Hi, I’m Sarah, welcome to The Daily English Show.

Today we’re studying a scene from the movie Silver Linings Playbook. This movie came out in 2012. Have you seen it? I really like it.

I think it’s quite an interesting movie to study in terms of language and communication because the two main characters both have mental issues that cause them to struggle with communication. For example, they often come across as quite rude, such as in this scene, when they’re having dinner with Tiffany’s sister and her husband who’s Pat’s friend.

During the meal, all of a sudden Tiffany stands up and says to Pat: “Are you gonna walk me home or what?”

Have you heard this phrase or what before?

If you see a beautiful work of art and you take a photo and show your friend, you might say: Is this amazing or what?

In that sentence, the or what is a rhetorical question used to add more force or to emphasize your point that you think the artwork’s amazing.

When Tiffany says, “Are you gonna walk me home or what?” she’s also adding emphasis to the tone of what she’s saying which is quite demanding and aggressive.

Saying are you gonna walk me home? is rude. But adding or what? is even ruder.

If you’re in a situation when you’re annoyed and you want to express your annoyance, you could add or what to the end of your sentence.

Let’s imagine that a service you’re using is broken and you’re on the phone with customer service and you’re getting increasingly frustrated with their appalling service, eventually you might lose your calm composure and say: So, are you actually going to fix it, or what?

Back to what Tiffany said: “Are you gonna walk me home, or what?” How do you think could she have said that nicely?

Here are a few ways:

Do you mind walking me home?
Would you be able to walk me home?
Could I ask you to walk me home?
Can you please walk me home?

Kia ora in Stick News today a university in England is planning to hire a professor of Lego.

The University of Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world.
Lego was invented in Denmark in 1949 and is now one of the world’s most powerful brands.
The Lego Foundation recently donated £4 million to the University of Cambridge.
The University is now creating a new role within the Faculty of Education.
The Lego professor is expected to start work in October this year.

And that was Stick News for Tuesday the 30th of June.
Kia ora.

I went to Cambridge.
When can you start?

Ow!

We need your help getting the toddlers off Instagram to play with our bricks.

Good morning class. Let’s start by sorting our blocks into piles.

He said he graduated from Cambridge …

Today’s word is inappropriate.

After Tiffany says: “Are you gonna walk me home or what?” Pat says: “You have poor social skills. You have a problem.”

And Tiffany says: “I have a problem? You say more inappropriate things than appropriate things. You scare people.”

So what is an appropriate thing to say and what is an inappropriate thing to say?

Well, it depends on the situation. And that’s what inappropriate means: not suitable or appropriate in a particular situation.

Watch the scene here.

Tiffany: Are you gonna walk me home or what?

Pat: You mean me?

Tiffany: Yeah, you. Are you gonna walk me home?

Pat: You have poor social skills. You have a problem.

Tiffany: I have a problem?

Pat: Mm-hmm.

Tiffany: You say more inappropriate things than appropriate things. You scare people.

Pat: I tell the truth. But you’re … you’re mean.

Tiffany: What? I’m not telling the truth?

And that was The Daily English Show. I hope you enjoyed today’s show.
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See you tomorrow. Bye!

Today’s ending was filmed in Auckland, New Zealand on Wednesday 17th June 2015.

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