2023-12-04 I’m out – The English We Speak

Introduction

Sometimes you need to say you don’t have anything left. We have an expression you can use to describe this.

Transcript

Feifei
Welcome to The English We Speak. I’m Feifei.

Beth
And I’m Beth. We have an expression which is used to say you have nothing left of something specific, particularly something that other people want – the phrase is ‘I’m out’. Other pronouns can be used so we can say ‘we’re out’ or ‘you’re out’ as well.

Feifei
‘I’m out’. Can you give us some context, Beth?

Beth
Do you remember that amazing new coffee I’ve been drinking? I know you like it, and I was going to get some for your birthday, but when I went to buy it, they were completely out.

Feifei
Oh no! They didn’t have any of that coffee left. Thanks for trying anyway. Maybe there’s another variety we could try?

Beth
I thought that, but it turned out there was a complete shortage of coffee – they were out of everything! They only had tea.

Feifei
It doesn’t sound like a great shop if they don’t have enough stock… so did you buy me some tea?

Beth
I wanted to, but then I realised I didn’t have any money. I was out. Let’s hear some more examples.

Examples
A: I’m doing a sponsored run. Can you give me some change?
B: Sorry, erm, I’m all out.

A: Are you still giving away free chocolate?
B: Sorry, we’re out!

I can’t believe how popular that new book was. We’re out already. Let’s order more.

Feifei
You’re listening to The English We Speak from BBC Learning English, and we are learning the expression ‘I’m out’, which is a way of saying you have no more of something.

Beth
Now we’ve been using ‘out’, but it’s also really common to say ‘I’m all out’ or ‘I’m completely out’.

Feifei
It is. It means the same but just adds more emphasis to the fact that you really don’t have any more. It’s very often used with money. That reminds me, Beth, you still need to buy something for my birthday.

Beth
Well, start thinking about what you’d like. I’m all out of ideas! Bye for now!

Feifei
Bye!