Feifei Hello, and welcome to The English We Speak, with me, Feifei…
Neil ..and me, Neil.
Feifei Hey, Neil. Would you like to try this new coconut smoothie I bought from that new cafe?
Neil Coconut? Yuk, I hate coconut!
Feifei Oh, right.
Neil In fact, I hate that new cafe. It’s too expensive.
Feifei But it’s good quality, and the staff are very pleasant. They always smile and say ‘hello’.
Neil I hate talking to people in the morning.
Feifei Oh dear, Neil – you’re very negative. ‘Hate’ is a very strong word. You’re a perfect example of a ‘hater’. This describes a negative person who dislikes someone or something – but not everything, unlike you, Neil! Let’s hear from some other ‘haters’…
Examples I’m a real hater of restaurants adding a fixed service charge to the bill. Why can’t I choose how much to tip?
My wife’s a hater of horror films, so we had to go and see a romcom at the cinema instead!
Feifei So those are examples of ‘haters’ – negative people who dislike someone or something, and sometimes without good reason - like Neil.
Neil I hate it when you call me names! But, Feifei, I am allowed to dislike things and I’m not as bad as modern ‘haters’. These are people who write unpleasant things about someone on the internet, like this…
Example I wish I had ignored the haters who criticised my acting career on my blog. It’s really knocked my confidence.
Feifei Not nice! That’s an example of a ‘hater’ who writes unpleasant things about someone on the internet.
Neil Someone like this often criticises someone unfairly, or without good reason. It can be very discouraging. Don’t you just hate those kinds of people, Feifei?
Feifei I do, but sometimes it’s best just to ignore it.
Neil Yes. Anyway, Feifei, I know what I don’t hate – a nice cup of tea. Do you fancy making me one? …Oh, you’re ignoring me now. I hate it when you do that!
Feifei Bye, Neil.
** Neil** Oh, bye. Alright. Shall I put the kettle on?