Mind the Gap!

Mind the Gap!

In today’s podcast, I am going to talk about the English word“ mind”, and about some expressions which contain the word“ mind”.

Your“ mind” means the things which happen inside your head, or inside your brain– your thinking, in other words. We can say, for example, that someone has“ a good mind” – that means, that they think clearly and logically. Or we can say that someone has a mathematical mind– they are naturally good at maths. Or we can say about someone“ she has a mind of her own” – that means, she thinks for herself, she does not just accept what other people say.

We also use“ mind” as a verb. To mind something means to be aware of something, to be careful about something, to“ have it in your mind”. If you have visited London, I am sure you have travelled on the Underground and seen the signs or heard the loudspeaker announcements which tell you to“ mind the gap”. There is often a gap between the railway carriage and the station platform. If you“ mind the gap”, you think about the gap and take care when you get on or off the train. If you don’t mind the gap, you may trip or fall and hurt yourself.

You can mind other things as well– children, for example, or animals. Joanne has a friend called Susan. Susan looks after small children in her own home while their parents are at work. She plays with the children, she feeds them, and she takes them for a walk to the park and to the shops. She is what we call a“ childminder”.

If we say“ mind out” to someone, we mean“ be careful”. When Susan takes her group of little children for a walk, they need to cross the road. She holds the children by the hand and says to them, “ Mind out, in case a car is coming”.

Kevin, you may remember, is into1980 s punk rock. One of his favourite bands is playing at a gig on Saturday. He asks Joanne if she would like to go to hear them. “ No way“, says Joanne, who thinks that listening to1980 s punk rock is a form of torture. “ Do you mind if I go with George?” asks Kevin. He means, does it cause you any problems if I go to the gig with George? And Joanne says, “ No, of course I don’t mind”.

And then there is the expression, “ to make up your mind”. This means, simply, to decide to do something. If I make up my mind to sell my old car, it means that I have decided to sell my car. Joanne’s friend Susan, the childminder, is always dithering. She cannot decide what to do. Should she wear a red jumper or a blue jumper. Should she read a book or watch television. Should she take a bus or walk. She cannot decide. Joanne sometimes says to her, “ For goodness sake, make up your mind!” That means, “ Stop wasting time– just decide what to do and do it!”

And finally, let’s meet the expression“ to change your mind”. If I decide to do something, but then I decide to do something else instead, I“ change my mind”. Kevin has saved up some money and has made up his mind to buy an iPod. It is exactly what he needs to listen to his collection of1980 s punk rock music on the train. But on his way to the iPod shop, he passes a shoe shop. In the window there is a pair of green suede shoes. They are, thinks Kevin, the finest, the most beautiful green suede shoes in the whole world. Suddenly, he is in love with the shoes. He decides to buy the shoes and not the iPod. He“ changes his mind”.