Hi I'm Anne Marie with Speak Confident English and welcome to your Confident
English Wednesday lesson. So last night my friends and I had a really fun time.
No, wait. Funny. We had a funny time. No fun time. If
you're not sure about which of those words is correct - fun or funny - then
today's lesson is perfect for you. Those two words look very similar and many
people think that they mean the same thing. But you might be making a common
mistake with these two words and today we're going to talk about what they mean
and how to use them so that you can use them in your English conversations
correctly. Of course, these two words look similar and they're both used as
adjectives. Now a side note: adjectives are those words that describe nouns, for
example: a black dress or a cool breeze a great vacation.
Black, cool, great... those are all adjectives describing a noun. Fun and
funny can be used in the same way. But they have different meanings and that is
what we're going to focus on today so that when you're talking about something
that was fun or funny you make the right choice between those words. So let's
start with the definitions of each and we'll look at fun. Fun is another way to
say something is enjoyable or pleasurable. It makes you feel happy. For
example, last night we had a fun dinner party with our friends. Or last weekend
was really fun. We had a fun picnic in the park. In all of those examples, what
you are expressing is that you had a good time, an enjoyable time. It made you
feel happy. Now with funny, when we use that word it means that
something made us laugh, we laughed at something. For example, my friend told a
funny joke. That means the joke made you laugh. Or maybe last weekend you saw a
funny movie. Maybe you watched a comedy and again it made you laugh. Now like all
good things in English grammar and vocabulary, there is another side. The
word funny can be a little bit tricky. If you've been following me with Speak
Confident English for a long time you know that I often talk about the
importance of context. Context is not just the word and the meaning but the
whole sentence or the whole paragraph because sometimes that helps you
understand the meaning. Some words, like funny, can have more than one meaning. And
in some situations funny actually means something is strange or weird; something
that is difficult to explain or understand. For example if I meet
someone for the first time and then later I say, "You know, I had a funny
feeling about him." That is not a positive statement and it doesn't mean he made me
laugh. It means there was something not right. I didn't like him, I didn't trust
him. There was something strange or weird. I had a funny feeling about him. Or
another common example, "That's funny! I know I left my keys on the desk. Where
have they gone?" In that example I'm not saying that
losing my keys is making me laugh, I'm saying hmm that's funny that's that's
strange I can't explain it. I know I left my keys on the desk but now they're not
there. It's unexplainable or it's strange. So we can talk about
something that is pleasurable, enjoyable, it makes you happy, it's fun. Or we can
talk about something that makes you laugh or is strange,
weird, unexplainable and it's funny. Okay now you know the difference
between fun and funny so let's try a couple of example sentences and I want
you to decide what word is correct for the sentence. Number one: do you remember
our trip to the lake last summer? That was such a ___ weekend. That was such a
___ weekend. Hopefully you said fun. We're talking about an enjoyable, pleasurable
time. Number two: I love Silicon Valley! That is such a ___ TV show.
I love Silicon Valley! That is such a ___ TV show. Hint: it is a TV show that makes me
laugh so it's funny. It's a funny TV show. Number three: my friend James is so ___. He
always makes me laugh. Now that one should be very simple. James is so ___. He
always makes me laugh. We're talking about something or someone who makes me
laugh so James is funny. And finally, number four: hey! Can you come to our
barbecue this weekend? I promise it will be ___. Can you come to our barbecue this
weekend? I promise it will be ___. We're describing a barbecue that will be
enjoyable, pleasurable. It will be fun. Now as always I have more opportunities for
you to practice with some challenge questions in the online lesson so after
you finish watching this video be sure to check that out and share your
comments in the comment section just below this video. And that's it! This
week's lesson is very simple but it is important because I hear mistakes with
fun and funny all the time. And now you can avoid making those mistakes
because you understand the difference between the two words and how to use
them correctly. Now visit the online lesson,
check out those challenge questions, share your answers with me, get some
practice using these two words so that it becomes easy and natural for you to
use them with confidence in your next conversation in English. Thank you so
much for joining me. I love having you here every Wednesday and I'll see you
next week for your Confident English Wednesday lesson.