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comes from Winston hi Winston Winston
says I don't understand English I want
to learn but I don't know how to start
I'm a newbie write lots of questions
like this so really there are a lot of
different ways that you can start
studying a language of course we have
lots of videos on our YouTube channel
and we have a whole website to try to
help people who are studying English you
can check us out at English class
101.com you can find like apps you can
find worksheets podcasts to listen to so
that can be a nice way to start we have
some videos for beginners also so if
you're just starting you can check some
of the beginner level videos we have on
the channel for example English in three
minutes that's a good set of videos you
can watch to learn some basic phrases I
think so that might be a nice place for
you to start but let's look at some
other ideas for beginners specifically
one join an English class in your city
to get an English textbook and study at
home three make a language exchange with
an English speaker for study vocabulary
with apps try out those those are a few
ideas of course you can always use our
videos on the channel as well so I hope
that helps a little bit where do we use
wanna and gonna and how ahh this
question is about the casual contracted
forms of want to and going to so what to
becomes wanna going to becomes gonna in
casual speech we use them in exactly the
same way we would use I want to I'm
going to he wants to she wants to he's
going to she's going to we use them in
exactly the same way which means we use
them in casual
like I wanted to take a day off or I'm
gonna go to the beach this weekend or do
you want to see a movie tonight we use
them in exactly the same way we use want
to and going to but we use them in
speech typically we don't write these
unless we're writing very casual
messages like text messages to our
friends or something next one I got the
next question a couple times like maybe
three or four times okay the question
was about the adjectives comparison
video that we did a while ago so I
introduced the word fun as an irregular
adjectives in terms of the comparative
form so fun is a word an adjective we
use for an activity or something that's
enjoyable something we like to do fun is
different from the adjective funny fun
is an adjective and a noun
actually funny is just an adjective fun
refers to an enjoyable activity funny
however refers to something that causes
us to laugh it makes us laugh because
something is humorous something as
humorous
so for example we can say going to an
amusement park is fun if not funny it's
not humorous but it's fun let's kind of
break this down a little bit let's think
about it like fun in the adjective form
here fun is an enjoyable activity
something we enjoy doing funny
however causes laughter because of humor
something funny is humorous it is like
witty or there's interesting wordplay or
whatever so fun is kind of think of fun
as like doing an activity going to the
movie theater is fun going to an
amusement park is fun watching this
video maybe is fun I don't know making
these videos is fun but funny we use
funny for for example a person or a
movie or something that causes us to
laugh because of humor so things that
are fun fun fun fun fun not fun funny
funny not funny not funny fun
not funny fun so going to watch a funny
movie is fun think about that because
these two words are different fun is an
adjective funny is an adjective
fun the comparative form is more fun or
less fun the comparative form of fun II
is funnier or not as funny so that's why
I used two different examples in that
video thanks for that question though
next question the next question comes
from Carmel Carmel says do you have any
ideas on how to improve speaking skills
in English
yea well to improve your speaking you
have to practice speaking here are a
couple of ideas that you can use to
maybe help you improve your speaking
these are ideas for just ways to
practice so chances to practice number
one get a partner you can practice
speaking English with this can be in
your city or in your community so find a
partner to practice speaking English
with this can be a language exchange
partner for example do if you can't find
anyone in your town or in your city to
practice speaking English with you can
try to find a partner on line 3 try
recording yourself speaking you can use
your phone to do this if you like just
record your voice saying something and
then listen to it again you might not
realize it but it's actually really
helpful to hear your own voice like
outside of your body actually we have
something on the website you can check
at English class 101.com
there's a voice recorder function so you
can record your voice and then compare
your voice to the sound of a native
speakers voice and try to practice until
your voice matches the sound of their
voice so that could be another idea
number four try repeating the things the
characters in English TV and English
movies say so if you're watching TV if
you're watching a video online if you're
listening to music something in English
try to repeat the thing you hear so not
only listening listening listening but
try to practice saying the things the
characters or the artists are saying to
number five kind of a strange suggestion
maybe but try talking to yourself in
English actually I do this a lot I'm
studying Japanese and I talk to myself
in Japanese from time to time so that
helps me a little bit but helps me get
comfortable just saying words same
phrases to so maybe that's helpful for
you those are five ideas or what you can
do to improve your speaking next
question next question comes from Huang
Sena Wong Wong say not one sign up I'm
very sorry I'm very sorry I've never
been to Japan I've never been to Japan
before I've never eaten horse I've never
eaten horse before my question is if you
put before at the end of those sentences
does it mean you are in Japan right now
or you are eating horse right now no not
necessarily think of before at the end
of the sentence as before now I've never
eaten horse before now in other words
you could use this beef just before you
eat horse or just before you go to Japan
if you like as an emphasis phrase but it
doesn't necessarily mean that you are in
Japan now or that you're eating horse
now you could use it in that way sure
but it doesn't necessarily mean it if
you'd like to emphasize it like if
you're about to eat horse for example
use I've never eaten horse before you
could show your interest or perhaps to
show maybe some anxiety or nervous
feelings about what you're about to do
but no it does not necessarily mean you
are in that place like for example you
could just be having a conversation
have you eaten horse before no I've
never eaten horse before it could just
be a conversation about it but really
before it just means before now next
question next question comes from Juan
Garcia Highlawn no one asks I would like
to know how to use down up off in on and
out after a verb and why it's necessary
oh dear one this is a very big question
your question is about phrasal verbs
these are all called phrasal verbs
verb plus adverb or preposition there
are an enormous amount of phrasal verbs
I cannot possibly talk about all of them
in one video phrasal verbs are necessary
because they are part of speech they are
simply a type of verb they are a type of
expression so you need to know them
because they will help you to
communicate effectively so if you want
to know more about specific phrasal
verbs
I would suggest checking a dictionary
next question next question comes from
Long John Young Johnny it sorry which
one is correct
I work out for one to two hours a day I
work out for one or two hours a day I
drink coffee two to three times a day I
drink coffee two or three times a day
ah both of these are correct actually in
this case there are very very small
differences between these 1 to 2 hours a
day means between one and two hours if
you say I've worked out for 1 or 2 hours
a day
it means it's determined like 1 hour
only for a workout or 2 hours only for a
workout so the difference here is are
you determining are you deciding 1 hour
or 2 cups of coffee or 3 cups of coffee
or is it between those two amounts so
using 1 to 2 or 2 to 3 means between
those two amounts using or shows it's
either A or B but not between those two
this is the difference between 2 and or
next question next question comes from
Bowie dent a bow a bow a den de votante
asks when can I use ever in a present
perfect sentence like I have ever ever
means at any time or at all times you
can use ever when you're asking a
question like have you ever blah blah
blah have you ever been to France have
you ever eaten ramen have you ever taken
a trip to the mountains for example we
can use ever when making questions
that's one but because ever means at all
time or it
many times we may not use it to answer a
question like that have you ever blah
blah blah we usually say yes or no in
that in response to that we can say I
have never ever taken a trip to France
or I have never ever forgotten my keys
for example I have never ever blah blah
blah but in that case it still means
never an expression like never ever just
emphasizes the word never so to use ever
we need to pair ever with a verb in a
sentence so we can't say I have ever
just I have plus a verb we cannot say I
have ever that's incorrect
I have at some at anytime or at all
times
it's it's redundant it's it's not
necessary we can however use ever in a
negative expression like I haven't ever
been to France or she hasn't ever eaten
cheese for example so we have to pare
ever with a negative to make a response
we use ever for present perfect tense
questions and paired with a negative
have or has to make a response to make a
negative response so please keep those
two in my next question next question it
comes from rush kit
rush rush rush I'm sorry where do we use
wanna and gonna and how ahh this
question is about the casual contracted
forms of want to and going to so what to
becomes wanna going to becomes gonna in
casual speech we use them in exactly the
same way we would use I want to I'm
going to he wants to she wants to he's
going to she's going to we use them in
exactly the same way which means we use
them in casual situations like I want to
take a day off or I'm gonna go to the
beach this weekend or do you want to see
a movie tonight we use them in exactly
the same way we use want to and going to
but we use them in speech typically we
don't write these unless we're writing
very casual messages like text messages
to our friends or something first
question a lot of you who asked about
what to do to get a
that sounds like mine when I'm making
these videos I'm specifically trying to
speak clearly so I'm clearly separating
my words the way that I talk with my
friends and the way that I talk
regularly is a bit different than the
way that I talk on this channel but if
you want to try to get this kind of
pronunciation the best advice I have is
just to repeat this kind of
pronunciation it depends on your goal if
you want to learn to speak like me or to
speak like somebody else that you really
admire you should try to mimic them
that's what I do and that's actually a
strategy that I use when I study other
languages as well so if I hear something
interesting that a vocabulary word that
a friend has used like in Japanese for
example or they have a really good
intonation or just the way they deliver
the way they say something is really
interesting to me or I want to I want to
be able to use that too I put that in my
head I think about that and then I try
to replicate that I tried to copy that
essentially to make this explanation
shorter mimic mimic if you want to learn
to speak like me mimic me if you want to
learn to speak like somebody else try to
mimic someone else but just keep in mind
that the way that I talk in these videos
is different from the way that I talk in
real life next question next question is
from sue ha how do we write a good
paragraph number one you need to think
about the position of your paragraph in
your overall document let's think about
writing a document in terms of three
parts an introduction a body and a
conclusion in the introduction section
you need to introduce the key
information your reader needs to know
what they're going to read about later
in your documents so if your paragraph
is in the introduction you need to think
about how to introduce your information
there
second the body section of your document
should be where you include your
evidence your supporting materials your
opinions any references that you have so
if your paragraph falls in the body of
the document you should have these
things in mind if your paragraph is in
the conclusion of your document at the
end you should be concluding or
finishing your ideas it's typically a
good idea to summarize the ideas you
presented in the body and the
introduction of your document in the
including session to use transitions
when you're writing it's good to
transition from one sentence to another
and to use good transitions between
paragraphs themselves so some example
transitions could be 1st 2nd 3rd or next
then finally after that
moreover additionally furthermore so
transitions help the reader connect the
ideas that you're presenting in your
writing 3 avoid trying to include too
much information in one sentence
remember you need to try to present your
ideas as clearly and accurately as
possible so if you find you're just
writing and writing and writing and the
sentence is becoming extremely long take
a moment and look at the goal of the
sentence what are you actually trying to
communicate if you need to break it into
smaller sentences and connect them with
transitions next question next question
comes from garrison Silva again garrison
when can I use the expression take for
granted take for granted this is an
expression which we typically use in the
negative like don't take something
something for granted don't take a block
for granted it means don't forget to
appreciate this thing or this person so
for example don't take your parents for
granted or don't take this opportunity
for granted these expressions mean don't
forget to appreciate these things or
don't just disregard your parents or
don't read disregard this opportunity to
recognize the importance of something so
if you are given a good opportunity for
example or someone gives you good advice
or a very nice gift perhaps we would
typically use this with the negative
don't take something something for
granted
you don't forget to show your
appreciation for that thing or for that
person question comes from Carla hi
Carla Carla asks how do you native
speakers use to have I have seen I've I
have got formal and informal sure we use
the verb to have for a lot of different
meaning there's a grammatical function
for the verb have when we pair it with
the past participle form of a verb like
I have plus past participle to make the
present perfect tense or I had
plus past participle to make the past
perfect tense so there's that kind of
grammatical function of the verb have
however if you just want to use the verb
have in everyday situations like I have
a phone or I have a camera or I don't
have any money for example then to have
in that case just means to own something
or to hold something to be keeping
something so please consider the
sentence that you're looking at with the
verb have in it if it comes before a
verb in the past participle it's
probably a past perfect or a present
perfect expression if you're seeing
something after the verb have like an
object in my examples like a phone or a
camera or money then it's probably
referring to owning something or keeping
something so those are probably two of
the most common ways that you'll see the
verb have and its variations in at least
American English speech next question
next question next question comes from
Daniel silver oh hi Daniel
Daniel asks what is the difference
between wish and desire greetings from
Paraguay hey what is the difference
between wish and desire wish is used to
express a a once when you want something
that is different from the present
situation so we often use it with I wish
I were or I wish I could something we we
want or an ability we want but that we
do not have now something for the future
so I wish I could speak seven languages
or I wish I had a million dollars or I
wish I were taking more time off every
week for example something that is
different from the present condition the
present situation we use wish or I wish
it would call me for example I wish you
would or I wish you could to express
something that is not happening now
desire on the other hand desire tends to
be used more formally and it also can
carry more romantic nuances it's not
used as much conversationally as the
word wish
which is used to express once things
that we want that are not true now
desire is used more in romantic
situations like to desire another person
or he desired more of her time for
example but it sounds unnecessarily
formal I feel you might use it in a in a
more formal like a business context like
our client desires more information
about the situation that could be a
different use of the word desire but in
general it sounds a bit more formal and
a bit more romantically charged at times
depending on the situation when it's
used if you're talking about a person as
well like if you say for example I
desire you it sounds a actually quite
odd at least in American English if you
want to use the word desire I think in
romantic situation it might be applied
in a phrase like he was filled with
desire or she was filled with desire
used more as a noun than as a verb so I
would recommend not using desire so much
to talk about your wants as it can sound
a little bit too formal or can give
perhaps the wrong nuance to the
situation but wish is used to express a
a hope for something or wanting
something that is different from the
present situation so I hope that helps
first question comes from Ferris Ghazali
Ferris ghazali
how do I stop translating the meaning of
English words in my head I can tell you
about the things that have helped me and
maybe they'll help you I put myself in
situations where I could not escape into
my native language in my case I could
not escape into English I would go out
like for food and drinks with friends
who could not speak English I had no
choice but to use a different language
with them to something that I've noticed
some of my students do that actually
kind of bothers me they bring a
dictionary to their lesson and they'll
stop conversations in lessons to check
words in their dictionary and say a
single word at a time instead of just
trying to find a different way to
explain that one it totally stops the
flow of conversation to you
how really the option to do that in a
conversation most of the time you're not
going to be carrying around your
dictionary with you I hope unless it's
in your phone I suppose third I think
that this is a chance to develop a
better skill instead of trying to
translate into English or to translate
into a different language you should
think about finding a different way to
explain the word you want to use let's
say for example that you want to use the
word beautiful but you can't remember
the word how would you explain that so
think about other ways to communicate an
idea even if you don't have the
vocabulary words so going to your
dictionary shouldn't necessarily be the
first course of action it shouldn't
necessarily be your first step think
about a different way to communicate the
idea you're trying to communicate think
of examples to explain the word you're
looking for and then the other person
can teach you like if you're working
with somebody or you're talking with
somebody who understands you're not a
native speaker chances are if you can
explain the word you're looking for they
will tell you they will be your teacher
I just explained like with body language
sometimes too if I don't know work so
another thing that really helped me was
not just studying vocabulary words but
actually approaching things as phrases
so not saying okay this word equals this
word in my language but rather here's a
phrase that communicates a meaning that
it's interesting to me or that I hear my
friends use a lot I'm going to use that
phrase so don't just input input input
start outputting too so hope that's
helpful for you next question next
question from Han Yong he han-pan Yong
Yong Yong a very sorry hey Alisha what's
the difference between maybe probably
perhaps and possibly great question
maybe probably perhaps possibly okay
maybe probably perhaps and possibly
these are all adverbs they have the same
grammatical function maybe probably
perhaps and possibly maybe and perhaps
are very closely related maybe and
perhaps are they have the same meaning
but just different levels of formality
maybe is like the lower level the more
casual version of the word perhaps so
maybe I'll go to the beach this weekend
perhaps I'll go to the beach this
weekend they have really the same
meaning but perhaps sounds more formal
probably however is different probably
expresses a higher level of possibility
than the other words on this list I'll
probably go to the beach this weekend is
like a 75 to 80% chance the speaker is
going to go to the beach this weekend
possibly however possibly has more of a
nuance of just that something can be
done it is possible to do something we
use possibly more in requests like could
you possibly blah blah blah for me could
you possibly send me this file possibly
sounds a little too formal for casual
conversations and invitations but if
you're using it at work for example
could you possibly meet me later this
week instead of could you maybe meet me
so the difference between maybe and
possibly and perhaps they're possible
has that route yeah possible able to so
maybe and perhaps don't have that nuance
possibly sounds like is it possible is
it are you able to do this thing maybe
and perhaps don't contain that nuance
so to recap maybe and perhaps are used
to express the same thing a chance of
something happening perhaps is more
formal possibly is used in a similar way
however it refers more to simple
possibility than is it is are you able
to do that thing probably expresses a
high chance of something next question
next question is from Wong Jiang hi long
dong it says I'm curious what do you do
in your days off you gotta know how to
do my days off from my days I'm pretty
normal on my days off I cook I go
jogging I sleep i I build this into my
favorite DJ's I see my friends I eat and
drink and watch TV I'm a pretty normal
person first question this comes from
Shunichi Saito - Ichi Shinichi says I
want to know what does tho mean for
example it's very expensive though I see
the word though at the end of a sentence
very
yeah a lot of you have sent this
question in recently so I talked in a
previous episode of ask Alicia about
using the word though th Oh ugh at the
end of a sentence it means but at the
end of a sentence and we use it kind of
casually so when you see the word though
th oh it's like an even more casual
version of the oth oh ugh at the end of
a sentence so you'll see this a lot on
like social media you'll see this when
you're on like Facebook or Twitter or
Instagram text messages maybe though
just means but but at the end of a
sentence so in your example sentence
which was it's really expensive though
it means it's really expensive but
however it's like just putting that
little but that little disagreement kind
of feeling at the end of the sentence so
it's sort of like a soft you know
disagreement or a soft sort of
difference of opinion though means
though th ou means though th oh ugh but
it's just extremely extremely casual so
for a little bit more detail you can
check this video where I talked a little
bit more about th Oh ugh at the end of a
sentence with some other examples so I
hope that that helps you I know many of
you have asked that question lately next
question the next person asked two
questions so the next two questions are
from SL juarez Ciotti where where sia D
I they're sorry question one from essa
can you explain through thorough though
and thought they sound similar yes
indeed they do sound similar and they
even look similar in writing for sure
however these words have different
meanings and different functions in
speech and in writing let's look at
through to begin with though through
means to pass into something and to come
out the other side of something so for
example to go through a tunnel or if
you're looking at a document for example
to go through a document means to read
through read all of the content of the
document from beginning to
and so through something is to begin at
something and pass through all of the
content to pass through everything and
come come out the other side or to
complete something so we also use the
word through to mean finished in
American English like are you through
with dinner or I'm through with my
homework so through those are a couple
of different ways we use the word
through the second word thorough
thorough so different from through
thorough means comprehensive thorough
means completely thorough means well
done it has typically a positive meaning
so for example she was very thorough in
her explanation of the word through or
she was very thorough in her explanation
of the word thorough sorry she was very
thorough in her presentation meaning she
gave a lot of information in her
presentation thorough means well done
containing a lot of knowledge a lot of
information in something thorough so
please be thorough in completing your
homework or he wasn't very thorough in
cleaning his room so thorough means well
done completely done finished so
considering everything considering all
points of something even the small
details is considered thorough so we can
use thorough for presentations for
activities that require small details a
thorough safety check for example so
these are actions that are done
completely fully to the small details so
that's thorough next we're here is
though though though you can think of
though in the same way you think of the
word but so it's used to contrast
information it's used to express a
difference in something so you could
follow someone's opinion with an
expression like tho so for example I
think summer is the best season though
winter is pretty fun too so you can
think of though in the same way as you
think of but a though be so you're
presenting a and then a contrasting
opinion B and you're connecting those
two ideas with though in the same way
you would but so though though although
is similar we use although and though
and but in similar ways what's the
difference but is much more casual and
but is use much more in casual
conversation and everyday conversation
if you're writing a document
a formal document or if you're making a
formal statement you could use though in
place of but so though shows contrasting
information the last one on this list is
thought thought thought is the past
tense of think when used as a verb so I
thought you were coming today or I
thought it was going to rain later or I
thought this was such a great afternoon
thought is used as the past tense of
think we can also use thought to refer
to an idea as a noun so I have a thought
for example or do you have any thoughts
about this project so we can use thought
as a verb past tense of think or as a
noun to refer to an idea so again that's
through thorough though and thought some
of you might be wondering how do I
remember which is which when I'm reading
or when I'm listening you have to pay
attention to the grammar of the sentence
they all have different grammatical
functions so you need to think about the
grammar surrounding the word next
question next question from Han Yong hee
hanpan Jonnie Jonnie sorry hey Alicia
what's the difference between maybe
probably perhaps and possibly great
question maybe probably perhaps possibly
okay maybe probably perhaps and possibly
these are all adverbs they have the same
grammatical function maybe probably
perhaps and possibly maybe and perhaps
are very closely related maybe and
perhaps are they have the same meaning
but just different levels of formality
maybe is like the lower level the more
casual version of the word perhaps so
maybe I'll go to the beach this weekend
and perhaps I'll go to the beach this
weekend
they have really the same meaning but
perhaps sounds more formal probably
however is different
probably expresses a higher level of
possibility than the other words on this
list I'll probably go to the beach this
weekend it's like a 75 to 80 percent
chance the speaker is going to go to the
beach this weekend possibly however
possibly has more of a nuance of just
that something can be done it is
possible to do something we use possibly
more in requests like could you possibly
blah blah blah for
could you possibly send me this file
possibly sounds a little too formal for
casual conversations and invitations but
if you're using it at work for example
could you possibly meet me later this
week instead of could you maybe meet me
so the difference between maybe and
possibly and perhaps they're possible
has that route
yeah possible able to so maybe and
perhaps don't have that nuance possibly
sounds like is it possible is it are you
able to do this thing maybe and perhaps
don't contain that nuance
so to recap maybe and perhaps are used
to express the same thing a chance of
something happening perhaps is more
formal possibly is used in a similar way
however it refers more to simple
possibility than is it is are you able
to do that thing probably expresses a
high chance of something next question
next question is from Muhammad's Ohio
what is the difference between famous
and popular great question
famous is something that is well known
many people know about that thing or
that person Beyonce is famous the Statue
of Liberty is famous the Eiffel Tower is
famous popular however means many people
know about it and it is liked it has a
positive image so like Beyonce is
popular or like a famous candy is
popular like chocolate cake is popular
it's a famous food and many people like
it so popular is famous Plus like a
positive image sometimes we can use
those two words for the same thing so
Beyonce is famous beyonce is popular but
famous doesn't always mean they are
popular so someone can be famous for a
bad thing
in that case though it's typically
better to use the word infamous infamous
infamous means famous for a bad reason
so famous for something negative on to
question do from SF what does love to
hate mean and when can I use it love to
hate means it's something that you
really really dislike but it's sort of
enjoyable to dislike so for example this
is an expression we can apply to
reality-tv so many people think reality
TV is not very good entertainment or
it's not very high-quality entertainment
however it's really really fun to watch
so maybe for example you just hate a
character on a reality TV show but
somehow you enjoy watching that TV show
- so something that you feel very strong
dislike for and yet you really enjoy it
at the same time that's something you
can love to hate you love to hate that
thing next question next question comes
from oh you wrote the pronunciation of
your name very nice item i todd i think
okay okay Alicia
well my level is intermediate they feel
that they're stuck at the intermediate
level and want to reach the advanced
level they're watching lots of videos on
YouTube reading academic articles on the
web but still feel that progress has
somehow stopped could you give me some
advice okay you say in your message that
you feel your progress somehow has
stopped I have been here to the
intermediate plateau like you begin
learning a language and it's like yeah
I'm learning all these things and then
you kind of like plateau you get to a
level where things don't continue and
you feel like progress goes much more
slowly I would say in this case first
identify how you feel your progress has
stopped by that I mean like do you feel
like your vocabulary is lacking or do
you find that it's hard to listen to
people and to understand what they're
saying do you find it's hard to write is
it hard to to like to read things so
first identify what is that thing that
you feel like you're not good and then
start to approach your further studies
with that as the focus I think that if
you can think about your different skill
sets your different levels in reading
writing speaking and listening you can
identify which of those four things is
weakest for you and start there so when
you feel your progress has stopped think
like okay what am I not good at doing
and then focus your time there so maybe
that's a helpful first step for you hope
that helped this week's first question
is a question from Baja by heart they
are I'm very sorry hi Alicia I'd like to
learn about
as and like what's the difference
between them to begin with like is a
preposition remember prepositions are
words we use to show relationships to
other words or to position the elements
in a sentence so for example act and by
and on are also prepositions the word
light is a preposition however the word
as is a conjunction a conjunction is a
word that connects elements in a
sentence so for example and but or for
so these words are conjunctions that's
point one we use like and as to make
comparisons the general agreement on how
to use like and as at this point in time
is that if you are following the word
like with a simple statement like a noun
phrase you should use the word like if
however the part that comes after the
word like whereas has a verb in the
clause there's a verb in that part of
this sentence you should use as to do
that because as functions as a
conjunction remember its connecting the
elements in a sentence so we should use
like if there's just a simple phrase or
it's like a simple noun phrase something
like that after like or as so to give
some examples my coworker eats like a
pig
in that case I've used the word like
because after like comes a pig it's just
a simple noun phrase if however I said
my coworker eats as if he were a pig I'm
using a verb I'm using the verb were as
if he were so we can use ads in cases
wherever we follow the statement with a
verb we can use like in cases where we
follow that statement with a simple noun
phrase generally we use them both to
make comparisons I'll say though that
native speakers often make mistakes with
this generally speaking now especially
in spoken conversation in casual spoken
conversation at least American English
speakers tend to use like more often
than as in everyday conversation I tend
to use like I rely on like heavily for
my comparisons and
situations it's like you were it's like
he was it's like blah blah blah as I
feel is more common at least among
American English speakers in writing so
you might see as if and as though both
of those we can use to make comparisons
like comes before a simple noun phrase
as is used before something containing a
ver yeah thanks for that question bar
next question next question comes from
Chiara GRA GRA GRA GRA uh I'll help you
studying and I'll help you to study what
is the correct one thanks I'll help you
something I'll help you do this so just
the regular plain form of the verb I
would suggest is probably the most
natural choice thanks for the question
though next question next question comes
from sheriff sheriff Emmitt sheriff army
okay should I use the singular or plural
verb after colloquial names for example
my team have won the match or has won
the match okay in this case my team has
won the match my team has won the match
so use the singular form of the verb
like same as like he has or she has my
team has is the correct answer here next
question the next question is from
taylor taylor asks which one sounds
better i read a newspaper every morning
or i read the newspaper every morning
nice question this is a question about
articles this is just about being
specific if for example there's a
specific newspaper that you want to read
like I read the ABC newspaper every
morning you should use that if it's not
important to you to be specific about a
newspaper and if you want to imply that
you just read any newspaper every
morning you can use a newspaper I read a
newspaper every morning using the
instead though shows that there is maybe
a specific newspaper using the before
newspaper in this case though sounds
like there's a specific newspaper you
read every morning if you say I read a
newspaper every morning it sounds like
you just choose any newspaper that's
available to you on that day and you
read that newspaper so using the shows
that there's a specific or it implies
that there's a
newspaper you'll read every day you
don't have to be specific about which
one you can like I read the New York
Times every day or I read that Guardian
every day for example but if you say I
read a newspaper every day it sounds
like you don't choose the same newspaper
each day that's the difference between
these two phrases most people however do
choose the same newspaper every day
and so they use I read the newspaper
every day you can say I read the news
every day as well but using that set
phrase the news it's like the news for
the day I read that day's news every day
where I read the previous day's news
every day so usually we say the news we
don't use on news it sounds a little
strange to use on news so the same sort
of thing applies to a newspaper most
people choose the same newspaper every
day so we say the newspaper instead of
newspaper but thanks for that question
Taylor thanks next question next
question comes from Jeffrey hi Jeffrey
Jeffrey asks sometimes I watch movies
and some characters say you wish with a
very angry attitude or I wish in other
situations what do these two sentences
mean and how do I use it
a-ha interesting question okay when
someone responds with you wish to a
negative suggestion it's like they're
mutually together they're recognizing
that they don't like each other so
usually the first character will say
something like make a negative
suggestion like you should you should
leave town and get a different job leave
us alone something like that and then
the other character will say yeah you
wish like yes this this character
recognizes you want me to do that yes
but I'm not going to do that in other
words so it's sort of like a challenge
so this person says like this negative
suggestion the other person recognizes
the suggestion says no I'm not going to
do that but I know you want me to do
that so you wish and this way means it's
like a negative challenge look they're
kind of fighting recognizing they
dislike each other so that's one the
other one what was the other one
so I wish we talked about I wish in the
previous the previous episode of
delecia so please check that out but
essentially I wish refers to something
that we cannot do now or something that
is different from the present situation
but we want we want to happen we want to
be able to do so please check the last
episode of ask Alicia for more about I
wish like the positivity next question
next question comes from rain Bryan
Bryan I'm very sorry hey Alicia what's
your height I am
1,000 centimeters tall or maybe I'm 6
centimeters taller this whole thing is
just a scam
next question next question comes from
Bowie then des bow a bow e then de
votante asks when can I use ever in a
present perfect sentence like I have
ever ever means at any time or at all
times you can use ever when you're
asking a question like have you ever
blah blah blah have you ever been to
France have you ever eaten ramen have
you ever taken a trip to the mountains
for example we can use ever when making
questions that's one but because ever
means at all time or at any time we may
not use it to answer a question like
that have you ever blah blah blah we
usually say yes or no in that in
response to that we can say I have never
ever taken a trip to France or I have
never ever forgotten my keys for example
I have never ever blah blah blah but in
that case it still means never an
expression like never ever just
emphasizes the word never so to use ever
we need to pare ever with a verb in a
sentence so we can't say I have ever
just I have plus a verb we cannot say I
have ever that's incorrect I have at
some at any time or at all times it's
it's redundant it's it's not necessary
we can however use ever in a negative
expression like I haven't ever been to
France or she hasn't ever eaten cheese
for example so we have to pare ever with
a negative to make a response we use
ever for present perfect tense questions
and paired with a negative have or has
to make a response to make a negative
response so please keep those two in my
first question from Harley passes hard
Harley peso hustle pass re Harley asks
what is the use of get plus adverb or
preposition for example I get down this
is a question about phrasal verbs with
get we can use a lot of different things
after the word get in your example to
get down we use it when dancing for
example like I want to get down this
weekend it's sort of an old-fashioned
expression now to get down we can use a
lot of different words after the verb
yet though for example get into to get
into something means to become
interested in something you might hear
to get at like get at me or get at your
professor to get at means to reach out
to or to communicate with but it's a
very casual expression you can say get
after like I need to get after my
homework for example it means to like
chase after or try to do something also
to get in like to get into a club to get
into a restaurant to get into a party
the nuance is that something is
challenging but you can gain access to
that thing like I got into the party
last night but I wasn't on the list
there are a lot of different uses of the
word yet I can't talk about all of them
in this video because there are so many
so if you're curious about the various
phrasal verbs that we can use with the
word yet check out a dictionary that's a
really good place to start next question
comes from Alexander hi Alexander
Alexander says hi Alicia what's the
difference between the words intelligent
smart and clever intelligent and smart
have the same meaning they mean someone
who has a lot of knowledge and the image
is that they got it from like books from
studying from classrooms from lectures
intelligent and smart they have that
same feeling about them but intelligence
sounds more formal smart is used a lot
among young people who have good
academic abilities for example clever
also means that someone has a lot of
knowledge but the idea with clever may
be they have knowledge from books and
classes yes but their knowledge is from
world
experience so they're really good with
like people in situations and they can
think quickly maybe and they have good
ideas that's someone who is clever
sometimes clever has the image of being
a little bit like sneaky too next
question next question comes from long
and long and asks what is the difference
between simple past tense and past
continuous tense or past progressive
tense simple past tense we use for
actions that started and ended in the
past so the beginning of the action and
the end of the action happened in the
past so for example the sentence I ate
breakfast is a simple past tense
statement I ate breakfast ate is a
simple past tense the past continuous
tense however or the past progressive
tense is something we used to talk about
an action that was continuing at a
specific point in time in the past if I
want to use the past progressive tense I
can say I was eating breakfast using
that continuous tense using that
progressive tense implies I want to
explain something else that happened at
that time or maybe I want to add some
more information so for example I was
eating breakfast at 8 o'clock this
morning or I was eating breakfast when
the phone rang or I was eating breakfast
and watching TV at the same time I was
eating breakfast while studying today by
using the past progressive I am
explaining that an action was continuing
at a specific point in time as in the
example I was eating breakfast at 8
o'clock or I can use past progressive to
show one action was happening at the
same time as another action in the past
if I use just the simple past tense I'm
just saying a simple fact in other words
this action happened I ate breakfast at
8 o'clock if I want to emphasize the
continuous nature of the action for some
reason like I was eating breakfast at 8
o'clock I can use the past progressive
tense in that case it might be in
response to a question like what were
you doing at 8 o'clock this morning so
if someone wants to ask maybe what you
were doing at a specific point in time
like someone is suspicious if you like
what were you doing last night you can
say like oh I was having dinner with my
friends
tonight but past tense simple past tense
is something we use for actions which
start and finish in the past but
progressive the progressive tense in
past can be used to emphasize the
continuing nature of that situation or
that action first question this week
comes from Eduardo hi Eduardo could you
explain please how to use the
expressions one at all to kind of three
actually for a big picture sure number
one at all we use at all as an emphasis
phrase after negative statements I don't
want to study at all today he doesn't
like me at all we can also use this
expression in question question two
about kind of it depends on which
expression you mean there's kind of
which can mean a little bit or somewhat
I kind of want to eat Vietnamese food
for dinner you'll also notice that the
pronunciation there changes to kinda
kinda not kind of but kinda kind of
depending on the way the sentence is
made though kind of can also refer to
types of something what kind of ice
cream do you like they don't know what
kind of house they want here kind of
means type so they don't know what kind
of house they want they don't know what
kind of food they want to eat for dinner
for example so check to see which way
kind of is being used if it's coming
before a verb like I kind of want to eat
or I kind of want to go then it probably
means a little bit but if it's coming
before and noun then it probably means
type of now so I hope that helps third
question about the word actually
actually right we use the word actually
when we want to explain the real
situation as we understand it so people
like to use actually actually to
introduce their opinion as though it's
fact sometimes so some examples of this
actually I don't live in the United
States I don't think he actually likes
chocolate so in these ways were
introducing a real situation as we
understand it we use actually to do that
your fourth question is about big
picture big picture is used to talk
about a broad idea of something so going
away from a small detail and talking
about like the entire city
at one time I know you think studying
vocabulary is boring but look at the big
picture it's important to know small
details
he's losing sight of the big picture
he's wasting time and money so the big
picture is kind of like maybe the the
bigger situation hope that helps next
question next question comes from yes in
yeah yes II yes in I'm very sorry what's
the difference between on time and in
time is it you arrived just on time or
you arrived just in time we use on time
to refer to doing something at the
correct time doing something at a
scheduled time so for example I need to
get to work on time meaning at the
correct time or did you make it to your
appointment on time in time however is
used when we want to kind of give a
nuance of rushing or hurrying for
something I need to leave my house now
to get to the airport in time for my
flight I need to study for my test now
if I want to be in time for the party
later you should probably leave now if
you want to be in time for the movie in
time for something else so I want to do
action a to make my schedule meet this
other condition this other thing I would
like to do with this other thing I need
to do in time for has the nuance of a
deadline we can use this expression in
like a panic like oh my gosh I'm not
going to make it in time
like to submit a paper I'm not going to
make it in time in time means like
before the deadline
whereas on time has the meaning of
completing an action or completing
something at a scheduled time next
question next question is from want
function hi mom friend hey Alicia what
does you just made my day mean I heard
this phrase but I don't fully understand
it yeah so you made my day is a really
positive phrase you can imagine this as
you just made my day
much better but we don't say much better
so we use this when someone gives us
good news we can say you just made my
day or you made my day just sounds like
something happened very recently you
just made my day
a raise you just made my day we get to
take the afternoon off
you just made my day
those are situations where someone is
really happy and wants to express that
the other person improved their day in
that moment nice expression next
question the next question comes from
gearson Silva hi what is the difference
between shade and shadow oh great
this is a great question both of these
words can be used to refer to a place
that is darker than its surroundings
because there's an object that is
blocking the light we can say there's
shade over there or there's a shadow
over there in that sentence they are
used the same however shadow refers to
the dark shape only so a person can cast
a shadow we use cast the verb cast with
the shadow I cast a shadow when I stand
in the Sun for example shade however as
a noun refers to or has the nuance of a
kind of shelter so shelter provided by
some other object shelter from the light
shelter from the Sun so we would say
stand in the shade because shade has the
nuance of shelter we would not say stand
in the shadow shadow does not carry the
nuance of shelter in the way that shade
does interestingly enough though shade
and shadow are both used as verbs as
well to Shadow something needs to follow
something closely to shadow someone at
work means to follow someone at work and
try to understand their job for example
shade is used as a verb to mean to
create shelter from light for example
the canopy shaded us from the Sun shade
also has some interesting uses you might
hear the slang phrase to throw shade
throwing shade is a really interesting
slang expression that we use which means
to communicate disrespect or to
communicate like contempt bad feelings
for something when you're speaking
generally in most cases when you want to
talk about a dark cool area we should
say shade stand in the shade when you
want to talk only about the dark area
that dark object use shadow next
question comes from Celso Moreno you
wrote your name in all caps back to back
what does it mean sometimes I hear it in
baseball games do you know yes I do know
the expression back to back means one
after another so we have two things
sometimes more back-to-back-to-back you
can put that in a line it means in
baseball for example like one homerun
after another we could say two homeruns
back-to-back two or more things
happening quickly in succession it's
used a lot in sports next question
actually two questions from Danny hi
Danny Danny's first question is you
talked about lit as slang yes I talked
about lit in episode 2 so 1 episode 2
I've asked Alisha can you please talk
about the verb light and using it an
active and passive sure light means to
start a fire so to light a fire to light
a candle some examples of active and
passive voice with this verb then why
don't we light some candles for dinner
tonight all the candles in the
restaurant were live on our camping trip
my neighbors lit a fire and we brought
hamburgers to me a fire was lit in the
campsite while we were gone I was going
to light a fire but I fell asleep so to
light means to start a fire he lit the
house on fire we can say to light bla
bla bla
on fire so there are a few different
examples of using the verb light in
active and in passive past tense
future tense as well so I hope that
that's helpful Danny's second question
can you talk about ride and its uses
like take someone for a ride can I take
a ride Ryan is another verb that has a
lot of different uses you use the
example to take someone for a ride means
to drive together with someone to go for
a ride has the nuance of doing something
just for fun it's just for fun I want to
take a ride to a location I want to take
a ride to the mountains this weekend or
take a ride to the beach but to take
someone for a ride means to invite
someone to drive somewhere with you in a
car that's one way to use ride you can
also say give me a ride can you give me
a ride so this is a request expression I
don't have a car my friend has a car I
want my friend to take me in their car
to a location I can say can you give me
a ride to the movie theater can you give
me a ride to the lake give me a ride is
a request so give me a ride in your car
so there are a lot of
a ride if you want to see all of them or
if you want to see more of them I
recommend checking a dictionary there
are quite a few and I can't talk about
them all in this video so please check a
dictionary next question is from
Anderson soon as that Anderson's house a
high Enderson Anderson asks hi Lisa how
are you doing I'm reading Harry Potter
and I just saw the sentence good night
Harry
how do you pronounce good night yeah
good night we sometimes say good night
good night so that damn good is dropped
we've removed that good sound and we say
good night good night good night that's
how you say it
next question ok next question is from
femme femme BAM what does you're too
good to be true mean is it good or not
maybe you've heard this in a famous song
you're too good to be true can't take my
eyes off of you in that case it's a good
meaning a different way to say this
expression is you are so good you are so
amazing that I can't believe you're real
so in other words something must be
wrong there must be some problem with
you it's not possible for you to be real
because you are so good you are so great
so you're too good to be true it's like
wow I'm amazed by you so it's a good
expression if however maybe in a more
uncommon situation someone said like
this guy is too good to be true
like maybe reviewing a job application
for example this girl she's too good to
be true like if it's said in that way
maybe there's something suspicious about
that person this doesn't seem right
there's just too much good information
here there must be some problem with
this person depending on the intonation
it can portray either a very positive
meaning or a very suspicious meaning in
most cases however it's a positive need
so if you heard this in a song for
example it's probably a very positive
kind of romantically nuanced phrase
thanks very much for that question film
next one next question is from Austria
Junior sorry I hope I said that right
Alisha how do we separate words in a
text when we get to the end of the line
your text formatting software should do
that for you do you use word words
should do that for you if you use just
text or note
there should be a word wrap function I
don't know nuke like Google and if that
doesn't help you
your second question though what is the
difference in pronunciation between life
and live or live for example my life is
good and two I live in a big city right
so life and the word that spelled Li ve
as in your example I live in a big city
have different pronunciations the vowel
pronunciation of the I sound is
different in life it's a very open sound
lie like life life in the second word
live the I sound is kind of tall Lily
it's very like kind of in your nose live
that's the first sound that's a bit
different so lai lai lai lai that's the
I sound that's different but then the
consonant sound is also different the F
in life so there's there's just air
coming out of my mouth I'm not making
any sound with my vocal cords they're
just life life with the word live
however I'm making a sound so that's the
difference so I have to I have to use my
vocal cords to make the sound so life no
vocal cords live vocal cords use however
do be careful live Li ve can also be
pronounced live so that V sound I talked
about where you use your vocal cords
plus that open e sound live so like a
live performance for example so you need
to pay attention to the grammar of the
sentence to understand if it's live or
live as well so life and live have very
different pronunciations good one my
sketch I hope you can practice those
next question Rabia Arshad rate Rabia
Arshad Rabia or ferrous iron bear what's
the difference between can and may I saw
this on the dining like a champ cheat
sheet and noticed these words were used
for requests what's the difference can
and may for requests in modern English
men modern American English are used the
same if I use them in
can refers to ability may refers to
permission please just be careful can
and may are only used in the same way to
make requests in modern American English
next question is from Harley hi Harley
hello again
what is the correct use it's I have
breakfast I have lunch I have dinner or
I breakfast i lunch i dinner i dine ah
nice question Harley I use the I have
lunch I have dinner I have breakfast
version if you drop have you sound very
posh posh means like fashionable
sophisticated a bit rich as well so I'm
not any of those things but saying I'm
breakfast i lunch i dinner it sounds
like you have a very high opinion of
that activity in most cases at least in
my life I don't have a reason to speak
like that so I always say I have
breakfast or I have lunch or I have
dinner it's not incorrect to say I
breakfast i lunch like dying but it
sounds a bit unnatural in most everyday
life situations you don't really need to
talk with that level of formality
I don't think next question next
question is from feriss ferriss Ghazali
Ferris gastly I'm very sorry
Ferris asks hey Alicia can we use hasn't
in an essay has it's the contracted form
of has not you can it's physically
possible for you to use peasant in an
essay sure but if you use contractions
in your writing it makes you in my
opinion it makes me sound a bit less
formal if you use the expanded form the
unbeknown contracted version you're
gonna sound a bit more formal a bit more
polished I feel this does not only apply
to the word has not and hasn't therefore
this applies to all contractions really
the answer is yes you can but I don't
necessarily recommend it if you want to
sound formal and polished thanks for
that question though Baris next question
what does the word litt mean what does
the word with me litt is actually a
slang word it's common slang among young
people especially in the u.s. right now
maybe many of you know that I've ever to
light
has the past-tense lit lit is used to
talk about for example a party or some
kind of social gathering usually that's
really exciting or that's really really
fun or that's kind of crazy so lit using
the past tense there you can kind of
imagine that like a fire when you light
a fire it may be it gets bigger and it
gets kind of wild a little bit crazy
like there's a spark and then it starts
so if you see the word lit like this
party was lit it means it was really
crazy it was really good it was really
fun you can use it if you want but just
keep in mind that really young people
use that word I don't use that word for
reference but again I'm not first
question first question this week comes
from I'm on again hi I'm honest and lots
of questions think which one is correct
I want rest or I want to take rest well
you can say I want rest to mean in
general just you would like to do
nothing to relax
grammatically though I want to take a
rest is correct or I want to rest both
of those are correct
however in American English we don't
usually say I want to take a rest it's
more common to say I want to take a
break I want to take a break or let's
take a break or can we take a break
something like that is more common you
can say I want to take a rest
but again in American English rest is
less common next question what is
correct I thought you were gone or I
thought you are gone I thought you are
gone we need to use I thought you were
gone here I thought you were gone so I
thought past tense and you were is also
past tense it's a past tense thought
past tense situation so please use
Passons next question from Gabriella hi
Gabriella hi Lisa what is the difference
between use to and used to in fast
speech the difference in pronunciation
yeah basically when we're speaking
quickly or I suppose even not quickly we
tend to pronounce used to as used to the
grammar doesn't change it's just the
pronunciation changes because it's
difficult to say you
just to very quickly I used to I used to
it's very difficult to say so we just
say used to instead I used to use a
smartphone he used to play soccer we
used to cook everyday in each of these
sentences I contracted used to - used to
I think actually in most cases we
probably do say used to instead of used
to because it's quite difficult to say
again this shouldn't really cause any
communication problems used to and used
to have the same meaning just different
pronunciation next question also maybe
about were and less why do we use if I
were and not if I was this is a great
question and actually a lot of native
speakers make mistakes with this it's a
small point to be fair but if you want
to be correct you should always use if I
were this is a grammar point it refers
to the subjunctive mood the subjunctive
mood an explanation of subjunctive is a
bit beyond the scope it's a bit much for
this video but we will always use if I
were when the subject there is I in the
conditional if I were we always use work
you will hear native speakers say if I
was if I was if you want to be extremely
strict and extremely nitpicky word is
actually the correct one but if you use
was if you make a mistake and you use
was you will still be understood so but
yes this is related to the subjunctive
mood in English next question from suing
Tetsu in teh hope I said that right
xunte says highly show which word do you
prefer using as an American America the
United States the United States of
America the US the USA or the states I
only started using America to refer to
my country when I moved to Japan because
the people around me use the word
America to refer to the country but I
think before that I said the US I used
the US people would say where are you
from the US why did I use the US because
it's short and easy to say the US I
don't want to say the United States of
America it sounds long to me thanks for
the question great work here's a reward
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