In Which I Am Unsurprisingly Sidetracked by the English Language (Non-Specified Pronouns)
I set out to make a blog about Cantonese and my life in Hong Kong. Today's post is not exactly about that since I want to tackle an English language topic. BUT, I am an English teacher/tutor in Hong Kong, so I guess I am still talking about my life. And this is a language topic (although the language is not Cantonese). And it is my blog. So what if I want to talk about strawberry tarts instead of egg tarts?
I am writing this post because this week I was shocked and surprised to find that the mighty internet doesn't seem to have much on the topic of non-specified pronouns.
Considering that most of you have probably not reached the same level of language nerdiness as I have, and also considering that my coworkers and I just made up this word, I am guessing that the majority of you won't know what I mean by a non-specified pronoun. A pronoun is a word that stands in for specific nouns (he, she, it, etc.). Non-specified means that you don't know who or what that pronoun is standing in for (yes, I ended a sentence with a preposition!).
Let's rewind.
I teach a few adult classes. A lot of these students have come from more formal, textbook-based classes and want to focus more on speaking, slang, and culture (things that are often skipped in formal lessons). Knowing this, I purposefully try to bring up vocab or phrases that are often not taught in other kinds of classes.
Last week, I wanted to talk about words like "so-and-so" or "such-and-such" in class, so I tried searching the internet for more examples. To my shock and horror, I couldn't find a single list of these kinds of words! In fact, I couldn't even figure out what they were called. I asked two of my coworkers for help, and they also came up empty.
Our first problem was even defining the words. I wanted to call them "filler words" but a quick Google search let me know that filler words was already taken (for words like "um" and "like"). We decided they must be pronouns since you use them as a replacement for other words that we don't know or don't want to say. But because you don't know or are hiding the specific noun, we decided they must be called non-specified pronouns.
Considering that it was so hard for three native English speakers, teachers no less, to try to search for these words, it must be very difficult for an English learner to find any information on them. So, dear readers, I will lay a few out for you here.
This list is a work in progress, so feel free to comment with other suggestions of words to add!
So-and-so: This is used in place of a person's name that you don't know or in place of a random person
Example: "She was talking to Mr. So-and-so when Jason walked in."
Such-and-such: A pronoun for information that is not decided yet or is unknown.
Example: "If you have an interview at such-and-such a time, be sure to get there early."
Whatsisname (What's his name)/Whatsisface (What's his face): These are both used when you have forgotten a person's name, sometimes when you are asking the other person to supply the name. The words are often contracted so it sounds like one word. Can also be what's her name or what's her face.
Example: "We went last year with whatsisname. The guy who plays accordion and owns a boat."
Whatchamacallit (What do you call it): A pronoun for items that you have forgotten the name of.
Example: "She was selling those whatchamacallits, those garlic presses."
XYZ: This is either a stand-in for a name or a list of things that happened.
Examples: "If you are talking to XYZ Furniture Company" or "Tell him he needs to do xyz before he applies again."
Blah, blah, blah: Substitute for speech that is too long or too boring to relay in a story.
Example: "She always says I need to work harder, be more serious, blah, blah, blah."
Beep/Bleep: Pronouns to replace a curse word when you are quoting someone or something but don't want to curse yourself. Can also be bleepity bleep to describe general cursing. Trying to imitate the sound of censors on tv.
Example: "He said to get the beep out of there or he'd beeping break our heads."
Doodad/Doohickey/Thingamajig/Thingamabob: Things, especially gadgets, that you don't know the name of.
Example: "Why don't you hand me that fancy doodad."
What: A substitute for words that you didn't catch when a person was talking. Repeat the sentence inserting the "what" in place of the word you didn't hear. Other question words (who, which, etc.) can also be used depending on the sentence.
Example: "Wait, he said what to his mother?"
That's all I can think of for now. Let me know if you can think of any others!
I am writing this post because this week I was shocked and surprised to find that the mighty internet doesn't seem to have much on the topic of non-specified pronouns.
Considering that most of you have probably not reached the same level of language nerdiness as I have, and also considering that my coworkers and I just made up this word, I am guessing that the majority of you won't know what I mean by a non-specified pronoun. A pronoun is a word that stands in for specific nouns (he, she, it, etc.). Non-specified means that you don't know who or what that pronoun is standing in for (yes, I ended a sentence with a preposition!).
Let's rewind.
I teach a few adult classes. A lot of these students have come from more formal, textbook-based classes and want to focus more on speaking, slang, and culture (things that are often skipped in formal lessons). Knowing this, I purposefully try to bring up vocab or phrases that are often not taught in other kinds of classes.
Last week, I wanted to talk about words like "so-and-so" or "such-and-such" in class, so I tried searching the internet for more examples. To my shock and horror, I couldn't find a single list of these kinds of words! In fact, I couldn't even figure out what they were called. I asked two of my coworkers for help, and they also came up empty.
Our first problem was even defining the words. I wanted to call them "filler words" but a quick Google search let me know that filler words was already taken (for words like "um" and "like"). We decided they must be pronouns since you use them as a replacement for other words that we don't know or don't want to say. But because you don't know or are hiding the specific noun, we decided they must be called non-specified pronouns.
Considering that it was so hard for three native English speakers, teachers no less, to try to search for these words, it must be very difficult for an English learner to find any information on them. So, dear readers, I will lay a few out for you here.
This list is a work in progress, so feel free to comment with other suggestions of words to add!
So-and-so: This is used in place of a person's name that you don't know or in place of a random person
Example: "She was talking to Mr. So-and-so when Jason walked in."
Such-and-such: A pronoun for information that is not decided yet or is unknown.
Example: "If you have an interview at such-and-such a time, be sure to get there early."
Whatsisname (What's his name)/Whatsisface (What's his face): These are both used when you have forgotten a person's name, sometimes when you are asking the other person to supply the name. The words are often contracted so it sounds like one word. Can also be what's her name or what's her face.
Example: "We went last year with whatsisname. The guy who plays accordion and owns a boat."
Whatchamacallit (What do you call it): A pronoun for items that you have forgotten the name of.
Example: "She was selling those whatchamacallits, those garlic presses."
XYZ: This is either a stand-in for a name or a list of things that happened.
Examples: "If you are talking to XYZ Furniture Company" or "Tell him he needs to do xyz before he applies again."
Blah, blah, blah: Substitute for speech that is too long or too boring to relay in a story.
Example: "She always says I need to work harder, be more serious, blah, blah, blah."
Beep/Bleep: Pronouns to replace a curse word when you are quoting someone or something but don't want to curse yourself. Can also be bleepity bleep to describe general cursing. Trying to imitate the sound of censors on tv.
Example: "He said to get the beep out of there or he'd beeping break our heads."
Doodad/Doohickey/Thingamajig/Thingamabob: Things, especially gadgets, that you don't know the name of.
Example: "Why don't you hand me that fancy doodad."
What: A substitute for words that you didn't catch when a person was talking. Repeat the sentence inserting the "what" in place of the word you didn't hear. Other question words (who, which, etc.) can also be used depending on the sentence.
Example: "Wait, he said what to his mother?"
That's all I can think of for now. Let me know if you can think of any others!
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