What does 'typical' mean? LEARN ENGLISH with MR DUNCAN -17- #englishaddictwithmrduncan

Here is an interesting word that we often use

when we are discussing the form  or attributes of a certain thing.

The most common or average occurrence

or appearance of something that is around us.

All of the words I've just used sound complex.

However, they are not.

The attributes of something  refers to the appearance

or the characteristics of one particular thing.

Something average is seen as a mixture  of what is common and apparent.

An average thing is something you  might see often or experience commonly.

Today's word that we are going  to focus on is ‘typical’.

The word ‘typical’ is often  used when we are discussing

the most frequent occurrence of  something during a particular time.

A common thing might be described as 'typical'.

An occurrence that happens frequently

during a certain period of time  can be described as typical.

During a certain season, you might describe the most common types of weather event as typical.

For example, a typical English summer's day.

We might describe it as mild,  sunny with a gentle breeze.

That for me is a typical English summer's day.

Perhaps you might be asked to  describe a typical day at work.

What normally happens during  a typical day in your job?

Would you say your typical day is busy?

Or maybe the work is steady?

The situation that occurs frequently might be described as 'typical'.

How would you describe your typical evening?

In this sense, we are asking a person to describe

what they normally do in the evening.

What is your typical evening?

When it comes to talking about people,

it is much harder to use typical as a way of describing the average person.

People are so different from each other.

It is hard to single out a typical person.

There are so many varieties and characteristics

contained within the human race.

It would be hard to describe a typical person.

The phrase ‘single out’ means to point in one particular direction

and choose something as an example.

You might single out an individual for criticism.

Sometimes it might be unfair to describe a certain type of behaviour as typical.

Sometimes it is possible to be prejudiced in one's view of a typical thing.

We often described this as a 'stereotype'.

We see one person behaving in a certain way,

and then we associate that behaviour with other similar people, quite often unfairly.

This would be described as a stereotype.

The word 'type' is often used to describe something that is fixed or embedded,

normally in the form of text.

The use of the word 'typical' relates to something that appears to be common,

or of a regular appearance or behaviour.

In nature It is possible to use the word typical

to describe certain types of animals and plants.

The appearance and abundance of something that grows is often referred to as being typical.

A typical tree, a typical  sparrow, a typical flower.

Many things in nature are fixed,

and because of that they  can be described as typical.

Something biological is constant.

Each species is typical in its own environment.

Synonyms of typical include  ‘usual’, ‘stock’, ‘ average’, 

’normal’, and ‘commonplace’.

The appearance of something that is viewed as common might also be described as 'typical'.