Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[zeppy]

From the below context ,"Sounds like a date to me" here means
I feel like this situation can be regarded as a date for me as what I understand
or this sounds like a date that ever happened with me ?

thanks folks !

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Monica: There's nothing to tell! He's just some guy I work with!

Joey: C'mon, you're going out with the guy! There's gotta be something wrong with him!

Chandler: All right Joey, be nice. So does he have a hump? A hump and a hairpiece?

Phoebe: Wait, does he eat chalk?

(They all stare, bemused.)

Phoebe: Just, 'cause, I don't want her to go through what I went through with Carl- oh!

Monica: Okay, everybody relax. This is not even a date. It's just two people going out to dinner and- not having sex.

Chandler: Sounds like a date to me.

[bud]

Good job, Zeppy! Your first choice is the correct meaning. Chandler is saying: "I feel like this situation can be regarded as a date, for what I understand a date to be."

[zeppy]

gotcha. thanks for your kindly reply.

[nihonniikitai]

Sorry Bud, but I disagree with your reply to Zeppy about "friend" Chandler's "Sounds like a date to me !" This is a perfect example of English verbal humour, which is very very difficult for most new English learners to understand.......it depends entirely on the double meaning of an English word - in this case "date". When Chandler says that sentence, it is funny because, to most people "going out with" and "dating" between two people usually means doing things together, like movies, dinners, studying, hangin' out, having sex, and all the things two people can do together. That's why the girl (was it Rachel, I forget...) says "It's not even a date, it's just two people ging out for dinner, and not having sex." So when Chandler says it sounds like a date to him, it means that he ALWAYS goes out wit a girl "friend" for dinner, movies, etc., but NEVER has sex, so that situation sounds like every "date" he has ever had (but that is the OPPOSITE to what most people call "dating"-----so that is funny.........poor Chandler !! When students are in an English speaking country with a totally different culture that their own, they must be very careful about the words "date", "dating", "going out with", and words like that, that refer to relationships. hope this helps.

[LucentShade]

nihonniikitai has it right. This joke is something that can be missed if you are only reading the lines. Even if you are hearing the words, you can still miss it if you're not familiar with English intonation and phrasing. This line shows two key elements of Chandler's character: he is sarcastic and not successful with women. While Monica thinks that her dinner with Paul is not a date because she does not intend to have sex with him, Chandler thinks it is a date because he usually fails to have sex with the women he dates. In a way, he is making fun of himself because the others understand this fact--they also know that Chandler is unable to go to the "next level" with the women he dates. Again, the way he says the line communicates this. Zeppy, if you have any more questions about "Friends," I'm sort of an expert on the show and I'd be happy to help you with it.

[bud]

Good point, Nihonniikitai. Of course that's the correct meaning. I haven't watched the show for many years, but I can hear Chandler saying the line in that unique, sarcastic way of his. Thank you.

[woodsky]

Can I say "Sounds like a date to me." in this way:"It sounds like a date of mine."?

Thanks in advance.

Woodsky

[bud]

Yes, although it loses some of the comic effect.

[zeppy]

[quote=I'm sort of an expert on the show and I'd be happy to help you with it.[/quote]

okay LucentShade. I will . thanks in advance !

and , thanks for your comments , nihonniikitai and bud !

[muni]

still don't understand the difference between going out and dating
are they different ?
I think yes because according to my understanding
dating is when you have sex
while going out can be anything
am I right?

[bud]

Yes and no, Muni. I don't think either is well-defined, and they mean slightly different things to different people. To me, for example, they are the same. For both, a sexual relationship is certainly possible, but not necessary. For both, though, a romantic apsect is implied. (Although there are other contexts of "going out." I can say that I am going out with my friends tonight. I could not say that I am dating my friends tonight.)

Far more important than attaching a specific meaning to each term, I think, is to understand the context in which they are used. That will tell you what is meant. And when you use one of them, the context will help clarify what you mean.

How about another? We also say that Ted and Alice are "seeing each other." That (to me) is the same as the first two. Like 'dating,' it is only used when there is a romantic aspect.

That certainly clears things up, right?

[muni]

yes it does