AEE 2574: Learn This English Well Before You Need It

Summary

All Ears English Podcast: Episode 2574

Title: Learn This English Well Before You Need It
Date: March 2, 2026
Hosts: Lindsay McMahon & Michelle Kaplan

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Lindsay and Michelle teach listeners how to use "well before" and related phrases for emphasis in American English. Using real-life examples and role plays, they explain this construction’s nuanced meaning, the importance of intonation, and where it fits into both business and everyday conversations. The episode is fun and conversational, offering insights for intermediate to advanced English learners who want to sound more like native speakers by adding emphasis and personality to their speech.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to Emphatic Timing: “Well Before”

• Purpose: To teach listeners how to express that something happens much earlier (or later, higher, lower, etc.) than expected, using “well before” and similar phrases for emphasis.
• Context: The concept was inspired by a role play from their Business English Podcast, but it’s just as relevant for everyday situations.

2. Everyday Use and Intonation

• Natural Usage:
  • Examples show how adding “well” before a time expression adds emphasis and meaning.
  • The hosts stress the importance of intonation:
    • [06:21] Lindsay: “We exaggerate intonation a little bit on this show just to show you guys. But there does need to be a bit of a punch on this word. Right. Again, just to repeat that last line. You said before the deadline. And I say well before the deadline, so that well needs to be punched just a bit.”
• Sample Sentences:
  • “I bought a new car well before the year ended.” [06:45]
  • “I knew her well before she applied to the position.” [06:55]
  • “Trust me, we will be there well before the wedding.” [07:00]

3. Why Use “Well Before”?

• Adds Emphasis: Highlights plenty of buffer time, conveys a proactive or responsible attitude.
• Personality Factor:
  • [05:20] Michelle: “It’s very emphatic. Okay, Right. And you know, you also have to use the proper stress.”

4. Comparison to “Way Before”

• Difference in Formality:
  • [09:24] Michelle: “Way is slightly less formal sounding.”
  • [09:34] Lindsay: “Yeah, I totally agree. It’s kind of like the casual version of. Well, now, you can still say well before. That’s still casual. But way makes—it does make it a little more spoken English, a little more casual just brings it down a notch in terms of formality. Right?”

5. Expanding Beyond “Well Before”: Similar Constructions

• Other Variations:
  • Well after — “She submitted this well after it was due.” [11:25]
  • Well ahead of — “Since we are running well ahead of schedule, let’s head out early.” [12:55]
  • Well above / Well below — “There are well above 50 people here.” [13:34]
  • “This fell well below my expectations.” [13:48]
• Advice on Double Use:
  • [13:06] Lindsay points out how two different uses of “well”—as a conversational opener and an emphatic modifier—require different intonation.

6. Real-life Scenarios & Stories

• Weddings and Appointments:
  • Emphasis on not being late for big events (“You want to get well before your appointment.” [09:02])
  • Navigating traffic, doctor's appointments, and arriving early to important events.
  • [07:55] Lindsay: “There are certain deadlines. We want to make sure we are well before—maybe filing taxes... Arriving at weddings... There are other key things where, you know, you’ll feel embarrassed if you do show up late or if you miss a deadline or you’re too close to a deadline that you’ll stress out. So this is a personality thing, right?”
• Funny Anecdotes:
  • Stories about being late to weddings or sneaking into ceremonies (“I’ve walked in, like, really just, like, right on the edge, you know, and where you’re kind of sneaking past.” [07:17])
• Role Play Recap:
  • Illustrates multiple versions: “Well before,” “well ahead of,” “well after.” [14:15–15:57]
  • Highlights how these phrases can pop up in natural conversation about attending events, beating traffic, or staying late.

7. Cultural & Social Insight

• Punctuality & Personality:
  • [15:59] Lindsay: “What kind of person are you? Like, are you a late person? Are you an on time person? Are you an early person? I think people tend to fall into... those three camps...”
• Using Emphatic Language to Show Personality:
  • [16:54] Michelle: “This is just a really great way to be emphatic... instead of just saying, ‘Oh, I left before rush hour.’ You’re adding a little something more, a little something extra to the meaning. We also talked about the intonation here and how to stress it. So it’s just a way of showing your personality and... a little bit behind the scenes.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Intonation:
  • [06:22] Lindsay: “There does need to be a bit of a punch on this word [well].”
• On Similar Constructions:
  • [12:55] Michelle: “Since we are running well ahead of schedule, let’s head out early.”
• On Showing Frustration:
  • [17:26] Lindsay: “Maybe a little drama, maybe you’re showing a bit of your frustration. Like you are on the i5 for way longer than you expected to be. Right. I left well before I needed to, but I still sat in traffic. I sat in a parking lot. And we call heavy traffic a parking lot, right, Michelle?”
  • [17:43] Michelle: “Yes, a parking lot. Yep.”

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:41] – Hosts begin real content, discussing morning routines and chaos at home
• [02:58] – Introduction to today’s topic: “well before” in English
• [04:11] – Mini role play with “well before” from the Business English podcast
• [05:36] – Importance of intonation and emphasis
• [06:40] – Series of practical example sentences
• [07:55] – Discussion on deadlines and being early to stressful appointments/events
• [09:24] – Comparison of “well before” vs. “way before”
• [11:10] – Expanding to “well after”, “well ahead of”, “well above/below”
• [14:15] – Wedding role play demonstrating all forms in conversation
• [16:31] – Reference to the Business English podcast, episode 527, for more practice
• [16:54] – Final thoughts on using these phrases to show emphasis and personality

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Summary takeaways

• “Well before” and similar phrases are native, emphatic ways to show that something happened much earlier (or later, etc.) than expected.
• Stress and intonation are key to communicating the intended meaning.
• The structure works in both business and personal contexts and can be swapped with “way” for less formality.
• Adding such constructions gives you a more natural, expressive, and nuanced command of English.
• Practice with similar forms: “well after,” “well ahead of,” “well above,” and “well below” to broaden your expressive range.

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For further examples and more practice, the hosts recommend checking out Business English Podcast, episode 527: "Are you right on time or running behind."

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Connection, not perfection!

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End of Summary.

Transcript

[Michelle Kaplan]

This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2574. Learn this English well before you need it.

[Podcast Announcer]

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 hosts, Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl, coming to you from Colorado and New York City, usa. And to get your transcripts delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com subscribe

[Advertisement Voice]

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[Podcast Announcer]

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[Lindsay McMahon]

Hello, Michelle. Good to see you on the mic. How's it going?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Good to see you too, Lindsay. Everything is good over here.

[Advertisement Voice]

How are you?

[Lindsay McMahon]

I'm feeling great today, Michelle, but I have a question for you. Yes. So do you typically wake up well before you start working or do you just get out of bed in pajama pants, go to your laptop and start working?

[Michelle Kaplan]

That's funny that you say that. So it, it depends on the day. It depends if I'm working at home or if I'm going out to my husband's office.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

And so it depends, like, but I am not one of those people that wakes up and has a peaceful morning and wakes up before my kids that I don't do.

[Lindsay McMahon]

It's like, it's like you see in commercials, like sitting in your picture window with your coffee, staring at the sunrise. That's not you, Michelle.

[Michelle Kaplan]

No, that is not me. I wish you could see it. I wish you could see what, what, what my mornings are like. It's not peaceful. It's not good. But we, we get out the door and then once my kids get dropped off, I'm. But then I can go and move on.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah. Well, I think a lot of our listeners have kids and families, so they get what you're saying. You know, chaos in the home between 6 and 8am Right. I mean, that's crazy. So what are we getting into today?

[Michelle Kaplan]

So today we are going to teach something that came from a role play that we did on the business English podcast, and we're going to give you the number for that later. But Business English podcast, guys, if you haven't checked it out yet, you were missing out. We, we teach so much over there relating to business, but one of the things is that we don't say this is only business English because business is real life and you're real people even when you're at work. So this is not, you know, we teach things that can be good for out of the office as well, with a focus on what's important for work.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah, exactly. On that show, our main. So you guys know, our main idea is connection, not perfection. And what that means in business is it means relationships. So. So we show you how to build relationships in business over there. So, guys, open up your search bar right now. Wherever you're listening, type in business English. You'll see the yellow pop up. Hit that follow button right away and we'll let you know which episode it was at the end. So, Michelle, what should we do here? We have a little mini role play. We want to show our list.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Do the role play. So this is actually how it was used.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Okay.

[Michelle Kaplan]

On the, on that Business English episode. So let's, let's read it.

[Lindsay McMahon]

All right.

[Advertisement Voice]

Yes.

[Lindsay McMahon]

He said the shipments will be in early.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Wow, that's great. Before the deadline.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Well, before. Okay. That gives our listeners a little context, right?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes. So that is how it was used. And it, it's one of those situations where I didn't plan it for, you know, with the idea of doing another episode on it.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Sure.

[Michelle Kaplan]

But we realized when we were reading it, oh, my gosh, this is so useful. And that we should do a whole episode on it. So, Lindsay, what did you mean by well, before?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah, so as our listeners probably can see from the context, what I mean by well is what I meant is a lot like way before the deadline. Right. It's not like it's going to be happening right before the deadline. We have a lot of buffer time, Right?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Before, like that.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Buffer time.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So, I mean, Lindsay, do you. Would you say that you typically might use the word well, like this?

[Advertisement Voice]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Lindsay McMahon]

I mean, that's why we picked it out of that role play. And we said, you know, that feels very natural. So that is meant to be a, you know, one of our episodes on Business English.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Exactly. Yeah. That's why we were like, ding, ding, ding. We're going to take that one because it is so common. So to me, it shows. It's very emphatic. Okay, Right. And you know, you also have to use the proper stress.

[Advertisement Voice]

Right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Well, before. And we actually spoke about this on the business English podcast, because when we were reading it, it. I didn't, I, I didn't write it in a way that stressed the.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Well, and I missed it. I think I misunderstood it when I read it. And I almost said the other intonation, which is like. Well, I think.

[Advertisement Voice]

Right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Is that what happened?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Something like that? Something like that. There was some sort of. So. But something where the meaning could have been impacted. And so we were saying how important that intonation. That stresses with this word so that you can understand what the person is trying to say. So again, it would be well before.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah, right.

[Advertisement Voice]

Yeah.

[Lindsay McMahon]

And we exaggerate intonation a little bit on this show just to show you guys. But there does need to be a bit of a punch on this word. Right. Again, just to repeat that last line. You said before the deadline. And I say well before the deadline, so that well needs to be punched just a bit. Okay.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes, exactly. So let's do some more examples here. Lindy, you want to do the first one?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Here we go. We can say I bought a new car well before the year ended. So I missed all the good details. Or. Sorry, I missed all the good deals. Details, deals. Not details, deals.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. Or I knew her well before she applied to the position.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Or trust me, we will be there well before the wedding. We don't want to miss the bride walking down the aisle. Oh, my, my gosh. Michelle, have you ever. Or that's a good example of when you want to make sure you are there well before the time of ceremony starts. Have you ever walked into a wedding, a ceremony late. Has that ever happened to you?

[Michelle Kaplan]

I, I've walked in, like, really just, like, right on the edge, you know, and where you're kind of sneaking past. What about you?

[Lindsay McMahon]

I haven't done it at my own wedding. There were a couple couples that, that snuck in, and I, I, in my mind, those couples are always, like, fighting with each other. Right. Because there's been something that's happened. Yes.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes, exactly.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah. Not a good thing. Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. So, guys. Yeah. You know, I try to be there well before it starts. That way you don't miss it. And it's. Yeah, that's a, that's a time when you really don't want to mess it up because you don't want to be walking down with the bride.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Oh, my gosh. Can you imagine? Yeah. There are certain, you know, if we want to build a good life, that includes a little less stress. Right. There are certain deadlines. We want to make sure we are well before maybe filing taxes. But I don't always do that on time either. Yeah. Arriving at weddings, I don't know. There are other key things where, you know, you'll feel embarrassed if you do show up late or if you miss a deadline or you're too close to a deadline that you'll stress out. So this is a personality thing, right?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, yeah. I would say also like doctor's appointments.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Okay.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Because if you're. If you're. If you push it too much. And I've done this. I mean, I remember there was a. I had a doctor's appointment and it was in. It was for like an ent. And it was in a. I didn't realize it. It was in a giant building, a giant hospital building where you had to drive all around. And I was so confused. And I was running around outside trying to find it. And I call. I ended up calling them and they said, well, we were about to just like get rid of your appointment. So that's the thing is with doctors, sometimes then they just have to move on.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So that's one. You want to get well before your appointment or at least. Or. Or at least a few minutes. Because you don't want to. You don't want them to take away your slot. Right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Because sometimes it can take six months to get a. For certain specialists. Right. Yeah. Michelle, could we also use the word way in this context, too? Way before. Well, before. Is there any difference here?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, it's a very similar idea. In my mind. I would. I would say that way is slightly less formal sounding.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

What do you think?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah, I totally agree. It's kind of like the casual version of. Well, now, you can still say well before. That's still casual. But way makes. It does make it a little more spoken English, a little more casual just brings it down a notch in terms of formality. Right?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes.

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[Lindsay McMahon]

Okay, so then I bet our listeners are wondering, can we put well in front of any other words to have this same meaning? Michelle, what do you think?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right, right. Well, one is if we can do before, we can do after.

[Lindsay McMahon]

There you go.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So you could say well after. So that's significantly after. So she submitted this well after it was due. So I'm not going to give her points.

[Lindsay McMahon]

That's when. This is when we have arrived late or we have missed a deadline. Right. The concert started well after the time on the ticket. It was really irritating.

[Michelle Kaplan]

That's always hard when you go to a concert or a comedy show and they have the opening act and, or especially at a con at a concert when they, they're playing music.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yes.

[Michelle Kaplan]

You know, they're playing background music and, and, and like you think every time a song ends that the show is gonna start.

[Podcast Announcer]

It's true.

[Lindsay McMahon]

And especially if you're really excited. I went to see Madonna a couple years ago here in Denver and I think she came on pretty late, actually possibly like 45 minutes late if I remember correctly. And you're kind of, you're waiting and you're like, it's well after the time this was supposed to start. You know, I'm ready to see Madonna. Come on, let's go. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So, but yeah, you could also, it just, you could do it also in a conversation like this here. Let's show how it would be not just on a one liner.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Okay. Did she call you by eight?

[Michelle Kaplan]

She called me well after eight. It was too late for me.

[Lindsay McMahon]

So there you go. So it's the same meaning. You're conveying the same feeling as when we put it before, but you have some options here. There's another option too, Michelle, which is well ahead of. Right. So similar to well before.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yep, exactly. So, well, since we. Well, I didn't realize what I Wrote well. Okay. Since we are running well ahead of schedule, let's head out early and let's

[Lindsay McMahon]

show our listeners the intonation difference between the first well, which is just conversational. It's just an opening of a thought. Right, guys? So don't get confused between these two wells. They are very different. So we could say, well, since we're running well ahead of schedule. Yeah, let's head out early. Did that feel right, Michelle, to you?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yep.

[Advertisement Voice]

Yeah. Okay.

[Michelle Kaplan]

It sounded great. Yeah. Two different wells. Two different. Two different ways of saying it.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah, exactly. And then there's still one more. One more option. What is it?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Well above or well below? Okay, so it's. I mean, yeah. The idea of much more or much higher or much lower. Right. So there are well above 50 people here.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah. Or this fell well below my expectations. Right. The work so fell. And this is when. Let's say at work, you're responding to someone's. Someone's what? They've done their project. This fell well below. You don't want to hear that from your boss. Right. Not good.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Okay.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Because they're taking the time to say the well. It means it's really bad. Yeah, yeah. Okay.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes, It's. It's more. More intense.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So let's do a role play. So here I put us at a wedding.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Oh, surprising, right? Not surprising, because this is one of the key moments, right?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. All right, here we go. Oh, my goodness. I was almost late.

[Advertisement Voice]

Ah.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Did you leave before rush hour?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Well, before.

[Advertisement Voice]

That's odd.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So much traffic. I was planning on getting here well ahead of the ceremony, but it was almost impossible.

[Advertisement Voice]

Are you staying late?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes, of course. Are you gonna be here after the party ends?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Well after. I'm staying at the hotel. Nice.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Okay.

[Lindsay McMahon]

All right, so let's see what we did here for our listeners. Break it down. So I asked you, did you leave? Must be an evening wedding, Right. Did you leave before rush hour?

[Michelle Kaplan]

And I said, well before. So I could have also said way before, but it basically means I left. I'm trying to say I left with plenty of time. I shouldn't have hit traffic.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Right, Exactly. It's. This can happen in. Especially in certain cities. Los Angeles, Boston. The traffic's gotten really bad. I think where you're from, Michelle. Baltimore, Washington area. Supposed to be famous. The Beltway.

[Michelle Kaplan]

The Beltway, Yep.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah. Yeah. What else? What else?

[Michelle Kaplan]

So then I said, so much traffic. I was planning on getting here well ahead of the ceremony. Right. So much more before it started.

[Lindsay McMahon]

And you could have also said, I Was planning to get here well before the ceremony. But you already said well before, so you might switch it up there.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right, right, right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

And then I said. You said, of course. Are you going to be here after the party ends? And then I said, what?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Well, after. So you're staying at the hotel, so you don't need to head out right away. Maybe there's an after party.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

That you can attend.

[Lindsay McMahon]

And this is kind of a fun conversation our listeners could get into with. With their friends or native speaking friends. Is, you know, what kind of person are you? Like, are you a late person? Are you an on time person? Are you an early person? I think people tend to fall into. And that's why it can be really disturbing. If you're an on time person and you show up late, like to a wedding, that could be really awful. But like, people tend to fall in these three camps, right? Yeah. And it. Yeah, it's interesting. It's really interesting. It's personal, right?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, it's true. It's true. Guys, remember, this came from the business English episode we were talking about. So that is episode 527 that was called are you right on time or running behind. So as you can tell, this is a really great one to listen to now that you've heard this episode. So these kind of work together.

[Lindsay McMahon]

All right, Michelle, what's our final thought for our listeners today regarding connection? What do you think?

[Michelle Kaplan]

This is just a really great way to be emphatic. I mean, instead of just saying, oh, I left before rush hour. Right. Well, you know, it's just you're adding a little something more, a little something extra to the meaning. We also talked about the intonation here and how to stress it. So it's just. It's just a way of showing your personality and showing kind of a little bit behind the scenes. Yeah, right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah, I like that idea.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. Without, you know, just with. By adding that one word, a little

[Lindsay McMahon]

spark, maybe a little drama, maybe you're showing a bit of your frustration. Like you are on the i5 for way longer than you expected to be. Right. I left well before I needed to, but I still sat in traffic. I sat in a parking lot. And we call heavy traffic a parking lot, right, Michelle?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes, a parking lot. Yep.

[Lindsay McMahon]

All right, good stuff. All right, we'll come back to the concept of traffic another day, I'm sure. But for now, Michelle, you have a good rest of your day. Guys, don't forget to go and find the business English podcast and hit the follow button.

[Michelle Kaplan]

All right. All right. Bye, Lindsay. Bye, guys.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Bye.

[Podcast Announcer]

Thanks for listening.

[Lindsay McMahon]

To all ears.

[Advertisement Voice]

English.

[Podcast Announcer]

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.

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