This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2591.
Who even does that?
How to comment when actions are outside the norm.
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Sometimes someone in your life does something weird, either in a good way or a bad way.
Today, learn a native phrase to make a comment in English.
You've worked for years on your English.
Your grammar is solid, your ideas are sharp, but somehow people still ask you to repeat yourself.
You know what you want to say, but your message doesn't always land.
You're not alone, and it's not your English knowledge, it's the rhythm beneath your words.
We'll see you next time.
Plus, you get multiple opportunities to speak and practice with teachers and students every week.
Go to allersenglish.com slash pronunciation.
That's allersenglish.com slash P-R-O-N-U-N-C-I-A-T-I-O-N.
Hey, Lindsay, how are you?
I'm doing great, Michelle.
How are you?
How's it going?
Yeah, I'm good.
Well, you know, I was sick last week, but my friend made me soup and left it at my doorstep.
Wow.
Who even does that, Michelle?
Yeah, she's amazing.
Just kidding.
This didn't really happen, but it would be very nice.
Everyone wants a friend like that.
That's so nice.
There are people out there that are very thoughtful.
You know what I mean?
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Dan didn't make me soup yesterday, so that was good.
Oh, that's good.
Yeah.
Partners can do it too, for sure.
Yes, exactly.
Today, we're going to talk about a very native and unique way of speaking.
And so this is a special expression, a special construction.
And it came up in a recent conversation that you and I had and We wanted to take some time to go over it.
Yep.
The best episodes happen when we hear ourselves say something very spontaneously, naturally on this show, guys, and we think, boom, that would be a great episode idea.
And here it is today.
So what exactly is the expression for today, Michelle?
Okay, well, from the roleplay, it was who does that?
So it's basically who blanks that?
So, for example, let's do who does that?
So is this?
Lindsay, when someone says, who does that?
Yeah.
Is this a question to be answered?
Good question.
No, I'm not supposed to start listing.
Well, sometimes my partner does that and the friend down the street does that.
No, no, no.
You're not asking for an answer, right?
It's rhetorical.
It's an exclamation saying that basically something that's been done by someone is kind of shocking.
It's out of the ordinary.
Michelle, would you say this is positive or negative?
So I think it can be either.
So let's look at the role play from the beginning.
Yeah.
So I said I was sick last week.
My friend made me soup.
Left it at my doorstep.
And what did you say?
I said, wow, who does that?
So is that positive?
Are you saying something good or something bad?
I think it's positive.
I think it's positive here.
It just.
It's more about the fact that maybe, maybe I'm saying like it's a little old fashioned, right.
Or it's just people just Don't take the time to do these nice things as much anymore is what I'm saying, right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That person was so generous or so kind.
It's out of the norm.
Yes.
So it's surprising, but it's in a good way.
Yeah.
So, you know, you're and you're not asking me.
It's rhetorical.
Like I said, my friend brought me soup and left it on my doorstep.
So if you saying who does that?
I wouldn't say, my friend, I just told you.
Right, right, right.
And you wouldn't list other people who might do that.
Like I said before, the person down the street might do that.
No, no, no.
It's just saying, hey, this is not normal.
I'm not used to this.
It's really nice in this case.
Yeah.
Yes, exactly.
So we're going to talk about this more in just a second.
But guys, we want to remind you to hit follow wherever you're listening to the All Ears English podcast.
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All right.
Yes.
So Michelle, I bet our listeners are asking.
We said yes, it can be positive, but can it be negative?
What do you think?
Yeah, for sure.
Almost.
I almost wonder if I hear it more in a negative way.
What do you think?
Yeah.
Interesting.
Hmm.
I mean, it really can be either.
It just depends.
Yeah.
It's kind of, I feel like I hear it more in the sense of that was weird.
That was a weird thing.
That was weird.
Negative or positive.
I don't know.
It depends on what was done.
Right.
Right.
So for example, he had his friend break up with me.
Who does that?
So does that?
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's negative, right?
That I'm not saying something positive.
Because it's a very, well, it's a childish thing to do.
It might be something that happened in fifth grade for your fifth grade boyfriend, right?
Right, right, right.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Or she spoke to me about how to handle my situation for two hours.
Who does that?
Yes.
Yeah.
So maybe you were having trouble with something and you needed some advice.
And so this would be a really positive thing.
I mean, this person is very generous with her time and people aren't always like that.
They're very busy and they're don't necessarily want to spend that much time.
Yeah, or even sometimes, like a service provider, you might, you might do, might say that, like if your doctor, oh yeah, spent a lot of time with you, most doctors, oh yeah, in and out right, because they have seven other patients waiting yeah, you might make that comment about your doctor too.
Yes absolutely yeah, for sure definitely yes Um, here's another one.
She separates all her laundry and has a color coded system in her closet.
Who does that?
This is funny because, um yeah, we're currently staying at a place where uh, the owners are very.
One of the owners is very particular.
I'm not going to use a, another word that I could think of to say particular, but, um, it's like i see what's done in the house to make sure like no damn like a certain there are paper towels that are put between the pans to make sure the pans don't scratch each other wow okay i think to myself every morning who does that I just, or like things, things are not alphabetized, right?
Campbell's soup is not alphabetized.
Thank goodness.
But things are very particular.
And if anything is out of order, people notice.
So this is a good example of clashing lifestyles.
Right.
Right.
Exactly.
I mean, yeah, here it's just it's just saying like something is odd.
Like I wouldn't.
Be able to put in that kind of effort.
That's not important to me, so I don't quite understand it.
So it's not necessarily positive or negative.
It's just like what Lindsay said.
It's just it's odd.
It's a little weird.
It's unfamiliar to me.
Exactly.
And I think you really hit the nail on the head there, Michelle.
You just don't understand it.
Right.
Right.
You need a way, a different way to say that other than I just don't, I don't get it or I don't understand.
Right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
So, Lindsay, is this very familiar to you, this construction?
Would you use this a lot?
Yeah, I like this.
I like this because I think the more we live and the more places even, you know.
As we travel or travel around our own country, we get to know different ways of life.
And, you know, you want to be careful who you say this to.
Right.
Because it could be looked at as negative.
So when we're crossing cultures, I probably would maybe avoid it.
Right.
Or I might say it in my head if certain things are done in a different way.
But that's just cultural diversity.
We love that, right?
Right.
Yeah.
But yeah, as we meet new people and especially go into their homes, we see different lifestyles.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Also when you like, join.
You know when you get married and you get to really learn a family and you see different things.
That's a good example.
Yeah, yeah.
You see things that are different than how you grew up, what you're used to.
For you, Michelle.
When you married Dan, was there anything about their family that you were like who does that?
Maybe you don't want to say on the mic.
It's okay.
No, they're amazing.
Everybody has quirks.
Sure, sure.
Yeah, but anything you can share?
Yeah, I was trying to think.
Nothing that comes to the top of my head, but yeah.
I don't know.
Mostly positive things, I guess.
What I loved was the fact that my in-laws have a tradition of skiing on the big holidays like New Year's Christmas.
But that I probably wouldn't say who does that because to me, that's just a cool thing.
Right.
That's not odd or strange to me.
So it doesn't quite work for the phrase who does that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, exactly.
So it doesn't have to just be with does either.
So you could put in other things.
You could say like, who says that?
Yeah, this is what's cool about this phrase.
So we're going to give you guys some ninja tools now. so who says that is a really good thing.
So what are we essentially saying here?
Like they said something weird or rude or maybe good.
It just depends on the context.
So for example, He told me I was boring.
Who says that?
Right.
So here you're saying I'm not boring and everyone knows I'm not boring.
Right.
Right.
And also, like, how can you just say something like that to someone?
Yeah, for sure.
Or you could say, who eats that?
Or you can, you can throw in even, right?
So I, I threw an even.
Yeah.
We're going to start to throw in even.
Okay.
We'll talk about that in a minute.
Yeah.
We'll get to even.
Yeah.
So this one qualifies for a lot of things.
People have weird, don't you have a weird thing?
Don't you do like pickles and peanut butter or something?
No, cheese and peanut butter or like, um, Like, what else?
Wait, cheese and peanut butter, something else in peanut butter.
I can't think of it right now.
But yeah, I have some weird eating quirks.
As we all do, right?
We all do.
I was when I was a kid, I used to eat jelly and cream cheese sandwiches.
I don't know who eats that.
No, that's good.
Like if I have a bagel, like or an English muffin.
I'll put, uh, I'll put cream cheese and then I'll put some jelly on top.
I get that.
Yum.
I haven't had it in years.
I'll have to try it again.
Yeah.
See, now you're going to want it.
Um, but yeah, uh, I, and I used to, well, I still would dip popcorn and milk.
That's, Oh, that's weird.
Michelle does that.
Who does that?
Who eats that?
That yeah, interesting thing is, i could also say who does that, because it's something you're doing right and it's right, the dipping right, exactly so, for example, are you seriously about to eat that?
It's old ew who eats that.
Oh yeah, for sure, for sure.
Or who thinks like that.
This is interesting.
For example, his beliefs are so archaic.
I mean, who thinks like that?
Yeah.
So maybe you're you're you have a friend who has very old beliefs and maybe not as something yet a little more traditional.
Um, so, and you don't agree with them.
Yeah.
And you can also tack on with this particular example, because we're talking about the age of the beliefs.
You could say uh, I mean, who thinks like that in 2026?
Right.
Right.
You could add a little bit more context if you just want to dress up what you're saying, guys.
Okay.
Yeah.
Or we'll do one more.
Who believes that?
So my sister tends to be pretty gullible.
She even believed what the governor said in the interview on the news.
Who believes that?
Yeah.
And I see this could be a hot one right now, with how divided our news scene is and how different the news channels are in terms of what they're feeding out.
Um, you know, so this is a relevant one for this moment.
Yeah.
Yep.
Yep.
Michelle, why are these good for connection by the way?
Oh my gosh.
Well, they're fun.
You definitely are showing your personality.
Oh yeah.
When you use these, um, I think they're relatable.
Um, and comments on what, you think is odd or what you're used to.
So you're sharing.
You got it.
100%.
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So, as we mentioned before when I was talking about traveling, that's an example of where we want to be careful, right.
Anytime we're experiencing another lifestyle or just a glimpse into someone's life, we do want to be careful, because this can be seen as judgmental right.
Right.
Exactly.
So especially the ones that are being used in a negative way.
So like you can use them in a teasing way, but you should be close to the person, or or maybe you don't really know them well, but you're telling a story about something that happened.
Yes.
So you know, you just have to really be smart about this one, because there's a lot of directions you could take it in.
And if you're using it in more of the negative sense, that's when you know you just want to especially be careful and think OK, what am I really is?
Am I being mean spirited?
Would this person be offended by this?
Are they, you know, but.
Lindsay, we were talking about other words we can add.
So we were doing this a little bit in the other examples.
So we're going to do a couple.
So the first one is I mean.
Yeah.
This one probably deserves its own episode, entirely separate from the phrase, Michelle.
I'm not sure if we've done it before.
I feel like we have, but I'll take a look.
Yeah, take a look.
And if not, guys, hit the follow button to make sure you don't miss it.
But this is something that native speakers use extremely commonly, right?
I mean, so, I mean, what is this I mean thing, Michelle?
Yeah, it basically means you're saying your opinion.
You're thinking it through.
It's emphatic.
So you're eating your soup with a fork.
I mean, who does that?
Right.
So you could get away with just saying you're eating your soup with a fork.
Who does that?
But putting I mean kind of stages what you're about to say a little bit.
It's a little bit of a filler.
It's a little bit like it's like a wind up.
It's a bit of a wind up.
Yeah, exactly.
The way like a pitcher might wind up.
Right, right.
Exactly.
It's a wind up.
So we'll come back to this in another episode.
If we haven't done it in a long time, we'll have to refresh our listeners on this, because I hear this constantly in American English.
Definitely.
Yeah.
And then Lindsay, this is the one that you were adding in.
This is a really good one.
Tell us about it.
Oh, even, even, right?
So this one might be a little confusing for our listeners, but This is important to nail at the B2C1 level, guys.
So for example, who even X that?
This becomes more emphatic when we add even.
It's optional, of course.
So you told her to buy you a ring.
Who even says that?
I could have said, who says that?
Who does that?
But this adds emphasis and it says even. this is a big deal, right?
Yes, exactly.
So, and you can also combine these.
You can combine, you can say, I mean, who even thinks like that, right?
So you can be a little creative with this.
And Another thing we want to point out is intonation, because it's not going to make sense unless you use emphasis and stress and personality in your voice.
If you just say, who does that?
No one's going to know what, wait, what?
Yeah.
Right.
These have to be dripping with personality.
So let's show our listeners that intonation in the role play and really listen closely guys, for our intonation.
Okay, okay.
So here we are friends and i am telling you about a dinner i had with my boyfriend.
Okay, here we go okay.
So then he says i'm second guessing our relationship because of your dog.
What?
Who says that?
I know lindsey, are you licking your french fries?
Um yes, i like the salt Okay.
I mean, who does that?
I know.
It's a gross habit.
Anyway, so I said to him, who even thinks like that?
What did he say?
He told me he was joking and he proposed.
He's amazing.
I mean, really, who does that?
Ah, that's so great.
Oh, my God.
I don't know if I would like that if someone like threatened to break up with me and I was like just kidding.
Just kidding.
You want to marry me?
Yeah, I know.
I don't think that's a good good style.
No, not a good strategy.
Not a good strategy.
And Lindsay, you got to chill out with the fry licking.
You probably have some sort of deficiency.
Probably.
I should have more salt in my life.
I do.
I will say that when I order a margarita, if I ask for the salt rim, I'll be constantly like getting that salt.
Oh, I know.
I love salt.
I really, yeah, I do.
Yeah, for sure.
Yeah.
Okay.
So let's go through it.
Yeah.
So what we've got here is you said so.
Then he says I'm second guessing our relationship because of your dog.
And you said, what, who says that?
And I really, I go real big on says, right?
Yes.
Yeah, um.
And then i said lindsay, are you licking your french fries?
And you said um yes, i like the salt.
And i said okay, i mean, who does that?
So i'm teasing you and you know it wouldn't work if it was something serious, that or it wouldn't.
This is fun, this is a is a, I'm just teasing around.
Yeah.
If I really didn't know it was bad manners, or if you were at a business lunch and for some reason someone started doing this and say that to them, you just might reconsider doing business with them.
Right.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah.
Don't lick your French fries.
Don't lick your French fries.
Yeah.
And then and they said, I know it's a gross habit.
And you said anyway.
So I said to him, who even thinks like that?
And what is the thinks like?
What are just to track here what we're talking about?
Yeah.
Back to the boyfriend like that.
He's second guessing the relationship because of the dog.
Yes.
Yeah.
Not a great way to wind up for a proposal, in my opinion.
Try flowers.
Try a surprise instead.
Right.
Yeah.
And then, Michelle, what's the last thing that was said?
Yeah.
And then I said he proposed.
Now I changed my tone.
So now it's more of a positive thing.
He's amazing.
I mean, really, who does that?
So even though Lindsay and I have agreed don't do this here in the role play, I seem pretty impressed.
Nice.
Very impressed.
Very impressed.
You are absolutely guys go and find episode 2578.
Don't fall into these conversation traps.
Oh my gosh.
Aubrey and I recorded this one together.
This was super interesting.
Why we should avoid making comments on appearance.
Someone's face is red all kinds of things that you traps, you might be tempted to fall into, that seem innocent but could lead you down the wrong path in conversation.
So important.
Oh, so good.
So good.
Michelle, this has been a really good one as well.
What does it mean for connections?
Oh, well tons.
I mean, this is just a way for you to show your personality, show what you're thinking about, like kind of what's normal, what's not normal, whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, and to make some commentary on that.
But again, you do need to be a little bit careful with it.
A little bit careful.
Be a little bit careful, guys, and hit the follow button.
We're going to see if we can do an episode on.
I mean because it's such a staple of natural spoken English.
All right.
So make sure you don't miss that one.
All right.
All right, guys.
Thanks, Lindsay, for hanging out and guys, we'll talk to you next time.
All right.
Take care, Michelle.
Bye.
Bye.
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