Fun or Funny? | Insure or Ensure? | Various or Varied? | English Vocabulary Lesson

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Hello and welcome everyone to this lesson,  this presentation, which is based on some  

common vocabulary mistakes that I hear some of you  make. So, let's have a look at what they are. Here  

we go: It is to do with the difference between  'various' and 'varied', 'assure' and 'reassure',  

insure' and 'ensure', 'fun' and 'funny'. So, let's  start with our first pair, which is 'various' and  

'varied'. 'various' means 'several'. It's the  opposite of 'single', so 'more than one'. Now,  

'various' always comes before a countable  noun because it means 'several', for example:  

Did yesterday's discussion lead to a single  conclusion? No, it led to various conclusions. It  

led to several conclusions. So, we're counting. It  has to do with numbers: not just one, but various,  

several. Now, what about 'varied'? 'varied' has  to do with being different types of one thing,  

of something. The best way to remember this is  that 'varied' is the opposite of 'same'. And  

'varied' can come before any noun, countable  or uncountable, and it can also come after a  

linking verb, for example: Do you discuss the same  topic each time? No, we discuss varied topics,  

different topics. Or, you can say: The  topics we discuss are varied. Here 'are'  

is the linking verb 'be'. Right, so, that's the  difference between 'varied' and 'various'. Now,  

I just want to point out something about  pronunciation. From a pronunciation point of view,  

sometimes I hear the mistake being pronouncing  'vary' as 'very' (v-e-r-y). Be careful: 'very'  

is quite short: very . This is vary, like if you  think of the word 'air', 'air that we breathe.  

That's the sound that comes between 'v' and 'r':  v(air)y. So, I'll say all the words again: vary,  

various, varied. It's the 'air' sound. Okay.  So ,still staying with this, let's look at  

two related words. The first one is 'vary', the  verb, which is 'to be different', for example:  

Her mood varies from one moment to the next. And  the noun: Now, the pronunciation changes: The noun  

is 'variety'. I'll say it again: 'variety'. So,  the sound at the beginning is now a schwa, not  

a v(air). It's v(e): variety. And 'variety' means  'containing different types', for example: There's  

a variety of restaurants in this town. So, that's  for our first pair. Let's look at the next pair:  

assure and reassure. What's the difference? When  you assure someone, you remove their doubts that  

something is true. You can use the word 'assure'  both in direct speech and in describing the  

action. For example, you can say: I assure  you that we only use fresh fish. Or, you can  

say what just happened, what the person said: She  has assured me that they only use fresh fish. So,  

what about 'reassure'? What's the difference? To  reassure someone is 'to remove someone's doubt,  

like assure, and also their worry. So, it has more  a sense of reassuring someone, comforting someone,  

giving reassurances that they don't need to  worry. It's not just telling them that they  

don't need to doubt the truth of something. And,  it's not usually used in direct speech. Right,  

so, you can't say: I reassure you that we only  use fresh fish. You can only say: I assure you  

that we only use fresh fish. But, it can be  used to describe the action: I don't usually  

risk fish dishes, but she has reassured me that  they only use fresh fish. So that's 'assure' and  

'reassure'. Let's look at the next pair, which is  'insure' and 'insure'. The first thing you notice  

is that actually, they're pronounced exactly the  same way: short /i/ at the beginning. So, although  

the second one is spelt with an 'e' and the first  one is spelt with an 'i', they're pronounced the  

same way: /i/, short /i/: ensure, insure. Now, the  first one is very obvious. To insure something or  

someone is to cover the something, the item, or  the person with an insurance policy. For example:  

Some car insurance companies refuse to insure  young drivers. Or: We must insure our equipment  

against accidental damage. Right, so, what about  'ensure' spelt with an 'e'? To ensure something  

is to make sure it happens. It can be followed by  a noun or a clause. For example: We must ensure  

the safety of all passengers. Or: Please ensure  that - now we have a clause coming - you lock the  

door when you leave. And of course, you can drop  'that' if you want. You can say: Please ensure you  

lock the door when you leave. A little note here  so that you won't get confused if you see this.  

In American English, 'insure' is sometimes used  for this second meaning with 'e', and that leads  

to confusion. You may read, obviously when you're  listening, there's no difference in pronunciation,  

but you might see: We must insure the safety  of all passengers, spelt with an 'i'. That only  

happens in American English. I believe it's just a  mistake that has become acceptable. So, I wouldn't  

use that. Make sure you separate: 'insure' with  an 'i' for insurance policies, and 'ensure': to  

make sure something happens. Same pronunciation.  Okay, and last but not least, these two words can  

get very confusing: fun and funny. Now, fun  is both a noun and an adjective. As a noun,  

it means 'amusement', for example: We had a lot  of fun at the staff party. And as an adjective,  

of course, it means 'amusing': We played three  fun games. Now, a note here that although 'fun'  

is a one-syllable adjective, and you expect  a one-syllable adjective to be formulated for  

its comparative and superlative with 'er' and  'est'. it's not. It's an exception. So, don't  

say 'funner' or 'funnest'. It's 'more fun', 'most  fun'. For example: The first game was more fun  

than the second one, and the third game was the  most fun. So, these are irregular superlatives and  

comparatives. Let's look at 'funny'. 'funny' is an  adjective only, and it means 'causing laughter'.  

So, it has a very narrow meaning compared  to 'fun'. It's only about causing laughter,  

for example: My colleague told me, or told three  funny jokes. Funny jokes, funny stories, these are  

the common collocations. Again, another note here  about the comparative and superlative formulation:  

Although 'funny' is a two-syllable adjective,  because it ends in why, it ends in the sound /i/,  

the comparative and superlative forms are with  'er' and 'est'. So, the opposite of what we saw  

in the previous slide. So: Her jokes, or her  first joke was funnier than her second one, and  

her third joke was the funniest. Okay, that's the  end of the presentation. I hope it has clarified  

the differences between these words in the four  pairs that we've looked at so that you can use  

them correctly yourself from now on. Thanks a lot  for watching. I hope you've enjoyed this lesson.  

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