Have a Bloody Good Day!

One word that I use frequently is 'bloody' and if you come to the UK you will probably hear a lot of people using this word. It can be used in a wide variety of ways. Technically, it is a swear word, however, it's a 'mild' swear word these days. Historically, it was seen as a strong swear word but nowadays it's common to say it and it's generally not offensive. The word 'bloody' is commonly used in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. It is not used in America, in fact, the American people I met when I lived in NYC used to say that the word 'bloody' was 'so British'. It's true. Let me explain how it is used.

As an adjective:

'He's a bloody idiot!'

'I can't get this bloody thing to work!'

'What a bloody shame.'

'It's a bloody nuisance.'

As an adverb with an adjective to add intensity:

'It was bloody awful.'

'It was bloody marvellous.'

'It's bloody hot today.'

'I'm bloody freezing.'

As an adverb to modify a verb:

'Bloody sit down!'

'He doesn't bloody care.'

'Stop bloody talking!'

'Bloody calm down!'

We also say the phrase 'bloody hell' to express anger, surprise or to add emphasis.

'What the bloody hell have you done that for?'

Where the bloody hell are my keys?

'What the bloody hell are you doing?!'

'I haven't seen you for a while! Bloody hell!'

We use the phrase 'bloody well' to add emphasis.

'I will bloody well wait here all day if I have to.'

'Yes, I bloody well do.'

'He was bloody well going to jump!'

'You know bloody well that I'm not going.'

Please note that we are not always angry when we say bloody! It is used in many ways. Sometimes, just changing the intonation can completely change the meaning. It can be used in an affectionate way, for example, 'You look bloody lovely.' or 'You've done a bloody great job on that.' Alternatively, it can be used to express frustration. If someone is driving badly in front of me, I may say 'Bloody hell!' because I am annoyed. However, if I see a friend on the street who I haven't seen in years, I might say 'Bloody hell!' with a cheerful intonation to express my surprise and happiness.

Next time you watch some British TV series or films, listen out for this word and how it is used in the sentence. It's one of my favourite words. It's just so typically British.

Write a sentence or two in the comments using 'bloody'.

Sarah x

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Good luck with your English!

Sarah x