Okay, no noise. Let's start.
Hi guys, welcome back to English with Max.
In this video I'm going to explain the different meanings of the
word "guy". A few months ago one of my viewers wrote to me and asked me why I
normally start my videos by saying: "Hi guys."
Well, today I'm going to explain why. As usual remember that you can also follow
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Okay, the first thing you need to know
about the word "guy" is that it's informal. It's not slang and it's not
vulgar in any way, but it's informal. It's colloquial, so don't use it in formal
speeches or academic writing.
Let's look at the first meaning of "guy". When "guy" is
used in the singular, so without an S, it simply means "man".
So "He's a nice guy" just means "He's a nice man".
It can also be used for male teenagers.
For example, a 15-year-old might say: "Yes, I know John. That guy's in my class."
We just don't use it for children. At least not young children. We can also use the word
in the plural, in other words "guys", to address a group of people. The group
might just be women, it might just be men, or it could be a mixed group.
For example, at the beginning of my videos I usually say: "Hi guys."
Now that's because I have no idea who could be watching my videos.
It could be men, it could be women, or it could be mixed. And well, from my
statistics (my analytics) I know that it's a mixed group, but even if it was only
women, I could still say: "Hi guys." So if I'm spending time with my female friends,
maybe we're just at home relaxing, chilling, chillaxing...
(I really hate that word.)
But anyway, I could say to them: "Guys, do you want to watch a movie?"
I should also add that if you're not directly addressing people, so if you're not saying:
"Hi guys," or "Guys, do you want to do this?" But if you're using it in the third
person, then normally "guys" refers to a group of men. I know it's a little bit confusing.
For example: When I came out of the restaurant, there were a few guys
standing in the car park. In that instance we would probably assume that the person
meant: there were a few men standing in the car park. Sometimes when it's used in
the third person it can refer to women, but that's normally when we know exactly
who the person is talking about. For example, again I'm at home with my female
friends, and then we decide to go somewhere. And so we're talking about
cars and transport and things like that. In that instance I might say:
"Your car is full already. I'll go with these guys." In that instance we know exactly who we're
talking about, and we know that I'm talking about my female friends.
Finally, "Guy" with a capital letter is a male first name, just like John or Michael.
It was originally a French name and in French it's pronounced "Guee", but in English
we pronounce it "Guy". It's not a very common name, but it's not unusual either.
Thanks very much for watching, guys (I said it again). If you found this
helpful, please hit the thumbs up, and remember that if you want to practise
your English, you can leave me a comment down below. Maybe you could try to use
the word "guy" in different contexts. See you next time.
Bugger, bugger, bugger.
(cough) Tickle in the throat.
Bugger.
Guy... No, wrong way round. Oopsies.
For example...
There are...