AFRAID NOT does NOT mean NOT AFRAID

(Yes, English is confusing!)

You don't teach us real English, a student complained one day in class.

What do you mean? I asked.

Well you taught us to say, "May I leave the room" (to go to the bathroom) but people don't really say that!

No? What do they say?

Well, at work, they just say: "I gotta go," he replied.

He had a point. There are so many ways to say the same thing. In class one expression might be appropriate, while at work it might be something else.

Another confusing problem - for students learning English - are expressions that don't really mean what they say. Once in class after a test was over, a student came up to me.

Can I do the test again? she asked.

I'm afraid not, I replied.

A look of confusion crossed her face, so I explained: It wouldn't be fair to your classmates if you did the test again now that you have already seen the questions...

Yes, I understand, she replied. But I don't understand why you are afraid ... or not afraid.

Not afraid?! - "I'm afraid not" doesn't mean "I'm not afraid," I tried to explain. "I'm afraid" in this sentence means: I'm going to give you bad news! It's the same as saying"I'm sorry but no"...I guess "I'm afraid" prepares you for hearing bad news!

Oh...

Another time a student came to class with a puzzled look on his face.

Why does the cashier in the supermarket tell me to go when I buy something? he asked.

He tells you to go?! Really? That doesn't sound right. What does he say?

I think he says: "Go you go," he replied. He gives me my money and he says, "Go you go..."

He gives you your money?

Yes, my change, after I buy something.

Is he angry?

No - he is smiling.

After racking my brain for a minute, it occurred to me that the cashier might be saying: There you go!

What does that mean? my student asked.

Well, it doesn't really mean anything... It just means he is finished serving you.

Different ways of saying the same thing - but in different settings? Expressions that convey feeling or closure rather than literal meaning?!

No wonder English language learners feel alienated from the "real" language they hear outside the classroom!