Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[stevenukd]

Dear Teachers,

1. I think your friends will stop making in fun of you for bad haircuts.
- What does �make in fun of you� mean?

2. I don�t care about her having a boyfriend.
- Is this natural?

3. Get the hell away from me.
- This means �stay away from me�, right? But this is pretty rude, right?

4. I need some input on a very difficult situation.
- What does �input� mean here?

Thanks a lot to Teachers,

Stevenukd

[LucentShade]

1. I think your friends will stop making in fun of you for bad haircuts.
- What does �make in fun of you� mean?
It should be "making fun of you." and it means to tease, redicule, insult, or make jokes about (something).

2. I don�t care about her having a boyfriend.
- Is this natural?
I see no problem with it.

3. Get the hell away from me.
- This means �stay away from me�, right? But this is pretty rude, right?
Almost. You would say "get the hell away from me" to someone who is near you (because you want them to move away). You'd say "stay the hell away from me" if someone is not close to you, and you don't want them to come any closer. You're right that it's rude--it's common to add "the hell" to phrases to make them stronger, but it's a rude thing to say.
"I don't know what you're talking about." vs. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about!" (The placement of "the hell" is idiomatic, and doesn't really follow any rules.)

4. I need some input on a very difficult situation.
- What does �input� mean here?
input=advice, counseling, ideas -- it's similar to "input" for a computer, only it goes into a person's mind instead.

[Anuradha Chepur]

You can also use the plural here: I need some inputs on this.