Man!
It's been 17 months since I made a video about "Cheesy English."
Too long!
Do you guys even remember what "Cheesy English" is?
I'm going to check your memory.
The concept of "Cheesy English" comprises . . .
A. English usage that is incorrect
B. English usage that is unnatural and funny
C. English usage that is asshole-ish
D. all of the above
Ok, have you circled your answer?
That's right! It's "B."
"Cheesy English" is English usage that's not exactly wrong,
but nevertheless unnatural and at odds with native English.
In particular, it's the things you guys say as a result of "Vietnamese-ifying" English.
In this video, I'm going to share some of those usages with you,
and first off is a structure that's absolutely legendary in Vietnamese education.
It seems that teachers in Vietnam encourage you guys to use the structure "not only . . . but also . . ." a lot.
Oh, "not only, but also!"
If you kids use this structure, those Westerners will faint right on the spot!
The truth is that we native speakers do use that structure, but very rarely.
And Vietnamese people often use it too simplistically, for example on this page . . .
No one would say or write that.
We'd probably just write:
Or here . . .
The "not only, but also" structure just isn't necessary.
We'd probably write:
We typically use the "not only, but also" structure only with sentences that are longer and fairly complex,
and something important is that, typically, the clause after "not only" expresses something ordinary,
something that everyone already knows,
while the part after "but also" is something surprising,
something that maybe not everyone knows.
I'll use the first example from Cambridge Grammar.
See?
Everyone knows that destruction and death are obvious consequences of war,
but they might not be aware of this part.
In that sentence, I find the "not only, but also" structure completely natural,
but, in a sentence like . . .
I find it a bit funny.
And another thing is that you guys often use that structure too rigidly.
Like, every time, it's:
I urge you guys to try using it more flexibly.
For example, sometimes you could replace "only" with "just,"
or replace "also" with "too" or "as well."
I'll give you guys an example.
Yeah, that's a good sentence, right there.
In Vietnam, I'm sometimes surprised by the things that are considered "good for your health."
Good for your health. ("penis liquor 100%")
Good for your health.
And I often hear my students say:
The grammar there isn't quite right.
You guys need to add the word "your" in there.
But that sentence still isn't very natural,
because native speakers usually just say:
Everyone understands that sentence as "good for your health."
And if you want to say, "it's bad for your health," you can just say, "it's bad for you."
I want to take a second to confide in you guys that being as attractive as I am is really tiring.
That's Bald-Headed Dan over there!
You guys already know that attractive means "hấp dẫn," right?
But there's a difference, which is that "hấp dẫn" is used in Vietnamese more often than "attractive" is in English.
For example, Vietnamese people often talk about "attractive gifts,"
"attractive lessons,"
and "attractive products."
However, phrases like . . .
aren't natural in English,
because we usually just use "attractive" for people,
or, at the very least, to talk about something's appearance.
For example, in the case of a city that's really beautiful, calling it "an attractive city" is fine,
whereas a city that's not particularly beautiful, but is still "attractive,"
because it's well-planned, modern, and civilized,
then the adjective "appealing" would be more appropriate.
"Appealing" also means "attractive,"
but it's usually used to describe attractiveness that comes from the inner nature of something,
rather than just from its appearance.
And in a lot of other situations, like "attractive products,"
native speakers probably wouldn't say "attractive products,"
nor would we say "appealing products,"
but rather "interesting products."
And when describing someone like yours truly,
"interesting," "appealing," and "attractive,"
will all do just fine.
A lot of Vietnamese people have a habit when speaking English that really befuddles me,
which is that they tend to begin the answer to any question with "yes."
I'm guessing that habit comes from Vietnamese,
because when you're speaking to an older person, especially a teacher,
you'll usually say "vâng" or "dạ" first.
Hey, hey!
How do I look?
Yes . . .
you look like a mental case, boss.
Is that right?
Well, wherever that habit comes from,
I'm going to ask you to give it up when speaking English,
and only use "yes" when answering a yes/no question.
And for all other questions, just answer it straightaway.
A common occurrence in my classes is a student needing to go to the bathroom or go drink some water
and asking me:
And another common occurrence is a student arriving late and asking:
There's nothing wrong with either of those sentences,
but if you're studying English with foreigners,
you just need to say:
Or maybe:
Because to us, if you're an adult, asking permission every time you need to go out sounds kind of childish.
And if you show up late, then . . .
Or . . .
is fine.
And please don't try to say you were late because of traffic.
everyone knows you were just playing video games at home.
When you're talking to tourists,
they'll really like it if you tell them about the "attractive" points of interest in your city,
or in Vietnam in general.
However, when you tell them about the activities in those places,
please remember not to use the word "we."
I encounter that all the time, and I find the use of "we" really funny,
because it sounds like you're planning to go with that person right away.
If you're just telling someone about the general activities somewhere,
and not an activity that you personally are going to take part in,
then just say, "you."