How do I distinguish between "freak out" & "freaking"?

Status
Not open for further replies.

immarie

New member
Joined
May 10, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
I have some problem about the use of "freak out" & "freaking"
How do I distinguish between "freak out" & "freaking"?

Are these sentence's of equal meaning?
" you are freaking me out."&"you scare me"
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
I have some problem about the use of "freak out" & "freaking"
How do I distinguish between "freak out" & "freaking"?

Are these sentence's of equal meaning?
" you are freaking me out."&"you scare me"
"You freak me out" = "You scare me". These are in the simple present tense.
"You are freaking me out." = "You are scaring me." These are in the present progressive/continuous tense.
"Freak out" is a separable phrasal verb.
 

sdsu09

Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2010
Member Type
Academic
" freak out" is a slang, means " to lose or cause to lose emotional control from extreme excitement, shock, joy, fear, despair, etc.
" freaking" means " making sb frightened, nervous or wildly excited".
 

Ripley7700

Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Academic
In the USA, you should use "out" - so either "freak out" or "freaking out." The only time I hear "freaking" is when it is used as a socially acceptable alternative to a certain profanity. However, if you said "I'm freaking" or "that freaks me" in the USA, people would understand what you are saying and would not think that you were using an idiom incorrectly or that you were uneducated. Either way should be fine.
 

leiito

Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2010
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
Slovenian
Home Country
Slovenia
Current Location
Slovenia
In the USA, you should use "out" - so either "freak out" or "freaking out." The only time I hear "freaking" is when it is used as a socially acceptable alternative to a certain profanity. However, if you said "I'm freaking" or "that freaks me" in the USA, people would understand what you are saying and would not think that you were using an idiom incorrectly or that you were uneducated. Either way should be fine.

don't you mean frigging here, as a euphemism for f..king.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top