تام هنکس - فورست گامپ

Do you want a chocolate?

I could eat about a million and a half of these. My mama always said

life was like a box of chocolates.

You never know

what you’re going to get.

Those must be comfortable shoes.

I bet you could walk all day in shoes

like that and not feel a thing.

I wish I had shoes like that.

My feet hurt.

Mama always said there’s an awful lot you can tell about a person by their shoes.

Where they’re going, where they’ve been.

I’ve worn lots of shoes.

I bet if I think about it real hard, I could remember my first pair of shoes.

Mama said they’d take me anywhere.

She said they was my magic shoes.

All right, Forrest, open your eyes now.

Let’s take a little walk around.

I could eat about a million and a half of these

let’s start off by breaking down the phonetics and connected speech of this utterance.

So, it’s worth mentioning that in English, as opposed to other languages like Spanish or French, we don’t pronounce each word the same. some words are unstressed, and some are stressed. in this utterance, eat, about, million, half and these are strapped.

all these other ones are unstressed and because of this you’ll hear a schwa sound in each one of them: could, a, and a, of. Notice the American T here, when I say “about a”

and here, we drop d: “and a” sound morphing, linking and omission are important features of connected speech that you can find in this utterance. let’s see this sentence bit by bit.

I could eat about a million and a half of these

I could eat about a million and a half of these

also for you to note, this L is silent. You say haf

and these is the plural of this.

they are not pronounced the same.

Listen: this, these

All together: I could eat about a million and a half of these

I could eat about a million and a half of these

I could eat about a million and a half of these

Those must be comfortable shoes.

Besides meaning obligation as in, “you must arrive on time” must is also often used to express an opinion about something that is logically very likely.

To Forrest, the shoes seem comfortable. So, he says that they must be comfortable.

one of them the things that make this movie so memorable is that it offers some commentary on important historical events from the unique perspective of Forrest.

here are two examples of this, where he also uses the meaning we’ve just explained of must.

some years later, that handsome young man who they called “the king”, well, he’d sung too many songs, had himself a heart attack, or something.

Must be hard being a king.

Sometime later, for no particular reason, somebody shot that nice young President, when he was riding in his car. and a few years after that, somebody shot his little brother, too, only he was in a hotel kitchen.

It must be hard being brothers.

I’ll bet you could walk all day in shoes like that and not feel thing.

sometimes we say I bet (or I’ll bet/ I’d bet) when we feel sure about something.

His English has improved a lot! I bet he spent a lot of time practicing it. Also, he says not feel a thing.

and not feel a thing.

we often say a thing to emphasize an idea in a negative sentence. I didn’t learn a thing in that class. this means: I didn’t learn anything (or nothing at all).

here’s another example:

they’re gonna be blessed talk radio all night long.

When I get drunk, I snore real loud, so I won’t hear a thing.

this is different from a thing or two which is often said when you’re learning or teaching something. And it means a few things.

Forrest! I told you not to brother this nice a young man.

Oh, no, that’s all right, ma’am.

I was just showing him a thing or two on the guitar here.

All right, but your supper’s ready if y’all want to eat.

Yeah, that sounds good.

Thank you, ma’am.

Say, man, show me that crazy little walk you just did there.

Slow it down some.

I liked that guitar. It sounded good.

I started moving around to music, swinging my hips.

This one night, me and Mama was out shopping, and we walked by Benson’s furniture and appliance store, and guess what?

You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog.

Cryin’ all the time.

I wish I had shoes like that.

There’s a special grammar rule that you have to apply when you say I wish and that is that you have to say the verb after that in the past.

for example, it’s not, “I wish I have the chance to practice my English”.

It is, “I wish I had the chance to practice my English”.

Yeah, I wish we looked as cool dancing in clubs as we do right now.

Don’t worry, this is exactly how you look when you’re dancing in clubs.

Mama always said there’s an awful lot you could tell about a person by their shoes.

You’re probably familiar with the phrase a lot (a large amount).

Awful means that something is really bad, terrible.

Example, these meatballs tasted awful!

However, when you add awful to a lot, you’re emphasizing it: a very large amount.

I had Martin explain to me three times what he got arrested for, because - it sounds awful lot like what I do here three

So in this type of collaboration, awful does not carry any negative meaning, but rather just increase the amount.

here’s another example:

she looks awfully beautiful tonight.

There’s an awful lot you could tell about a person by their shoes.

Here, tell means to recognize something as a result of knowledge, experience, or evidence.

he’s saying that you can recognize or realize a lot about a person based on how their shoes look.

for example, I could tell she was a foreigner by her accent.

here’s a similar example, but with from.

“You can tell a lot about a person from his biography.”

Note that when we use this for with this sense, we use it with can in the present and could in the past.

Morning, Charlotte.

This is my family from California.

I can tell. They all look like movie stars.

I’ve won or lots of shoes.

worn is the past participle of wear.

if you wear something, you damage it or make it look old because you’ve used it a lot.

for example, these are brand new shoes.

these are worn shoes.

you could also say these shoes have a lot of wear.

Or, for example, this car has a lot of wear and tear.

Wow. what kind of bike is that?

Um, I don’t know. Average kind.

The tires look pretty worn.

Well, that is probably from the test drive.

But the paint’s chipping.

Is that your old bike, Michael?

No.

Then, Forrest says: I bet if I think about it real hard, I could remember my first pair of shoes.

hard intensifies the verb think.

if you think hard about something, you’re making an effort to remember or figure something out. this word also collocates with other verbs: try, laugh, work, etc.

okay. I want you to try really hard to hear what I’m saying. when I need your help, I will ask for it and until then just butt out.

That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run.

So, I ran to the end of the road, and when I got there, I thought maybe I’d run to the end of town.

And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d just run across Greenbow County.

And I figured since I’d run this far, maybe I’d just run across the great state of Alabama.

I ran clear to the ocean.

And when I got there, I figured since I’d gone this far, might as well turn around, just keep on going.

When I got tired, I slept.

When I got hungry, I ate.

When I had to go, you know. I went.

And so, you just ran.

Yeah.

For the fourth time on his journey across America, Forrest Gump, the gardener from Greenbow, Alabama, is about cross the Mississippi River again today.

I’ll be damned. Forrest?

Why are you running?

Are you doing this for world peace?

Are you doing this for the homeless?

Are you running for women’s rights?

Or for the environment?

Or for animal?

They just couldn’t believe that somebody would do all that running for no particular reason. Why are you doing this?

I just felt like running.

I just felt like running.

It’s you. I can’t believe it’s really you.

I mean, it was like an alarm went off in my head, you know?

I said, “Here’s a guy that’s got his act together”.

Here’s somebody who’s got it all figured out”.

Here’s somebody who has the answer.

I’ll follow you anywhere, Mr. Gump.

So, I got company.

And after that, I got more company.

And then, even more people joined in.

Somebody later told me it gave people hope.

Now—now, I don’t know anything about that, but some of those people asked me if I could help them out.

Hey, man, hey, listen, I was wondering if you might help me, huh?

Listen, I’m in the bumper sticker business and I’ve been trying to think up a good slogan.

and since you have been such a big inspiration to the people around here, I thought you might be able to help me jump into

Whoa, man! You just ran through a big pile of dog shit!

It happens.

What, shit?

Sometimes.

And some years later, I heard that that fellow did come up with a bumper sticker slogan, and he made a lot of money off of it. I had a lot of company.

Mama always said, “Put the past behind you before you can move on.”

That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run.

Forrest said for no particular reason quite a few times during the movie. Some years later, that nice young man from England was on his way home to see his little boy and was signing some autographs, for no particular reason at all, somebody shot him.

you can easily guess what that means. But it’s a bit different from when we say for some reason, which we say when we can’t understand why something happens or why someone decided to do something.

I’m sorry. for some reason, I just – I can’t focus.

I become a different person out there, on the soccer field, for some reason. it get very self-righteous and I

So, I ran to the end of the road,

in this sentence, we’re going to stress these words. I ran end road

all these other words are unstressed, and the is particularly reduced to a point where you can barely hear it.

Listen, so I ran to the road,

Also, ran is the past tense of run. Many learners often wonder what’s the difference between these words.

Run is pronounced like: up, son, or cut.

Ran is pronounced like app, sand, or cat.

I ran to the end of the road

I ran to the end of the road

So, I ran to the end of the road,

compare it with:

I through maybe I’d run to the end of town.

I run clear to the ocean.

In American English, clear to means all the way to.

And when I got there, I figured since I’d gone this far, might as well turn around, just keep on going.

There are a few things worth breaking down in this sentence. first is the use of the past perfect. when we say something in the past perfect, we also need to say something in the past simple.

In this way, we’re showing that the action in the past perfect happened before the action in the simple past.

let’s see some examples with a similar structure to this one. we’re going to highlight the simple past with orange and the past perfect with green. Example, when I finished doing my homework, I realize I spent all afternoon inside.

when I woke up, I realized I’d missed my favorite show on TV. Then, it’s this far.

notice how this is used here to signify “to such a degree”.

we also often say this good, this much, etc.

your mind is so brilliant.

If you put this much effort into your schoolwork, there is no telling the things you could

Why do you have to ruin everything?

Really?

There’s a chance we don’t have to go to trial?

Absolutely, and I say we take it because we will never get an offer this good again.

I figured since I’d gone this far, might as well turn around, just keep on going.

Might as well is an expression we use to suggest doing something additional as it is convenient. So, he’s saying that he should keep on, or in other words continue, running in a different direction. Example, if we’re going to be waiting here for an hour, we might as well sit down.

I mean, the job’s easy and the money’s good, you know?

I guess if I’m hanging out here, I might as well get paid for it. Right?

I just feel kind of weird serving you guys, you know?

Hey.

Hey, you want to go see a movie?

I told you I had to spend all day clearing out stuff so Mike could move in.

Oh, right.

Yeah.

Well

Now that I’m here, I might as well help with the cleaning and organizing.

I just happen to have my label maker.

when I got tired, I slept. When I got hungry, I ate.

when I had to go, you know—I went.

what do you think have to go means in this context?

Forrest Gump, the gardener from Greenbow, Alabama, is about to cross the Mississippi River again today.

I’ll be damned. Forrest?

This expression that she just said is used to show that one is very surprised about something. Because it contains the word damn, you should be careful when and with whom you use it.

it’s an informal expression and, in some cases, it could be considered impolite.

And the vandal’s name

No.

Well, I’ll be damned– Barney Stinson.

No! No!

Sometime I do a little bit of Ambien shopping and I buy too much of one thing.

Didn’t you all wonder when you got the same fun socks for Christmas?

Oh, samesies.

I’ll be damned!

Also, noticed that in this example, the expression has a different use.

you know, I’m not even sure I believe all these new parenting theories, but I’ll be damned if I’m going let her tell me they’re wrong.

He means that there’s no way he will let that happen.

Why are you doing this?

I just felt like running.

I just felt like running.

can you guess what to feel like means?

of course, feel like can literally be used to describe how you feel or what you think.

just like decorating a Christmas tree, it makes me feel like a little girl again.

Be prepared to take a quiz on this at the end of the lesson!

I said, “here’s a guy that’s got his act together.”

Here’s somebody who’s got it all figured out”.

if you have your act together, you are organized and behave in an effective way, especially in order to achieve something.

We also say get your act together when a person needs to become more organized or adopt a better attitude. Example, I’ve been really stressed these last couple of weeks. I’m going to take a few days off from work and try to get my act together.

we’re now going to analyze the linking of words that takes place in this utterance:

Here’s somebody who’s got it all figured out”.

when a word ends in the same sounds the next word begins with, they usually link: here’s somebody.

Then, we link all these three together: got it all.

notice also that these two T sounds become d: got it all.

and here’s another link in figured out.

All together: here’s somebody who’s got it all figured out

Here’s somebody who’s got it all figured out.

Listen, I’m in the bumper sticker business and I’ve been trying to think up a good slogan.

the bumper is this part of a vehicle.

In the US people sometimes stick messages on their vehicle’s bumper.

these are bumper stickers.

because of their popularity in the US, there are businesses that commercialize them.

this person in the movie is saying he can’t think up a good slogan for his business.

a slogan is a memorable message brands have, like in the picture.

To think up is to invent or to imagine something. we generally collocate this with an excuse. We generally collocate this with an excuse.

let me choose your child’s middle name. because I have thought up the most awesome name of all time.

What’s the middle name?

wait for it

I’m waiting.

wait for it

I said I’m waiting

wait for it

what’s the middle name?

no, the middle name is “wait for it”.

Whoa, man! You just ran through a big pile of dog shit!

It happens.

What, shit?

Sometimes.

And some years later, I heard that that fellow did come up with a bumper sticker slogan, and he made a lot of money off of it.

this is a joke based on the expression shit happens.

we say this when something bad happens, but in a way that recognizes that that is a part of life, and is not worth worrying too much about. for example, if your new shoes got mud on them, you could say, “Shit happens! I’ll wash them when I get home.”

Obviously, this can be offensive. if you want a less offensive version, you can say “it happens,” as Forrest does here, or “C’est la via” (that’s life).

Hello.

My name’s Forrest. Forrest Gump.

Do you want a chocolate?

I could eat about a million and a half of these. My mama always said

life was like a box of chocolates.

You never know

what you’re going to get.

Those must be comfortable shoes.

I bet you could walk all day in shoes

like that and not feel a thing.

I wish I had shoes like that.

My feet hurt.

Mama always said there’s an awful lot you can tell about a person by their shoes.

Where they’re going, where they’ve been.

I’ve worn lots of shoes.

I bet if I think about it real hard, I could remember my first pair of shoes.

That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run.

So, I ran to the end of the road, and when I got there, I thought maybe I’d run to the end of town.

And when I got there, I thought maybe I’d just run across Greenbow County.

And I figured since I’d run this far, maybe I’d just run across the great state of Alabama.

I ran clear to the ocean.

And when I got there, I figured since I’d gone this far, might as well turn around, just keep on going.

When I got tired, I slept.

When I got hungry, I ate.

When I had to go, you know. I went.

And so, you just ran.

Yeah.

For the fourth time on his journey across America, Forrest Gump, the gardener from Greenbow, Alabama, is about cross the Mississippi River again today.

I’ll be damned. Forrest?

Why are you running?

Are you doing this for world peace?

Are you doing this for the homeless?

Are you running for women’s rights?

Or for the environment?

Or for animal?

They just couldn’t believe that somebody would do all that running for no particular reason.

Why are you doing this?

I just felt like running.

I just felt like running.

It’s you. I can’t believe it’s really you.

I mean, it was like an alarm went off in my head, you know?

I said, “Here’s a guy that’s got his act together”.

Here’s somebody who’s got it all figured out”.

Here’s somebody who has the answer.

I’ll follow you anywhere, Mr. Gump.

So, I got company.

And after that, I got more company.

And then, even more people joined in.

Somebody later told me it gave people hope.

Now—now, I don’t know anything about that, but some of those people asked me if I could help them out.

Hey, man, hey, listen, I was wondering if you might help me, huh?

Listen, I’m in the bumper sticker business and I’ve been trying to think up a good slogan.

and since you have been such a big inspiration to the people around here, I thought you might be able to help me jump into

Whoa, man! You just ran through a big pile of dog shit!

It happens.

What, shit?

Sometimes.

And some years later, I heard that that fellow did come up with a bumper sticker slogan, and he made a lot of money off of it.

Another time, I was running along, somebody who’d lost all his money in the t-shirt business, he wanted to put my face on a t-shirt, but he couldn’t draw that well, and he didn’t have a camera.

Here, use this one.

Nobody likes that colour anyway.

Have a nice day.

Some years later, I found out that that man did come up with an idea for a t-shirt.

He made a lot of money.

Anyway, like I was saying, I had a lot of company.

Mama always said, “Put the past behind you before you can move on.”

And I think that’s what my running was all about.

I had run for three years, two months, days and hours.

Quiet. Quiet.

He’s going to say something.

I’m pretty tired.

Think I’ll go home now.