What does the 'V' stand for?
(2 special uses of stand)

    Have you ever seen a film called "V.I. Warshawski"? The film was made in 1991 and is based on the V.I. Warshawski novels by Sara Peretsky. The main character is Ms. V.I. Warshawski, a woman who works as a private investigator （私立探偵）in Chicago. She is a very tough person and goes up against some very hard criminals. In the film, Warshawski is played by Kathleen Turner. Although her first name is Victoria, she usually just uses her initials, V.I.

    It's a long time since I saw the film, but one of the scenes I remember is this: Warshawski is talking to a middle-aged businessman and hands him her card. He looks at the name on the card, V.I. Warshawski, gives her a playful smile and asks her, "What does the "V" stand for?"

    Warshawski smiles back at him and with a very cool tone of voice answers, "My first name."

It stands for...

    I'd like to focus on the businessman's question to Warshawski: "What does the 'V' stand for?" Warshawski could have answered, "It stands for Victoria," but she didn't want the man to know her first name. In another scene, she tells someone that V.I. stands for "Very Inquisitive."

    Stand is probably one of the first verbs that students learn, and they will be familiar with phrases such as:
    • stand up / sit down
    • stand next to me
    • stand over there
    However, like many of the most common verbs, stand has several uses. The phrasal verb, stand for, can be used when we explain the meanings of initials or acronyms (a word made from the first letters of a group of words e.g. UNESCO).

    Examples:
    • My school is called REJ English House. If somebody asks me, "What does REJ stand for?" I would probably answer, "It stands for Robert Edward Jones, my full name."
    • What does UNESCO stand for? - It stands for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

I can't stand...

    Another common use of stand is in the phrase, I can't stand. We can use this in situations where we talk about things that we dislike:
    • I can't stand those silly variety programmes that you see so much on TV nowadays.
    • I can't stand people who smoke when I'm trying to eat my lunch.
    • I really can't stand the way that guy looks at my sister.

    We can also use can't stand before an -ing verb form:
    • I can't stand seeing animals suffer.
    • I can't stand listening to my neighbour when she gossips about other people.
    • I can't stand being kept waiting when poeple are late for appointments.

    We can also use it before the construction, noun + -ing verb:
    • I can't stand people smoking when I'm trying to eat my lunch.

    It is also often used before phrasess like, the sight of, the sound of, the smell of, the taste of:
    • My brother wanted to be a doctor, but he had to give it up because he can't stand the sight of blood.
    • Sorry, but I can't stand the smell of those flowers. I'll have to leave the room.

Exercises

    Exercise 1:
    What do the following acronyms and abbreviations stand for?
    1. IOC
    2. WHO
    3. Ph.D.
    4. BBC
    5. J.F. Kennedy
    6. UK

    Exercise 2:
    Finish these sentences with ideas of your own:
    1. I can't stand people who ______________________________
    2. I can't stand the way some people _______________________
    3. I can't stand being __________________________________
    4. I can't stand the sight of _____________________________
    5. I can't stand the smell of______________________________

    Click here to check your answers. 

    If you want to see another lesson about an idiomatic use of stand, try the link below:
    She stands a pretty good chance of winning

    Please click on the link below if you want to try some of my other one-point lessons:
    Bob's Previous One-Point Lessons

    © Robert E. Jones, 2005