Hey there! This is TOP episode 326. Learn English with “Where The Hell Is My Husband?” By RAY
You read English. You understand English. You’ve been learning for years, but when it’s time to speak your mind just freezes, and the words don’t come out. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. My name’s Ola, and this is Teacher Ola Podcast. I’m here to help you finally speak out loud. This isn’t about perfect grammar or fancy vocabulary. This is about your voice. Your words. Your real English.
In today’s episode we’re looking at English from the song Where Is My Husband? by RAYE.
We’ll unpack the grammar, natural phrases, and little language details hidden in the lyrics. Listen closely and pick up English you can actually use in real life. So! Let’s start, I’ve got seven lines from the song, let’s start with number one:
ONE. Baby, where the hell is my husband?
What is taking him so long to find me?
What is taking him so long to find me? This sentence asks about the reason a finding action is taking a long time. This guy is late.. What is taking him so long? Present continuous to express the fact that this is happening right now or that it is annoying, or both. “Why is finding me taking so much time?” What is causing the delay? The word ‘take’ here means to occupy time. It’s a natural, everyday way to express irritation or curiosity about a delay of any kind. Example sentences:
What is taking them so long?
The train took longer than expected, so we arrived late.
TWO. Getting down with another?
“Get down with someone” is pretty informal and context really matters. In many song lyrics, especially pop, R&B, hip hop or older funk and disco styles, “get down with someone” often suggests becoming physically or romantically involved. It can hint at flirting, dancing closely, hooking up, or starting some kind of intimate connection. So if the lyric says “getting down with another,” it very likely suggests romantic or sexual involvement with another person.
THREE. Tell him if you see him, baby, if you see him, tell him, tell him
Grammatically this is basically the first conditional, even though it sounds very conversational and shortened, which is normal in songs and everyday speech. The core of this line is: “If you see him, tell him…”, where the idea is a real, possible future situation. It’s not hypothetical, not imaginary, just “this might happen, so here’s what to do.”
In English the first conditional usually follows a clear pattern: present tense after “if”, then “will” or an imperative in the main clause. Polish works quite differently here, because we use future forms in both parts or rely more on context, so people translating word for word can easily get confused. English keeps it simpler structurally, even if it feels difficult at first.
If you want a deeper comparison of how Polish and English tenses differ, have a look at my recorded webinar. You can still watch it at teacherola.com/polacy/ It’s called “Angielskie czasy versus Polacy” and it goes into these differences in a lot more detail. Teacherola.com/polacy.
“If you see him, tell him.” It’s about the future, possible, realistic future. Another very normal everyday example would be:
“If you come over, I’ll make some coffee.”
Same logic. Real possible situation, present tense after “if”, instruction in the second part. If you feel you need to recap conditionals, especially the first one, go to another Teacher Ola Podcast episode! Episode 36 to be precise.
FOUR. Why is this beautiful man waiting for me to get old?
This is a very typical English question with the verb “to be,” and that’s exactly where we, Polish speakers often slip up. In English questions, especially with “be,” the verb usually jumps before the subject. So instead of “Why this beautiful man is waiting…”, the question becomes “Why is this beautiful man waiting…?” That inversion is automatic in English but not in Polish.
In Polish, you can often keep the same word order as in a statement and just change intonation or add a question word. English doesn’t work like that.
Another important bit here is the structure “waiting for me to get old.” That simply means waiting until I become old. Which is a very very long time.
Listen to these examples:
Why is she asking me to leave so early?
Why are they telling us to wait outside?
So the main takeaway for Polish speakers is this: don’t translate question structure directly from Polish. In English, verb position, especially with “be,” really matters. Next we hear:
Is he far away?
Is he okay?
When you hear itr now it sounds obvious, right? But while speaking fast this gets easily forgotten. The order is not ‘He’s ok?, but ‘Is he ok?’.
FIVE. This man is testing me
What matters here is the present continuous, “is testing.” In English we use this a lot to talk about actions happening now, around now, or temporary behaviour. It often suggests irritation. Like someone keeps pushing your patience.
Are you testing me?
Stop testing me.
SIX. I need you to tell me
This structure can feel strange for Polish speakers because English often uses “need + person + to do something.” It basically means I want or require you to do this action. Polish usually restructures this completely, so direct translation leads to confusion.
I need you to help me with this. Chce zebys….
I need you to call me later.
SEVEN. And I’m tired of living like this.
After “tired of” we use an -ing form, not an infinitive. That preposition “of” is fixed here. Polish typically uses a different construction, so people often forget either the “of” or the -ing. Examples:
I’m tired of waiting.
She’s tired of living like this.
The meaning is emotional exhaustion or frustration from repeated or ongoing situations.
Listen, I know singing songs in English is great fun. Learning lyrics is exciting, emotional, and honestly a really enjoyable way to learn. It helps you understand more and become a better listener. But, here’s the thing. If you want to become a better speaker, you need to start speaking English with other people. I know it can feel scary. It might. I’m not saying it’s easy. If it were easy, everyone would already be doing it. And actually, everyone can do it. The difference between people who speak and people who don’t isn’t their level of English. It’s not “I’ll start when I’m ready” or “when I reach this level.” What really makes a good English speaker is confidence.
And honestly, confidence often starts with a leap of faith. That slightly scary first step. I strongly believe that step should happen in a safe, friendly, supportive environment, with people who are just like you. People who make mistakes, sometimes struggle, but also want to enjoy the process, have fun, and not take everything too seriously while still seeing progress and real results.
That’s exactly why I run the SIOL (Say It Out Loud) program. I’ve been running it for two years now. I’ve seen so many people go through it regularly and transform their speaking confidence. So I’d really like to invite you to take a closer look. If your passive English is around B1, but when you speak you feel more like A2 or even zero sometimes, this is probably exactly what you need.
Inside the program, you also improve your grammar and learn from structured platform materials, but the real core is speaking with real people. You practise conversations, you get my feedback, you have access to daily WhatsApp voice chat, monthly Extra Classes that stay with you permanently, and about 12 hours of intensive speaking practice in the Speaking Club.
So if you feel it’s time to finally start speaking English, take that step and join SIOL. Go to siol.pl And now let’s do something that will help too. Maybe not as much as real conversations, but still useful. Let’s practise together. Listen and repeat out loud.
What is taking him so long?
The train took longer than expected.
If you see him, tell him.
If you come over, I’ll make some coffee.
Is he okay?
Are you testing me?
Stop testing me.
I need you to help me with this.
I’m tired of waiting.
She’s tired of living like this.
Well done! That’s all from me for now. Don’t forget to head to teacherola.com/326 and grab your free worksheet. Learning is revising, so grab that worksheet and practice.
And if you want to practice speaking regularly, learn grammar and vocabulary with me inside the SIOL programme, join us now at siol.pl. The program starts on the 19 February 2026. So there’s not much time left! Go to siol.pl.
Thank you so much for listening. Stay fearless, take care, and say it out loud. I’m your teacher, Teacher Ola, and you’ve been listening to the Teacher Ola Podcast. BYE FOR NOW!