This is an All Ears English Podcast episode 2325.
English fluency is not a ways off.
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Are you feeling stuck with your English?
We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection with your American host, Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz.
And Lindsay McMahan, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA.
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Do you ever need a way to express that something is far away?
Today, learn four supernatural ways that natives say this when they give directions or talk about distance in English.
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Hey there, Aubrey. How's it going today?
I'm great, Lindsay.
How are you? Good, but I do have a question for you today to kick off the episode.
You ready? Yes, let's hear it.
So Aubrey, I think you're a swimmer, right?
So how far can you swim?
Oh, quite a ways. Probably a mile, maybe two miles.
Well, that's actually far.
I mean, must be in good shape.
Because swimming is exhausting.
It is exhausting. Right.
I've tried to like swim across a lake, which the difficult thing I think about distance swimming is the fear.
Like if you're in the middle of a lake and there's no boat, right?
You can't let your you can't panic because you can turn out.
Well, it's the whole story of you remember the story of I think is Diana Nyad who did the swim.
She was was it around the world that she was trying to know?
Where were you from?
Cuba to Florida to Florida.
Yes. Yes. Yes. I just saw them.
There's a film that won all kinds of or was at least nominated for all kinds of awards with Jodie Foster and Annette Bening.
Yes. You see that film.
It was amazing. Yeah, I saw it.
It's a great movie.
It's a great movie.
You guys should watch it.
I think it's just called Nyad.
Right. Talk about someone.
Yeah. Nyad. Talk about someone with how to stick to it ofness.
Right. Seriously, I definitely couldn't swim that far.
It's amazing. And then she's getting stung by jellyfish or she was so.
Yeah, she was amazing, but she's so dead set on her goal.
So that's that's another topic for another day.
But I like what you said here, Aubrey, for today's episode.
I asked you how far you can swim.
You said quite a ways.
Probably a mile. Now, interesting that you said quite a ways.
That's a very native chunk, right?
To say quite a ways.
It sounds probably kind of strange.
This word ways is very flexible in English.
It means a lot of different things.
It came up. I was listening to the episode 2316 and I said, oh, you had to be scrolling back in the feed quite a ways to find an episode.
Yeah. Yeah. We use this a lot of different ways in English, and I'm excited to dive into this today.
Me, too. But first, before we get into it, guys, hit the follow button now.
Make sure you're following all your English, because that way we'll just drop right into your queue.
So hit follow. All right, Aubrey, I'm excited to get into it.
So there are three or four ways we say ways.
And these are all separate from just, you know, the regular ways.
When you're like, how many ways can you do this?
That's different. These are chunks where we're using ways to talk about distance.
So this first one that we used already quite a ways just means really far a great distance.
Yeah. And I just want to make sure that we clarify the spelling, because this is also separate from that amazing app that you use when you try to figure out the best way to get to the grocery store during traffic times.
Right. It's not ways the app W A Z E, but it is W A Y S.
And we have the article a quite a ways W A Y S.
OK, exactly. So and is separate and ways.
You guys definitely need the transcripts for this episode.
Yeah, because I'm looking at our notes and thinking, wow, that might be confusing for our listeners.
Right. For sure. Let's give some examples here, though.
You could say she ran quite a ways before running out of breath.
Yes. Means she ran really far.
Or that mountain is quite a ways from here.
And what I'm saying is it's very it seems far away from here.
Yeah, it's at a great distance.
Right. But that's so much more formal to say that mountain is a great distance from here.
Now, that would be very far.
And I probably say this the most often.
Oh, it's quite a ways.
Yeah, but it really is so it's kind of slangy, I guess.
Wouldn't you say? Yeah, I probably wouldn't write this.
There are lots of, you know, many more formal ways to write it, maybe in a very informal email, but definitely more spoken English.
Agreed. Yeah. Is there another meaning, another way we use this?
Yes. So this exact same phrase, we use it to mean that we made progress.
We might say like we've gotten quite a ways on this project project.
Means we got a lot done.
We made some progress.
Right. I love it. So it's the metaphorical version of swimming far.
Have you swim? Yes.
Number two, a ways to go.
So this is looking ahead.
How much more do you have to to do or to go?
Yeah. And this could be both the metaphorical.
Right. We've got a ways to go on this project, meaning we've still got a lot of progress to make or it could also be physical distance to say you have a long distance to go.
Exactly. I love it.
Yes. So we still you guys go ahead, operate.
We still have a ways to go before we get there.
So maybe you're on a road trip across the go.
You still have 300 miles of life.
We still have a ways to go.
Yeah. And that does happen on a cross country road trip.
I mean, 3000 miles to go essentially from the East Coast to the West Coast.
And, you know, three days later, you're still in the desert of Utah or Arizona.
And it just feels really long.
Yeah. Exactly. Right.
And we use this so often to talk about those distance.
Right. Oh, we've come a long ways.
We only have a short way to go.
Right. It's interesting how instead of using the word distance, we often will replace it with this more native chunk.
Yeah, this is interesting.
And then the third way that our listeners need to know today is if something very similar to number two.
Right. Something is far away.
It's a ways off. Now, this could be in terms of time or it could be distance to.
Right. Exactly. Right.
You could say the meeting is 30.
Well, let's see. The meeting is a ways off.
And you mean it's like in two months.
Right. And so, yeah.
Time. Yes, exactly.
You know, I'm thinking, oh, there's this conference I want to go to next summer, but it's still a ways off.
So I'm not going to register or book my flight yet.
Right. That sort of thing.
Exactly. And also physical distance.
Right. You could say she lives a ways off.
It'll take at least 30 minutes to get there.
And that just means she lives really far.
And be careful. So here's a warning for our listeners.
Don't be confused with the difference between a ways off and way off.
Like you're way off.
You're completely wrong.
OK. Exactly. If I say, oh, I thought I should get here at eight, but I was way off.
This has nothing to do with distance.
Right. This means I was wrong about something.
Yeah, that could be another episode for another day.
I mean, totally. Not the same ballpark.
They're so similar.
Right. So be careful.
It's amazing how one little letter and it's such a different meaning.
Oh, my gosh. Now we're not going to complicate it anymore or anything.
But we'll add a four.
A fourth one, Aubrey, what is it?
And so this is always away.
Oh, geez. Silly and repetitive.
It means far away. It is the exact same meaning as a ways off.
I grew up saying this a lot.
I feel like this might be a little more regional depending on where someone grew up.
They'd be more likely to say a ways away.
Yeah. And I did find it in some song lyrics.
There's an song where they say we can reach our destination, but it's still a ways away because it's still far off.
I think it probably is regional just by nature of the fact that if you're asking someone where something is in a rural area, you're more likely to use that.
Oh, that guy's house is down there.
But it's a ways away, a ways off.
But in the city, you're going to say it's three blocks that way and two blocks to the west of town because nothing's a ways away.
It's a way is it makes sense that that would come out in more rural living, I think.
Yeah. That makes sense.
Right. So you might say she lives quite a ways away or she lives a long ways away.
And they both just mean she lives very far away.
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OK, Aubrey, we are going to show our listeners.
Hopefully our listeners are not panicking.
It's OK. Don't worry, guys.
Just think of it this way.
This is added value for your English.
Right. This is not going to be on any English test.
But if you can learn at least one of these today to insert it properly into your commentary, super native and natural.
Right. And I feel like we use this so often that I really think this is going to be one of those things that you're going to start hearing now all the time on TV.
Be like, oh, I learned about that on all his English.
It's a great one. So here, Aubrey, in this role play, we are on a hike.
All right. One fun.
Yeah, yes, exactly.
Wow. Look at that view.
I'm glad we picked this hike even though it was quite a ways.
Definitely worth the hour drive.
I agree. Oh, wow. Look at that cave.
That would be cool to explore, but it's a ways off.
That is quite a ways away.
I think we could make it, though.
Want to try. Let's do it.
We better get going.
We've got a ways to go.
Oh, wow. OK, so we used all of them here.
This is one of those would be like, it might be strange to say, yeah, a ways over and over in the same conversation.
Yeah, for sure. But this way you get to hear them all.
Yeah, you may hear it once in this conversation realistically.
Right. So first you said, Aubrey, I'm glad we picked this hike, even though it was quite a ways.
Sorry, it was quite a way to weigh.
Yes. Just means like it was a long drive.
Right. We wherever we were living was like, Oh, this hike is an hour away.
I'll be like, Oh, that's quite a ways.
Yeah. And you could also insert.
It was quite a ways.
It was quite a ways from our house.
Right. You could say that.
Yeah. Yes, exactly.
Right. Just to maybe if you want to be a minute there.
That's what it means.
It was quite a ways.
It means it was quite a ways from wherever we were.
Yes, you got it. OK, what's the next one?
And then you said, oh, there's this.
So you're looking at a cave in the distance.
You say that'd be cool to explore, but it's a ways off.
That just means it's very far.
And then I'm going to say the same exact thing, but use different words.
Oh, that is quite a ways away.
Right. So you're I agree, you're agreeing with me here.
And I'm just saying like, Oh, that is really far.
But it's just another way to say that is a ways away.
Yeah, good. And then I say, let's do it.
We better get going.
We've got a ways to go.
And that means we have a long way to go.
Basically, everything in this conversation is something is far away.
Exactly. And a lot of these are pretty interchangeable.
Right. You could mix one in.
The meanings are very similar.
And so that makes it a little tricky, but also a little easier to use.
Right. If you if you ever want to say that something's very far, then you could say one of these instead.
Yeah, I like this today, because these are the kind of phrases that are going to come up if you're driving in the countryside and you stop again as someone for directions, fill up on gas and ask, where is this?
Where's that? Oh, it's a ways down the road.
This is how that's going to ways off.
Right. Probably with some kind of accent, too.
And now you'll know what they're saying.
Hey, I understand. He means it's far.
Exactly. Any other takeaway for today, Aubrey?
Yeah, I think these phrases are so native and natural, especially for informal conversations.
Like you mentioned, Lindsay, you might not see these written a lot unless it's like dialogue written out in a book because it is more about conversational English.
Yeah. But I'm curious.
I hope you guys start noticing them as you're listening to English and definitely use one.
Pick one to throw into your conversations.
Yeah, I think noticing them now is your next step.
It's your first step.
You've heard about them now.
You may notice them and then start to think about, OK, why did that person use it here?
I can imagine using it in these scenarios and then it starts to come up naturally.
Right. Yes. Love it.
Love it. I'm so fun.
Thanks for joining me today, Lindsay.
All right. Sounds good.
Aubrey, see you next time.
Take care. Bye. Thanks for listening to All Ears English.
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