AEE 2396: What Gives? English Vocabulary For Expressing Surprise

Summary

All Ears English Podcast

Episode: AEE 2396: What Gives? English Vocabulary For Expressing Surprise
Hosts: Lindsay McMahon and Aubrey Carter
Release Date: April 23, 2025

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Introduction

In episode AEE 2396: "What Gives? English Vocabulary For Expressing Surprise", hosts Lindsay McMahon and Aubrey Carter delve into the rich tapestry of English expressions used to convey surprise. Tailored for intermediate to advanced ESL learners, this episode equips listeners with six native ways to express varying levels of surprise, enhancing their conversational fluency and cultural understanding.

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Exploring Expressions of Surprise

1. What Gives?

Timestamp: [04:10]

Aubrey introduces the first expression, "What gives?", emphasizing its use when something unexpected or frustrating occurs. Lindsay provides an example:

• "I can't believe she's late again. What gives?" ([04:16])

Aubrey elucidates that this phrase carries a connotation of irritation:

• "You're never going to say, 'This cake is delicious. What gives?'" ([04:30])

This expression is ideal for situations where surprise is mixed with mild annoyance.

2. What's Up? / What's Up with That?

Timestamp: [05:06]

The second expression, "What's up?" or "What's up with that?", is discussed as a versatile phrase that can initiate conversations or express surprise:

• "He's always arguing with me. What's up with that?" ([05:06])

Lindsay highlights its dual usage:

• Starting a conversation: "What's up?" as a greeting.
• Expressing surprise: "What's up with that?" when noticing unexpected behavior.

3. What Is Going On?

Timestamp: [05:57]

Aubrey presents "What is going on?" as a straightforward way to express surprise and frustration:

• "Everyone really seems on edge today. What is going on?" ([06:04])

He notes that intonation is crucial to convey the intended emotion, distinguishing it from mere curiosity.

4. What Is Happening?

Timestamp: [06:52]

Closely related to the previous phrase, "What is happening?" is used to express disbelief and frustration:

• "Kids are being so mean to my daughter. What is happening?" ([07:01])

This expression conveys a stronger sense of shock and is typically used in more serious contexts.

5. Is This Real Life?

Timestamp: [07:39]

Lindsay introduces "Is this real life?" as a trendy and expressive way to convey extreme surprise:

• "I can't believe he said that. Is this real life?" ([07:39])

She mentions that this phrase is often used in reaction to inappropriate or shocking behavior, adding a layer of disbelief.

6. Am I Taking Crazy Pills?

Timestamp: [08:28]

The final expression, "Am I taking crazy pills?", is highlighted as a modern and emphatic way to express astonishment:

• "I couldn't believe what I heard. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills." ([08:28])

Aubrey connects its usage to current societal contexts, such as divisive politics, indicating a profound level of surprise and questioning reality.

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Nuances of Usage and Intonation

Timestamp: [09:12]
Aubrey and Lindsay discuss the varying levels of intensity among these expressions. For instance, "What gives?" is less severe compared to "Am I taking crazy pills?", which conveys a higher degree of shock. They stress the importance of matching intonation with the context to ensure the expression aligns with the intended emotion.

Timestamp: [10:04]
Lindsay adds that at the B2/C1 language proficiency levels, maintaining appropriate tone is crucial to avoid miscommunication:

• "We don't want to have our tone off... it has to mesh with the conversation." ([10:04])

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Roleplay: Applying the Expressions

Timestamp: [11:57]
The hosts engage in a roleplay to demonstrate the practical application of the discussed expressions. Aubrey begins the scenario:

• "She started yelling at me and I was like, what is happening right now?" ([11:57])

Lindsay responds with layered expressions to amplify the sense of surprise:

• "I was like, is this real life? Am I taking crazy pills?" ([12:20])

This segment showcases how stacking expressions can effectively communicate heightened astonishment.

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Key Takeaways

• Context Matters: Each expression varies in intensity and is suitable for different scenarios, from mild frustration to extreme disbelief.

• Intonation is Key: Proper vocal emphasis ensures the emotion behind the words is accurately conveyed.

• Cultural Relevance: Modern phrases like "Am I taking crazy pills?" reflect contemporary language trends and societal sentiments.

• Practical Application: Through roleplay, listeners learn how to integrate these expressions naturally into conversations, enhancing their storytelling and expressive capabilities.

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Conclusion

Episode AEE 2396 provides a comprehensive guide to expressing surprise in English, blending linguistic instruction with cultural insights. By mastering these six expressions, ESL learners can navigate a variety of social interactions with greater confidence and authenticity. Lindsay and Aubrey's engaging discussion underscores the podcast's commitment to fostering meaningful connections through language learning, embodying the mantra: Connection NOT Perfection.

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Notable Quotes:

• "What gives? You're never going to say, 'This cake is delicious. What gives?'" — Aubrey Carter ([04:30])
• "Is this real life? Am I taking crazy pills?" — Lindsay McMahon ([12:20])
• "What is happening? Is this real life? Am I taking crazy pills?" — Aubrey Carter ([14:19])

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For more insightful episodes and to enhance your American English skills, subscribe to the All Ears English Podcast and join a community committed to learning through connection.

Transcript

[Aubrey Carter]

This is an Allers English podcast. Episode 2396. What Gives English vocabulary for expressing surprise?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Welcome to the All Ears English podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. 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 Lindsey McMahon, the English adventurer, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, usa. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com subscribe are you ever shocked by what you see in the news, especially these days? Today, get six native ways to say that you are surprised in varying levels of intensity. Listen in today.

[Aubrey Carter]

Are you feeling stuck at your English level? Are you sure what your real English level is? If you take our free quiz, we'll tell you what level you're stuck at and how to reach your next English milestone. Go to ahlersenglish.comfluencyscore now that's fluency score. One word. Allearsenglish.com Fluency score.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Hello, Aubry. What's shaking?

[Aubrey Carter]

Hey, Lindsay, how are you?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Hey. I'm happy to be on the mic today. Aubry, has anything surprising happened to you recently? Yes.

[Aubrey Carter]

I just got back from an amazing trip to Rocky Point, and before we left, we had seen that immigration laws were sort of changed, that now you have to provide your passport and an immigration form. The Mexican consulate is requiring this. And so we expected to have like a long line, a long wait at the border. And we were getting there the Friday of ASU's spring break, so I would expect a long wait. But surprisingly, I got to the border. There was no line. I was like, what gives? This is not what I expected. We went through with no wait, and it was the best trip to Mexico of my life. I had the experience I hope all of you are having in English where I was able to, like, make jokes. There were my friends wanted, like a second massage on the beach, and I was good with one. So I went and found some vendors playing cards on the beach. And in Spanish, I'm like, asking them to teach me. And I started playing and we're like, making jokes. They were like, telling me to play, like, cards that weren't worth anything. I was like, oh, basura. And they're like, laughing like I'm funny in Spanish.

[Lindsey McMahon]

That's so fun. Yeah, that's so fun. Those, those moments of travel when you connect, especially with the language are. This is like euphoric, right? It's euphoric.

[Aubrey Carter]

I know. A Lot of you out there have shared with us your goals to be able to have those experiences, to connect with local people on vacation. It's so fun. I love it. I can't wait for you guys to get there. In English.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes. I love it. So good. And that's why we're here. Right? We. Our show is based on human connection. Connection, not perfection. Right. So that's why we want to recommend that you all hit the follow button right now so you don't miss a single episode of Allers English, because that's how Allers English was born, as an idea based on wanting to make those connections. Right. As we travel, as we live abroad, we want to connect with everyone in the world and not be blocked by language. Right?

[Aubrey Carter]

Absolutely. We are right there with you. It is so. And I intentionally used when I was so surprised to not have to wait at the border. What gives? I say this a lot. Like, what gives to me, like, what's going on? What's happen? And there are so many other phrases we use to say this to get this meaning, the surprise across in English.

[Lindsey McMahon]

And I think this also came up in an episode, too, Aubrey. Right. One of us said this in an episode, so clearly it's a natural expression. So that's the first one. So today we're going to show you ways you can express surprise in English. Yeah. Yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

We have six fun ones today, so let's get through these. The first one is what gives? Do you say this, Lindsay? I say this a lot.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yep. Yep. I. Yeah. For example, I can't believe she's late again. What gives?

[Aubrey Carter]

Right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

And it also expresses a little bit of. Right.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah.

[Lindsey McMahon]

You're frustrated, you're annoyed.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Something's not quite right. Right?

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly. You're never going to be like, this cake is delicious. What gives? No, it definitely has that connotation of irritation.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Sure. What's another example?

[Aubrey Carter]

You might say you haven't heard back about the job yet. What gives? Right. So I'm. I'm irritated for you. Like, I can't believe you haven't heard yet. Back yet. It's frustrating.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes. I love it. So that is one really good option. And I like that one because it's a little less common. But there are other things we could say when we're truly surpr. Surprised. Aubry. Right.

[Aubrey Carter]

Absolutely. One is what's up? Or what's up with that? You might say, he's always arguing me with me. What's up with that?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. What's up with that?

[Aubrey Carter]

Right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

And. And I like your intonation there. Right? What's up with that? Yes, it's very emphatic. Right. We might hear this on tv. Right. Or just saying, what's up? You seem upset. So here I'm actually starting a conversation with someone, right?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, exactly. So this. This definitely has less of a connotation of surprise. You definitely could share it if you're surprised about something. Like, what's up with that? What's like, I'm surprised about this. But it's tricky because we also use it just to mean, what's going on? What's that? Like, how are you? What's up?

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, yeah. So we want to share that here. Right.

[Aubrey Carter]

It's tricky because we also will say this to. To sort of see, like, I'm recognizing behavior in you that's unexpected. I'm a little surprised. I might be like, what's up? Or what's up with you? You seem upset about something.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes, I love that. And another one we could say aubry. What would be our third option?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, there it is. What is going on? So you might say, everyone really seems on edge today. What is going on?

[Lindsey McMahon]

And again, the emphasis, the intonation really matters. What is going on? Right.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. Or maybe what is going on? We've tried three restaurants and they all had an hour wait. So really what you're saying is like, I am surprised and frustrated by this, but we have all these more fun way to say that.

[Lindsey McMahon]

When I was in LA last weekend, I wanted to say that about sitting in traffic for three hours to go 20 miles. But I knew to expect it, so it's okay. What. What else?

[Aubrey Carter]

Knew exactly what was going on. This rush hour, people are trying to drive home, but we still might. Even if we know, we know what's causing it, we'll still be like, what is going on?

[Lindsey McMahon]

I mean, everyone knows the traffic's. It's crazy there, so it's okay. All right, what else? What is happening is a third is a fourth option. My flight has been delayed three times. What is happening?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. Very similar to what is going on. Same meaning, same intonation. Right. You might say, what is happening? Kids are being so mean to my daughter.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Right.

[Aubrey Carter]

You might be sharing, like a story with someone and you're kind of saying, like, what is happening with society in general, with kids these days and. Yeah, you just kind of are saying, I'm surprised by what I'm witnessing.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah. It expresses a bit of a sense of disbelief, too.

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Right. Yeah.

[Aubrey Carter]

And disbelief and frustration, all of those emotions. We really don't use these for positive Things, Right?

[Lindsey McMahon]

No, no.

[Aubrey Carter]

What is happening? There are so many great movies in the theater. No. Right. We just don't really use them. Instead we'd be like, that's awesome.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes, exactly. Or number five, a little less common. Is this real life? So I don't really say this, but you might say this. Aubry, is this one of your.

[Aubrey Carter]

And I hear my kids say it. And I'm hearing it more and more, like in podcasts. I feel like this is very trendy and new. Someone might say, I can't believe he said that. Is this real life? If you hear someone say something inappropriate or maybe racist, you'd be like, is this real life? You're like, are people really behaving this way? I'm really shocked.

[Lindsey McMahon]

And here's a slightly higher level sentence which is very natural. I was shocked when I heard that. I was like, is this real life? Right. So here I'm reporting my thoughts. Right. Which is a higher level skill, but a very common one. And we need to know this to have that conversation with native speakers. Right?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. We teach this in some of our courses, narrating speech, especially in the past. There are so many phrases we do to this to use to do this very naturally.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes. And the next one. Am I taking crazy pills? New one for me too.

[Aubrey Carter]

New one for me too. This one. This is also trendy. Newer. But I'm hearing it a lot. It's definitely being like adopted into the vernacular. It's not just teenagers saying it. You might hear, I couldn't believe what I heard. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. And it's just another way of saying like, I'm shocked. I'm extremely surprised. But a really fun way to say that.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Now I have something to say when I read the news.

[Aubrey Carter]

That's great.

[Lindsey McMahon]

That's perfect. Or the next one. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. Nothing makes sense today. Okay.

[Aubrey Carter]

We're hearing this more and more in the US with like divisive politics. And on whichever side you're on, you might feel like you're taking crazy pills. Because it almost seems like we're living in different realities from people who disagree with us. It's really interesting.

[Lindsey McMahon]

For sure. So, and. And you know, it really does. It's important to have something to say right. When something's going on. And it also reduces your own stress when you have something to say. Right. We can articulate some of our feelings, can kind come out through our words. That's important for. To reduce our stress. Right.

[Aubrey Carter]

And it is important to point out that these all have sort of different levels of extremeness. So like, what gives is much less is just kind of like a little bit shocked, right? I wouldn't say, you know, I can't believe she's late again. Am I taking crazy pills? No, that doesn't make sense because this one's much more extreme for something that is extremely shocking, extremely surprising. So these do all have context, just more about the severity of shock to know. So pay attention to the examples we gave so you can know like when they're appropriate, depending on how shocked you are.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Good to know and so important. Right? We don't want to have our tone off and we know that at the B2C1 level for our listeners, you don't want your tone to be wrong. It has to be right. It has to mesh with the conversation. Right.

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly.

[Lindsey McMahon]

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[Aubrey Carter]

And this is going to give you a chance to hear a lot of that reported speech reporting, narrating thoughts. So let's do it. I will start us out. Then she started yelling at me and I was like, what is happening right now?

[Lindsey McMahon]

It was really confusing. I wasn't sure what to do. I just stood there thinking, what is going on?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, you missed a lot of what happened. It was crazy.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I was so shocked because when I walked in, she was just yelling. I was like, is this real life? Am I taking crazy pills? Oh, my gosh. This felt so natural.

[Aubrey Carter]

It's so natural. This is when you'll hear these the most often, when you are telling a story of something that was very shocking and surprising. We will use these maybe to exaggerate a little or maybe just to be accurate about how crazy something seemed, how shocking it seemed.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I love it. So good. So good. So where did we use our key phrases? What did we say?

[Aubrey Carter]

I started first, I said, then she started yelling at me, and I was like, what is happening right now? So we use this one. What is happening or what is going on? To say to. Especially to share like. And all I'm saying is I was really surprised by what I was hearing, by what I was seeing.

[Lindsey McMahon]

But you've got so much life in the voice, so much intonation, so much energy that you bring the person into that situation.

[Aubrey Carter]

Much more interesting.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes. Very important. And again, then I said. Then I said, I just stood there thinking, what is going on? And you know, Aubry, I think we could do another episode on how to change our intonation when we go into reporting our thoughts. I just stood there thinking, there's a little bit of a hang there. I'm hanging over that. There's a comma when I look at my notes here. Right. That would be a great episode.

[Aubrey Carter]

And you need to vary your intonation, because if you said this with the monotone, I was like, what is happening right now? That would be kind of strange. Some people are a little more deadpan than that, but usually you need varied intonation. I love that idea, Lindsay. So be sure to hit follow guys for the follow up. That'll be good.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Great. Great one. Yeah. And then you said, yeah, you miss a lot of what happened. It was crazy. Right? And then what did I say? I.

[Aubrey Carter]

You said, yeah, I was shocked. I walked in and she was yelling. I was like, is this real life? Am I taking crazy pills? And sometimes we'll stack them like that to exaggerate how surprised we were.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Right? Yeah. I love that idea of stack different comments on top of each other. Two, three of them could just make it more emphatic.

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly. You totally could have said, what is happening? Is this real life? Am I taking crazy pills? And all of that is emphasizing even more how shocking it was.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, good. I feel like this is a very timely episode because we could all use these phrases for, you know, who knows what.

[Aubrey Carter]

But shocking conversations were part of or.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Hearing or seeing in the news, whatever is going on. Now, we have the resources as the global community, we have the resources to express our feelings a little bit. Right. Any other takeaway for today, Aubrey?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, I think this goes back to you want. If you're going to tell a story of something shocking that happened, make the most of it, right? I love telling stories. If I tell this story, I'm going to use these. If I tell any story, I'm going to use these phrases to draw in the listener to make it more fun and interesting. And so, you know, I think people are excited when I start telling a story because it makes it, it makes it fun, it makes it entertaining. Even if I'm exaggerating a little bit.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I love it. Really good. All right, guys, hit the follow button for more great episodes from all ears English. And we'll be back soon. Right, Aubry? Yes.

[Aubrey Carter]

See you next time.

[Lindsey McMahon]

All right, take care.

[Aubrey Carter]

Bye bye.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Thanks for listening to all ears English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz, go to allearsenglish.com forward/fluency score. And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.