How to Use MUST HAVE Correctly Ask Alisha

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Hi, everybody.

Welcome back to Ask Alisha, the weekly series
where you ask me questions and I answer them,

maybe.

First question!

First question this week comes from Imon.

Hi, Imon.

“What’s the difference between, ‘Is that
how it is?’

‘Is that how it works?’

‘That’s not what it says.’

‘That’s not how it works.’”

Let’s start with the first expression which
is, “Is that how it is?”

This is a very casual expression that you
can use to express confirmation.

Confirmation about a situation or confirmation
about a status.

But, it’s often used with kind of a negative
nuance.

For example, if your friend makes a plan that
you disagree with but your friend refuses

to change the plan, you can say, “Is that
how it is?”

It’s kind of negative and it’s kind of not
so nice to use.

“Is that how it is?” that’s the first
one.

The second one, “Is that how it works?”
this is an expression that we use to confirm

how to use something.

Maybe it’s my first time using an iPhone,
for example, when I get something right, when

I learn how to use something correctly, I
can say, usually with an upward intonation,

“Oh, is that how it works?”

Meaning, “Oh, is that the correct way to
use it?”

So, we use, “Is that how it works?” to
confirm the correct way to use something.

So, you can use this with a computer, with
a car, anything that you are learning how

to use.

“Is that how it works?”

So, you can use this expression as confirmation
before you do something to.

The next expression you asked about is, “That’s
not what it says.”

“That’s not what it says,” is used to
express disagreement about written information.

Let’s say you’re making instant soup for instant
ramen or something, you decide to pour cold

water over your noodles to make the soup.

But, your friend says, “No, no.

Look at the package, that’s not what it says.”

So, “it” here means the package, and,
“says” refers to the written directions

on the package.

So, “That’s not what it says” means there
is some mistake here or you’ve made a mistake.

So, the written directions don’t match your
behavior, “That’s not what it says.”

You can use this to express disagreement about
written information, “That’s not what it

says.”

The last expression was “That’s not how
it works.”

That’s not how it works,” this is something
that we use to express disagreement about

how to use something.

You use something incorrectly.

That’s not correct, “That’s not how it works.”

So, I hope that that’s helpful for you.

Next question!

Next question comes from Kevin Wang.

Hi, Kevin.

Kevin says, “Sometimes, I see sentences
like, ‘Your dad must have had it for at

least two years.’

Why do they use ‘have had?’

What are the rules for this?”

So, actually, don’t think of it as “have”
and “had” being attached there.

Instead, what you should focus on in this
sentence is the “must have” here.

So, “must have had,” when we want to talk
about a high level of possibility in the past,

we use “must have,” and then, the past
participle form of the verb.

In this case, the speaker is making a guess
about something the listeners’ father owned

in the past for at least two years.

So, “Your dad must have had it for at least
two years.”

So, it’s a past tense situation.

The speaker is making a guess about the past
but the speaker is making a guess with a high

level of confidence.

So, they use “must have.”

“Must have” shows a high level of possibility.

“She’s not here.

She must have gone to work.”

“The kids are in the car.

They must have finished swimming.”

“He’s smiling at the office.

He must have had a good meeting.”

So, all of these are guesses but these guesses
show a high level of confidence.

There’s a high chance that the speaker’s guess
is correct so the speaker uses “must have”

plus the past participle form of the verb.

I hope that’s helpful for you.

Next question from Myfta.

Hi, Myfta.

“What is the difference between astronomy
and astrology?”

Right, okay.

Astronomy refers to the scientific study of
space.

That’s like stars and planets, everything
outside earth.

That’s the scientific study of it.

Astrology refers to the idea that we can make
predictions, make guesses about human behavior

and those predictions are based on the positions
of stars and planets and things and those

positions can influence human behavior, can
influence our lives.

I hope that’s helpful.

Next question!

Next question is from Afif.

Hi, Afif.

“How do I study English speaking or how
do I improve my English speaking skills at

home alone?”

Yeah, thanks for the question.

Check out this video.

I talked about it in this video right here.

I think the answer is at the 12th minute and
40th-second mark.

So, there are several tips there for how to
study English alone at home.

Hope that helps.

Next question!

Next question is from Oscar.

Hi, Oscar.

Oscar says, “What’s the difference between
‘it’s up to you’ and ‘you’re up to.’”

Oh, okay.

First, “It’s up to you,” means you can
decide.

So, for example, “Where do you want to go
for dinner tonight?”

“It’s up to you.”

“What movie do you want to see tonight?”

“It’s up to you.”

“Where do you want to go for this weekend?”

“Hmm, it’s up to you.”

You can decide.

“You’re up to” refers to things that the
other person has been doing.

So, we use it in expressions like, “You’ve
been up to a lot of interesting things lately.”

Or, a useful question is, “What are you
up to?”

meaning, “What are you doing?” as in,
“What are you up to this weekend?” or,

“What are you up to tonight?” to check
what someone else is doing.

You can also use this for the past, “What
have you been up to lately?”

These are very nice questions to ask instead
of “How are you?” or “What are you doing?”

“Up to you,” means you decide.

“What are you up to?”

means “What are you doing?”

Next question!

Next question is from Kiara.

Hi, Kiara, again.

“What does ‘sunglasses’ mean and what
do ‘sunglasses’ mean?”

‘Sunglasses’ is a plural noun.

Should we use ‘do’ instead of ‘does?’”

Ah, this is interesting.

Okay, here, your example sentence is a little
bit tricky.

So, when you’re asking about the meaning of
a word, even if you know that it’s a plural

noun, don’t worry about that in this example
sentence.

“What does blah, blah, blah mean?”

You can use anything in this pattern.

This is because you’re not actually asking
about the object, you’re not actually asking

about that thing, you’re asking about the
word only, the word itself.

So, just use “does,” “What does sunglasses
mean?” is fine because you’re looking for

the actual meaning of the word.

You’re not asking about that actual object,
you’re not asking something about “sunglasses.”

So, in this specific example sentence, you
can always use, “What does blah, blah, blah

mean?”

So, native speakers do that too.

“What does something, something, something
mean?” if we don’t know an expression or

if we don’t know a phrase.

We can use anything in that pattern.

However, if you want to use a plural noun,
like sunglasses, or any other plural noun

in a sentence similar to this, you do need
to change.

“What do sunglasses do?” or “Why do
pants have pockets?” or “Who do penguins

see most frequently?”

Please use “do” as you would for other
plural nouns than “do.”

But, great question, nice point to consider.

Thank you.

Next question!

Next question comes from Kim In Kai.

Hi, Kim In Kai.

Okay.

“What does a spirit animal mean?

As in, ‘What’s your spirit animal?’

I don’t think we have that kind of question
in my country.

Also, what are some possible answers.”

Okay, a spirit animal can mean different things
depending on the person that you’re talking

to.

Generally, though, especially on the internet,
we use spirit animal to refer to an animal

that we think matches our personality or matches
our behavior.

So, for example, if I’m a slow lazy person
and I don’t like to do a lot of activities.

I could say a sloth is my spirit animal.

Or, if I’m like an aggressive person and I’m
alone a lot and I maybe see myself as like

a fighter or hunter, I don’t know, maybe I
could say, a tiger is my spirit animal, for

example.

It’s an animal that we feel closely matches
us somehow.

And, it can change, maybe on this day, I feel
a connection with this specific animal.

So, we can say that.

Just do be careful there are some people who
have a religious or a spiritual belief that

strongly connects them to a spirit animal
or you might also hear the word, “spirit

animal guide,” perhaps, but just pay attention
to the situation and I think you can quickly

understand how the person is using spirit
animal.

My spirit animal, I usually think, depending
on the day, my spirit animal is either a flying

squirrel or a platypus because both of these
animals are kind of like in-between animals,

they have a little bit of a couple different
animals in them.

But, a flying squirrel is kind of like flexible
and adaptive and has lots of energy and goes

really, really quickly.

But, then, the platypus is just like this
silly looking creature that swims around looking

for food all day and then sleeps forever.

Depending on the day, I feel like I’m sometimes
a flying squirrel, sometimes a platypus.

Those are all the questions that I want to
answer for this episode of Ask Alisha.

Thank you so much for sending your fantastic
questions.

They’re really, really good.

Keep them coming.

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Thanks very much for watching this episode
of Ask Alisha and I will see you again next week.

Bye-bye.