Ed Sheeran wins copyright case: BBC News Review

Ed Sheeran has won a copyright case over his hit Shape of You.

This is News Review from BBC Learning English. I'm Tom.

Joining me this morning is Roy. Good morning, Roy.

Hello Tom and hello everybody.

If you would like to test yourself on the vocabulary around this story,

all you need to do is head to our website

bbclearningenglish.com to take a quiz.

But now, let's hear more about this story from Ed Sheeran himself:

So, Ed Sheeran has won a High Court copyright battle

over his 2017 hit Shape of You.

He was accused of plagiarising the 2015 song Oh Why by Sami Chokri.

A judge ruled that this was not the case.

And we've got three words and expressions

to talk about this news story.

What are they today, Roy?

We have 'baseless', 'rip off' and 'in wake of'.

'Baseless', 'rip off', 'in wake of'.

OK. Roy, let's have your first headline please.

OK. So, our first headline is from the BBC and it reads:

'Baseless' — without evidence or facts.

Roy, tell us about 'baseless'.

OK. So, 'baseless' is an adjective

and it is spelt B-A-S-E-L-E-S-S

and it basically means that something has no evidence

or facts to support it.

Now, you used that verb 'support'.

Now, if we 'support' something we make it stronger.

Is there a connection between the idea of a 'base' and 'support'.

Yeah. OK. So, for example,

the 'base' of something is the bottom of something.

We often build things on 'bases':

for example, a structure like a house.

And the 'base' of it makes that structure more stable.

Now, in terms of 'baseless' as the adjective here,

what we're talking about is a claim —

somebody saying that somebody did something.

If you say that a claim is 'baseless',

you're basically saying that there is no support,

there is no evidence, there is no facts to support that claim.

OK. So, there's no 'base': it's 'baseless'.

There's nothing to support it — makes sense.

Is it the same as saying that something is untrue?

Well, it's very similar.

It's a similar idea to basically saying you can't prove it.

There's no evidence to that.

OK. Now, do we hear this in everyday conversation?

Could I say: 'Roy, you're being...

making a baseless accusation about me.'

Well, you could, but it's... it's quite a formal expression

so we don't really hear it in, sort of, everyday conversations.

You'd probably just say: 'Well, that's not right.'

Or: 'That's not true.'

OK. So, 'baseless' is an adjective.

What are the nouns it goes with? What collocations are there?

So, you can have a 'baseless' rumour:

so, you have rumours that have no, sort of, evidence to support it.

'Baseless' accusations and of course 'baseless' claims,

as it appears in the headline.

Wonderful. Thank you, Roy.

Let's take a look at our summary slide:

OK. We're talking about things which are 'baseless',

which may or may not be true.

How good are you at spotting a lie?

Can You Spot a Lie?

That's the title of our 6 Minute episode which we're going to present to you

and how can the audience get it, Roy?

OK. So, all you need to do is click the link in the description below.

Just click that link. Great.

Roy, second headline please.

OK. So, our second headline comes from Sky News and it reads:

'Rip off' — copy or plagiarise something.

Roy, tell us about 'rip off'.

OK. So, 'rip off' is a phrasal verb.

It is R-I-P. Second word: O-F-F.

And it is separable, so you can 'rip something off' or 'rip off something'.

And it basically means to copy someone's work.

OK. We copy someone's work — is...

this is an informal way to say we copy someone's work,

but is it neutral, positive, negative?

What's going on?

Well, to 'rip off' is... is negative

and basically it means to steal somebody's work, if you like.

So, let me give you an example:

we're at school and you write this really good essay,

and my essay... yeah, it's rubbish.

So, I decide to take your essay and I copy it,

and you could say that I 'ripped off' your essay

or 'ripped your essay off'.

Now, as you say, it's quite informal,

so more formally you would say 'plagiarise'.

That's the verb: to 'plagiarise' something.

OK. So, we can 'rip off' or 'plagiarise' homework, work, a song.

I thought the phrase was related to money as well.

Yeah, there is a... a sort of...

there is a use of 'rip off' when it relates to money

and it's got this idea of taking too much money —

again, that idea of stealing.

Now, in terms of money, it means that I charge you...

maybe I'll charge you a huge amount

for something that would normally cost much less

and it's an unfair amount.

So, for example, I sold you a watch recently.

Did you... did you like that watch?

To be honest, Roy, I did not like that watch.

It didn't work, it had no batteries, it was broken.

It was very expensive.

I'm very unhappy with the watch.

Well, I thought it was a great... a great watch,

but I charged you a lot of money, so you could say that I 'ripped you off'.

You 'ripped me off' when you sold me the watch.

Is there a way I can describe the watch?

Yes, you can use a noun. You can say the watch is a 'rip-off'

and we hyphenate that noun, so it's 'rip-off'.

So, Roy sold me a watch.

He 'ripped me off'; it was bad quality.

The watch itself was a 'rip-off'.

That is our example; of course, Roy, you would never 'rip me off', correct?

No. Of course that didn't happen. It's just a great example.

We're too good-of-friends and if...

if I ever charged you too much money for something...

I wouldn't sell you anything anyway — I'd just give you as a present —

but if ever I charged somebody too much,

I would always make sure to give them their money back.

Let's have a look at our summary slide for 'rip off' please:

We're talking about money.

Did you know that money spent on time can make you happy?

At least that's what we're discussing in this episode of News Review.

Roy, how can they get it?

All you need to do is click the link in the description below.

Click that link. OK. Perfect.

Roy, let's have a look at our next headline for today please.

OK. So, our next headline comes from The Independent and it reads:

'In wake of' — after or because of something.

Roy, tell us about this expression.

OK. So, 'in wake of':

now, it's commonly seen more naturally as 'in the wake of'.

So, it's I-N. Second word: T-H-E.

Third word: W-A-K-E. Fourth word: O-F.

And that 'the' is more normally used.

However, as it's a headline, they have cut the 'the'...!

And what it basically means is after or due to something —

so, as a consequence of something.

OK. So, the word I'm familiar with here is 'wake'.

I 'wake up' in the morning. Now, I'm 'awake'.

Is this related? Does this link?

Let's talk about that idea of 'waking up'.

Now, you 'wake up' after sleeping to start, sort of, a new day

and it comes after the sleeping.

Now, in terms of being... of the expression,

it basically means that it's coming after something and it relates to...

and it relates strongly to the idea of consequences.

So, it's... when we talk of 'in the wake of' something

we're, sort of, saying as a result of something.

OK. Good description.

Can we highlight it with an example?

I think we normally use 'in wake of' or 'in the wake of'

to talk about quite serious things, right?

Yeah, we do. So, for example, the financial crisis:

'in the wake of' the financial crisis, a lot of companies...

they closed: they went bankrupt.

So, it's saying after the financial crisis — because of that —

a lot of companies closed.

Another strong example, Roy.

So, basically 'in the wake of' —

we don't really use it in everyday, normal conversation.

No, not really. We...

we reserve it for more, kind of, serious matters,

so in normal, everyday conversation,

you'd probably say something like 'as a result of' or 'because of'.

Wonderful. So, 'in the wake of' our discussion about the expression,

let's get that summary slide up:

OK. Roy, can you recap today's vocabulary for us please?

I sure can. We had 'baseless' — without evidence or facts.

We had 'rip off' — copy or plagiarise something.

And we had 'in the wake of' — after or because of something.

Don't forget — if you want to test yourself on today's vocabulary,

we have a quiz at the website bbclearningenglish.com

and of course we are all over social media.

That's it from us today. Thanks for joining us and goodbye.

Bye.