When verbs gang up on you

English is an ode to uncertainty, as host Ivan explains with his ALDI theory (A Ludicrous Display of Inconsistency). Ethiopian-born comedian Joe White (real name Tilahun) loves his mum and is constantly bailing her out of awkward situations resulting from her loose grasp of English. Language teacher Ai-Lin Bhugun takes 'doing words' to the next level, unpacking what happens when verbs band together like the Sharks and the Jets in West Side Story and become phrasal verbs.

Joe White and his mum, who struggled with English for a while after moving to Australia while Joe was more immersed in the language through school.

We were at the shops and mum wanted a plastic bag. We spoke Arabic when we came here and in Arabic, kiss means plastic bag. So mum was like 'I buy, now can I have kiss?'.

Joe White

Bad English is a comedy podcast from SBS Audio about the lows of learning the world's most widely spoken and studied language. Host Ivan Aristeguieta, English expert Ai-Lin Bhugun and special guests share their learning journeys, and hit back at the illogical rules and infuriating exceptions that govern the language. If you've ever wanted to vent your frustrations with learning English, this is the podcast for you.

Follow Bad English in the SBS Audio app, or wherever you get your podcasts, to catch all seven episodes in the series.

Host: Ivan Aristeguieta

Executive Producer: Ian Walker

Producers: Beź Zewdie

Sound design and edit: Tiffany Dimmack