This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2513.
Back in 2023, how to be clear about timeline when storytelling in English.
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Do you ever find yourself telling a story, but the person you're talking to gets confused about the timeline?
Today.
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Hey, Michelle, how's it going today?
Going well, going well.
I'm a little hungry.
Oh my gosh.
You know Lindsay, when I was in London, I would eat this amazing cheese sandwich from Borough Market.
It was the best.
Oh, was that when you went a couple of years ago?
Oh no, that was when I studied abroad back in 2008.
I would like plan my whole day around this sandwich.
Gosh, was it just cheese then?
It was just like bread and cheese or was there something else?
It was a raclette.
Have you ever had raclette?
Yes, that sounds very familiar.
They have it on a lot of markets now, where they have just a giant block of cheese and they're melting it and they're scraping it off and oh my God.
Okay, okay, okay.
Amazing.
So yeah, I could really go for that right now.
Yeah, sounds to die for, sounds to die for.
Yes, absolutely.
So yeah, but that was back in 2008.
I can't believe it's been that long.
Impressive.
Oh, my gosh.
Well, today's episode is we're talking about something interesting today, based on a question and a very important function in the English language, right.
So this comes from YouTube.
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Get over there and check out.
Guys, new subscribers are joining us over on All Ears English this fall quite quickly.
And so you want to be part of that.
So this one comes from Klov.com.
Should I go ahead and read the question?
Sure.
I love you guys, and I love all your work to give us such a wonderful podcast.
I was listening to this episode, as always, while making my breakfast, and I didn't notice that you were reading my review until you called my name, and I was very happy.
Guys, might as well just mention this now.
Guys, go ahead and leave us a review, by the way.
We try to call out all of our reviewers by name when we see a review from you, and it means a lot to us, doesn't it Michelle?
Oh, my gosh.
We love it.
Lindsay sends them out.
We look and we all say, oh, that's so nice.
So that is really great.
Thank you.
Yeah, wonderful.
So anyway, I'm wondering if you can make a podcast to teach us how to talk about an event or anything that happened in the past.
I mean, like you said in your episode, back to 2024.
Is there any other way to clarify that something happened in the past?
I think it will be a useful episode.
So thank you in advance.
Rama?
From Saudi Arabia.
And I agree Rama, very useful question.
Very useful.
Yeah, very useful question.
Thank you Rama so much.
And thanks again for listening.
So yeah, let's get to it.
I mean, yeah, what a good question, Lindsay.
It's really important to be able to signal to people when something happens, when something happened, right.
So this is important in storytelling, for connection, so many things.
So we're going to really get into this, get in deep to this today.
Lindsay, but yeah, you were, so let's talk about back to 24.
Yeah, I guess in that episode I'd have to see the transcripts to understand exactly what was said, right?
But sometimes you might say oh, back to 2024, let's talk about what happened in that day in September.
You know that could be part of a way to refer back and make it clear that this thing happened in the past.
Right, Michelle?
So, yeah, I mean, like it is possible.
So let's say you're putting someone in the setting.
Or let's say you're telling a story and you went on a tangent and you got interrupted and now you're getting back to it.
So you could say something like, oh, so anyway, back to 2024, it was a lovely day, blah, blah, blah.
So, but I would most likely say back in 2024 if we're, if we're talking about like especially clarifying when the year is.
So it's a little bit different of a function, but both can be used.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So it really depends on what is the angle of what you're saying.
But here are some examples of how this would sound.
With back in a year or a time.
So back in 2024, I was on vacation in Greece and I lost my favorite hat.
Oh, no.
Have you been to Greece, Lindsay?
Oh, not yet.
I'm dying to go.
I would love to go.
Yeah, soon.
Yeah, I haven't been either.
Or let's say something is confusing about when something was.
So, oh, no, this wasn't this year.
It was back in 2024.
Yes.
And we're being very clear here.
And this is incredibly important time orientation.
We have to know when things happened.
We're talking about now in the past or even in the future.
Right.
So another example, I took a salsa class back in 2024 and I loved it.
Yeah.
And, you know, you could also use other words with this, like way, right?
So you could say way back in 2024.
I mean, that was just last year.
So you might not say way back, but you're building the context that it's felt like a long year, which it has felt like kind of a long year this year.
You think so?
Yeah, a little bit.
And so sometimes you might, You might have already mentioned that.
Oh, it's been a long year already, 2025.
So way back in 2024, I remember when we talked about this, right?
But usually you would use that for like 2004, right?
Way back in 2004.
Yeah, right.
Or I could use that about my.
So guys, in the beginning, the story about the cheese sandwich in London, you know I could have said that was way back in 2008, right?
So again this back in right.
That was um very useful to clarify, because i did go to london then a few years ago.
So lindsey said oh, was that when you went a few years ago?
I said no, that was back in right abroad in 2008.
Yeah, this is important if you've had multiple experiences in different places throughout your life, you need to refer to which time are we talking about, right?
Yes, that's true.
That's a really important way that you might use it.
So it's very useful.
I mean, but how else can we signal that something took place in the past?
Right to be clear about when it happened.
Well, we might talk about last, we might say last month, last year, last week.
Very common to hear that, right?
Mm-hmm.
So yeah, last month I went to the beach with my friend.
Yes.
Or my haircut was actually last month, not last week.
Again, clarifying if someone was confused.
They thought you went to the stylist last week, but it was actually last month and you want to clarify.
Okay.
Yep.
Yep.
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So other ways we could say this in a more natural native way a while back.
This is not specific, so we don't know exactly when, but it's definitely not yesterday, right?
Right.
Yeah.
Yes.
Probably not last week.
It could be last month, I guess.
I guess.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It signifies some distance.
Some distance.
Yeah, some distance.
I like that.
So a while back, I considered being a gym teacher, but then decided to start a business instead.
Or this was a while back when I was still working for my other firm.
So we're talking about like probably multiple years back.
I think so.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Or this is a little bit more specific.
A few blank ago, a few years ago, a few weeks ago, a few days, months, whatever it may be.
What does that look like, Michelle?
Okay.
I have to tell you what happened to me a few days ago.
Yeah.
Or I was at the grocery store a few months ago and I couldn't find my phone.
I got a new one and then I found it.
Or no, or today they found it.
Maybe it was under something.
I got a new one and today they found it.
Yeah.
So you got a new one and you know, a while ago you paid for it and then it was found.
I has that ever happened to you lindsey, where something, you lost something, and then it turns up like a while later?
I don't lose things very much but, like i know my dad, that happens to my dad.
He uh, my dad, so bad, he lost his cell phone and his license in the same week, like in the same three days, oh no, right before he was gonna go on a trip.
I think he has really bad luck.
I don't know.
Oh, that's too bad yeah um, Or if you really want to be emphatic, you could say this is exaggeration here.
A million years ago, or you could use any large number.
You could even say a hundred years ago, a thousand years ago, a million years ago, right?
So that's very conversational, very exaggerated.
You could say something like, oh, I'm not still upset about that.
That was a million years ago.
And obviously the thing didn't happen a million years ago.
No one was around a million years ago, but we're being exaggerate.
We're exaggerating, as you said, michelle.
Right yep yep yeah, exactly.
Uh, should we move to the role play?
Yeah, let's do it all.
Right, here we go.
So we're not going to use all of them, but we're going to use a few of them.
This is so important.
Time orientations.
We're getting these.
It's like a we're wayfinding through the conversation.
Time really matters right, these benchmarks?
Okay, so pay really close attention here, guys.
So what's the setting?
We are friends and we are meeting after two years.
Nice.
All right.
Wow.
So when did we last see each other?
Well, I think it was back in 2023.
No way.
I can't believe that.
I thought it was last year.
No, it was 2023.
How have you been?
I'm good.
A few months ago, I got a new job.
Wow.
Congratulations.
I also had a career change.
Recently?
No, this was a couple of years ago, but after I last saw you.
Oh, tell me about it.
Yeah.
And this is common.
So this kind of scenario when you haven't seen someone in a couple of years, you're going to end up needing these time markers, right?
Yeah.
Really good.
Yeah.
When you have a lot of things to catch up on with somebody, right?
Like a lot of life events.
Very useful for that.
So I said, when did we last see each other?
And you said, I think it was back in 2023.
Yes.
And I said, no way.
I can't believe that.
I thought it was last year.
And this can happen sometimes with friends and we can let time go by.
And all of a sudden it's been two or three years.
It's crazy.
I know.
It's wild.
It really is.
And then you said, how have you been?
And I said, I'm good.
A few months ago, I got a new job.
So explaining when that happened.
Right.
And then I also said, congratulations.
I also had a career change.
And then you wanted to know when was that?
Was that recently?
Was that a long time ago?
Because, again, it's been two years since we saw each other.
Mm, hmm and um, you said no, this was a couple years ago.
And then you said but after i last saw you, so it's interesting because it's 2025 now.
So a couple years ago is 2023.
So yeah, i'm saying it was a couple years ago, but and then i clarified, but it was after i last saw you, so that's why it never came up.
At that time it hadn't happened yet.
Oh man, this is incredibly important.
Guys, go and check out episode 2492 and you'll get four english idioms to fight fire with fire.
I like that.
I wonder what that one's about.
So guys, go check that out.
Michelle, what's our takeaway here?
I mean, I think it's it's just like how important is time when it comes to sharing things?
Yeah, it's it's so important.
And it really helps you connect.
When did something happen in your life?
And it's you're fitting pieces of the puzzle together.
Yes.
So just a really good way to connect and to really be clear about the timeline, right?
100%.
100%.
Yeah.
We want to clarify.
And it's never a bad idea to be extra clear, especially if you haven't seen someone in a while like add in that extra back in this time or a couple of years ago just to make sure that they know what the timeline is right.
Yes.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Very helpful.
All right.
Well, this was fun.
I'm going to go eat a cheese sandwich.
Yeah, it'd be the same.
That sounds great.
All right.
Well, have a good day, Lindsay.
Thank you again to Rama for that question.
All right.
Sounds good.
Talk to you soon.
Bye.
All right.
Bye.
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