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Adverbs and Vocabulary with DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince

May 6, 2013 by Stephen Mayeux

DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, whose real is Will Smith, were a hip-hop duo from West Philadelphia. In “Parents Just Don’t Understand”  The Fresh Prince sings about his annoying parents and tells an embarrassing story about his mother. The song appeared on the album He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper, and it won a Grammy for Best Rap Performance in 1989.

You know parents are the same no matter time nor place
They don’t understand that us kids are going to make some mistakes
So to you, all the kids all across the land
There’s no need to argue. Parents just don’t understand

The Meaning of the Adverb ‘Just’

The word just is an adverb with many meanings. In the song, just means simply or simply put. It also makes a statement stronger.

  • Parents just don’t understand. It is a simple fact that parents do not understand their children. Simply put, parents do not understand. They really don’t get teenagers!

Just has other meanings as well:

  • Just = very recently. He just left the apartment five minutes ago. 
  • Just = exactly. She looks just like her mother. They look almost identical. 
  • Just = almost. We arrived at school just in time to take the test. We were almost late! 
  • Just = very. It’s just amazing how great rap music is! 
  • Just = only. They were just listening to rap music. They were not doing homework or anything else. Only listening to hip-hop. 

Just is also an adjective that means fair and equal. 

The Word Order of ‘Just‘

  • Just is after the BE verb. 
    • He was just here.
    • They were just listening to rap music.
  • Just is after stative verbs, especially when it means exactly.
    • She looks just like her mother.
    • This smells just like real Italian pizza.
  • Just is before all other verbs. 
    • He just left the apartment.
    • She just finished her homework.

Vocabulary and Idioms

Here are a few words and phrases you’ll need to know in order to understand the song. 

  • bugging (verb, usually progressive) – to freak out or to be upset. My started bugging with the clothes she chose. 
  • lose your mind (idiom) – to become mentally ill or behave is a strange way. She lost her mind and did the ultimate. I asked her for Adidas and she bought me Zips!
  • rep (noun) – reputation. I cannot wear these clothes. They’ll ruin my rep! I will lose all my friends and people will mock me! 
  • crack up (phrasal verb) – to laugh. The other students started cracking up and made fun of me.
  • to be grounded, to ground (verb) – to punish a young person or teenager, usually by forbidding  them to go out. His parents grounded him for getting bad grades in school. He was grounded for 4 weeks! 
  • Take it from me. Take my word for it. (phrase) – believe and trust me because I know very well. Take it from me. Parents are very strict and just don’t understand. 

Discussion Questions

Have your parents ever embarrassed you? Have they ever given you a hard or difficult time? When you were a teenager, were your parents very strict or easy-going? Do you want to have children in the future? If you do, what kind of mother or father do you want to be? Please write your comments below!

Filed Under: Grammar, Level 2, Students Tagged With: east coast, grammar, idioms, vocabulary

About The Founder

Stephen Mayeux is the founder of ESLhiphop.com. He used to be an English Teacher, but now he lives in Austin, TX and works as a software developer.

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