Have a history of
Today’s English expression is “to have a history of” something. This simply means that someone has done something before. Often, it means someone has a pattern of doing something and often—not always, but often—that thing isn’t good. And when we use “have a history of,” we either use it with a noun or with an -ing verb.
Let’s start with the -ing verb. In today’s lesson, you learned that a panel of scientific experts concluded that American diplomats abroad were targeted by pulsed electromagnetic waves. This is a weapon (probably) that sends microwaves into a person’s body, with the intent of harming the person. The panel studying the disease didn’t say who was responsible. However, other analysts have pointed out that Russia has a history of investigating this type of weapon.
When they say that “Russia has a history of investigating” this type of weapon, it means that Russia has investigated this weapon in the past.
The Mets are a baseball team in New York. And the Mets have a history of playing well in the beginning of the year and then collapsing at the end of the year. They’ve done this multiple times before.
Since we’re reflecting on past lessons today, let’s talk about Twitter. When Elon Musk first offered to buy Twitter for $54.20 cents per share, a 38 percent premium to where they had recently been trading, many people didn’t take him seriously. That’s because Elon Musk has a history of trolling people. He has a history of making statements that are designed to get a reaction and he doesn’t really care if it offends people, wastes peoples time, causes them stress, or whatever; in fact, that’s kind of the point.
For example, he once said he would take Tesla private and that he had the money to do so. That wasn’t true or even close to true and these false statements were against the law. Now, whenever he tweets about Tesla, a lawyer has to review the tweets. So when he said he would buy Twitter—which is not even in his industry—most people didn’t know what to think. Then, as you heard, he came up with the money. I guess it was real?
Maybe not. A week later, he said he might not buy Twitter after all. This is after he signed a contract to do so and after he got legitimate Wall Street banks to lend him the money and after lawyers and bankers spent their whole Easter and Passover weekends working on this deal. Now Musk says he might not do it, basically for no legitimate reason at all. This, too, is not surprising. He has a history of breaking rules and a history of wasting people’s time.
Elon Musk, we must admit, also has a history of exceeding expectations. He started an electric car company from scratch . And he started a private space flight company that did send tourists into space. Just one of these things would be a crowning achievement for a very successful businessperson; Musk not only did both those things, but he also has a company that digs tunnels for trains and might introduce a new form of public transportation. So as frustrating as he is personally, I wouldn’t bet against Elon Musk because he has a history of doing great things in business.
The majority of the time, we use “have a history of” in this way, with an -ing verb after it. But you can also use it with a noun, if that thing figures in someone’s past. For example, you can say Elon Musk has a history of success in business. Success is the thing that is in his past.
Do you remember the Calm Line in Bogotá ? We talked about it in Lesson 415 . This is a telephone hotline for men who have a history of anger or domestic violence. It’s for men who have had problems with anger, jealousy, or violence in the past. And the calm line helps them deal with the emotions that caused their behavior in the first place.
If a restaurant has a history of health code violations, don’t go there. If a delivery service has a history of arriving late, maybe you go to the restaurant yourself. If your boss has a history of treating you disrespectfully, maybe look for a new job. If an employee has a history of quality work, then give that employee a raise.
JR’s song of the week
Speaking of someone who deserves a raise…JR has a history of selecting just the right song of the week, and boy did he do so again this week. I’m recording this in mid-May, a little early because of my vacation, and it’s really really hot in Chicago—90 degrees Fahrenheit is 32 degrees Celsius. And that’s unusual for us in May. It gets that hot in July and August, but usually not May.
Anyway, JR’s song this week is “T-Shirt Weather” by the Lucksmiths. “This sunshine’s making me dizzy,” they sing. Then: “It’s the first hint of sunshine for a week or so, I’d say.” And that’s exactly what it feels like for me. I like the warm weather, having my windows open, sitting on my porch. And I just love the first time it feels nice and warm. So I love it when t-shirt weather arrives. And so JR’s song this week, “T-Shirt Weather” by the Lucksmiths just fits my mood perfectly.
See you next time!
That’s all for today’s Plain English. It’s fun to take a walk down memory lane and revisit some of the topics we talked about in the past. But onward and upward—next week we’ll jump back into some brand new topics.
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Use realistic expressions like a native speaker
