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Hung Up – Mini-Story Lesson

Hi, I’m Joe Weiss and I’m one of the teachers and directors of Learn Real English and I’d like to welcome you to this mini-story lesson. In this lesson, I’m going to teach you some phrases that sound similar but have very different meanings. So this may be a challenging lesson for you, but I know you’re going to learn a lot in it. So let me start by telling you about the phrases. I have five phrases for you. The first one is not necessarily an idiom but the last four are.

So, let me start with the first phrase. The first phrase is to “hang up something.” So if you hang up something it just means that you hang that thing. Here’s an example. John hangs up his coat in the closet. So what I’m saying is John hangs his coat in the closet. He puts his coat in the closet and he hangs it. Maybe he hangs it on a hanger, maybe he hangs it on a hook that’s attached to the wall. Okay, he doesn’t put it on the floor of the closet, he hangs it. John hangs up his coat or you could say John hangs his coat up. They mean the same thing.

Okay, let’s continue with our next one. That is to be “hung up on a person”. To be hung up on someone. If you are hung up on someone, it means that you think about that person. You think about that person a lot. You maybe even think about them for an unreasonable amount of time but the reason you think about the person is because you’re in love with the person or you’re obsessed by the person, okay? Once again, let me repeat this one, it’s to be hung up on someone. Here’s an example for you. After John met Mary at the bar, he was hung up on her. Okay, so what I’m saying is after John met Mary at the bar, he thought about Mary a lot. He thought about her for an unreasonable amount of time because he was in love with her, okay? He was hung up on her.

Next is to “have a hang up about something.” If you have a hang up about something, it means that you’re afraid or you’re nervous or you’re embarrassed about that thing. Here’s an example for you. John had a hang up about speaking Spanish. So what I’m saying is John was nervous about speaking Spanish or he was afraid to speak Spanish or he was embarrassed when he spoke Spanish. John had a hang up about speaking Spanish.

Okay, next is one that you might already know. It’s to hang up on another person. So if you hang up on another person, it means you end the phone call with that person. But it means that you end the phone call suddenly and unexpectedly. The person does not expect you to be ending the phone call, okay? So it means to hang up. To hang up means to end a phone call suddenly and unexpectedly, to hang up on someone. Here’s an example for you. Mary hung up on Mark because Mark was being rude. Okay, so what I’m saying is Mary suddenly and unexpectedly ended the phone conversation with Mark because Mark was being rude. She hung up on Mark.

Okay, so I have one more for you and this one is to “get hung up.” Now if you get hung up, it means that you’re delayed for some amount of time, okay? You are later than you expected, okay? Let me give you an example and I think that you’ll understand this one a lot better. John got hung up while he was at work so he was late for dinner. John was delayed at work. He left work later than he expected or he stayed at work later than he expected. He was delayed for some amount of time at work so he was late for dinner. He was hung up, he was hung up at work or he was hung up while at work, okay?

Alright, so now I’m going to tell you a story and in the story I’m going to include all five of those phrases. And as I ask you the story…or as I tell you the story, I’m going to ask you a lot of questions. So when I ask you a question, I just want you to answer the question quickly.

Don’t think too much about it and don’t worry about making a mistake because mistakes are okay as long as you learn from them. And when you answer these questions, I want you to speak loudly and confidently. Alright, well it’s time for our story, so let’s begin.

There was a man and his name was Ricky and Ricky was a lawyer. And one day after work Ricky went home, he took off his jacket and he put it in the oven. Yes, he did not hang up his jacket in the closet. He put his jacket in the oven. You see, Ricky did a lot of crazy things that day because he was hung up on a woman. Ricky was hung on a woman named Kristina.

Okay, time for some questions. Was Ricky a lawyer or a doctor?

He was a lawyer, of course, Ricky was a lawyer.

Who was a lawyer?

Ricky was, Ricky was a lawyer.

And tell me this. After Ricky left work, did he go home?

He did, yes, Ricky went home after he left work.

Who went home after he left work?

Ricky did, Ricky went home after he left work.

Tell me this. Where did Ricky go after he left work?

Home, Ricky went home after he left work.

Okay, so tell me this now. When did Ricky go home? Did he go home after he left church or after he left work?

After he left work, Ricky went home after he left work.

So tell me this. Did Ricky put his jacket in the closet? Did he hang up his jacket in the closet?

No, Ricky did not hang up his jacket in the closet. He did not hang his jacket in the closet.

Where did Ricky put his jacket?

In the oven, Ricky put his jacket in the oven.

Who put his jacket in the oven?

Ricky did, Ricky put his jacket in the oven.

And what did Ricky put in the oven? Did he put a pizza in the oven?

No, no, Ricky did not put a pizza in the oven.

What did Ricky put in the oven?

His jacket, Ricky put his jacket in the oven.

Was Ricky hung up on a woman?

Yes, yes, Ricky was hung up on a woman.

Who was hung up on a woman?

Ricky was, Ricky was hung up on a woman.

And who was Ricky hung up on? What was the name of the woman? Who was Ricky hung up on?

Kristina, Ricky was hung up on a woman named Kristina or you could say Ricky was hung up on Kristina.

Okay, so one more question before we continue with the story. Why did Ricky do a lot of crazy things that day?

Well, he did a lot of crazy things that day because he was hung up on a woman named Kristina. He was hung up on Kristina.

Well, I want to tell you some more about both Ricky and Kristina. Ricky was from Spain and his first language was Spanish. And Kristina was from America and her first language was English. And Kristina was unable to speak Spanish but Ricky knew how to speak English. Yes, Ricky knew how to speak English well but unfortunately he was not confident enough to speak English. So Ricky had a problem. Ricky wanted to talk to Kristina but he was afraid to talk to Kristina. Ricky was afraid to talk to Kristina because he had a hang up about speaking English.

Okay, time for some more questions. Where was Ricky from? Was he from Poland?

No, no, Ricky wasn’t from Poland.

Where was Ricky from?

Spain, Ricky was from Spain.

And was Kristina from Spain also?

No, Kristina was not from Spain.

Where was Kristina from?

America, Kristina was from America.

And was Ricky’s first language Polish or Spanish?

Spanish, Ricky’s first language was Spanish.

Whose first language was Spanish?

Ricky, Ricky’s first language was Spanish.

And what was Kristina’s first language?

English, Kristina’s first language was English.

So tell me this now. Was Kristina able to speak Spanish?

No, no, Kristina was unable to speak Spanish.

And what language was Kristina unable to speak?

Spanish, she was unable to speak Spanish.

So now tell me this. Did Ricky know how to speak English well?

Yes, yes, he did, Ricky knew how to speak English well.

Who knew how to speak English well?

Ricky did, Ricky knew how to speak English well.

And what did Ricky know how to do well?

Well, he knew how to speak English well. He knew how to speak English well but he wasn’t confident enough to speak English.

So tell me this. Did Ricky have a hang up about speaking English?

Yes, yes, he did, Ricky had a hang up about speaking English.

Did Kristina have a hang up about speaking English?

No, no, Kristina didn’t have a hang up about speaking English, Ricky did. Ricky had a hang up about speaking English.

And what did Ricky have a hang up about?

Speaking English, Ricky had a hang up about speaking English.

So tell me this. Was Ricky nervous or afraid or embarrassed about speaking English?

Yes, he had a hang up about it so that means he was nervous about it or he was afraid to do it or he was embarrassed to do it. He had a hang up about speaking English.

So one last question before we continue with this story. Why was Ricky afraid to talk to Kristina?

Well, he was afraid to talk to Kristina because he had a hang up about speaking English.

Well, I want to tell you something else about Ricky. Ricky had a brother. Yes, he had a brother and his name was Ramon. And one day Ricky called Ramon and he told him that he was hung up on Kristina but he was afraid to talk to her. Well, when Ramon heard this he was annoyed. And he told Ricky to stop acting like a little boy and just call Kristina. And then Ramon hung up on him. Ramon hung up on Ricky because he was still annoyed.

Okay, so tell me this. Who had a brother? Did Kristina have a brother?

No, Kristina didn’t have a brother.

Who had a brother?

Ricky did, Ricky had a brother.

And what was his brother’s name?

Ramon, Ricky’s brother was named Ramon.

Was Ricky’s brother named Paul?

No, no, his brother was named Ramon. His brother was not named Paul.

So who did Ricky call? Did he call his father?

No, Ricky did not call his father.

Who did Ricky call?

He called Ramon, his brother, Ramon, and he told him that he was afraid to talk to Kristina.

So was Ricky annoyed?

No, Ricky was not annoyed.

Who was annoyed?

Ramon was, Ramon was annoyed.

And did Ramon tell Ricky to stop acting like a little boy?

He did, yes, Ramon told Ricky to stop acting like a little boy.

And tell me this, what did Ramon tell Ricky to stop doing?

Well, he told him to stop acting like a little boy, Ramon told Ricky to stop acting like a little boy and to call Kristina.

Okay, so did Ramon hang up on Ricky?

He did, yes, Ramon hung up on Ricky.

Who hung up on Ricky?

Ramon did, Ramon hung up on Ricky.

And who did Ramon hang up on? Did he hang up on Kristina?

No, Ramon did not hang up on Kristina.

Who did Ramon hang up on?

Ricky, he hung up on Ricky.

So did Ramon suddenly and unexpectedly end the phone conversation with Ricky?

Yes, yes, he did, he hung up on Ricky so that means he ended the phone conversation with Ricky and he did it suddenly and unexpectedly.

Well, that night Ricky was unable to sleep. He was unable to sleep because he was hung up on Kristina. He knew that he needed to talk to her so the next day that’s what he did. Ricky called Kristina and he asked her to go on a date with him at 7:00 on Friday and Kristina said yes. Kristina agreed to go on a date with Ricky.

Okay, time for some more questions. Who was unable to sleep? Was Ramon unable to sleep?

No, not Ramon.

Who was unable to sleep?

Ricky was, Ricky was unable to sleep.

And tell me this. What was Ricky unable to do?

Sleep, he was unable to sleep.

And why was he unable to sleep?

Well, he was unable to sleep because he was hung up on Kristina.

Who was hung up on Kristina? Ricky or Ramon?

Ricky was, Ricky was hung up on Kristina.

And who was Ricky hung up on?

Kristina, he was hung up on Kristina.

So did Ricky think about Kristina for an unreasonable amount of time because he was in love with her?

Yes, yes, Ricky was hung up on Kristina so that means he thought about Kristina. He thought about Kristina a lot. He thought about her an unreasonable amount of time because he was in love with her.

So tell me this. Was Ricky unable to sleep because he was in love with Kristina and he was thinking about her too much?

Yes, he was unable to sleep because he was hung up on Kristina so that’s the same thing as saying he was unable to sleep because he was thinking about Kristina too much because he was in love with her.

Okay, so tell me this. Who did Ricky call? Did he call his mother?

No, no, he didn’t call his mother.

Who did Ricky call?

Kristina, he called Kristina.

And did Ricky ask Kristina to go on a date with him at 7:00 on Friday?

Yes, yes, he did, Ricky asked Kristina to go on a date with him at 7:00 on Friday.

And at what time did Ricky want to go on the date with Kristina?

7:00, he wanted to go on the date with Kristina at 7:00.

And what day did he want to go on the date with Kristina, Friday or Saturday?

Friday, he asked Kristina to go on the date at 7:00 on Friday.

So what did Kristina say? Did she agree to go on the date with Ricky?

She said yes, she agreed to go on the date with Ricky.

And tell me this. What did Kristina agree to do?

She agreed to go on the date with Ricky.

Well, Ricky was very excited about his date with Kristina but unfortunately on Friday, the day of the date, there was a problem. Ricky got hung up. Yes, Ricky got hung up at work and he was one hour late for the date.

Okay, so tell me this. What was Ricky excited about? Was he excited about the basketball game?

No, he wasn’t excited about the basketball game.

What was he exited about?

The date, he was excited about his date with Kristina.

And who got hung up at work?

Ricky did, Ricky got hung up at work.

So did Ricky get delayed for some amount of time? Was he at work longer than he expected?

Yes, Ricky got hung up while he was at work so that means he was delayed while he was there. He was delayed for some amount of time or you could say he was at work longer than he expected to be. He got hung up at work.

So tell me this. Was Ricky early for his date or was he late for his date?

Late, Ricky was late for his date.

Who was late for his date?

Ricky was, of course, Ricky was late for his date.

And what was Ricky late for?

His date, Ricky was late for his date.

Well, Ricky arrived at Kristina’s house at 8:00, one hour late for the date. But just 10 seconds after he arrived, Kristina arrived. You see, Kristina was also one hour late for the date. She was one hour late because she also got hung up at work.

Okay, well, that’s the end of our story. I hope you enjoyed it because now I want you to tell the story. I want you to tell the story to someone who you know. And when you tell the story, I want you to make sure you include all five of the phrases that I taught you at the beginning of this lesson. I want you to learn these phrases very well. I want you to learn the material deeply.

That’s why I want you to listen to this lesson every day for at least seven days. Now this is a challenging lesson so you may need to listen to the material even longer to really learn it deeply. In this case, more is better. Okay, if you listen to it more, it’s even better because you’ll learn the material even deeper.

Alright, well, that’s all for this mini-story lesson. I’ll see you next time.