Go by
Today’s expression is “go by.” If you’re a Plain English Plus+ member, you might remember that we did a video lesson on “go by,” but in that lesson we were talking about time. Today, we’re talking about things, usually modes of transportation.
Here’s how you heard it in today’s main lesson. Hotels are restricting elevators to just a single person or a single family. Unfortunately, if you’re on your way to the lobby, you could find that the elevator car that arrives is full. You’d have to watch the doors open, watch them close, and then press the button again. The next elevator that comes might also be full. You wouldn’t be able to get on. In fact, you might have to watch a few elevators go by before you can get on one.
In this sense, when something goes by, it passes you and you don’t have the opportunity to get in or get on. We often use this when talking about modes of transportation. An elevator is your way to get down to the lobby. Even before COVID, I sometimes had to wait as several full elevator cars went by, but that was only during the busiest times in my office.
It was much more common to watch trains go by without getting on. On certain transit lines in Chicago, the trains fill up before they get to downtown. The people who live closer to downtown sometimes have to watch one, two, or even three trains go by before they can get on.
Sometimes a bus stop serves more than one bus route. For example, you might want to get on the Madison bus in downtown Chicago. But many bus stops on Madison Street also serve the Milwaukee Avenue bus, the Navy Pier bus, the Streeterville bus, and some others. So you might be waiting there on a freezing cold day, but you might have to watch two or three buses go by before you get on yours—because those buses are not the right route.
Picture a busy road near your house. You might say, “A lot of cars go by here every day.” Just like the elevator, and just like the packed trains, you’re not getting in those cars. They are passing without letting you on. A lot of cars go by here every day.
In the state of Illinois, we have toll roads, and on the toll roads the state maintains rest areas. There’s an old style of rest area which is a building over the top of the highway. It serves traffic in both directions and the building is itself almost like a bridge over the highway. The best feature of these rest stops is that you can sit on a chair in front of these huge windows and watch the traffic go by on the interstate highway below.
When I was a kid in New Jersey, I used to love watching the trains go by at the train station. I loved trains when I was a kid! I could sit there and watch them go by every day.
You can also use it for events. For example, a parade can pass by your house. A road race or a bike race can pass by, things like that.
JR’s song of the week
It’s Thursday and as always, JR has selected a song of the week. It’s called “Blood Red Sentimental Blues” by Cotton Jones, and it’s in the series, “In the Dark,” which takes place in Chicago. JR loves watching shows filmed in places he knows well, so he liked that show. And the song is good, too. It’s kind of mellow. When you have “the blues”, it means you’re sad. So check out that song—and remember, you can access it from your dashboard if you’re a Free or Plus+ member.
See you next time!
And that is all for today. Thanks for joining us again. As for me, it was nice to get away, but definitely good to be back in my routine, back behind the microphone sharing new lessons with all of you.
Remember, if you’re a Plain English Plus+ member, I included an extra bit of fast audio for you, telling you more about the trip I took to Yellowstone and my experience, including a bit of what the hotels were like. So check that out in the fast feed; I’ll also post a link to the audio in the forums.
If you’re not yet a Plain English Plus+ member, you can always join by visiting PlainEnglish.com/Plus and right away, you can start enjoying all the additional features, including the video lessons, the fast version of the audio, bonus courses, translations, and more. PlainEnglish.com/Plus
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