This is an all-ears English podcast, episode 2254, putting up with Brazel Verbs, part two, put down.
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Don't put people down. Today, in this part two of our series, find out how to use the Brazel Verbs put down in four different ways in English.
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Hello, Lindsay. How are you?
Hello, Aubrey. I am doing very well today.
How are you? How's it going?
Excellent. I'm excellent.
I'm headed to Montana this weekend.
I know you have been. Yes.
No beautiful and usually nice and cool there.
I love Montana. Great sunshine.
Nice people. Good cool air.
Lots of grizzly bears. I get.
I know. I know. Right. Avoid the grizzly bears.
It's tricky because it stays light so late up this are up north.
That's the same here in Idaho.
It'll be even more so, you know, where I'm headed north.
Yes. So it's hard to get my kids to go to bed on time.
Because it'll be like 11 p.m.
They're like, but it's still really light out.
Yeah, that's so weird, isn't it?
It's so weird. It's so weird.
Yes. So funny. Even more so than like Alaska.
Right. Interesting. Okay.
I didn't realize that. But yeah, while traveling is good, it's good for the heart, good for the soul, good for the mind, obry.
So come back with some stories for us on the podcast.
All right. Really? Good stuff.
Well, let me ask you a question first to start off our episode.
Where is the last time that someone put you down?
That's rough. This is an interesting phrasal verb.
We're going to get into this today.
And just even asking the question, I'm like, oh, because it's terrible inside.
What's you down? I think it was playing pickleball.
Not that long ago. And they intended to be sort of funny and sarcastic.
Oh no. But they sort of said something basically telling me that I wasn't a very good player.
Oh no. I made a few mistakes.
And they were trying to be funny.
But I still felt put down.
I felt like they were putting down pressure.
Interesting. Yeah. What's the difference between someone putting you down or being put down versus just like being attacked?
Is there some kind of is it more of an insult kind of thing?
Like a insult? Yeah. An insult, right?
Or this is, that is actually the final meaning that we're going to go into today.
It's being mean. It's criticizing in a way that could offend or hurt feelings.
And sometimes someone will feel put down, even if that's not the intent.
Sure. Sure. So it's interesting.
Yeah. OK. Then we have a lot to get into today.
And this is a part two of a three-part series opera.
Will there be three episodes?
Yes. There will be three.
So part one, scroll up. If you missed it, it was 2252.
Putting up with phrasal verbs, part one.
We talked about put up. And that was a great, like, we have to put up with phrasal verbs.
They're so frustrating, but we can't change them.
We just have to put up with it.
Right. Right. And guys, hit that follow button as you are scrolling back through our catalog.
Just go back to last week.
Again, also hit the follow button because you don't want to miss the next part in this series.
Exactly. Part three will be coming up very soon.
So hit follow right here on allers English.
And today, we're diving into put down.
There are a bunch of different meanings of this phrasal verb.
We're going to cover the four most common.
You definitely need to add these to your phrasal verb repertoire.
All right. Well, let's do something great for listeners.
Let's start with the, it feels like the easiest one.
I would think. Yes, that's how I do it.
The most common, the easiest to use is how we're starting here.
OK, what is that? I think our listeners could guess, right?
Right. Exactly. The one you hear all the time, like, to physically put something down or to put someone down.
Like, I've given one of my kids a piggyback ride, which is where they're like on your back a lot.
Right. And then I have to put him down.
And sometimes it's earlier than he wants.
I'm like, I'm going to have to put you down.
If you're 10 years old now, you wait too much for my back.
Yeah, I'm not OK, right?
Exactly. Yeah. So again, I need to put this, put down this bag.
It's super heavy. Or again, maybe your kids on your back and they say, put me down, right?
Right. Exactly. And this is a tricky one where you could not say, like, put down me.
Or, you know, you can say, put down this bag.
But when it's a person, when it's a pronoun, you have to have the pronoun between the phrasal verb, put me down, put her down.
That's true. And you also can't say put down it.
So put it down, right? So it always gets a pronoun.
Exactly. You have to put it between the phrasal verb tricky.
Love that. Good to know.
Good to know. That's very important because this is super common.
Yes. And there's one that I say a lot lately, put down your brother.
My daughter, my twins are the same age, but George is like a foot and a half taller.
And she often will pick up Will.
She's like, look, I could pick him up.
And I'm like, put down your brother because he doesn't want to be carried around.
That's hilarious. That's so funny.
That's so funny. All right.
I love it. So do you put something down physically?
That's the easiest one.
Now we're going to scale up a little bit.
So guys, write that first one down.
And let's move up. We're ready for it.
What's up with this? Number two is to assign to someone.
So for example, if you say there's a sign up for food at an event, you could say, put me down for three loaves of bread.
Need me to bring anything else.
That means assign me to be in charge of bringing three loaves.
Yes, I love that. Or what should we put you down for?
How much or how much should we put you?
What does that mean? How much should we put you down for?
What should we put you down for?
Maybe if someone's asking you like, what should we assign you?
Same thing, right? What should we put you down for?
Oh, I'll bring a watermelon.
Or if it's something financial, right?
Let's say you're donating to a charity or to a fundraiser.
And if you want to say, oh, I'd like to make a donation.
They might say, how much should we put you down for?
And that means how much would you like to donate?
And there's an interesting nuance here.
We love to get into these very specific nuances.
But for example, this coming weekend, I'm going camping with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law and the kids.
And we are volunteering one night.
We're going to bring the meal and the other night.
They're going to, but it's just, it's our family.
It's a small group. So in that case, would you ask that?
Probably not, right? Because it implies a larger group, like more potential volunteers, I think, definitely.
We, my sisters and I are planning a meal for our entire extended family.
There's a big family reunion in a couple of weeks.
And we're doing like a taco bar.
And we had to create a food sign up.
And then we were asking people, what can we put you down for?
Could you bring a dessert?
Because it's like 250 people.
Right, so that's an important distinction right there.
It's really only when you're talking about a large group.
It's not for, maybe if there's three, two, three, four volunteers, it's a more intimate group.
We're probably not going to have, you're not going to use this phrasal verb.
Exactly. Because this definitely implies a list, an organized list.
It's not just like, what would you like to bring?
And this is what I'll bring.
Right? It implies a list.
There's a lot in going on here.
Yeah. I think that's the key piece.
There's no list. We just know they're bringing the food on Friday night.
We're bringing it on Saturday night.
It's simple, right? But there is also a nuance I want to point out with the money thing, right?
If someone says, how much should we put you down for?
It's sort of more polite than like, how much would you like to give?
Or how much money are you going to donate?
All the other ways you could ask this are sort of a little more direct asking for someone's money.
And this is a way we say it that's less direct that sort of, right?
So this is always what I would say.
Oh, how much can I put you down for?
Right. Because literally you're just writing down a number, right?
And so that's why I think it feels a little more comfortable for people to say that, right?
We're removing ourselves from that number from the money, right?
We're trying to make it less awkward and direct.
Right. If you added in how much money should I put you down for?
That would then be cut direct.
Wouldn't it? Interesting.
Doesn't feel good. We don't like talking about money in the US.
Fascinating. Wow. So there really is.
So guys, focus on the meaning first.
And then you'll get eventually into these deeper nuances when you're ready for it.
And these nuances exist.
So we'll get to it eventually.
Yeah, I love it. Absolutely.
Okay. Number three, moving up the ladder.
What is the third use for put down?
This is when we use a lot at work.
It's adding something to a calendar and in our daily life too, right?
Yeah. So let's say you're making an appointment for the dentist, right?
They might say we put you down for the 1 p.m.
slot. And that means we have put you in our system.
We have put you in our calendar.
We'll say I put you down for that time, right?
Or I'll put you down for 12 p.m.
This is very similar to what we said before.
How much should we put you down for?
Right? Because it implies I'm putting your name down on a sheet of paper, right?
It's a lot of paper. You're just a killer.
Right? It's just more about assigning a time to someone or something.
Exactly. Exactly. Now, would you say here's another question.
Would you say this if you're just verbally agreeing on a time?
You know, I don't know. Because usually when you say this, it's about an actual logistical appointment, a doctor's appointment, something a little more formal, not so much time to your friend.
Right. Like an appointment or even let's say you're volunteering your time for something.
Yeah. And they need these time slots to be filled.
Then they would say, oh, we'll put you down for the 1 to 3 p.m.
slot. And that means, you know, that's your time slot.
You're assigned to volunteer that time slot.
So I agree. It's very much, it's more of something organized, right?
There's some kind of time schedule being filled out or appointments at the dentist, the doctor.
That's when we really hear this the most.
So those slots already exist and you're just being put in the slot.
But if I call my friend and we arrange a time to have coffee, I'm not going to say I'll put you down for 12.
That's going to feel very strange.
That sounds very businessy too, right?
I would definitely say that at work, right?
If we're organizing, arranging like a one-on-one meeting, okay, I'll put you down for 2 p.m.
That sounds, it just sounds businessy.
Whereas if it's just you and your friend arranging coffee, you're creating distance by using your phone.
You are, yeah, for sure.
Okay. So moving on to number 4, to criticize or to be mean, tell us about this one.
Oh, we talked about this at the top of the show, right?
Exactly. We introduced it with this question, right?
That's the time someone put you down.
This really means to be cruel, to criticize.
So you might hear, I say to my children sometimes, don't put people down and that's saying, like, don't say anything mean, don't criticize, you know, my son, that's a little shorter.
The kids will sometimes be sort of teasing him about being shorter.
And I say this, like, don't put him down because that means don't criticize, don't be mean, don't say something that will hurt his feelings.
Yes, I love that. Important, right?
And we're in the lesson to teach kids, right?
Mm-hmm. You know, don't put people down or here's another sample sentence.
She's always putting me down, right?
So it feels like that person's always insulting you.
Insulting. Right. And who's always just saying mean things that feel like they're trying to make you feel worse about yourself, that's when this would be like, oh, she's always putting me down.
She's always putting people down.
Yeah. And then put down is a noun, too, right?
I'll put down, like, just an insult.
Insult. Yeah. That's a good point.
Yeah, if you just say something that's insulting to someone, we call that sort of informally, a put down.
It was a put down. He's delivering lots of put downs, a little less common, right, than the verb form, I think, but important to know.
Yeah, absolutely. We do hear it.
That's to a role play. All right, Aubrey.
So what's the context? You and I are playing in a pickleball tournament in this role play.
I played in a pickleball tournament last Saturday, my first one.
I went and defeated. I did.
Wow. In a single tournament.
It was singles. It was singles.
But the reason I was undefeated is they were running way behind.
We played our first game at noon.
And then it just was like, there was chaos.
It wasn't organized. Well, three and a half hours later, they didn't have the time for our next game.
And we had an appointment at the Olympic Village in Park City where the Olympics were held.
They have still like a ski jump show of like a water sea jump.
And so I had to leave early.
So I was undefeated. Oh, I had to be strong.
I really did that kind of undefeated.
Kind of undefeated. Got it.
Well, I won some in after withdraw.
Still undefeated. All right.
All right. Good stuff. Here we go.
All right. So can you put that down so I can hand you these bags?
Sure. Can't you carry your own bags, though?
You're so lazy. Don't put me down.
I have to carry the cooler.
Oh, yeah. Oh, it looks like this is where we pick up our t-shirts.
I told them to put me down for a medium.
Same. I can see this schedule online.
It looks like they put us down for an 11 a.m.
start. Nice. So you see I had to wrap them all in.
Here was a little trickier to be creative.
Yeah. Little trickier than the last episode.
Last week, right? It was a little more natural to fit them all in for some reason.
Right. And this I'm like, how can I use these?
Because I need like a sport or something where we would be, you know, put me down for a medium, right?
I had to sign up for a t-shirt for this tournament.
And that's what we put me down for a medium.
I mean, yeah, a sign me, a medium.
But these examples feel very natural.
They feel right on exactly the words that we would use.
So the first one here, you know, can you put that down?
It's a physically, can you lower that bag to the ground, right?
Or can you put the thing down so I can hand you these bags?
Exactly. Whatever you're holding, can you put that down so I can hand you these bags?
Right. And then I started getting snippy.
I'm like, can you carry your own bags?
You're so lazy. Yes. It's snappy, right?
So that's why I had to say something like that so you could say, don't put me down, right?
Because I probably see that's a put down.
Yes, that is a put down. And again, guys, remember, there's a noun form of that too, which is a little less common, but you can use it.
So and then Aubrey said, I told them to put me down.
So we're talking about t-shirts.
And most sporting events will have, they'll give you a free t-shirt.
Every race I run in, whether it's just a 3K or like a, you know, a four-miler, they'll give you a free t-shirt.
So you would put yourself down for a size on the web.
Exactly. So you could hear it both ways.
You say put me down for a medium and they say, we put you down for a medium.
Here's your shirt when they hand it to you, right?
Meaning like this is what we had assigned to you.
Got it. Got it. And then what did I say in the end?
Aubrey? Yes. And then you said, it looks like they put us down for an 11am start.
It means they have assigned us to that time slot.
Also very similar to the put me down for a medium.
It's kind of assigning a size, assigning a time.
And like writing it down.
Or entering it into a website.
Yeah. Right. Yeah. So I think we have two takeaways here.
First of all, don't put people down.
Right. Yeah. That's our first takeaway.
Nobody wants to be put down.
Please, no. It's going to be nice.
It's going to be nice to people.
That's our first takeaway.
Yeah. And what else? What's the second takeaway, Aubrey?
Yeah. And then also right, Frazel Verbs can be so confusing, especially these type of Frazel Verbs were the same Frazel Verbs with the same preposition has so many different meanings.
So today's tips can help you understand all of these and use them.
And as a final takeaway, whatever we talk about Frazel Verbs, don't let them stress you out.
Right. It's okay if you make little mistakes.
Connection, not perfection always.
Yeah. Yeah. We know that as soon as we become stressed out, all those hormones flood our brain and we have that block, that barrier, that brick wall that comes up and we actually don't learn anything.
We don't retain anything.
So reduce the stress, breathe deeply and again, focus on that human connection.
Love it. Good stuff. I think this is really fun.
We should definitely play in a pickle ball tournament sometime.
Oh, I bet we would. We would.
We would do that. Yeah. Sounds good.
I hope we do that one day soon.
Aubrey, have a good one.
You too. Bye. Bye. Thanks for listening to All Ears English.
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