AEE 2490: Don’t Miss Out on These English Grammar Tips

Summary

All Ears English Podcast – Episode 2490: Don’t Miss Out on These English Grammar Tips

Host(s): Lindsay McMahon & Aubrey Carter
Date: October 6, 2025

---

Episode Overview

This episode focuses on the verb “miss”, exploring how its meaning significantly changes depending on tense—especially in the present simple versus the present continuous. Lindsay and Aubrey break down the grammar nuance, share student-inspired questions, demonstrate live examples in an educational role play, and offer actionable advice for English learners to avoid common mistakes and misunderstandings with this tricky verb.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. How This Episode Came About

• The idea for this topic emerged from a live Q&A session, where a student said, “My son misses his wallet,” leading to a lively discussion about how “miss” is used in English.

  “One of the students said, ‘My son misses his wallet.’ And I realized right away what he meant was, ‘My son is missing his wallet.’ Like, he can't find his wallet.”
  – Aubrey Carter (03:10)

2. The Importance of Grammar Tense with 'Miss'

• The verb “miss” demonstrates rare tense-dependent meanings that can cause real confusion if used incorrectly.
• Using the wrong tense can cause misunderstanding—especially when talking about lost items.

3. Meanings of ‘Miss’ in Present Simple

Aubrey and Lindsay outline four main meanings:

• To fail to hit, catch, reach, or come into contact with something

  Example: “He misses the ball every time he tries to hit it.”
  – Aubrey Carter (04:57)

• To notice the absence of someone/something and feel sad or regretful

  Example: “I miss you.” / “She misses living in New York.”
  – Aubrey Carter (05:33)

  • If you say, “My son misses his wallet,” it sounds like he’s emotionally sad about it—not that he lost it (06:00).

• To fail to attend or experience something

  Example: “Can you send me the notes when I miss class?”
  – Lindsey McMahon (06:36)

• To fail to understand or perceive something

  Example: “If you read too quickly, you might miss the deeper meaning of the article.”
  – Aubrey Carter (06:48)

4. Meanings of ‘Miss’ in Present Continuous

• To not be able to find something (i.e., lost):

  Correct: “I’m missing my phone. Have you seen it?”
  Incorrect: “I miss my phone. Have you seen it?” (sounds like emotional longing)
  – Aubrey Carter (07:07)

• This tense is necessary for expressing loss/unable to find, not simple present.

• Other uses:

  • Can also be used for failing to attend, experience, or understand something but with a present, ongoing nuance.

  Example: “I’m missing class today, can you send me your notes?”
  – Aubrey Carter (07:53)

5. Why Context Always Matters

• “Missing” can mean different things—a lost item, not attending, not understanding, or emotional absence—so always rely on context.

  “Whenever you see the word ‘missing,’ you can’t assume that means something is lost… it’s always vital to pay attention to context.”
  – Aubrey Carter (08:34)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Emotional vs. Literal Meaning:

  “If you say, ‘My son misses his wallet’… what we’re going to think is, you mean emotionally misses his wallet. Right.”
  – Lindsey McMahon (05:44)

• On Using Present Continuous to Express Lost Items:

  “You cannot use present simple. You couldn’t say, ‘I miss my cell phone charger.’ ... This has to be present continuous.”
  – Aubrey Carter (12:06)

• On Small Touches in Conversation:

  “Look at the connection that’s built just by you saying, ‘We missed you.’ There’s so much care. I would really feel like, oh, that’s so nice. Thank you.”
  – Aubrey Carter (11:18)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:17 | Lindsay & Aubrey discuss losing things and the inspiration for the episode | | 03:10 | Explanation of common ESL mistake with “miss” | | 04:42 | Introduction to today's grammar focus and why it's rarely tense-dependent in this way | | 04:57 | Four meanings of “miss” in present simple, with examples | | 07:07 | Why you need present continuous to express the idea of a lost item (“I’m missing my phone…”) | | 09:38 | Role play to demonstrate different meanings in context | | 10:41 | Detailed breakdown of usage from the role play | | 12:59 | Core takeaway: Using the right tense avoids misunderstandings |

---

Role Play Breakdown (09:38–12:23)

• Scenario: Friends meet for lunch, discussing attending a game, feelings of absence, and misplacing objects.

  • Fail to attend:

    “Yeah, I missed it. My alarm didn’t go off…” – Aubrey (09:53)

  • Emotional absence:

    “Well, we missed you.” – Lindsay (09:58)

  • Fail to catch:

    “He missed the ball a lot in practice…” – Lindsay (10:02)

  • Lost possession (correct use):

    “I’m missing my cell phone charger. Did I leave it at your house?” – Aubrey (10:09)

  • Key Explanation:

    “This is the one where you cannot use present simple… This has to be present continuous. That’s a chunk that we use to say I can’t find something.”
    – Aubrey Carter (12:06)

---

Takeaways and Practical Tips

• When you want to say you’ve lost something or can’t find it, only use present continuous: “I’m missing my wallet,” NOT “I miss my wallet.”
• For emotional absence (“miss you”), failing to attend (“miss class/event”), or failing to hit/catch/understand, use present simple (or past/simple future as appropriate).
• Always pay close attention to context to avoid misunderstandings.
• Using precise tenses builds better connections and avoids confusion.

---

Call to Action

• For more deep dives like this, check out episode 2485: “Are you Practically Fluent?”
• Engage with Q&A and join All Ears English courses for personal guidance.

---

Final Core Takeaway

“Sometimes the grammar tense of a verb affects its meaning, and if you use the wrong tense you could cause a misunderstanding… Make sure you’re using the correct verb tense when you want to say you’ve lost something: ‘I’m missing it.’”
— Aubrey Carter (12:59)

---

Recommended Additional Episode:

• Episode 2485: “Are you Practically Fluent?” (Check show archives)

---

For more resources and transcripts:
Go to alllEarsEnglish.com

---

Hosts' Sign-off:
"Connection, not perfection!" – Lindsay & Aubrey

Transcript

[Narrator]

This is an Allers English podcast, episode 2490. Don't miss out on these English grammar tips.

[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 can you say you miss something when you have lost it in English today? Find out why grammar tenses are crucial in a moment like this one. Listen in today.

[Narrator]

Have you ever walked into a budget meeting completely prepared, but the moment executives start pushing back, you lose control of the conversation? Your expertise is solid, but your English sophistication doesn't quite match it. And that gap it costs promotions, projects and respect. That's why we created professional English Level 2. This isn't basic business English. It's communication. Communication mastery. Designed for high stakes moments like leading budget meetings, presenting risk analysis, handling negotiations and resolving conflict. Enrollment is open now and this week only. You save a hundred dollars off the normal price, but spots for personal coaching are limited, so don't let the next opportunity slip by. Visit allearsenglish.comcareer and join professional English Level 2 today. Again, go to allearsenglish.comcareer c-a r e e R.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Hey Aubry, what's shaking?

[Aubrey Carter]

I'm great. How are you, Lindsay? Good.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Aubry, I have a question for you. You ready?

[Aubrey Carter]

Right? Yes.

[Lindsey McMahon]

So are you a person who loses things easily? Do you lose your keys?

[Aubrey Carter]

You know, I don't know.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Your wallet?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, unfortunately I lose things all the time and I often. If I take a bag or like a purse to a restaurant, for example. Uhhuh. Several time. Like at least half the time I end up having to go back because I left it there. I have to go back. It's at my part of the problem is inconsistency. I don't always have it. So then when I do have it, I forget. But it's. It's pretty terrible. What about you? Do you lose things easily? Probably not as bad.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Leave more and more, which is probably not a good thing. But lately my phone, it's like where's my phone? Where's my phone? I say it three times a day, you know, just leave it on the couch. You live in the countertop. You live in the room. It's like there. Where is the Phone around the house. You now.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, that's me, too. Yeah. So terrible. Well, this is really interesting. This was inspired by one of our Q A sessions about the verb miss.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yes.

[Aubrey Carter]

One of the students said, my son misses his wallet. And I realized right away what he meant was, my son is missing his wallet. Like, he can't find his wallet. Right. I'm missing my purse. I can't find it. And it was such an interesting conversation about how we don't actually use present simple tense to say we can't find something with miss. Kind of fascinating.

[Lindsey McMahon]

So interesting. And by the way, we love this weekly Q A that Aubry does with all students in any of our courses. So you are invited if you are in a course that qualifies for Q A, and if you are in the level that qualifies for Q A, which is the personal coach level, you are invited to join us on. When do you do it? Wednesdays, Aubry.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, Wednesdays. Morning, my time. And the students who come bring questions about what they're learning in their course. About what? Their questions about English. And they're always very interesting questions. We always have an amazing discussion every day.

[Lindsey McMahon]

So good. So think about getting into one of our courses, guys. Go to allersenglish.com to see the options. And before we get further into this episode, don't forget to hit follow right here on the podcast. You don't want to miss a single episode of Allers English.

[Aubrey Carter]

This fall.

[Lindsey McMahon]

We publish five days a week.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes, absolutely. So this is going to be interesting. This verb has many meanings in English, actually, but the meaning is different depending on the verb tense, which is a little more rare for a verb in English. Often when you have all of these different meanings for a verb that you can. It's like sort of all the same meanings for this. Different verb tenses. This is rare.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, I'm excited for this. So we're gonna really dig into this and make sure our listeners understand. Again, we're taking the grammar angle today because we know grammar is important, and obviously here it's really important.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right? Yes, absolutely.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Okay, start us off, Aubry. Where do we start?

[Aubrey Carter]

All right, so first, we're talking about the present simple tense and the most common meanings of the verb miss that can be that, you know, that the present tense could mean. So, for example, here's our first meaning. To fail to hit, catch, reach, or come into contact with something. For example, I miss the bus whenever I wake up late. Right. But this would also be like, he missed the ball. He miss every time he tries to hit the ball, he misses. Right. Present simple. To fail to catch something or hit something.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Love that.

[Aubrey Carter]

That.

[Lindsey McMahon]

And then what is a second meaning in the present simple?

[Aubrey Carter]

Aubrey. Yeah. To notice the absence of someone or something and feel sad or regretful about it. Yeah. So, for example, I miss you. Or she misses living in New York.

[Lindsey McMahon]

And this is kind of what it sounded like when you hear the student said, my son misses his wallet. What we're going to interpret that is we're going to know. It's like, it's not what you meant, but what we're going to think is, you mean emotionally misses his wallet. Right.

[Aubrey Carter]

Because we don't say we miss a wallet. Right. We use in present simple. If we miss someone or a place we can miss something, it's because we feel their absence. We feel sad or regretful. There's emotion involved.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I guess you could say, oh, I missed that old pair of jeans I used to have. They were so comfy. Or that pair of shoes. But it's something that just carries a lot of nostalgia. A piece of clothing, for example.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, that's true. That's a really good point. You can say this like, I miss something, I'm sad, I don't have it anymore. But if what you mean is, I lost it, I can't find it. You can't use the present simple for that. It doesn't mean that.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Exactly. And the next meaning for this in present simple is to fail to attend or to experience something. So, for example, can you send me the notes when I miss class so you don't show up to class, so you miss it.

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly. Right. And the last one, to fail to understand or perceive something. For example, if you read too quickly, you might miss the deeper meaning of the article.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I love it. Okay, so that. Those are the four meanings of Ms. In present simple. What if we use present continuous Aubry.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. So this is where we can say that we can't find something. You know, if you're not able to find something, you could say, I'm missing my phone. Have you seen it? But I couldn't say, I miss my phone. Have you seen. That would be like, I'm so sad I lost it. It wouldn't mean I can't find it.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Exactly. And again, here's what we needed to say. My son is missing his wallet. He can't find it anywhere.

[Aubrey Carter]

Mm, Exactly. So to say you can't find something. This is really interesting where in a dictionary it might just say, you know, miss to not be able to find something. But it's not going to break down for you that that has to be in present continuous tense. It could be past tense, but when we're in present tense, you can't use present. Simple. So tricky. Yes.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Oh, my gosh. Anything else we need to know here, Aubry?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes. So when we use the verb miss in present continuous, there are other meanings, of course, so you just need to pay attention to the context to find out what the meaning is. So some of these other meanings we covered, they can also be in present continuous. For example, to fail to attend, see, or experience something. If you say, oh, I'm missing class today, can you send me your notes? Is another way of saying, I am going to miss class today. We can also say that in present continuous.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, we might also say, I'm going to be missing class today. Right. There are a few ways we could say that, technically speaking. Or to fail to understand or perceive something. Again, you're missing the point.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

You're missing. It's happening in this moment.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah. So unfortunately, whenever you see the word missing, you can't assume that means something is lost. Someone can't find something, because still this verb miss, even in present continuous, there are quite a few meanings. So it's always vital to pay attention to context. What do they mean if someone says, you know, my son misses his wallet, you know what they actually mean, right? Yeah, you know, like, just like I did, I'm like, oh, I know what you mean. Unfortunately, we have to use the right verb tense to make sure our meaning is clear.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Love it. So incredibly important.

[WhatsApp Advertiser]

When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp, the secure messaging app that brings the whole group together. Use polls to settle dinner plans, send event invites and pin messages so no one forgets mom's 60th and never miss a meme or milestone. All protected with end to end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp message privately with everyone. Learn [e-mail] okay, Aubry, let's break it.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Down into a role play here so we can make it super clear for our listeners what's happening here.

[Aubrey Carter]

All right? You and I are friends meeting for lunch in this role play.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Okay, Sounds good. Here we go. Good to see you. It's been a while. What happened last weekend? You weren't at the game.

[Aubrey Carter]

Yeah, I missed it. My alarm didn't go off and by the time I got there, it was already over.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Well, we missed you.

[Aubrey Carter]

Oh, how did David do?

[Lindsey McMahon]

He actually didn't play. I guess he's missed the ball a lot in practice, so the coach didn't play him. He'll get there.

[Aubrey Carter]

Hey, I've been meaning to ask you. I'm missing my cell phone charger. Did I happen to leave it at your house?

[Lindsey McMahon]

I haven't seen it, but I'll keep an eye out. The charger is another thing that tends to go missing.

[Aubrey Carter]

Sometimes it goes missing a lot, but it's because my children have stolen it. Like, I know that one of my kids took my charger.

[Lindsey McMahon]

That can happen for sure. All right, let's go back and we'll explain kind of the usage of each of these. So first you said you weren't at the game. What happened? And you said, sorry I said that. And then you said, yeah, I missed it.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right.

[Lindsey McMahon]

I failed to attend. So simple pass there.

[Aubrey Carter]

I wasn't there. I failed to attend. Well, actually, this is the most common thing that we would say. Oh, I missed. It means I wasn't there. I wasn't able to go. And then you said, well, we missed you. And this means you noticed my absence. Right. And you were kind of sad. This doesn't mean you lost me. You couldn't find me. Right. This is that other meaning of to notice the absence of something and regret it.

[Lindsey McMahon]

And that right there would be another great episode. The connection skill of noting that someone wasn't there and you knew they weren't there, and you. It's regretful. Right. You miss we missed you, or we're sorry you weren't able to be there or.

[Aubrey Carter]

That's such a good point. Look at the connection that's built just by you saying. Saying, well, we missed you. You didn't have to say that. You could just continue the conversation, but, like, there's so much care. And I would really feel like, oh, that's so nice. Thank you.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, let's do an episode on that one. Aubrey, guys, the follow button so you don't miss that episode. That will be coming up soon.

[Aubrey Carter]

Okay.

[Lindsey McMahon]

And then I said, you asked about David, how he did, and I said, he didn't play. I guess he missed the ball in a lot of practices, so the coach didn't play him.

[Aubrey Carter]

Right? Yeah. So that's that. Fail to catch or hit. Right. If you say miss the ball, this could be any sport with a ball. Or you try to hit it and just miss or kick it and you just miss. Right. That's another meaning of this verb.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Love it. And then you said, I've been meaning to ask you. I'm missing my cell phone charger. Meaning I can't find my cel cell phone charger.

[Aubrey Carter]

Exactly. And this is the one where you cannot use present simple. You couldn't say I miss my cell phone charger. Did I happen to leave it at your house? This has to be present continuous. That's a chunk that we use to say I can't find something. I've lost it. I'm missing my cell phone charger.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Yeah, and that's the key one right there. So incredibly important to know the difference here. Aubry, is there another episode our listeners should go to?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes, don't miss 24.85 right here on the Allers English podcast. Are you practically fluent? This was a really interesting deep dive into how we use practically to connect in English.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Love it. So good a lot of takeaways could come out of today. I mean, first of all, it's really good if we can find, you know, the bonus opportunity we had today. Commenting the fact that someone wasn't there is a bonus. We'll come back to that another day. But Aubry, what is the core takeaway from today's grammar episode?

[Aubrey Carter]

Yes, it's interesting that sometimes the grammar tense of a verb affects its meaning and if you use the wrong tense your you could cause a misunderstanding someone might not understand. Right. So you can use today's tips to avoid misunderstandings. Make sure you're using the correct verb tense when you want to say you've lost something. I'm missing it.

[Lindsey McMahon]

Love it. So good. Great topic. And thank you to our student for being in Q A. We get lots of good ideas for our episodes Insider Q and A. So guys, check out our [e-mail] all right, good stuff, Aubry. Talk to you soon.

[Aubrey Carter]

Have a good day. Thanks, Lindsay. Bye bye.

[Lindsey McMahon]

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

[Liberty Mutual Advertiser]

And Doug, here we have the limu emu in its natural habitat helping people come their car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual. Fascinating. It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug Limu.

[Aubrey Carter]

Is that guy with the binoculars watching us?

[Liberty Mutual Advertiser]

Cut the camera. They see us. Only pay for what you [e-mail] Liberty Liberty Liberty Liberty Savings Ferry unwritten by.

[Insight Software Advertiser]

Liberty Mutual Insurance company and affiliates Excludes Massachusetts. Every minute your finance team spends wrestling with data is a minute. Lost Insight Software's AI powered insights instantly move you from complexity to clarity. Automated analysis, real time reporting, strategic recommendations all at your fingertips. Transform how your finance team works and watch your business grow. Stop wasting time. Start making smarter decisions. Learn [e-mail] AI.