50 Most Common Questions From English Language Learners

want to speed up your language learning

get access to all of our best PDF cheat

sheets for free just click the link in

the description and sign up for your

free lifetime account right now question

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

speed up your language learning with our

PDFs lessons get all of our best PDF

cheat sheets and ebooks

for free just click the link in the

description