IELTS TOEFL Academic Vocabulary - Nouns (AWL)

Are you studying for TOEFL or IELTS? In this lesson you will learn academic and technical nouns which commonly appear on the tests. The vocabulary you learn here will be especially helpful in the reading section but will improve your score in the reading, writing, speaking, and listening sections as well. I will teach you nouns such as: "aspect", "disposal", "indication", "substitute", "trend", and others.

Take the quiz.

Check out the detailed academic vocabulary list in our resources section

TRANSCRIPT

Hi, guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on IELTS and TOEFL academic vocabulary, with a focus on nouns. So, today, we will look at 10 academic nouns that you may see or hear on the IELTS or TOEFL tests, and this could be either in the reading, writing, listening, or speaking sections.

Now, today, you may see some words that you are familiar with, and you may see some words that are totally new to you. If you're familiar with the words, that's excellent - but don't get overconfident because the purpose of today is not only to learn new words, but to look at words that you may be familiar with, but perhaps, you know, you're not sure how to use it appropriately in a sentence, and more specifically, in an academic sentence. And when you're done here today with this video, don't forget to check out a more extensive list of academic vocabulary on the www.engvid.com resources page.

Okay, so let's begin. First word that we're going to look at today is: "aspect". Now, an "aspect" is a part or element of something. So, for example, the sentence we have on the board is: "Vocabulary is just one aspect of language." So vocabulary is just one part of language.

Second, we have the word: "component". And, if you notice, it has the exact same definition of "aspect", so it's a part or element of something as well. And the sentence we have here is: "A laptop has many complex components."

Now, you might be asking yourself: "Well, are these words exactly the same?" And the answer to that is: not really. They are the same, in that you can talk about abstract aspect and abstract components to things, but when it comes to physical things, you're more likely to use the word "component". So, for example: here I'm talking about the components of a laptop, so I'm talking about the board inside, and the RAM, and the memory, and everything like that; so I'm talking about the physical parts of the laptop. Again, you can use both of them to talk about the abstract parts or elements of something, but if you're referring to the physical part of something, I would stick with "component".

All right, the next word we have is: "consequence". I'm sure many of you are familiar with this word. It's a result or effect of something. So, for example, the sentence we have here is: "Obesity is a consequence of overeating." And, again, "overeating" just means eating too much and "obesity" is the physical problem of being overweight to the point where it's not good for your health. So, one thing about this word, if you are going to use a preposition after it... The most common preposition we use with "consequence" is: "of". So we say: "This is a consequence of this.", "That is a consequence of this." Okay?

The next word we have is: "disposal". The meaning I give for this is: the act of arranging or distributing. So think of "disposal" as the distribution of something and the arrangement of it. So, for example, in the army: "The general is responsible for the disposal of troops." Now, when I say "troops", I mean soldiers, people who are in the army, for arranging them and where they're going to go.

And finally, we have the word: "function" which is the working purpose of something. So: "Today's phones have numerous helpful functions." And again, "function" is another word, another noun where if you want to use a preposition after it, use the preposition: "of". So: "What is the function of a cellphone or the function of a camera?" Etcetera, etcetera.

Okay, guys, let's look at five more words.

Okay, so the next word is: "indication". So, "indication" means a sign or a token of something. So if we look at the sentence: "The melting of ice caps" - of polar ice caps - "is an indication of global warming." So, if you're making an argument about science, for example, in one of your papers, this might be a sentence that you would write. So, "an indication of". Again, you're using the preposition "of" after: "indication". Okay?

The next word is very common - I'm sure you're familiar with it - and that word is: "option". So again, an "option" is basically a choice, and usually it's a choice of one of several possibilities. Right? So: "This is one of several options." One of several choices.

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Vocabulary: How to Use Aggravate and Annoy

English teachers sometimes get annoyed when native speakers mistake these two words. If you want to avoid aggravating this annoying habit, just click on this lesson and put your questions to rest. If you're a native speaker, this lesson is also useful as a refresher, as it breaks down the essential misunderstanding many people have with these two common words. Take the quiz on this lesson here.

TRANSCRIPT:

Hi guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this vocabulary lesson on: "Annoy vs. Aggravate". These two words are often confused, even by native speakers. And many native speakers don't actually think there's a difference between the two words. Well, today, I'm going to show you the difference between them.

So, very simply: "annoy" and "aggravate" are both verbs. They can also act as adjectives actually if you add: "ed" or: "ing" to them. But, "to annoy", this word is the one that most people understand the meaning of it. So: "to irritate/to pester someone/to get on someone's nerves". Now, again, this... This is an idiomatic expression which means to annoy a person. So if I say: "She gets on my nerves", she annoys me, irritates me, makes me "err", angry because of something that she does or something he does.

Now, "aggravate". Many people think that "aggravate" is actually a synonym for "annoy", that it has the exact same meaning as "annoy", and we use it the same way as "annoy". This is actually incorrect. Now, "to aggravate" something means to make it worse. Okay? So, usually when you aggravate something it's always a situation, a problem, a physical injury. Okay? So if you make something worse, a situation worse, a problem worse, a physical injury worse, you're aggravating it. Okay? It's not the same as annoy.

So, let's look at the sentences and decide which word we should use to complete each one... Each sentence.

Now, the first one says:

"She annoyed/aggravated her injury."

Now, if you were listening to me just now, you clearly know that here we should be using: "aggravate". Right? She made her injury worse. So maybe she had a... A shoulder injury and she decided to do some really extreme exercise, and then: "Uhh", her injury was aggravated. She aggravated her injury, she made it worse.

The second sentence says:

"Her uncle annoys/aggravates me so much!"

Now, if you're a native speaker, you might think: "Well, you can use both of them. There's nothing wrong with that." Actually, there is something wrong with it if you want to get very technical and the meaning of the two words taken literally. You have to use: "annoy" in this situation. "Her uncle annoys me so much!" Irritates me. Okay?

Let's continue:

"I always get annoyed/aggravated by him."

So, again, this is similar to the second sentence where you're talking about someone who is irritated by another person. Here, we're seeing the adjective form. Right? So: "I always get annoyed or get aggravated, become aggravated or annoyed by him." Really, we should be saying: "annoyed" which means irritated.

Next we have:

"He annoyed/aggravated the problem."

So whatever the problem might be... Again, if you remember back to my initial explanation about aggravating problems, injuries, situations, you will know that here we should be using: "aggravate". Okay? He made the problem worse.

Next:

"We were annoyed/aggravated by her insensitivity."

Now, again, here, she made an insensitive comment, this really irritated us. Right? It didn't make us worse. Although, again, if you really want to get technical: yeah, you could make a person worse, I suppose, but really "annoy" is the more common, more correct word that you should be using here.

Next:

"She's always annoying/aggravating her friends."

Now, is she making her friends worse or is she irritating them? I think in this situation, you... Your meaning most of the time when you're saying a sentence like this means that she's irritating them, pestering them, getting on their nerves. So: "She's always annoying her friends."

Now, let me talk about something with you guys. With words like this: "annoy" and "aggravate" where many native speakers don't even know that there is a difference between the two words, if you say: "Oh, she aggravates me so much." It is in common usage. Most English native speakers don't know this rule, so if you misuse "aggravate" and mean "annoy" in your sentence, don't feel too bad about it. Okay? Just know that, technically, there is a difference between the two words. We should not be using them interchangeably, although if you do, know that many native English speakers do the same thing.

So, if you'd like to test your understanding and really get the meaning of "annoy" and "aggravate", you can check out the quiz on www.engvid.com. Good luck with that. Take care, and I'll see you guys soon. Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. See ya.

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Grammar: When to use bad and badly in English

Does the food taste bad or badly? Does the flower smell bad or badly? Does he play guitar bad or badly? If you're not sure which of these fundamental words to use in these situations, watch this grammar lesson to erase your doubts. In it, I look at when to use adjectives and when to use adverbs. After this, you can apply the rules for bad and badly to other adjectives and adverbs.Take the quiz on this lesson here.

TRANSCRIPT

Hi, guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on "bad" vs "badly". Now, this lesson is a complement to a past lesson that I did on "good" vs. "well". And with "bad" vs. "badly", it's actually a very similar kind of case.

So very simply, first, let's look at the parts of speech that "bad" and "badly" represent. As I have written here, "bad" is an adjective, which means that it describes either a state of something or someone or a feeling, okay? So think of states and perceptions, feelings, with "bad". "Badly" is an adverb. Now, again, an adverb usually modifies a verb. It can also modify adjectives and other adverbs -- generally verbs, though. And it describes how you do, how you perform, or how you react to something, okay?

On the board, I have a variety of different sentences, and in all of them, you have to decide whether I should be using "bad" or "badly" to complete the sentence. So as we go through this, just always use these two definitions as a personal reference, okay?

Sentence No. 1 says, "He felt bad/badly about missing her birthday." So what do you think? "He felt badly about missing her birthday" or "He felt bad about missing her birthday"? If we go back to the rules, if we're talking about feelings, it's always "bad", okay? "He felt bad." Now, if I said, "He felt badly about missing her birthday", this would mean that you're modifying the verb "felt", and you're actually trying to say that he felt "badly", like his sense, his perception of feeling, of touch, is very poor, which doesn't make the sentence make any sense, okay?

So second sentence says, "She did bad/badly on her chemistry exam." So let's look back here. How you do/perform/react to something. Okay. How did she do on her chemistry exam? "She did badly." She performed badly. Okay? "I twisted my ankle." Okay. How did you twist your ankle? Well, really, really badly. Okay? So "bad" or "badly", actually. And I think I gave you the answer, so -- how did she twist her ankle? The quality of the injury. "She twisted it badly." When she twisted it in the moment of the action, it was really bad, so she did it badly, she did the action badly, okay? Sorry. I'm repeating myself a lot. "Bad", "badly" -- you will be sick of hearing these words by the end of this lesson.

Next one: "He is a bad singer" or "He is a badly singer"? Now, again, a singer, a person who sings a song, [sings "lah lah lah"], etc., and we're talking about the state of this person. What kind of singer is he? So we're modifying "singer", so "He is a bad singer." Now, remember: "badly" -- there's no verb here that you're modifying, right? You can't really modify the verb "to be" in this situation with "badly". You can't say, "He is badly" just by itself, okay?

So next one: "They felt bad" or "They felt badly about coming late." If we go back to the rules -- feelings, right? So how do you feel? You feel bad. Internal state. "They felt bad about coming late." So they came to a meeting. They came to a party, a movie, something -- oh, sorry. I feel bad about that, okay? Next one: "She danced bad" or "She danced badly at her recital". So maybe she dances ballet, and they had a performance. A performance is like a recital. And she danced -- you're talking about the quality of her dancing. So how you perform something -- how you do something is, in this situation, "badly". So how did she dance? "She danced badly."

Now, "This tastes bad" or "This tastes badly"? Now, what are we talking about here? Are we talking about -- "this", whatever it is, whether it's a soup, a sandwich, a hamburger, a steak; doesn't matter. You're talking about the state of the thing. You're talking about the flavor, the taste, the internal state, okay? So when we go back here, "This tastes bad." Now, again, if we said, "This tastes badly", the meaning would be that -- let's imagine it's a steak. So this means that the steak can eat other things and that the steak tastes things badly, okay? It means that it doesn't have a sense of taste, that the steak can't taste things very well because its tongue is not good, okay? So you can imagine the image is not very appetizing I guess. I wouldn't want to eat a steak that was talking. Although before it's a steak, it's a cow, but that's another topic. Let's not get into that.

And finally, "Their reasons didn't seem so bad." Okay, so here, the topic, the subject, is their reasons, their reasons for doing something.

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5 nouns to make you sound smart

Do you want to sound smarter? In this lesson, I'll teach you five advanced nouns that you can use in the classroom, at the office, or with friends. Start including these nouns in conversations with your boss, or use them in essays to impress your teachers. You'll sound smarter in no time! Expand your vocabulary, and make a better impression on the people that you meet. Learn these five nouns with me now!

TRANSCRIPT

Hey, guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this advanced vocabulary lesson on five nouns to sound smart. In this lesson, we will look at five words that are a little bit more formal and you can use whether you're giving a lecture, if you're doing any type of formal writing, if you're writing an essay, if you're giving a speech in front of a crowd of people, and you can also use it in everyday dinner conversations if you want your friends to think that: "Hmm, this guy is using some really high-level vocabulary", or: "this girl".

Let's start with the word: "bedlam". So the sentence here says:

"The streets were in bedlam during the protests."

"Protest" is a word some of you Spanish speakers, Portuguese speakers, you might use the word: "manifestations". In English, we say: "protests". All right? So: "The streets were in bedlam during the protests." So if you imagine a protest happening with a lot of people, you're probably imaging lots of chaos if it's not a peaceful protest. Okay? So, "bedlam" basically means chaos and disorder, something that is not organized. And we often use the preposition, "in" before "bedlam". So: "It was in bedlam.", or: "The streets were in bedlam." or: "It's bedlam in here." It's chaos, it's disorder. Okay?

The next noun is: "gall". Okay? So if we look at the sentence:

"She had the gall to call me lazy!"

So if someone calls you lazy, you're probably very offended and you think: "I can't believe that person said that." I can't believe they had the nerve - okay? - to actually say that. So, "gall" basically refers to the bold courage or the nerve to say something. So it refers to your nerve or bold courage. Okay?

Next up, we have: "juxtaposition". Very good word, especially in academics and especially if you're writing essays of comparison and contrast. So the sentence we have is:

"A child next to an old man is a strong juxtaposition."

So, the word "juxtaposition", the word "juxta" actually means near and "position" means position, so near in position. When two things are in juxtaposition, it just means they are near to each other, placed next to each other. And we often juxtapose which is the verb form, we juxtapose two things that are different from each other to compare them, to contrast things. Okay? So, basically, "juxtaposition" means near in position. And commonly, this word is used when you want to compare and contrast two things that are not the same, that are not alike. So you place things in juxtaposition with one another, near to each other, and then you can compare them, contrast them. Okay?

Next up: "quagmire". If we have this sentence:

"The war has created a quagmire."

So when you think about a war happening anywhere in the world, it's probably a very difficult situation for citizens and that is precisely what a quagmire is, is that it's a difficult, hard situation that is difficult to escape, that is difficult to get out of. All right? So a quagmire, we're going to say a difficult situation. Okay? So think about being stuck in like mud and... And you can't really escape or it's difficult to escape the mud. And specifically, we more talk about the situation of, you know, wars or personal situations that are quagmires.

And finally, we have: "rabble". And in this sentence, we have:

"The police couldn't control the rabble."

So, the rabble, going back to protests, refers to the common people. Now, the rabble specifically refers to a group of disorderly people or a mob you can say. So rabble is basically a mob of common people or citizens.

And just to give you one bonus vocabulary, the word, "rabble", a person who excites the rabble, excites the common people and leads the protest is called: "a rabble rouser". And I'm going to write that here for you guys, "a rabble rouser". So this is the person, the person who excites the people, and says: "Come on, let's go! We're going to fight back against the government or fight back against the police." They are called "a rabble rouser" because they excite or rouse the rabble, the common people, the mob. Okay?

All right, guys, so one more time. "Bedlam" refers to chaos and disorder. "Gall" refers to the nerve or the courage, the bold courage to do something. Juxt-... "A juxtaposition" is basically a comparison of two things that are next two each other. "A quagmire" is a situation that is difficult to escape from. And "rabble", a mob of common people.

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5 Phrasal Verbs with GET - get up, get along, get ahead, get by...

"Get" is a tricky word. It is also a very popular verb in English phrasal verbs. Learn 5 of them in this essential lesson and you will definitely get ahead! After the lesson, take the quiz here.

Transcript:

Hi guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on five phrasal verbs with "get". If you are watching this, you know that phrasal verbs are one of the most difficult things to master in English because they often have an idiomatic meaning. So today, we're going to look at five of them, and they all have "get" in some way. No. 1 is "get up". If you've been studying for a while, you might be familiar with this verb. "I got up late today." What do you think this means, "I got up late today"? Right. It means "to rise from your bed", right? "To get up" is "to rise from bed". And not only from bed. You can get up from any position where you are lying down. So, to "rise from bed", or really any lying position. Okay. You can also get up from a chair as well, if you're sitting. That is the meaning of "get up". You can ask your friend, "Hey, what time did you get up today?" "I got up at 7 a.m. or at 6 a.m.", whatever it is.

Okay, No. 2, we have "get along", and this can be by itself, or you can add "with". You can "get along with" a person, "with" someone. Sorry about that. For example, "My sister gets along with everybody". What do you think the meaning of this is? Okay. Do you think she has a good relationship, or do you think she has a bad relationship? Well, the meaning is she has a good relationship with everybody. So to "get along" or to "get along with" someone is to have a good relationship with -- I'm just going to put "S/O" for "someone". Okay. For example, if you "get along" with -- well, of course, you "get along with" your friends. You can get along with anybody -- I mean anybody that you know in your life. If you have a good relationship with them, you can say, "Yeah we get along". The negative is, "I don't get along with" that person, or "we don't get along". So you can say, "We don't get along", or "We get along". Or if you want to add "with": "Yeah, I get along with her", or "I get along with him", or "we don't get along together", as well. Okay.

No. 3, we have "get ahead". All right. Example: "If you want to get ahead, work hard." "You have to work hard if you want to get ahead." If you look at the context of this sentence, you might be able to figure out the meaning, and in this situation, "get ahead" means "to succeed" or "make progress". So if you work in a company, and you are "getting ahead" in the company, it means that you started at the bottom, and you're working your way up, up, up, the ladder. Then you are "getting ahead" in the company. You can "get ahead" in life even. Make progress. Succeed at something. Get further than other people, for example.

Next, we have "get by". "Can you get by without your cell phone?" If you look at the context of this sentence, can you identify the meaning? Okay. It means "to survive". Okay. If I ask you, "Can you get by without your cell phone?", basically I am asking you if you can survive without your cell phone. If I ask you, "How do you get by without the Internet?" "How do you get by without your cell phone?" Or, "How do you get by without Facebook?" How do you survive without these things that are wonderful in the modern world? So how do you survive. Okay. I can also ask you, "Do you think you could get by with only $20 for one week?" If that's possible, right? Okay.

Finally, we have a pretty simple one, I think. And that is "get together". When two people get together, it means that -- well, let's look at the sentence first. "We are getting together for coffee later". Get together. Okay. This means "we are meeting", "to meet". Okay. When you get together with your friends, you are meeting your friends in one location, in one place. "Get together" can also have another meaning when you are talking about two people who are dating; who are seeing each other. And that means the first time they met. For example, if I ask you, "When did you and your wife, or when did you and you husband, or when did you and your boyfriend or girlfriend get together?" This means, "When did you meet for the first time?" Okay. So it can also just mean "to meet". I can say, "Let's get together later".

All right, guys. To review, we have "get up", which is to get up from your bed, to rise from a lying position or a sitting position. We have to "get along" with someone, which is to have a good relationship. To "get ahead": this means to succeed or to make progress in some aspect of your life. To "get by" is to survive, you know. If I ask you, again, "How are you doing?" "I am getting by." I am surviving. Not doing great, but I'm living. I'm surviving. And No. 5, "get together": to meet. All right, guys.

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IELTS TOEFL Academic Vocabulary - Adjectives

If you're preparing for the TOEFL or IELTS, vocabulary is incredibly important. In this lesson, I will give you 10 academic adjectives you may need on your test. Learning vocabulary can improve your score in ALL sections, because it is essential to every aspect of English. These words commonly appear on the tests, and are great to use in your academic writing. The adjectives include 'aware', 'crucial', 'prohibited', 'visible', 'flexible', and five others. Learn these words with me, and then practice using them on your quiz. Good luck on your test!

TRANSCRIPT

Hi, guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on IELTS and TOEFL academic vocabulary, with a focus on adjectives. Don't forget to check out the other IELTS and TOEFL academic vocabulary lessons on verbs and nouns.

Today, we're going to look at 10 adjectives, and again, this is to help you on your writing, speaking, listening, and reading sections of the IELTS and TOEFL. So, basically, every single section; vocabulary is important for every single section, obviously.

So, the first word we have is: "aware". Now, again, "aware" is an adjective which means that you are conscious of something or that you have knowledge of something. So, for example: "I was not aware of that fact." I didn't have knowledge of that before. So, for example: I was not aware that the red panda was an actual animal. If you don't know that, look up: "red panda" on Google image search and you'll see a red panda. It happens. They're... It's true.

The next word is: "crucial". So something that is "crucial" is vital or very important. Think of it as essential, almost. So: "Pronunciation is a crucial part of language." It's a very important, vital, essential part, component or aspect of learning language.

The next word we have is: "flexible". So, if you are "flexible" or something is "flexible", it is able to be shaped, meaning it's not rigid. Like this would be not flexible; inflexible. You know, I can't really bend this very much. So, for example: "Employers want employees who are flexible." So, if you work for a company, your boss probably likes it if you're able to work a variety of hours and you can do different types of jobs. So you have many talents and you're able to, you know, move and bend, depending on the needs of the company.

The next word is: "obvious". If something is "obvious" - you might be familiar with this word - it's clear and easy to see. So: "It is obvious that a large population increases traffic." So, in a city like Toronto, or Hong Kong, or any type of large metropolis or cosmopolitan area, you have large populations and those large populations cause more traffic because you have more people - more cars. So it's obvious that large populations increase traffic.

Next, we have the word: "prohibited". If something is "prohibited", it's not allowed, it's forbidden. So, for example: "Smoking is prohibited in most restaurants." It means that you can't do it. It's not allowed in those restaurants.

Okay, guys, let's look at five more words.

Okay, so the next word is: "relevant". Now, if something is relevant, it is connected to the current situation or the current issue we are discussing. Another word for "relevant" is: "pertinent". The example we have on the board is: "Your question is not relevant to this discussion." So, for example: if I am talking about global warming and you ask me a question about clowns or make-up, that's not relevant to the thing that we are discussing.

The next adjective is: "reliable". "Reliable" means able to be predicted or dependable; something you can count on. The sentence we have on the board is: "Everyone wants a reliable source of income." A reliable source of income means money from your job that you know is going to come, you know, at a dependable pace; so every two weeks, you know you will receive a certain amount of money from your job. So everyone wants a reliable source of money, an income from their job.

The next word is: "secure". You might know the word: "security" which is the noun form. Here, we're looking at the adjective which means safe or protected from harm. So: "My city is secure." We don't say: "My city is security." Remember: an adjective is a word that talks about the quality of something or it describes it in some way. So you're describing your city. In this situation, you say: "My city is secure." Not "security". My city has security, it is secure.

The next adjective is: "significant". So, if something is "significant", it's of consequence; it is important. So, for example: "Landing on the moon is one of man's most significant achievements." An achievement that has had a tremendous consequence, basically, on our world today and the development of the space program in general.

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4 Phrasal Verbs with PUT - put up, put on, put away, put together

In this lesson, you will learn 4 important phrasal verbs with "put". When you're done, you can put all of your knowledge together and complete the quiz to test your understanding! You'll learn the following phrasal verbs in this lesson: "put away," "put together", "put on", and "put up".

For Alex's previous lesson on "put" phrasal verbs, see here.

TRANSCRIPT

Hi, guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on four phrasal verbs with "put". If you'd like to check out more information on phrasal verbs with "put", we have another lesson made by myself that you can check on the website, and it's linked to this video. Today, we're going to look at four different phrasal verbs with "put".

The first one is to "put up with something/someone". So any time you see "ST", it means "something" in this video, and "SO" means "someone", so to "put up with something or someone". Let's look at this sentence and see if we can identify the meaning. So I have, "I hate traffic." "I hate traffic, but I have to put up with it." So imagine every day you go to work, you must take the metro or your car, and you have to drive. You have to drive through the traffic. You hate the traffic, but you have to use it. So in this situation, in this context, to "put up with something", to "put up" with traffic means to "tolerate" it. You don't like it, but you have to do it, okay? So this means, "to tolerate", okay? Those of you who don't know what "tolerate" means, again, it means that you don't like it, but you still have to deal with it in some way. And, again, you don't only have to "put up" with things, like I "put up" with traffic every day. You can "put up" with people in your life. So maybe at work or in your school, university, there are people you don't like, but you see them every day and you have to tolerate them, you have to "put up" with them, okay?

All right, guys, so No. 2, we have to "put something on". This is a separable phrasal verb, so this means the (ST) can actually go in the middle of the phrasal verb or at the end of the phrasal verb. So the sentence is, "Put on your jacket." It's also possible to say, "Put your jacket on." Based on the context of this sentence, I think it's easy to see that to "put on" means to, you know, "cover yourself" with clothing. And it's not only clothing - basically, anything that you can put on your body, like jewelry -- "to cover your body with clothing or jewelry". So the most common context is to put on clothing, so, "Put on your socks." "Put on your shirt." "Put on your pants." Whatever it is. Okay.

No. 3, to "put something away." Just like "put on", to "put away" is a separable phrasal verb, which means you can put the object, the (ST), in the middle of the phrasal verb or at the end of the phrasal verb. So, "Put away your books. It's time for the test." So the context here is: You're in class. The teacher says, "Put away your books. It's time for the test." You can't look at your books, right? So where do you put your book? Well, most students put them in a backpack, right? Your bag. So to "put something away" means you have to "put it in an appropriate place". So the appropriate place for your books is your school bag. So "to put in an appropriate place", so a place where that is expected that you would put that thing or whatever it is, okay?

And finally, we have to "put something together". And once more, this is a separable phrasal verb, so you can put the object in the middle or at the end. Let's look at the sentence. "I hate putting together new furniture." So if you go to IKEA, which is a really popular furniture store, when you go home, you have to put the furniture together. It doesn't come as one piece. You have to work with it. And to "put it together" means to "assemble it", "complete it". So this means, "to assemble", okay? So kids can "put things together" if they play with Legos, or if you are good with computers, you can "put together" a new computer, or in this case -- this is something that I'm very familiar with -- you "put together" new furniture.

Okay, guys. So once more, those four phrasal verbs are to "put up with something or someone". You don't like it, but you have to do it, okay? So you "put up" with traffic -- "put up" with people. "Put something on": to cover your body with clothing or jewelry. "Put something away": to put it in an appropriate place. And to "put something together" means to "assemble" something. And if you'd like to test your knowledge of this material, as always, you can check out the quiz on www.engvid.com. Good luck, and take care.

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5 Common English Learner Mistakes

What are the most common grammatical mistakes that new English learners make? It depends on the country, but regardless of where you're from, you have probably heard others make these mistakes or you have made them yourself. In this lesson, I look at what's wrong with saying "it's depend," "it depends of," "I took a sandwich for breakfast," "She's learning for go to university," "I am interesting in that," and "Is good! Is easy! Is not a problem!" Check out the lesson, and improve your language accuracy! Take the quiz here.

TRANSCRIPT

Hey, guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on "5 Common New English Learner Mistakes". So in this lesson, I'll be looking at mistakes that I have heard in my time as a teacher from students from various parts of the world. So these are mistakes that are made by Spanish speakers, Portuguese speakers, German speakers, Korean speakers, and they might apply to you as well. These are mistakes that kind of cross over and that are very common.

So let's start with the first one. Let's look at No. 1. Okay, so this is, actually, a double mistake that I commonly hear when you're discussing a subject and you want someone to give you an opinion on something. So for example, "Do you prefer Coke or Pepsi?" Or "Do you prefer this or that?" And some people will say, "Well, it's depend." Or "Hmm, it depends of (...)" So "It depends of the season." "It depends of the person." "It depends of the society or the country" or something like this. So what is wrong with this? Well, we don't say, "it's depend". We say "it depends", "it depends". Okay? So we don't say, "it's depend". The correct form is: "it depends". And for this, this is okay: "it depends", right? The only problem is the preposition that you're using. We don't say "of" in English; we say "it depends on", okay? So "it depends on the person." "It depends on the country." "It depends on the time of day." Whatever topic you're discussing.

Okay, guys, let's move on to No. 2. So for the second one, this is, actually, a verb choice error, and maybe languages, when you talk about eating, you use the verb "take". So you can "take a Coke", or "take your coffee in the morning", or you "take breakfast", "take dinner". In English, it's a little different. So here, we have two sentences. The first one says: "I took a coffee this morning." Now, when you look at it, maybe you went to a coffee shop, and you say, "Yeah, I will take a coffee." Okay. Not too much wrong with that. That's okay. However, when you're talking about the act of drinking the coffee, we use the verb "have" in English. Okay? So you didn't "take" a coffee; you say "I had" in the past, right? "I had a coffee this morning." Same thing for the second one. So this one says: "I take dinner around six." Well, in English, we don't really say, "I take dinner around six." We say, "I have dinner", okay? So when you're talking about food, you "have breakfast", "have lunch", "have dinner", "have coffee". You "have pizza". You "have a sandwich". Anything to do with food, use the verb "have".

Now, let's move on to No.3. Okay, so this one is, actually, a preposition error, and it's when people use "for" when they mean to use an infinitive. So for example, "I use it for go to work." Imagine you have a car, and people and you, "What do you use your car for?" You know, do you drive around a lot, or you say, "No, no. I only use it to go to work", right? So we don't say "for go", we use "to go". Now, why do we do this? Well, when you have a verb and you follow that verb with either a pronoun or an object of some kind, the verb afterwards has to be an infinitive, okay? So also, if you look down here, "I need glasses for read." Well, we know it's "to read". And: "She ran for catch the bus." "She ran to catch the bus." Again, there are some verbs, as you know, which are only followed by gerunds, some verbs which are only followed by infinitives. So here, if you want to have a verb and you want to use another verb, another action after that verb -- so "she ran to catch the bus" -- it has to be a gerund or infinitive. An "infinitive" is "to" plus the base verb, okay? So don't say, "I use it for do", "for do something." "I use it to do something." "I need glasses to read", not "for read". Okay? So if you ever have, you know, the desire to have a verb plus another action, either use a gerund or in this case, it's not "for do something", it's "to do" something.

All right, guys. Let's look at No. 4. So this one is, actually, an adjective choice error, and it's the difference between -ing and -ed adjectives. So when you feel something internally, inside -- it's a personal feeling -- you should be using an -ed adjective, not an -ing adjective. So all three examples on the board here are, actually, incorrect. So the first one says, "I am exciting about that."

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English Grammar: Subject-Verb Agreement with EACH, EVERY, ANY, SOME

Are the words "each," "every," and "any" singular or plural? Which verb form should we use with them in the present simple? What about the word "some"? Never confuse these subjects and their verbs again! Everyone needs (or is it "need"?) to check this grammar lesson out. Don't forget to check your understanding with the quiz.

TRANSCRIPT

Hi, guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on subject/verb agreement. And today, we're going to look at subject/verb agreement as it relates to pronouns, such as: each one, anyone, someone, etc. Okay?

Now, the most important thing to know about these subjects -- and again, you have the whole list here. You have: each, everyone, every one, everybody, anyone, anybody, someone, somebody. These are all singular subjects. So even though you have a word like "someone" -- you see the word "some"; you think it's plural -- focus on the "one", "some one", "some body". This means he or she, okay? So if you have words like these -- pronouns like these as your subject, the verb you use must also match them. It must be a singular verb -- basically, a third person verb. Okay? So they all require singular verbs.

So here's what we're going to do. We're going to look at some example sentences, and I want you to identify, No. 1, the pronouns that we have discussed, and No. 2, the verb and what form the verb is taking. Okay?

So the first sentence says, "Each of the students is responsible." Okay. First, we identify "each", okay? And we're talking about the students. Now, again, don't become confused by the plural of "students". You're thinking, "Students are 'they', so we say 'students are.'" The focus is on "each of the students", so this individual student, that individual student, you as an individual student, he, she, he, she, he, she. So your verb must be singular, which is why we say, "Each of the students is, not each of the students are," okay?

The next one, "Everybody loves the Beatles!" This is an opinion, of course. Maybe you share it; maybe you don't. And here we have the subject, "everybody". And again, you're thinking as everybody as a group, but really, you're talking, again, "every body" -- if you take the word apart, you have "every body", every individual person loves. So the verb is not "love", but "loves". He loves. She loves. Okay?

Next, "Do you know anyone who has a PS4?" So you have "anyone". And again, "anyone" -- you're talking about individuals, okay, which is why we have the verb "has" and not "have". "Anyone who has." So again, we say "he has" or "she has", not "he have" or "she have". Okay?

The next sentence, "I haven't met anybody who thinks like you." So here, we have "anybody" -- "I have not met anybody" -- and again, we don't say "who think like you". It's third person. It's singular. So the verb is "thinks". So "he thinks, "she thinks", and not "anybody" as in, like, a collective group, but as an individual, okay?

All right. The next two. These ones confuse people sometimes just because you see the word "some". And again, we know "some" has a plural meaning. However, look at the complete word. It's "some one" or "some body". And again, think of "body" as an individual, okay? So, "Someone needs to help us." So you have "someone", and the singular verb is "needs". "Someone needs", not "someone need". And finally, we have, "Somebody is waiting for you downstairs." So you're giving news to someone, and you're saying that they are waiting for you downstairs. So we have "somebody". And again, here we have a present continuous sentence. However, the first verb, the auxiliary verb, is the verb "to be" -- "is". We don't say "somebody are" just because you see the word "some". We focus on the "body", basically, the individual, okay?

Okay, guys. So again, be careful when you see these words. Just always be aware. Basically, you're using the word "has". You're using the verb "is" or "isn't" or "hasn't" if we're talking about "has". If you're using present simple sentences, you're adding the S, okay, at the ends of the verbs after these pronouns. So again, when you see: each, everyone, every one, everybody, anyone, anybody, someone, or somebody, they all require a singular verb because they are all singular subjects.

And one quick point before I finish, the difference between "everyone" and "every one" -- "everyone" refers to the whole group, and "every one" refers to every individual, okay, as a separate entity, essentially.

Okay, guys. If you would like to test your understanding of this material, as always, you can check out the quiz on www.engvid.com. Take care.

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English Grammar: Causative Verbs: Make, Have, Let, Get, Help

What is the difference between someone making you do something and someone having you do something? Is it correct to say "He made me clean my room" or "He made me to clean my room"? In this lesson, I look at a very common active causative verb structure with the verbs "make", "have", "let", "get", and "help." Check out the lesson and check your understanding with the quiz.

TRANSCRIPT

Hey, guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on causative verbs. Specifically, we will be looking at the verbs "make", "have", "let", "get", and "help", and how they are used and formed in a causative sentence structure.

So first, we have the sentence, "She made me wash the dishes." So the causative verb is "make", and here we're using the past tense. We will be using the past tense for all the examples today. And, "She made me wash the dishes." Now, in this situation, the causative verb "make" -- in this context "made" -- means, "She forced me. She didn't give me a choice." So this could be your mother, for example, forcing you to wash the dishes. Now, what we notice here is you have the subject, okay? I'm just going to do this for the first sentence and write a little S, or what looks like an S. You have your subject, the subject that is going to force the action or cause the action. You have your causative verb, which we'll call your CV. And then, you have "me", "she made me". And this will be your object, okay? So, "She made me wash the dishes. She forced me to wash the dishes." What you'll also notice is you have "wash". We're using the base verb, okay? So when you have the causative verb "make", you have this structure of subject, "make", object, base verb. Base verb, base verb, base verb, okay? Because not all of these causative verbs follow the same structure as you'll see.

Okay, the text sentence says, "My dad let me go by myself." So you wanted to go to a party or you wanted to go to a movie, and your dad let you go. If you "let" someone do something, you give them permission; you allow them to do it, okay? Now, what you notice here is "my dad" -- I'm just going to do quick underlines. "My dad let me." And again, you have the base verb, okay? So just like "make", "let" also uses a base verb after for your main verb.

The next sentence, "She had the students do the assignment." So, "The teacher had the students do the assignment." Now, here, the verb "had" means "requested" or "asked". Not really "made" them do it in the same way, but she made them do it in a polite way. So if a teacher says, "Okay, please turn to page 25 and do the assignment on that page", she's requesting, but really, you don't have a lot of a choice because you have to follow the instructions. So if you "have" someone do it or do something, you are requesting and asking them to do it, but really you're politely making them do it, okay? So same structure, "He had the students" -- base verb, okay? We're still using a base verb with "make", "let", and "have".

The next one is "get". So simple past, "She got me to mow the lawn." "Mow the lawn" means to cut the grass, you know, with a lawnmower. So if someone "gets" you to "do" something, it means they "persuade" you to do something. They convince you to do something. So, "She got me to mow the lawn." Maybe she paid me five dollars if this is my mom, again, all right? So look at this structure, though. We have "she got me", and we don't say, "She got me mow"; we say, "She got me to mow." So when you use "get" in this causative form, you have to use the infinitive phrase of "to" plus the base verb, okay? "To mow", "to do", "to make", "to see", okay?

And finally, we have the causative verb "help". So for example, "EngVid has helped me improve/to improve my English." I think you guys know the verb "help". It just means to "aid" you in doing something. So here, we have EngVid, and we actually have a present continuous -- present continuous? Present perfect sentence. "EngVid has helped me" -- and you can say "improve" or "to improve". So the verb "help" in the causative form doesn't discriminate between the base form and the infinitive form. You can use either one. Both are 100 percent correct, okay?

All right, guys. So again, what I want you to get from this is number one, understanding what these causative verbs mean. So if you "make" someone do something, you "force" them to do it. If you "let" someone do something, you "give them permission" to do it. If you "have" someone do something, you "request" and ask them to do something. If you "get" someone to do something, you "convince" them, "persuade" them, give them an incentive to do it. And finally, if you "help" someone do something, well, you know, you give them aid; you give them help in doing it.

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5 Phrasal Verbs with HOLD - hold on, hold against, hold in...

Phrasal verbs are an important part of speaking English fluently. In this lesson, I look at FIVE common and useful phrasal verbs with the verb "HOLD." Hold on. Five? That's right! I don't hold back anything in this lesson. Hold onto something, and get ready to learn. You won't be able to hold in your smile as you improve your vocabulary! Click on this lesson, or I may hold it against you!

TRANSCRIPT

Hey, guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking and welcome to this lesson on five "hold" phrasal verbs. This is actually a user-requested lesson. And just a reminder: if you ever want to suggest a lesson for myself or any other engVid teacher, feel free to do so on the comment section below or look me up on Facebook. You can just look up "Alex engVid."

Now, today, we're going to look at five phrasal verbs, as I mentioned, that use the verb "hold".

First one is: "hold on". So let's look at the sentence:

"Could you hold on for a minute?"

Hmm, often this phrasal verb is used in this type of question form, it's also used as an imperative. If I just say: "Whoa, whoa, hold on". So, "hold on" basically means: wait or stop. Okay? So, generally, it means to wait. "Could you hold on for a minute? Could you slow down, or wait, or stop what you're doing?" Okay? So, often used in imperative or in a request form.

Next, we have to hold onto something or hold onto someone. So if I put "st", it's something; "so" is someone.

"You shouldn't hold onto anger."

What do you think this means? You think of the verb "hold" and very literally, you hold onto something, it means you don't let it go. Okay? So to not let something go. So you can hold onto a person's hand or you can hold onto the railing as you're walking up the stairs somewhere. Okay? So a very literal meaning in this one.

Next, we have: "to hold something against someone". So we have the sentence:

"You're ambitious, but I don't hold it against you."

Now, to hold something against someone means that you basically resent someone or you don't like someone because of something about their character or something they have done, so you feel badly towards someone because of something they did. So basically, to resent someone for something, for something they did or something about them. So in this situation, I'm saying: "You're ambitious", now maybe some people think, you know, ambition can be a positive thing. It can also be a negative thing if you're too ambitious and you want too much for yourself. So if I say: "Well, you're ambitious, you know, but I don't hold it against you, I don't hate you for it. I don't resent you for being ambitious". Okay?

Next: "to hold something in". The sentence says:

"I couldn't hold in my laughter!"

So if you hold something in, this means that you don't let it out. Right? So to not let something out. Now, we often to use this to talk about laughter. You can hold in your feelings. Also, if you're going on a long car ride on the highway, you can hold in your bodily functions, so you can hold in your pee basically, that's what I want to say. So to not let something out, like hold it in. Okay?

And, finally: "hold back". So the sentence says:

"He was held back by the police."

So think of held back by the police. Held back, hmm, this means to restrain a person from doing something. And you can hold yourself back from doing something. So to restrain someone. Okay? So you can also restrain something, like you can restrain yourself from doing something as well.

Okay, so guys, just to review: "hold on" means to wait, most often used in imperative like: "Whoa, whoa, whoa - hold on, I don't understand". Or: "Whoa, hold on, go back". Or to make a request: "Hey, can you hold on for one minute?"

Second, "to hold onto something or somebody", don't let it go. You can hold onto a feeling, you can hold onto something physical, you can hold onto an emotion. Okay. Feeling, emotion - same thing I suppose.

"Hold something against someone", like you are angry at a person because of something they did in the past and you can't let it go. Okay?

"Hold something in", to not let something out. "I couldn't hold in my laughter the movie was so funny", or: "the joke was so funny".

And "to hold back" is to restrain yourself or to restrain someone or something from doing something.

So, if you want to test your understanding of these five phrasal verbs, as always, you can check out the quiz on www.engvid.com. Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. And again, if you have any suggestions for future lessons, please leave them in the comment section below. And I'll see you guys next time. Bye.

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How to Give Advice in English - recommend, suggest, advise, encourage...

I've got some advice for you! This lesson is all about giving advice using correct sentence structures. Watch this English lesson to learn how to give advice using the verbs: "suggest", "recommend", "propose", and "urge". I also teach you about a very common mistake that ESL students make, and how to correct it. If you want to learn how to give formal advice in English, I highly recommend that you click on this video!

TRANSCRIPT

Hey, guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on advice verbs. In this lesson, we will be looking at how to give a bit more formal advice. Now, if you're familiar with the verb, "should", you know that we use "should" for advice. Like: "You shouldn't drink and drive." for example. Or: "You should exercise regularly." Today, we're not looking at "should", we're looking at other advice verbs. And we're going to look at some correct structures when using these advice verbs. And I'm going to specifically focus on one very common mistake that I hear with a couple of these advice verbs.

So, imagine this problem: I need a better job. Right? I need a better job. This is your problem or your friend's problem. Hmm, what kind of advice can you give for this?

Well, you should, you know, update your resume. Now, let's look at some other verbs that we should use instead of "should". You can say: "I recommend", "I suggest", "I propose", "I advise", "I urge". "Urge" means that something is urgent and I'm pushing you to do it. Or: "I encourage", okay?

Now, let's look at what can follow these specific advice verbs. The first three here: "recommend", "suggest", "propose", they can all be followed with these four structures here. So you can say: "I recommend updating your resume." So you can use a verb + "ing". Recommend doing something, suggest doing something, propose doing something. You can also use a possessive, like: "Your doing something", so you can do... This is known as a possessive gerund and you can use this to give advice as well, if it's a little more formal though.

So you can say, again: "I recommend your updating your resume.", "I suggest your updating your resume.", "I propose your updating your resume." And the other two structures you can use are: "I recommend", "I suggest", "I propose that you", so you have the pronoun in between the object, "that you update your resume". Or without that, the same thing: "I recommend", "suggest", "propose you update". So these two structures are known as the subjunctive. Right? So you can use the subjunctive with these three verbs. And actually, you can also use the subjunctive with these three verbs.

So the most common mistake that I hear and that I would like to correct today is a lot of students, when they use: "I suggest" and "I recommend", specifically those two verbs: "recommend" and "suggest", I always hear: "I recommend you to do something." Or: "I suggest you to do something." This is actually incorrect. The only four structures that you should be saying when giving advice with: "recommend", "suggest" would be one of these four. So: "I recommend doing", "I recommend your doing", "I recommend that you do", or: "I recommend you do." Okay.

So you may be wondering: "Well, why did you write, you know, 'you to update'?" There is a category of advice verbs that do use this structure, but it's not "recommend", it's not "suggest", it's not "propose". It's, for example, these three verbs here: "I advise you to do something.", "I advise you to update your resume.", "I urge you to update your resume.", "I encourage you to update your resume."

Now, if you're wondering... Let me put a star beside this, "advise", "urge", "encourage". Okay? So these three can use this structure, you can use: "I advise", "urge", "encourage" the person + the infinitive. So you can do this infinitive form. "To" + the base verb. You can do this with these three verbs, but you can't do it with: "recommend", "suggest", or "propose".

Now, one more thing, you may be wondering: "Wait, with 'advise', 'urge', 'encourage', can I only do this?" No. You can say: "I advise", "I urge", "I encourage updating", "your updating", "that you update", "you update", "you to update". So these ones are actually more flexible because you can use all of these constructions. However, with the verb: "suggest", "recommend", "propose", only use these top four constructions. Okay?

That's it, guys. If you'd like to test your understanding of these advice verbs, as always, you can check out the quiz on here. And don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. Good luck, and I'll see you guys next time.

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How to use too and enough in English

How do we use "too" and "enough"? What's the difference between these two common words? Where do we put them in a sentence? Learn the answers to all of these questions in this useful lesson. This English grammar lesson also covers where to place adjectives with "too" and "enough," and the correct verb form to follow each. You can take a quiz on this lesson, too.

TRANSCRIPT

Hi, guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on "enough" and "too" with infinitives. So today, we're going to look at a common grammatical pattern that we can use with "too" and "enough" and how to follow those with infinitives. And remember, an infinitive is "to" plus the base form of a verb, so "to play", "to swim", "to hang", "to chat", whatever it is.

Now let's look at, first, a common "too" pattern when we talk in English. So again, we use "too" when we want to talk about an extreme. So here we can use: Too + adjective/adverb + infinitive. Now if you're tired of looking at formulas, and you're better with just seeing examples, examples, examples, well, guess what? I have many examples for you today. First one is: "It's too hot to go outside", okay? So here you see the pattern: It is too + an adjective -- to go outside. So again, we don't say, "It's too hot going outside." You have to follow it with an infinitive: "It's too hot to go outside." "It's too hot to swim." "It's too hot to stand out in the backyard for more than 20 minutes", okay? Another example, "She's too young." "She's too young to do what? She's too young to drink." " She's too young to smoke." " She's too young to drive." Okay? "It's too early." "It's too early to wake up." So Saturday morning it's, let's say, 6:30 a.m. Your alarm clock goes off at 6:30 on a Saturday. Unless you work, that's way too early to wake up for most people. If you enjoy it, hey, that's your life.

Next, "He tried too much to impress his boss." Okay? All right, guys, so again, this is the most common pattern with "too" when you want to talk about -- and you want to use infinitives. So again, "It's too hot to go outside." "She's too young to drink." "It's too early to wake up." "He tried too much to impress his boss." So again, we don't say, "It's to go, too hot, outside." You know, we don't mix it up like that. The pattern is: Too + adjective/adverb + infinitive.

Now, let's look at "enough". Okay, so with "enough", we have a different structure. Now again, "enough" means "sufficient", something that is "sufficient enough". So whereas we had, "too + adjective/adverb + infinitive", here we have the adjective/adverb + enough + infinitive. So for example, "He is smart enough to pass." "She was fast enough to win." "He yelled loudly enough to wake up our neighbours!" So again, you see the pattern with "too" and "enough" is different in that, again, normally with "too", we have "too" before the adjective. With "enough" we actually put "enough" after the adjective or the adverb in this situation. Okay? So are you guys getting it so far? Yeah?

All right. Let's look at one more little rule with "enough". Okay, let's look at another pattern with "enough". Whereas in the first pattern we had, "adjective/adverb + enough", in this one we have, "enough + noun + infinitive". So let's look at these examples. I think most people are familiar and comfortable with this pattern. Maybe you don't know that we should add an infinitive after it, though. So: "We don't have enough gas to make it to Vancouver." So again, "We don't have enough": You have "enough"; you have the noun; and then you have the infinitive, "to make". "To make it to Vancouver", means to arrive -- right? -- to Vancouver. "We have enough money to go on vacation." So, "We have enough money to go" -- the infinitive "to go" -- on vacation." "Money" is the noun in this situation.

Okay, so this is the more informal, everyday, common structure. If you want to sound proper in English, you can also use the formal structure here. For this I'm going to do up my button, okay? Because I have to be very formal for this. So: "We have money enough to go on vacation." So in the formal structure you can actually put the noun before "enough" and then follow that with the infinitive. If you speak like this, I don't know, maybe you'll make some friends. Maybe people will look at you weird. I recommend speaking like this because this is more common, but just be aware if you watch British television, British films, anything with formal English in it, you might hear this pattern as well.

Okay, guys. If you'd like to check your understanding of how to use "too", how to use "enough" with infinitive patterns, you can check out the quiz on here. Take care, and good luck.

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5 Essential Communication Idioms in English

Learn some basic ways to talk about communication in this useful idioms lesson. I cover "to give (someone) a call," "to call (someone) up," "to not see or talk (to someone) in ages/forever," and "to keep in touch." After the lesson, take the quiz at here.

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Improve your English vocabulary: Better words than BIG

If you want a better English vocabulary, you need to know different words that mean the same thing. Instead of saying 'a big building', you can say 'a colossal building'. Instead of 'a big amount of money', say 'an enormous amount of money'. In this lesson, I'll teach you many different words in English that mean 'big'. Learning synonyms for common English words is a great way to make your English more interesting. Watch this video to learn words you can use instead of 'big'. Then, see how well you can spell these words in my quiz!

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Put in Phrasal Verbs - put down, put back, put off, put up

Don't put this lesson off! If you want to enhance your vocabulary and understanding of some common phrasal verbs that use "put," watch this free English lesson now. Take the quiz at here.

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5 adjectives to make you sound smart

Do you want to impress your friends, colleagues, and teachers with more advanced vocabulary? Are you tired of using the same vocabulary again and again? In this lesson, you will improve your vocabulary by learning five advanced adjectives that will make you the intellectual life of the party! This lesson covers "maudlin", "lackadaisical", "interminable", "egregious", and "visceral". Grab a bottle of wine and get ready to enhance your lexicon! Then take the quiz here.

TRANSCRIPT

Hi, guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this advanced vocabulary lesson on five adjectives to sound smart. So, in this lesson, I'm going to be looking at some uncommon adjectives that you can use in your speech and the adjectives I have chosen are understood by most native English speakers regardless, but they are a little bit more advanced and a little bit more formal. So let's look at some sentences, some vocabulary, and see if we can understand what these words mean.

The first one is: "maudlin". So, you can listen and repeat. One more time: "maudlin". All right, so let's look at the sentence:

"Looking at old photos makes me maudlin."

So, if you're looking at an old photo album of your childhood or your friends from elementary school or high school, how do you generally feel? I guess it depends on what kind of experience you had when you were a child, but in this context, I wanted it to mean like overly emotional and sentimental. Okay? So the meaning of "maudlin" we're going to put: overly - and that is supposed to be a "v" - overly emotional and - I'm going to put a plus for "and" - sentimental. Okay. So you can say, for example: "Drinking makes me maudlin." So if you drink too much and you start thinking about your past and your history, and you get very emotional, almost like teary thinking about it - you feel very maudlin. Okay?

The next adjective is: "lackadaisical". It's a very fun word to say, so say it with me: "lackadaisical". Okay, so sentence:

"Her work has been very lackadaisical lately."

Even when you think about the word and the sound of it like: "lackadaisical", it kind of sounds like lazy in a way and that actually is what it means. So lazy and careless. Lazy and careless; without care. Okay? So if I ask you: "Hey, how was your weekend? Was it productive?" And you can say: "No, I was really lackadaisical." Or: "I felt very lackadaisical." A person's work can be lackadaisical meaning that, again, lazy, careless, not a lot of attention paid to it. Okay?

All right, the next adjective is: "interminable". Okay? So say it with me: "interminable". Okay, so:

"His complaining is interminable!"

Now, when we look at this adjective, you might see in the middle: "terminable", "termina", "termina", okay, what does this word sound like? It almost sounds like "terminate". Right? Now, with the prefix: "in", this makes it negative, so not terminate, okay, not ending. So, if something is interminable, it's almost like it's endless or at least it feels like it's endless, like it's not going to end. So his complaining, the way he complains is interminable; he always complains, it doesn't end. So, basically, never ending or it feels like it's never ending. Now, at the time of this video, we are in the middle of winter in Canada and it's still going on, it's March and, you know, some of us are starting to feel that this winter is interminable; it's not going to end. This is 2014, by the way, at the time of recording.

All right, finally... Not finally, fourth. "Egregious". So very, very useful adjective.

"Sorry, but your logic is egregious."

So if someone gives you an explanation for something and the explanation, the logic is: "That doesn't make sense", like if it doesn't make any sense, it is egregious which means incredibly bad or terrible. Okay? So let's say: "Very bad". Normally, we talk about logic being egregious or a statement, something a person says as being egregious which just means it's just wrong. Okay? Now, we don't really use it to talk about people, like you can't really say: "He is egregious. He is really bad." Normally, it's things or actions that are egregious, things you say or your logic is egregious. Okay?

And finally, we have the word: "visceral". So when we look at the sentence:

"Skydiving" - which means jumping from a plane - "is an incredibly visceral experience."

So imagine jumping out of a plane, how do you feel emotionally, physically? Well, you probably do feel very emotional and your senses are, you know, engaged. So if something is visceral, it's emotional and instinctual which means that your senses are very much engaged during this activity, whatever it is.

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3 ways to use as long as - English Grammar

'As long as' is a very common English phrase. Find out what it means and three different ways to use it in this essential grammar lesson. In it, you will learn how to talk about duration, conditions, and emphasis with 'as long as'. As long as you're here, why don't you click on this video? It's my 100th video to date! Take the quiz here.

TRANSCRIPT

Hi guys. I'm Alex. Thanks for clicking, and welcome to this lesson on "as long as". Now, this lesson is not about "as long as" in a comparative sense, like, if I say, "My arm is as long as three rulers, maybe?" But it is about three other ways that we can use this very common, everyday expression. So a couple things that we have to learn about "as long as", and we'll do them in a three-step process.

No. 1: we're going to look at this sentence, and you will tell me what is the correct way to finish it. So the sentence is, "I will remember you as long as I live/I will live." Which one do you think is correct in this situation? Okay, well, you already have "I will" in the first part of the sentence, so you don't really need it in the second part. The reason for this is that we generally use "as long as" in the present tense, okay? So: "as long as I live". We don't really say "as long as he will live" or "I will be here" or whatever it is. Generally, we just keep it in the present tense. Now, it is possible to use in the past as well. We just don't really use it with "will". What does "as long as" mean? Well, in this situation, it actually means, like, "for the duration of", "for the duration of the period". So "for the duration of my life", "as long as I live", "for the duration of this period", okay?

The second sentence says, "You can come as long as you're quiet." So if you have a friend who's very talkative, who's very social and loud, and you don't want to them to come with you to, let's say, the grocery store or in a public place. But you tell them, "as long as you're quiet, you can come." What do you think "as long as" means in this situation? What can you replace it with? When you look at the context, you might think of the word "if", right? So "as long as" can also be used to mean "on the condition that", okay? So, "as long as" here means "on the condition that".

"On the condition that you are quiet, you can come." So think of it a little bit like "if", okay? Now, finally, we have "The meeting could be as long as three hours!" Now, after "as long as", we said that we can use it for duration, and this is definitely duration, not condition. But what we are doing is we are emphasizing, right? It's to emphasize a really long time. So if you want to emphasize a really long time, you can also use "as long as". So we can use it for emphasis before a number. And I apologize for my writing. I think you guys can understand that, okay? So we can use "as long as" to talk about duration. We can use it to talk about conditions, and we can also use it to emphasize a number like a really long time.

So I have three more sentences at the bottom, and I'd just like you to tell me how we're using "as long as" in these three situations. "I will help as long as you buy pizza!" So if you have a new building, a new apartment, you have just moved in a new house, and you're painting. You need to paint your house. You invite some friends, and one of your friends says, "Okay, I will help as long as you buy pizza -- right? -- for us, for helping." So this is obviously condition, okay? So I'm going to just put -- maybe I'll write it here -- "condition", just "con." This is a condition. I will help as long as you buy pizza, on the condition that you buy pizza. "He can talk for as long as 1 hour!" So if you have, again, a very talkative, chatty person, a talkative friend, and you want to emphasize -- right -- -that, "Oh, my goodness, they can talk forever." So here, this is for emphasis. And finally, "As long as I'm here, I will help." So again, this is for duration -- "for the period of time that I am here", okay? So guys, here are three ways that you can use this very common, everyday, English expression.

I'd like to thank you guys for listening to this and listening to me for the past 100 videos. This is actually the one hundredth video that I have done on here. When we started in 2009, I wasn't sure if we would ever get this far, so the fact that I'm doing this in this year still is incredible. So once more, thanks, guys. And as always, if you'd like to test your understanding of this material, you can check out the quiz on, and don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. Thanks, guys. Take care.

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Yes, I do or Yes, I have? - Speaking English

Learn this easy trick to remember how to answer yes/no questions that use 'do' and 'have'. This is useful for beginners, and a good reminder for intermediate students who may still be making this common mistake. For more information on short answers, watch Rebecca's short answer lesson at here. Take a quiz on this lesson at here.

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Idioms in English - Body Parts

In this lesson, I look at some of the most common idioms related to the human body. What does it mean if someone tells you to keep your nose out of his or her business? Expand your idiomatic knowledge with this useful English lesson.

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