WEBVTT FILE 1 00:00:00.149 --> 00:00:06.330 Hello everyone and welcome back to English with Lucy. I am very, very excited about today's 2 00:00:06.330 --> 00:00:13.469 video, because you helped me create it. I asked my Instagram followers to tell me some 3 00:00:13.469 --> 00:00:21.960 of the most difficult pairs of English words, words that my students genuinely find tough 4 00:00:21.960 --> 00:00:31.199 to remember, or to say, or to differentiate between. Words like effect and affect, either 5 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:36.250 and neither, or is it either and neither? We will talk about that. 6 00:00:36.250 --> 00:00:47.970 What about except and accept, or loose and lose? Should you use assure, ensure, or insure? 7 00:00:47.970 --> 00:00:53.029 What do they mean? How do we use them? We will go through all of these and many, many 8 00:00:53.030 --> 00:00:59.990 more. I have 10 sets of confusing English words, and you will leave the lesson feeling 9 00:00:59.990 --> 00:01:02.890 that little bit more knowledgeable. 10 00:01:02.890 --> 00:01:08.010 Before we get started, I would just like to thank the sponsor of today's video. It is 11 00:01:08.010 --> 00:01:15.180 Skillshare, which is an online learning community with thousands of inspiring classes for lifelong 12 00:01:15.180 --> 00:01:22.170 learners. There are so many classes to choose from, from business to design, to creative 13 00:01:22.170 --> 00:01:28.920 writing, to marketing, to languages. The choice is yours. I think that this class, called 14 00:01:28.920 --> 00:01:36.709 Real Productivity: How to Build Habits That Last by Thomas Frank, could help me a lot, 15 00:01:36.709 --> 00:01:38.989 and I think it could help a lot of you too. 16 00:01:38.990 --> 00:01:45.209 Skillshare is curated specifically for learning, meaning there are no ads and they are always 17 00:01:45.209 --> 00:01:52.099 launching new premium classes. It's less than $10 a month with an annual subscription. And 18 00:01:52.100 --> 00:01:57.340 the first 1,000 of my students to click on the link in the description box will get a 19 00:01:57.340 --> 00:02:02.869 free trial of premium Skillshare membership. What are you waiting for? 20 00:02:02.869 --> 00:02:09.149 Right. Let's get started with the confusing English words. I'm going to present to you 21 00:02:09.149 --> 00:02:16.299 10 pairs, or in some cases, trios of words that are generally found to be very, very 22 00:02:16.299 --> 00:02:23.060 confusing. They are confusing to English learners and native speakers alike. I know that I make 23 00:02:23.060 --> 00:02:26.700 mistakes with these words quite frequently. 24 00:02:26.700 --> 00:02:33.139 To help you out even further, to help you learn and memorise all of these little nuances, 25 00:02:33.139 --> 00:02:39.238 I have created a PDF worksheet. It's got all of the information from today's lesson, plus 26 00:02:39.239 --> 00:02:43.590 some extra activities that I think you'll really like. All you have to do to claim this 27 00:02:43.590 --> 00:02:48.939 free PDF is to sign up to my mailing list and it will be sent directly to your inbox. 28 00:02:48.939 --> 00:02:52.310 The link to do that is also in the description box. 29 00:02:52.310 --> 00:03:02.260 So the first one we have, effect and affect. The pronunciation is so similar. With the 30 00:03:02.260 --> 00:03:10.159 first one, beginning with E, I say effect, effect. It's slightly more of an E sound at 31 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:15.599 the beginning. With the word beginning with A, I use the schwa, affect, affect. 32 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:21.639 Please note, I am teaching modern received pronunciation here. Of course, there are lots 33 00:03:21.639 --> 00:03:30.068 of variations. But in general, in the UK, I hear people using the schwa A sound for 34 00:03:30.069 --> 00:03:38.739 both affect, effect, affect, effect, the same. I will say affect and effect to emphasise 35 00:03:38.739 --> 00:03:45.379 which word I'm referring to. Both of these words can take the form of both a noun and 36 00:03:45.379 --> 00:03:46.469 a verb. 37 00:03:46.469 --> 00:03:54.559 Affect is most commonly a verb and effect is most commonly a noun. Usually, something 38 00:03:54.559 --> 00:04:04.540 affects something to produce an effect. So to affect, to affect, is to influence something 39 00:04:04.540 --> 00:04:13.139 or somebody. For example, do video games affect children's behaviour? Effect, the noun version, 40 00:04:13.139 --> 00:04:19.810 is a result or an influence. Do video games have an effect on children's behaviour? 41 00:04:19.810 --> 00:04:28.960 Now, effect can be used as a verb, to effect. However, this is quite rare, but it's not 42 00:04:28.960 --> 00:04:36.279 unheard of. It means to achieve or to produce. For example, we hope to effect a change in 43 00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:43.698 policy. Affect can be used as a noun, but this is incredibly rare and it's used in very 44 00:04:43.699 --> 00:04:50.210 specific situations, normally in psychology or psychiatry. And in this case, it means 45 00:04:50.210 --> 00:04:55.330 an emotional response, but I don't really see the value in going into detail in that. 46 00:04:55.330 --> 00:05:02.240 Now, how can you remember which is which? I have a little memory tip, affect comes first, 47 00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:09.669 alphabetically, with A. And an action, affect has to happen first in order to produce an 48 00:05:09.669 --> 00:05:16.180 effect. I don't know if that's made it easier or more complicated, but it made sense in 49 00:05:16.180 --> 00:05:17.919 my head. Okay. 50 00:05:17.919 --> 00:05:25.389 Now we have one with which I really struggle, a pair that I really struggle with. It is 51 00:05:25.389 --> 00:05:32.659 bring and take. They don't sound similar, but my mother always used these interchangeably 52 00:05:32.659 --> 00:05:37.580 when I was growing up. And it's only since I've been with my fiance, William, that I've 53 00:05:37.580 --> 00:05:44.720 realised how often I use these words incorrectly. I will say, if you use these incorrectly, 54 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:48.390 it's highly likely that we understand what you mean. 55 00:05:48.390 --> 00:05:53.539 Obviously the most important thing is communication, but here we're getting down to the nitty-gritty. 56 00:05:53.539 --> 00:06:01.120 We're looking deep into these words. So bring movement towards somebody. So it depends on 57 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:08.610 point of view. Normally it's towards the speaker. Now, take implies movement away from someone 58 00:06:08.610 --> 00:06:15.150 or something. Again, it totally depends on whose point of view we're looking at. 59 00:06:15.150 --> 00:06:21.680 Let's have a look at two dialogues. Both of these dialogues are from Tom's point of view. 60 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:27.659 We have Tom, we have Jane, we are seeing things from Tom's point of view. Tom and Jane are 61 00:06:27.659 --> 00:06:34.669 in the living room. Tom asks, Jane, "Are you going to the kitchen?" And Jane replies with, 62 00:06:34.669 --> 00:06:41.960 "Yes." Tom responds with, "Can you bring me my phone charger?" So Jane will return from 63 00:06:41.960 --> 00:06:46.650 the kitchen with Tom's charger and give the charger to Tom. 64 00:06:46.650 --> 00:06:51.930 Another dialogue, again from Tom's point of view. Tom asks, Jane, "Are you coming over 65 00:06:51.930 --> 00:06:57.730 for dinner tonight?" And Jane responds with, "Yes." Jane doesn't talk much, does she? Tom 66 00:06:57.730 --> 00:07:02.379 then responds with, "Please, could you bring a dessert?" So Jane will carry a dessert from 67 00:07:02.379 --> 00:07:06.279 where she is to where Thomas is, in his house. 68 00:07:06.279 --> 00:07:12.679 So Tom and Jane are at home together. Tom says, "Please could you take this letter to 69 00:07:12.680 --> 00:07:18.098 the post office?" So the letter is moving away from where they are. It's a different 70 00:07:18.099 --> 00:07:24.460 place. Jane, who seems to be very, very nice, very submissive says, "Would you like me to 71 00:07:24.460 --> 00:07:31.531 take you to the station tomorrow?" So she will be carrying Tom from the house to the 72 00:07:31.531 --> 00:07:32.531 station. 73 00:07:32.531 --> 00:07:39.259 Now, I don't know why, with English as my mother tongue, I still find this concept so 74 00:07:39.259 --> 00:07:45.639 difficult to use correctly in my daily life. And that's just a clear example of how frustrating 75 00:07:45.639 --> 00:07:51.740 English can be sometimes. It's my mother tongue, and I still struggle with it, so please don't 76 00:07:51.740 --> 00:07:55.930 beat yourself up if you find some of these concepts quite hard. The most important thing 77 00:07:55.930 --> 00:07:57.650 is communication here. 78 00:07:57.650 --> 00:08:01.789 I might accidentally ask Will, "Oh, can you bring me to the station," instead of, "can 79 00:08:01.789 --> 00:08:06.400 you take me to the station?" And he always rolls his eyes and says, "Take." Oh, it's 80 00:08:06.400 --> 00:08:12.259 so annoying. The same thing happens with lefts and rights. I really struggle with lefts and 81 00:08:12.259 --> 00:08:17.370 rights. I just, my brain doesn't do it. And that's the same with bring and take. 82 00:08:17.370 --> 00:08:27.991 Right. Let's move on to these two words, either, or either, and neither or neither. Now, I 83 00:08:27.991 --> 00:08:35.020 really frequently receive questions about the pronunciation of these words, because 84 00:08:35.020 --> 00:08:41.200 I use the pronunciations interchangeably. How confusing is that? But seriously, there 85 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:48.100 are just some words in the English language that have two or more accepted pronunciations 86 00:08:48.100 --> 00:08:51.750 and people tend to use both pronunciations. 87 00:08:51.750 --> 00:08:59.420 Now in general, in American English, they tend to use, as far as I'm aware, either and 88 00:08:59.420 --> 00:09:06.960 neither. It seems that in British English, we're more inclined to use both either, either, 89 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:13.291 neither, neither. My recommendation to you is just pick the one you like best. I can 90 00:09:13.291 --> 00:09:18.959 imagine myself at dinner saying, "Oh, carrots or peas, either is fine." But I can also imagine 91 00:09:18.960 --> 00:09:22.090 myself saying, "Either one will do." Isn't that weird? 92 00:09:22.090 --> 00:09:27.530 I bet there is a study on these words and why we do that, and I need to find it. Now 93 00:09:27.530 --> 00:09:34.540 either, or either, means one or the other of two things or people. Anyone will do, it 94 00:09:34.540 --> 00:09:41.520 does not matter which. Neither, or neither, means not one nor the other of two people 95 00:09:41.520 --> 00:09:43.900 or things. Let me show you an example. 96 00:09:43.900 --> 00:09:52.510 Let's pretend I am in my classroom, teaching my class of students and I ask the classroom 97 00:09:52.510 --> 00:10:00.230 for a synonym for happy. So I want the class to give me another word that also means happy. 98 00:10:00.230 --> 00:10:08.150 Now, Miguel might tell me, "Content." And Rania might tell me, "Cheerful." Both of these 99 00:10:08.150 --> 00:10:11.340 answers are correct, so I can use either word. 100 00:10:11.340 --> 00:10:18.790 See, naturally I went to either there. I can use either word. I can use either word. There 101 00:10:18.790 --> 00:10:25.910 must be some logic to that. Now, Aga says, "Sad." And Nguyen says, "Down." Both of these 102 00:10:25.910 --> 00:10:29.760 answers are wrong. Neither answer is correct. 103 00:10:29.760 --> 00:10:41.970 Okay. Number four, we have advise and advice. So, I-S-E is a, zzz sound at the end, eyes, 104 00:10:41.970 --> 00:10:58.240 advise. I-C-E i a sss sound at the end, ice, advice. In this case, ise is the verb, advise, 105 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:06.850 to advise. And advice, with ice, is the noun. To advise is to tell somebody what you think 106 00:11:06.850 --> 00:11:09.250 they should do in a particular situation. 107 00:11:09.250 --> 00:11:15.790 An example, I would strongly advise against going out alone. Advice is the noun version 108 00:11:15.790 --> 00:11:20.700 of this. It is a suggestion or an opinion on what somebody should do in a particular 109 00:11:20.700 --> 00:11:25.400 situation. His advice was to not go out alone. 110 00:11:25.400 --> 00:11:34.429 Let's move on to number five. It is practise and practise, the pronunciation of both is 111 00:11:34.429 --> 00:11:43.749 the same. Now in British English, the noun is practise, with I-C-E at the end. And the 112 00:11:43.750 --> 00:11:50.540 verb, to practise, has I-S-E at the end, so we have a difference. In American English, 113 00:11:50.540 --> 00:11:57.140 I-C-E is used for both. So a lot of my students always say, "I find American English easier." 114 00:11:57.140 --> 00:12:03.090 And this is one of the reasons why I totally understand, they have simplified, or it's 115 00:12:03.091 --> 00:12:07.670 not even simplified, it's they've just made some things more logical. I can't think of 116 00:12:07.670 --> 00:12:13.330 many situations in which it would be confusing to have the same spelling for practise as 117 00:12:13.330 --> 00:12:16.940 a noun and practise as a verb, but maybe I'm wrong. 118 00:12:16.940 --> 00:12:24.580 So to practise, as a verb, I-S-E in British English, I-C-E in American English, is to 119 00:12:24.580 --> 00:12:31.929 do an activity or to train in order to improve your skill. And practise, always I-C-E, is 120 00:12:31.929 --> 00:12:38.899 the act of doing an activity or training regularly in order to improve your skill. So let's look 121 00:12:38.900 --> 00:12:44.309 at these two sentences, one is British English, the other is American English. They will sound 122 00:12:44.309 --> 00:12:46.939 exactly the same just with different accents. 123 00:12:46.940 --> 00:12:52.370 Oh no, do I have to do my American accent? In British English, I need to practise my 124 00:12:52.370 --> 00:12:59.170 violin as it takes a lot of practise to play well. And American English. I don't know if 125 00:12:59.170 --> 00:13:05.140 I'm going to leave this in the video, we will see how it goes. I'm sure there's an American 126 00:13:05.140 --> 00:13:12.690 out there watching me thinking, "Shut up." I need to practise my violin as it takes a 127 00:13:12.690 --> 00:13:19.500 lot of practise to play well. I sound like Siri. 128 00:13:19.500 --> 00:13:28.490 Oh, that's so much fun. That is so silly. Right. We have still got five more pairs or 129 00:13:28.490 --> 00:13:33.509 trios of confusing words, but I'm going to stop the lesson here. I don't want to overload 130 00:13:33.510 --> 00:13:38.980 you. So next week, we will have the second part of this lesson. Do not forget to download 131 00:13:38.980 --> 00:13:43.820 the PDF for this first section of the lesson and to complete the activities. I think they 132 00:13:43.820 --> 00:13:49.210 will really help you get these differences and these confusing words into your brain. 133 00:13:49.210 --> 00:13:54.320 Don't forget to check out Skillshare. The first 1,000 of my students to click on the 134 00:13:54.320 --> 00:13:59.821 link in the description box will get a free trial of premium Skillshare membership. Don't 135 00:13:59.821 --> 00:14:04.949 forget to connect with me on all of my social media. I've got my Facebook, my Instagram, 136 00:14:04.950 --> 00:14:10.690 and my email list. I've also got to my new British English pronunciation course where 137 00:14:10.690 --> 00:14:15.679 I teach modern received pronunciation. I'm very, very proud of it and we've had some 138 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:38.119 fabulous feedback from students so far. I will see you soon for another lesson.