colors here at Allers English.
Yeah, for sure.
Yeah.
And often this is also used to describe decor or decorations, right?
Yes.
What is your preference?
For example, they prefer quiet decor and Um, what's your preference in your, in your home, Aubrey?
How do you, what are your, what's your color palette?
I'm curious.
We prefer quiet decor.
It's often up to my partner.
I am a little less, I'm a little more apathetic when it comes to decorating the home.
I think that's the case that usually one of you cares a little bit more.
Right.
So, um, but we do have some pops of color here and there.
Okay.
So kind of a subdued look and then pops of color, right?
Yes.
What about you?
Similar, actually.
We kind of have a bit of a Scandinavian kind of look going.
And I didn't realize that until I had a member of my meditation group come over and he said your decor is kind of like Scandinavian.
And I think, okay, that's cool.
I didn't think about it, but I guess kind of.
And so, yeah, kind of that similar like grays.
I also think that's sort of in style right now.
Kind of the grays, the subdued with the pops of color.
Yes, exactly.
White walls, light gray walls, kitchens that are very white, right?
At least in the States.
That's very modern.
Yeah.
Kind of like they call that like a farmhouse style is in style right now for sure in the US.
So anyways, very good.
Let's dive into the noun now, right?
So we've covered the adjective, three different ways to use quiet to describe nouns as an adjective, but we also use it as a noun and it means silence or calm.
This is a little less common.
You might see this when you're reading, you'll hear it sometimes.
And when we hear it most often, I think it's collocated with peace and quiet.
Like I need some peace and quiet.
Yeah, this is a good collocation right here, right?
Or the smoke alarm pierced the early morning quiet.
And that's talking about kind of an environment of quiet, right?
That's how it felt.
Yes, right.
So we're using it as a noun here, which this is really kind of what makes this word confusing.
It's not just an adjective.
You'll see it used in lots of different ways.
Oh, for sure.
For sure.
Do you like to go out in the morning, in the early morning when it's quiet?
Yes.
I love that early morning quiet.
I know no one's out.
No one's awake yet.
I actually really do love that.
Me too.
I love it.
I love it.
All right.
Now, my gosh, we just keep going to different ways to use it.
A verb.
What else?
Yes.
Yeah.
We use it as a verb to mean to make calm or still.
We often talk about this with children, right?
I was having trouble quieting my kids down or your kids need to quiet down.
And often we also use create this phrasal verb, quiet down.
I was having trouble quieting my kids down or I'm trying to quiet my racing thoughts so I can focus.
Quiet your thoughts.
And that's a common, you know, talk about the monkey mind.
We talk about this a lot in meditation practice, always moving around from top, swinging from the branches like a monkey.
That is your mind.
Yes.
This is for sure something you might hear in a meditation class.
They might say, quiet your thoughts.
And in British English, they often say quieten, quieten your thoughts.
So that's sort of the difference between American English and British English.
Yeah.
In the US, we don't say quieten, but in British English, you'll hear that.
I've never heard that in England, but that's fascinating that they say that.
Huh.
Okay.
Good to know.
Good to know.
Role play today, Aubrey?
Shall we do it?
Yes, let's do it.
We're going to use all of these different ways of using quiet.
We're going to scram them all into one role play.
Okay.
I'm ready.
I'm ready.
We're just chatting at the park in this role play.
Oh, yeah.
We're chatting at the park.
A little context.
Okay.
Ugh, I hear you.
My daughter is usually pretty quiet, but today was a different story.
She's just so talkative and full of energy.
I had to quiet her down at the library.
Right okay, we used them all here.
Right, you used them all.
Yeah, that first you said i need a bit of quiet.
And this is where you're using it as a noun.
You could say i need some peace and quiet, or just oh, i need a bit of quiet.
Yes, love that.
I need a bit of quiet.
Sounds good um, and then you said i hear you.
My daughter is usually pretty quiet, but today was a different story.
Yeah,
So you might hear this from someone with young children, right?
Often children are pretty quiet and chill.
And then other days they're running all over crazy and loud.
You're like, oh, today was a different story.
Meaning she was acting out of the norm, a little different.
Yes.
Yeah.
You weren't used to it.
Right.
And then I said, oh, not a quiet day, huh?
And you wrote A in our role play, which sounds Canadian to me.
And you feel like you should say, huh?
I say A sometimes.
Not a quiet day, eh?
That's good.
That's good.
Mix it up.
Mix it up.
What else?
Yes.
And that was where it's an adjective, right?
A quiet day, using it as an adjective.
And then I said, I had to quiet her down at the library.
That's the verb.
I had to get her to become more quiet.
I had to quiet her down.
Right.
So to quiet someone down.
Good.
All right.
So where should we leave our listeners?
I feel like we've shown our listeners we've answered this question shown our listeners all the different ways that we use quiet.
It's pretty extensive, isn't it?
It is, right?
And this is why a word like this can be confusing.
If it were just an adjective, easy, no problem.
But it's a noun, a verb, an adjective.
So today's tips will help you clarify all the different ways that you can use this word.
Yeah.
And I think actually one final thought to think about would be interesting from a cultural perspective, right.
What is your culture value?
Because our culture, I think, like we said earlier this is my opinion doesn't as much, let's say, in the working world, in the professional world, I think, values someone speaking up and not necessarily being super quiet.
I think there's a time to listen.
I think listening is underrated, but I think in general society values expression and like contributing to a conversation.
What do you think about that?
Yes, I absolutely agree.
And I would say even outside of the working world, if you think of the average conversation.
We often will do like a fire pit and we're all sitting around the fire pit.
And it's really nice when everyone has something to say, something to contribute.
But every now and then I will feel myself, I'm just feeling a little quiet.
I'm sitting back and just listening.
And it's nice to have friends that value that, right?
And someone else can pick up the conversation for a I agree.
Both.
There's positives for both, right?
You want to be contributing to the conversation, but also you want to be listening.
Yeah.
Do they still have, here's a question because you have kids in school.
Do schools still give you grades on participation?
Like how much you speak up in class?
Interesting question.
I don't know.
I'm not sure, but my guess is yes.
I have a daughter who is really quiet and she would never speak in class if she could help it.
And I know she'll come home sometimes and share stories of when a teacher is like calling her and encouraging her to participate.
I'm not sure if she's graded on it, but I definitely know kids are still.
They're not allowed to just sort of hide in the back and never speak right.
And i just wonder because i know that was a big deal when i was in school right, there was a participation score for i don't you know, there's probably a test score and then a participation score, attendance score, all these things, and i remember feeling a lot of pressure to speak up in class and that was a huge part of how you were evaluated.
I wonder if in our listeners cultures, if that's a thing, because that would tell us a lot about what our economy values, what different economies value Right.
And I need to ask my children because that was a big deal for me too in high school and college that if they were having a discussion, it was being tracked.
If you were participating, if you were commenting, asking questions.
And so I'd have to force myself to think of something to say.
It's a lot easier in a big crowd to just sit back and listen.
So maybe we should do that for the poll today.
What do you think?
Do that for the poll for our listeners.
If you're listening in Spotify, you get to participate.
Very cool.
So check out our poll after today's episode and we're going to learn a little bit about each other's cultures.
So we'll come up with something, some way of asking that.
Good stuff today, Aubrey.
Thanks for hanging out.
Awesome.
Thanks, Lindsay.
See you next time.
All right.
Take care.
Bye.
Bye.
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