English Mistakes to Avoid in 30 minutes

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welcome back to weekly words my name is

Alisha and this week we’re gonna talk

about commonly misspelled words I’m

excited about this because I like

catching misspellings believe to believe

something just means to accept something

as true or not true in the negative

believe is commonly misspelled they

spell it alive

well believe is commonly misspelled

don’t do that so if you’re having

trouble remembering the correct way to

spell the word believe consider that the

word lie is in the middle of the word

which is kind of counterintuitive if

you’ve been paying attention to the

weekly word series if you’re trying to

persuade a friend to do something you

might say please believe me this is

gonna be the best party ever you have to

come okay

the next is a lot this is commonly

misspelled because people like to put

the UH and the lot together it’s

actually two separate words uh and lot a

lot just means a large number of

something or a large amount of something

many of something in a sentence you

might say something like I have a lot of

hobbies I like skiing snowboarding and

whitewater rafting so just spell them

separately don’t put it all together oh

the next they’re there and they’re

students of English tend to be better

about spelling these words than the

native speakers of English and I find

that very interesting the first there th

er E refers to a place as in he lives

over there the book is over there

somewhere other than where you are right

now the second form th e IR is the

possessive form of a as in that’s their

house that’s their dog something that

belongs to some other group of people

and the last form th ey apostrophe r e

they are refers to a quality about

another group of people as in they are

the students they are the teachers it’s

the contracted form of they are on word

the next word is grateful grateful the

meaning of grateful grateful just means

that you appreciative of something in a

sentence you might say oh I feel so

grateful my teacher took time after

class to explain this concept to me

grateful is commonly misspelled because

this gr8 EE

sounds just like the word great grea T

but actually that great good meaning is

not the correct spelling for this word

we use great instead this spelling of

grade is also used as a verb as in two

great things in the kitchen I don’t know

if that has any relation to this or not

probably not it’s gr8 te next is receive

receive to receive something as a verb

means to be given something or to get

something receive can be kind of tricky

because of the I and the e a place where

the I before E except after C rule

applies it’s not a 100% true rule but

typically after the letter C if the

letters E and I need to follow it after

the letter C I is typically not the

first letter to come usually it’s e

that’s the first letter so it should be

C e I ve receive rather than recite you

for something like that

in a sample sentence you might say I

received a gift from my friend on my

birthday I was really happy about that

the next word is end right end is not

very commonly misspelled but thank you

for joining us for this episode of

weekly words please watch your spelling

with these words as it can be very

important to get them right thanks again

and I will see you next week bye bye

alright welcome back to weekly words

I am Alisha and this week we’re gonna

talk about commonly mispronounced

mispronounced Wow

this week we’re going to talk about

commonly mispronounced words words that

are often pronounced incorrectly funny

I enjoy mispronouncing this first word

the first word is hyperbole hyperbole

it’s not hyperbole though it does sound

very funny to say that hyperbole just

means to exaggerate something or to make

to blow something up make it a really

extreme my friend uses a lot of

hyperbole when she talks about her life

stories I really don’t think some of

those things happen to her hyperbole not

people next Antarctic not ah oh I see

Antarctic is the correct pronunciation

of this word some people say and and

tart Antarctic really oh I guess when

you’re saying this word quickly you

might leave out that first sea in the

Antarctic so don’t say that don’t do

that say Antarctic the the very very

cold region the Arctic is the North cold

region on the planet Earth the South is

the aunt Arctic there’s sort of like

almost a hiccup in the word there

Antarctic Oh

in a sentence I’m thinking about taking

a cruise to the Antarctic what do you

think I need a penguin suit etc not etc

oh yeah okay I’ve heard I hear this ech

ech thing a lot yet cetera is just used

at the end of a list to imply that you

mean other things so the list is not

exclusive to the things that you’ve

listed other things can also be included

in it so in a sample sentence types of

fruits are apples oranges peaches etc

there are others as well so don’t say

etc that’s not correct

etc it’s good the next word is jewelry

what not money’s the next word is

jewelry jewelry I think I’m probably

guilty of this mispronunciation I can’t

say that word mispronunciation where the

word kind of gets a little bit smushed

together and we say jewelry instead

we’ve missed that that second e sound in

there it should be jewelry in a sample

sentence maybe you would say I’m

shopping for some jewelry for my mother

for her birthday jewelry we’re too lazy

prescription

not prescription okay a prescription is

something that a doctor gives you when

you’re sick and you require medicine the

doctor will write you a prescription

some people might say prescription Wow

okay I didn’t even notice and I was

doing it while I was telling you guys

not to do it that’s embarrassing

prescription a doctor writes you a

prescription not a prescription when you

go to the doctor’s office the doctor

might say here is your prescription and

all right well we’ve learned that I

apparently can’t pronounce some words

the way that they’re meant to be

pronounced so please work on your

pronunciation I will work on my

pronunciation to thank you for joining

us on weekly words this week I will see

you next time bye bye welcome back to

weekly words my name is Alisha and this

week we are going to look at commonly

misinterpreted phrases the first phrase

is I couldn’t care less people will

often say I could care less but that

doesn’t really mean the same thing as I

couldn’t care less short for I could not

care less and it’s not possible for me

to care any less about this situation so

it’s just emphasizing that whatever is

going on it doesn’t bother you in a

sentence my co-workers project wasn’t

successful and I couldn’t care less

Oh jerk alright next is nip it in the

bud many people say nip it in the butt

it should be nip it in the bud but in

this case might refer to a flower before

it blossoms that’s small shape before

the flower actually opens up we call

that a bud

so to nip something would mean to take

something quickly like biting taking

motion to nip something in the bud would

mean to stop something before it becomes

something else stopping something

negative from happening knitting a

sweater

come on eating a sweater earlier there’s

a section of the sweater where the

thread that the yarn has started to

unravel and you think to yourself oh my

gosh I need to nip this in the bud nip

this in the bud so you decide to fix it

right away instead of letting the

sweater just slowly unravel as you work

on it next is one and the same not one

in the same I’m probably guilty of this

one actually one and the same just

refers to something that is maybe has

two names but both of those names refer

to the same thing or the same person my

teacher and my

my father are one in the same person

maybe you know if your dad is your

teacher in school you could use this

expression on tenterhooks on tenterhooks

is the next expression this isn’t a

phrase that I’m familiar with don’t use

this one but it seems that some people

use the phrase on tender hooks I’m not

really sure what tenterhooks are this

expression is used when people are

looking forward to learning the outcome

of something or kind of maybe there is

anticipation they’re anticipating

something maybe you would use this when

you’re watching a movie perhaps like I

was on tenterhooks to learn about the

end of the story something like that

maybe next moot point not mute point but

moot point something that is irrelevant

something that there’s just no point in

talking about it it is moot there’s no

meaning a moot point yeah move point

that’s funny I ah ask the Internet’s hey

Siri Oh No okay you’re looking for a guy

to fill a position and you find a guy

and he’s a great programmer and he’s

fantastic but it’s a moot point because

he’s a convict

onward well that was a long one and the

last one okay that’s the end of commonly

misinterpreted phrases be careful when

you use these phrases and make sure to

get them right thank you very much for

joining us this week we’ll see you again

next time for more bye you’re excited

about something anxious or like looking

forward to something the origins of this

Frasor want to speak real English from

your first lesson sign up for your free

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calm

hi everybody my name is Alisha and I’m

joined again in the studio by Michael

hello and today we’re going to be

talking about some misconceptions about

America so let’s get right into it let’s

start with you Michael what is your

first misconception that you’ve heard

about America hmm I’m going to have to

start with the arrogant American

stereotype so this this I think maybe in

the past had been a little bit more

accurate but ever since the internet and

ever since like the 60s with the Vietnam

War and the hippie movement and

everything going on then this has really

died down a bit you know I’m proud to be

an American but I’m not one of the the

stereotypical Americans that were number

one were the best publi this really has

died down yeah I hear this a lot on the

internet and whatnot um yeah I know what

you mean then the whole you know number

one thing at least for me one of the

things that I I don’t know I feel like

if you say that there’s a greatest

country in the world I don’t know I

think that’s a silly thing to say that

you’re the greatest country in the world

not that I don’t you know support

America or you know appreciate all the

things that American does like for me

and for people around the room I feel

like I’m gonna I’m treading in dangerous

waters right here right now but I don’t

know there are plenty of good things

about other countries too I’m gonna stop

here before I can do like get on my

soapbox anyway I’m gonna go to our first

one my first one is maybe no no maybe

this is one that you’ve got as well

hamburgers are the only American food

this is a misconception that I have

heard a lot hamburgers and variations of

hamburgers cheeseburgers bacon

cheeseburgers avocado burgers veggie

burgers whatever anything burger is not

the only American food there are plenty

of other American foods like if you even

if you just stick around like the fast

food ballpark for a while there are like

hotdogs there are like Philly

cheesesteaks which are delicious if you

go to the south there’s all kinds of

interesting like Louisiana and food that

you can try it on there you can eat

crocodile you can eat frog legs which I

mean probably as baro to some extent

from French cuisine

there’s lots of fresh fish like salmon

from Washington Oregon where I’m from we

talked a lot about Tex

like California burrito culture there’s

so much good stuff to try in America and

it’s not just burgers like American food

is more than just burgers that drives me

crazy and people say oh you’re Americans

you must love hamburgers right well

they’re great but there’s so much other

good stuff to try yes

likewise just with the hamburger thing

when you think hamburgers you think fast

food right and so that’s the other

stereotype that even if you want a good

authentic American hamburger don’t go to

one of the fast food restaurants that’s

what they think oh you you’re American

you can’t appreciate the real good

high-quality cheese and blah blah blah

if you have a really good authentic

American hamburger you’ll you’ll be

really happy yeah yeah you’ll be really

happy it’s really good um-hmm did I miss

any like key American foods I feel like

I had kind of like the big ones yeah I

was like you know region centric foods

that are they’re big that was the first

thing I thought of and you got to it is

Louisiana as far as like something that

people don’t usually think about when

they think about American food and

that’s amazing food and I think you know

to take that a little bit further while

traveling and teaching people would say

Oh your name’s not a really American

name because my last name is German but

I would tell them that there is no

American name like a truly American name

would be like the Native Americans from

way back when and one of the beauties of

America is that it’s the melting pot as

you always hear and then it’s a lot of

different cultures so as you were saying

about Louisiana food it’s probably

borrowed from French and you know

American food isn’t just hamburgers it’s

there’s a whole wide array and as we

talked about before the Mexican food so

absolutely there’s a big variety and

it’s not just one thing yeah explore

explore American cuisine there’s a lot

of it to explore I think all right

what’s your next misconception next

misconception is well this one’s a

little bit specific to where I’m from is

that everybody skis or snowboards in

Colorado so this is something I think

this is natural when you meet somebody

from any different state province

whatever is that you think about the

tourist attractions of that place and

you say you know so I meet another

American even yeah even within America

and they say oh you’re from Colorado do

you ski and snowboard and yeah you know

sometimes

just because I’m from there doesn’t mean

I’d do it and to me I think you know

it’s kind of a rough analogy but it’d be

like meeting someone from France I mean

like oh do you go to the Eiffel Tower

every day like yeah once when I was a

kid you know yeah yeah same thing with

America oh you know just as the whole

country it’s what the Statue of Liberty

and these kinds of things you ever get

that yeah every once in a while or like

I’m from Oregon so we have like you know

ski and snowboard culture there but I’m

trying to think if there’s when I say

that I’m I was raised in Oregon if

there’s something that I usually get

back and I don’t think I do I think

California maybe more so like if you say

you’re from California it might be

something like oh well do you surf or do

you go to the beach or I think that

there’s it’s really easy to kind of make

an image of that of that state or what

that states people might be like and

then to ask a question about that but I

don’t think that it’s necessarily like

out of I don’t know malice that people

say such things I think it’s just trying

to make a connection like oh I’m

familiar to some degree with your state

or I know something about your state

maybe this is the way we can have a

conversation about it but yeah like kind

of pigeonholing people like trying to

stereotype people based on you know

where they’re from and what you presume

they might like to do I guess it could

come off as a little like a little

irritating them yeah I don’t mind it

because I know that it’s it’s good

intentions they’re just trying to make a

connection and I I do the same thing

that I think of all the musicians or

famous actors or actresses from whatever

the country they’re from and I’ll say

that and oh but you’re just trying to

make conversation so it’s not a big deal

but again it’s it’s a stereotype and

just try to relate it and put yourself

in the shoes like what what kind of

tourist attractions and stereotypes do I

not relate yeah yeah or saying oh I’ve

been there too such-and-such attraction

before it was really nice that kind of

yeah I think it’s harmless it’s

certainly bad it’s just one of those

things like okay all right next one

let’s see the next one that I have I’ve

heard this now and now and then this one

that I’ve heard is Americans all own

guns I’ve heard this I don’t know me too

gosh we both had this one but this is

one that I think maybe it’s because of

action movies maybe it’s because of the

news stories that come out about

shootings in America

which are horribly tragic and

unfortunate but for some reason some

people have this image that Americans

all own guns I don’t own a gun me either

so there’s one person two people who do

not own guns and I know that there are

plenty more there are a lot of people

who do not own guns and I mean whether

or not you support guns maybe that’s a

different issue but I just this is this

is one point that’s always just a little

bit confusing to me that I don’t know I

guess maybe this comes from like west

old western movies where we’re like you

know Cowboys or if I get that straight

gun-toting like gun-loving shoot them up

sort of country but I don’t think that

it’s that I don’t I don’t think that

that’s America yeah well all of them

there are parts of America there are

some people in America who like guns so

fine okay that’s your thing it’s just

not mine and it’s not some other

people’s yeah I think the fact that we

both have to kind of like stop and

hesitate it is it is an issue you know

it’s a it’s a hot topic it’s what Second

Amendment right so it’s always people

are constantly debating this but I tell

people I can’t think of five people like

in all of my friends and family five

people I can’t think of five who own a

gun you know there’s some people who

like military something like this but

like private people that’s really not

common there’s only a handful of people

I know that own a gun

and they go out shooting it’s not like a

big deal but it is it is a hot topic but

I hate this every time the UH

America cowboy guns this kind no not a

cowboy not don’t have guns I don’t know

have you ever gone shooting though my

parents had do you know clay pigeons

clay pigeon shooting hmm my parents used

to do that with their friends they had

they would just go to a small shooting

range and they’d it’s just like this

little disc made of clay and it was just

a sport it was just for sport they’d

shoot it or they’d like fly what do you

call it like fling fling I guess they

throw like this clay pigeon in the air

and then you’d aim and try to shoot it

it was like a sport and so my parents

had a couple for that and then I think

they sold them after a while because

they just they just didn’t do it very

often I fired that a couple times and I

really didn’t like it

just made me feel really uncomfortable

how old were you I was probably 17 18

mm-hmm or so yeah it’s about the age you

would know if you liked it or you don’t

like it just made me really really

uncomfortable I didn’t like it no I have

known people who who use them for

hunting like I knew somebody in high

school in college his dad had one but

they he’d go out hunting every year and

he’d go out and kill a deer and then

they’d bring it home and they’d like

prepare it and the family would have

would have that to eat throughout the

winter

that was like just one of their family’s

traditions but as far as like a handgun

I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone but I

know of no wait I did know one guy see

that’s a little I’m not gonna say

anything I’m really uncomfortable

let’s go to the last one because it’s

not controversial my last one is it’ll

be quick and easy to see the whole

country know America is huge especially

well compared to a lot of other

countries around the world America is

very very large I’ve heard of people

saying you know like they’re gonna go to

visit New York and then they say okay

and then we’re gonna we’re gonna rent a

car and we’re gonna drive to California

and the Americans in the room will go

you know how long it’s going to take you

right now you have some concept of how

far that is you know a few hours or you

know a couple days no it’s far it’s like

5,000 miles across the country so you

should plan some time I heard about a

guy recently who took like a month to

bicycle from New York to California it’s

crazy

he had something hit some people give

him car rides along the way but have you

ever run into somebody who like has no

no concept of how large the country is

hmm all the time really usually I mean

again like we’re talking about the you

you want to make a connection so usually

they just name everyone knows New York

Texas California that’s pretty much it

when you think America and so even even

Americans I know you really don’t put it

on scale of how big it is unless you

look at a picture and you place like

you’re up on top and you go wow this is

this is pretty

generally though I haven’t met anybody

who’s like planning a trip and going I

think when you plan a trip they make a

little more preparations but yeah same

thing they really have no idea no like

frame of reference I guess cuz it’s kind

of its own yeah and then if you even

want to include like Alaska and Hawaii

we’re just way out there your week-long

trip yeah it’s quite large alright so

those are some common misconceptions

about America anything else you want to

add to this or anything else you would

like to clear up don’t you dare say

anything about America cuz it’s not true

oh my gosh just happened those are some

misconceptions about America so maybe

we’ve cleared up a few things about

America or maybe we’ve only intensified

a few of your misconceptions about

America who knows but thanks very much

for joining us this time and we will see

you again when we have another fun topic

to discuss hi everybody my name is

Alisha and today I’m joined again in the

studio by Michael hello and today we’re

gonna be talking about bad habits in

English so these are some things that

we’ve heard before or mistakes that

native speakers and non-native speakers

of English make and that drive us crazy

so let us begin you start what’s your

first thing um this doesn’t bug me too

much until someone points it out about

me and then it drives me nuts

ah yeah okay once you tell someone that

they say um or like too much then every

time they say it they notice it and it’s

really hard to get a thought out because

these are filler words that you almost

always use or I always use maybe

Americans always use but it’s yeah it’s

really tough not to use the word like or

um I think when you’re just speaking

casually right yeah right well yeah I

mean like right now why do you have

tomato the first one actually we talked

about that we have a video I think I’m

probably like a year ago one of the

English weekly words videos where the

word like was one of the words that

Americans overuse

I don’t know where that information came

from but that was see oh my god now I’m

suddenly aware of it why the whole thing

I’m gonna be thinking about how often I

say liking them okay let’s see I’m gonna

go to one that I think all of us talked

about and all of us were aware of before

we even turned the camera on but this is

a this one is written this is a written

problem that drives me nuts and there

are so many variations on this with

other words but this is the big one

you’re why oh you are this is a do not

equal sign why oh you apostrophe re so

this one your while you are is a

possessive word this is your shirt your

bag your whatever why oh you apostrophe

re is a contracted form of you are

interestingly enough though I will say

that I rarely see non-native speakers of

English make this mistake most of the

time it’s native speakers who make this

mistake come on guys really I just it

just drives me nuts yeah that one you

need drives me nuts that one bugs me too

because it’s it’s really simple I mean

there’s another one and it still kind of

bugs me but I’m more forgiving as its

and it’s because they’re both ITES and

one of them has an apostrophe and in

both cases it seems reasonable because

you can use an apostrophe for possessive

or for a contraction

so both seem reasonable and you just

have to do like you know a pneumonic

device figure it out there’s rules I’m

sure there’s a you know English language

English class 101 episode on it you know

no apostrophe is the one that’s the

possessive the apostrophe s is the one

that starts for it has or it is right

but it makes sense it’s kind of tough

for some people to remember you are

you’re in your that that really upsets

me yes it’s so easy it’s simple that in

there and we talked about this earlier

there there and there

the possessive th e ir4 that’s their

house that’s their dog th ER e it’s over

there and th ey apostrophe re they are

there are three different there there

there’s sound the same but they have

different meanings and they should be

spelled differently too so come on

native speakers games together okay

all right next one for you what’s your

next one ah along the same lines of

being like correct could of so I think

the problem with a lot of these words is

so it’s supposed to be could have but

when you’re speaking the language any

language you you make it quicker and

quicker and you kind of slur the words

together so like for example grandma or

grandma you like native speakers you

don’t really say the deed you say that

grandma grandma and so as a kid I

thought that’s how you spelled it and I

remember spelling GRA Mme someone told

me no that’s not it

so could of it it makes sense why people

would say could of but it doesn’t it’s

not proper and you shouldn’t get in the

habit of doing it I think most of these

things you can be forgiving when they’re

kids but it’s best to to nip it in the

bud because you know it just becomes a

bad habit yeah and I mean with could

have there is a correct contracted

spelled version it’s just could do

apostrophe ve could’ve I mean I I would

argue that it’s more casual and it’s

perhaps not the most correct thing to

write I would probably would just write

could have I probably wouldn’t use the

contracted form so much use of

contractions will make you sound more

casual if you want to write a formal

letter you should I feel you should not

use contractions if you’re writing an

academic paper as well don’t use

contractions spell it out spell the

whole thing out you’ll sound much more

formal and more at least in my mind more

educated all right ah great this topic

is getting me all like antsy okay let’s

see I’m gonna go to okay another another

pronunciation issue that I feel like

almost is cool now okay let me ask you a

question this pronunciation okay so I’ve

written acts on this card but the it’s

asked ASX let me ask okay so this let me

which we talked about in a previous

video which is short for left me I’ve

contracted it here to the very casual

lemme but I’ve used lemme here because

this is this is typically said in a very

very casual setting let me ask you a

question but the pronunciation of ask

should not be acts it’s asked let me ask

you a question I want to ask you

something it’s not

ask-ask yeah this one again so like

lemme lemme is okay I think most people

say lemme I think that’s okay but for

some reason acts I think a lot of these

just are not even close at all

let me when you say it really fast it

sounds like lemme let me write but when

you say acts it’s just totally wrong

it’s reversing the the consonants in the

word asked right it’s not faster you’re

not making it quicker you’re not

slurring or making you know putting it

into one little like fluid blob it’s

just you just switch the two yeah

similarly I hear this with the word

asterisk as well the little star that’s

on like the number eight on your

keyboard or whatever that this looking

thing it’s not an actress or what I

don’t even know it’s asterisk so over

pronunciation so this one is kind of the

opposite direction so this whole time

we’ve been kind of nitpicking when you

use the incorrect version of a word I

think over pronunciation can also be

equally as damaging but instead of

making you look stupid it makes you look

pretentious so for example we don’t say

in English we don’t use all of the

syllables with chocolate so it’s cha

like when you spell it

chocolate wait chocolate right and so

like maybe in Spanish or something like

that they would still say that like

chocolate they’re something whatever but

with English we took it out and so even

though you still spell all of those

syllables native speakers now say

chocolate chocolate or like comfortable

come for bull that’s how it’s spelled

but native English speakers we say

comforter bull and this is like now it’s

it’s I think it’s like unanimous so

maybe when it becomes when slang becomes

so popular that it’s part of the new

language it’s the language is now

evolved if you don’t go with the flow

even though it’s incorrect I think you

sound pretentious that’s a great one I

like that a lot

all right I’m gonna wrap it up I have to

actually I’ll just I think I can do them

quickly though do you have any more by

the way no no okay then I’ll go quickly

these are to the left my last two are

just a couple that my students actually

struggle with so maybe this this is

something that you can work on as well

this one just an example sentence

want to go to there I’ve underlined the

word too here we use the word too when

we’re talking about a specific city or a

specific country like I want to go to

New York I want to go to Europe but

there is not a specific location I want

to go to there is not a specific place

so we you don’t need to use to in this

sentence I want to go there it’s

perfectly fine so this is a mistake that

non-native speakers it seems seem to

make from time to time perhaps okay and

then another one that I’ve heard a lot

recently is this phrase in case of and

then a country so for example in case of

China in case of Egypt or whatever where

someone is trying to explain like the

political situation or a policy in that

country in case of in case of but

actually you don’t need to use case of

just in China in Europe in Japan

whatever you don’t need to use case of

this pattern in case of is used for like

an emergency situation or used to talk

about alternate plans often to do with

weather so for example in case of rain

the event will be canceled or in case of

tornado please go to your nearest

evacuation center I don’t know something

like that so it’s used for like an

emergency situation it’s not used to

talk about policies in the country it’s

just use in plus the place it’s much

better much more natural so those are a

few things that I’ve noticed that

non-native speakers struggle with

sometimes so perhaps they’ll be helpful

for you as well so thanks very much for

watching if you have a bad habit that

you’ve noticed when you’re speaking

English or if you’ve noticed about habit

and somebody else in their English

speaking or their writing or whatever

please leave it in the comments and

let’s compare it might be interesting to

see if there are any other things that

people tend to struggle with thanks very

much for watching this episode and we

will see you again soon bye

[Music]

you