DO NOT SAY I know or I understand there are MUCH better alternatives
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hello everyone
and welcome back to english with lucy
today
i’m going to tell you why you need to
stop saying i know
and i understand to know
means to be aware of through inquiry
observation or information
now the issue is with this word it can
make you seem
like a know-it-all i know i know i know
i know
it can sound a little impolite
there are many other ways of saying that
you know something
or that you understand something i’ve
included understand in this list because
it’s very overused it’s one of the first
words that we
learn when we’re learning english
whether you understand something or if
you don’t understand something
i think it’ll be really helpful for you
to have a
bank of other phrases other words and
other interjections that you can use
in place of i know and i understand
and a lot of these have little
differences in meaning so you can make
more complex observations so
this video is perfect for expanding your
vocabulary
but if you want to improve your
pronunciation and your listening skills
even further then i highly recommend the
special method
of combining reading books with
listening to their audiobook
counterpart on audible it might sound
weird but let me explain because it
really does work
take a book that you have already read
in your own language and would like to
read in english
or simply a book that you would like to
read in english
i have got loads of recommendations in
the description box for you
and read this book whilst listening to
the audiobook version
on audible i choose audible because it’s
got almost
every book i love their subscription
model
and it’s my platform of choice i use it
all the time especially when running
reading alone will not help you with
your pronunciation because
english isn’t a strictly phonetic
language the way a word is written in
english
might not give any indication as to how
it is pronounced in english
but if you listen to a word as you read
it
your brain will start making connections
and the next time you see that word
you’ll know exactly
how it’s meant to sound how it’s
pronounced and the next time you hear
that word
you’ll know exactly how it’s spelt or
written it’s
such an effective method and the best
part is you can get
one free audio book that’s a 30 day free
trial on audible
all you’ve got to do is click on the
link in the description box to sign up
right let’s get back to the vocabulary
lesson
so i have got verbs near synonyms for i
know
to know and i’ve got some phrases and
interjections as well
so for this exercise i want you to
imagine that i’m a boss of a company
and i have taken inspiration from my
some one of my previous bosses
lots of shady inspiration so number one
the first synonym for to know
is to be aware of to be aware of
and this basically means to know that
something exists
for example i’m aware of the lack of
water in the office toilets
don’t worry an engineer is coming next
friday number two
is to realize to realize
and this is to understand a situation
sometimes suddenly ah i’ve just realized
i have only just become aware of
something
it can however just mean to understand
for example
i realize how frustrating it is that
your paychecks were late this month
but i couldn’t sign them because i was
on a yacht and the wi-fi was terrible
number three is to recognize to
recognize
and this is to accept that something is
legal important
or true for example i recognize
how much it means to you to have natural
light in the office
but i have very sensitive eyes
number four quite similar is to
appreciate
to appreciate this means to understand a
situation
and to realize that it’s important for
example
i appreciate why you’d like more sick
pay
but i’m afraid that people might abuse
it
number five is to acknowledge to
acknowledge
this means to accept or admit the
existence
or the truth of something for example i
acknowledge
that the lack of toilet paper is
frustrating but it’s not that hard to
put a couple of sheets in your pocket
each morning
and number six not an exact synonym for
either of them but i think it’s
important it is
to notice to notice which means
to see or to become conscious of
something or someone
for example i did notice that you’ve
been parking by the entrance each day
i understand that you have a bad leg but
you must be considerate of more
executive
members of staff right let’s move on to
some phrases and interjections
that you can use instead of i know or i
understand
again lots of them have little
differences
it might seem pointless that i’m giving
you the definition for each of them but
just
watch for differences because they’re
very subtle number seven is
i see i see it means i understand
and that i’m paying attention to what
someone is saying
however it does depend on tone of voice
if i say
i see it can show a bit of disapproval
so if someone were to say to me i was
off sick yesterday
because i had a stomach bug i might
reply saying
i see was there vomit because if there
wasn’t any vomit you should have come in
we can also extend this to number eight
which is i see what you mean
i really see what you mean this means
more or less the same thing but it’s
almost
further implying that you don’t really
agree for example
if a member of staff said to me i won’t
be able to finish that project tonight
because it’s my birthday and my
husband’s taking me out
i might reply with i see what you mean
i’ll offer the project to somebody more
dedicated
number nine is fair enough fair
enough this is used to show that you
understand and accept
what someone has said for example if
someone says to me
i’m not coming to the office party on
friday night because i suffer with bad
social anxiety
i might say fair enough i’ll see you on
monday you loser
number 10 is all right and we can also
say
11 which is ok these are fairly basic
i’m sure you’ve heard of them already
and these are used to especially express
that you have heard what someone has
said
more than the fact that you accept it
for example if my secretary comes to me
and says
i’d just like to remind you that your
interviewee has been waiting in the
lobby for three hours
i might say all right as in i’ve heard
you
i’ll come down after i finish this game
of solitaire
number 13 and 14 are i
see your point and i take your point
they mean the same thing these are used
to say that you understand what
someone’s saying
but it’s also used to imply that you
disagree with it for example if john
comes to me and says
i think that you need to let mary go
i might reply saying i see your point
john but i’m not sure i’m allowed to
fire someone
for not agreeing to go on a date with
you come back to me if you find a better
reason
number 15 is i don’t blame you i don’t
blame you
this is used for saying that you
understand why someone has done
something or why they feel a particular
way
for example if mary comes to me and says
i’m going to speak to hr about john hr
is human resources i might reply by
saying
i don’t blame you mary he’s a total
weirdo
but don’t tell hr i said that number 16
is a slang one i get what you mean
or even more slang i get you to get
in this case means to understand
i get you i understand you you get me
you understand me
so if cynthia were to come to me and say
i don’t think that eight minutes is long
enough for a lunch break
i might reply saying i get what you mean
cynthia but it’s calculated by an
algorithm and it’s what the computer has
decided’s best for you
number 17 even more slang is
gotcha gotcha this is a reduction it
means
i get you i’ve got you i’ve understood
you
so someone comes to me and says i’d like
to propose a salary
review i could say gotcha
you think it’s too high as well don’t
you
number 18 is i’m certain that
and this just means i know i’m certain
that i’m absolutely sure
so if someone comes to me and says i’m
feeling overwhelmed with this new
workload
i might reply saying don’t worry i’m
certain that you’ll be feeling
underwhelmed like the rest of us in no
time that’s it for today’s lesson i hope
you enjoyed it i hope you learned
something
don’t forget to claim your free
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isn’t related to english i will see you
soon
for another lesson
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you