For many of you, thinking about learning English might give you a headache. You probably think of it as a boring and difficult task to do. However, by watching movies or dramas in English, which are filmed in English speaking countries, you can upgrade your English level while having fun. In this article, let us look at the American romantic comedy movie, “He’s just NOT that into you.”

If you are a big fan of romantic comedy movies, you must have watched this film. After the huge success of “Love Actually” which cinematized several love stories between people, an uncountable number of movies that deal with love and dating have came out and this movie is one of them. The main flow of this film is about women figuring out where the real love is, when men are sending the wrong signals to them. Most of the conversations in this movie are easy and practical. Here are some useful idioms and expressions from the movie and examples of using them in real life.

Situation At the beginning part of the movie, Gigi (one of the main female characters) narrates the scene where a boy pushes the girl.


    Gigi: A girl will never forget the first boy she likes. Even if things don’t quite work out. But usually someone is there to offer words of wisdom.
    Mother: (To her daughter who is crying because of the boy’s mischief) Do you know why that little boy did those things and said those things? It’s because he’s got a crush on you.
    Gigi: And there it is. That’s the beginning of our problem. We’re all encouraged, no, programmed to believe that if a guy acts like a total jerk, it means he likes you.

Work out: 일이 잘 풀리다 / Mischief: 심한 장난질 /
crush on: 반하다, 좋아하다 / Jerk: 바보, 얼간이



The idiom “work out” has two representative meanings. In this situation, it means accomplish something successfully. The other meaning is to exercise. “Have a crush on someone” means to have romantic feelings for someone and a love interest toward them (but you are not in a relationship with them). Here is an example conversation of using those two idioms.

A: What is going on with your life these days?
B: Do you remember the girl from the class that I had a crush on? My plan of becoming close to her is not quite working out.
A: Oh, that’s too bad.



Situation Conor asks Anna if she wants to hang out with him.

    Conor: Listen, I was wondering if you wanted to grab a late bite.
    Anna: Tonight? I… No, I was supposed to meet friends but I’m burnt-out. Don’t be mad at me.
    Conor: No, of course, I’m not mad. Well, I’ll be up for a while.

Grab a late bite: 야식을 먹다 / Burnt-out: 극도로 피곤한, 다 타버린 /Be up: 깨어있는

An easy way of saying ‘Have a late-night snack’, is ‘grab a late bite’. In response to Conor’s suggestion, Anna makes an excuse saying that she is ‘burnt-out’. The phrase ‘Burnt-out’ emphasizes the condition of being exhausted. It can also mean ‘something has been damaged by fire and cannot be used again’. The state of being awake can be turned into the expression ‘be up’. Here is an example of these in a conversation:

A: Nathan! Are you up? It’s almost past ten! You need to get up!
B: Mom, can I stay in bed for just ten minutes? I’m burnt-out…
A: No, you got to get up. It’s because you stayed up late last night, grabbing a late bite.


Situation Gigi misunderstands a signal from Alex, and thinks that he has a crush on her.

    Alex: Gigi, what have I been saying since I met you? If a guy wants to date you, he will make it happen, okay? He will ask you out. Did I ask you out?
    Gigi: No.
    Alex: Why do women do this? Build up this stuff in their minds, take each little thing a guy does, and then twist it into something else? It’s insane.
    Gigi: I’d rather be like that than be like you.

Ask someone out: ~에게 데이트 신청하다 / Insane:정신 이상의, 미친

This conversation clearly shows the message this movie is trying to say, as it has been shown in the title. Women have a tendency of interpreting a guy’s message in their own way. So Alex is trying to say that a man is going to ask someone for a date, if he really wants her. When asking someone for a date, the term ‘ask out’ is widely used in real life.

A: You look so excited. What is going on?
B: Michael asked me out! It makes me happy to even just think about the fact that we are going to have date!

Situation Alex is obsessively checking his phone, waiting for Gigi to call. His co-worker Kelli Ann notices this and questions him about it.

    Kelli Ann: What’s her name?
    Alex: Who?
    Kelli Ann: The girl... Alex.
    Alex: There’s no girl.
    Kelli Ann: You can’t hide it, man. I know strung out, sted in him, so he is acting nervous like someone addicted to something. ‘Strung out’ also has the meaning of ‘spread out in a line.’
    Here’s a simple example:


A: She looks so awful! What is wrong with her?
B: She is strung out because of a fight with her boyfriend.


There is a famous saying that ‘If you want to learn a certain language, the best way to do it is to go out with someone who speaks that language’. By watching a romantic comedy movie, which makes you feel like you are in love with or are one of the characters in the movie, it can have the indirect effect of feeling like you are going out with someone who speaks English. You can practice useful terms and expressions which cannot be learned by studying books. I hope you can enjoy learning English by using this method!
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