21 Confusing English Words | English Vocabulary

Don't be envious.

Don't be.

Jealous.

She's my elder sister, She's my.

Older sister there.

Are many confusing words in English that students.

Often use incorrectly.

Let's fix that.

Today you'll learn how to use.

These.

21 Confusing but very common  English adjectives welcome.

Back to JForrest English.

Of course I'm Jennifer.

Now let's get.

Started let's.

Review these confusing adjective pairs as a quiz.

Here's the first.

Pair envious and jealous.

Which one do you need?

Sarah was of her Co workers.

Promotion and.

That.

She be spending more time with their boss than.

Her the 1st.

One you need.

Sarah was envious.

Of the promotion and jealous.

Of the Co worker.

Spending time with the boss.

Now these are commonly confused.

Because they both.

Relate to negative emotions  about what other people have.

The Co worker has the promotion,  has the time with the boss but.

They differ.

In the focus, so envious is wanting something  the promotion that someone else has.

The Co worker.

Has the promotion.

Jealous is the fear of.

Losing something you already have often  

in relationships Sarah has a  relationship with her boss, but.

She's jealous of her coworker  because she fears that as the.

Coworker spends more time with the boss.

She'll.

Lose that relationship.

I'm so jealous.

So you can say Anna was envious of her friend S  luxurious vacation, something Anna doesn't have.

Or you can say he couldn't help but feel envious.

Notice you can use the verb feel.

You can feel these emotions,  feel envious when he saw his.

Colleagues new laptop.

Again, he doesn't have this item now.

Using Jealous She became jealous when  she saw her boyfriend talking to.

His ex.

Now notice you can become jealous, which  means to transition from not jealous.

To jealous.

Or you can say, I know it's silly,  but I'm jealous to be jealous.

I'm jealous that you have a new friend because  I'm afraid that our relationship will suffer.

Now let's do one more quiz, Mark felt.

Of his brother's new.

Car, and of all the time he spends  repairing it with their father.

So this should be easy.

Because you know the first one is envious of  

something of of the new car and  jealous about a relationship.

The time the brother spends repairing it.

Don't worry about.

Taking these notes, I summarize  everything in a free lesson PDF.

You can find the link in the description.

Now let's review Childish and Childlike.

Here's the quiz.

Emma has a sense of wonder,  but can act when she doesn't.

Get her way.

Well, one of them sounds positive,  

childlike sense of wonder, and one of them  sounds negative, childish when she doesn't.

Get her way.

Now these are.

Confused because both relate to.

Behaving like.

A child.

But different in their connotation, like I said.

Positive for childlike it suggests.

Innocence.

Enthusiasm.

Wonder.

But childish.

Is negative.

It suggests other qualities that.

Children have immaturity, bad behavior.

So you can say she approaches.

Speaking in English.

With a childlike.

Enthusiasm.

That's a positive.

Thing to have.

Would that describe you as well?

If it does put, that's.

Me.

That's me.

Put that's me in the comments or you.

Can say he looked at the stars.

With childlike amazement, throwing  a tantrum because the flight.

Is delayed, is childish or his childish refusal?

So this is an adjective.

It describes his.

Refusal as childish.

His childish refusal to apologize.

Made things worse.

It's childish.

Very childish mouth, very childish.

Let's try another quiz.

The artist work.

Had a simplicity, but his.

Refusal to accept.

Criticism was.

Rather well.

Which one's positive or negative?

The.

First one sounds.

Positive, a childlike.

Simplicity, but the second one sounds.

Negative, so it's childish.

The next pair, anxious and eager  Olivia, was to start her new job.

But felt about.

Making a good first impression, she.

Was eager to.

Start her job.

Anxious about?

The impression now both describe  anticipation, thinking about something,  

expecting something in the future,  but with different connotations.

So feelings.

Either is.

Positive it means excited, enthusiastic.

Anxious is of course.

Negative.

It means worried, nervous.

She was.

Eager.

So here our verb to be in the past.

Simple.

She.

Was eager to share.

Her good news?

Or he feels.

Eager you can use to.

Feel, he feels.

Eager to begin his new adventure.

But.

He was anxious about the client's feedback.

Oh, that negative feeling.

Or she felt anxious.

Before giving her speech.

I'm sure you can relate to that another.

Quiz.

The team was to launch the  product, but the investors?

Were.

About potential risks, the first one sounds.

Positive.

So eager the second.

One with.

The risks.

That sounds negative.

So anxious.

Now let's talk about elder and older.

My brother bought an house.

This is easy.

Right, my elder brother bought an.

Older house.

Now both.

Relate to age, but they are used.

Differently elder is mainly used.

For people, brother, sister specifically.

When comparing family members  and it means born before another.

I am the.

Elder brother, now older is more general.

It can describe people, so you can absolutely  say my older brother, but it can also describe.

Objects like a house or.

Concepts.

Philosophical concepts.

Now here's what I want you to know.

Native.

Speakers.

Including me prefer older when referring  to family members, I would not say my.

Elder Brother.

That does not sound natural  to me as a native speaker.

It sounds more formal and to be honest, outdated.

But.

It is grammatically correct.

So grammatically you can say.

His elder sister, always.

Gives him advice, but just now a native.

Speaker will say his older sister always.

Gives him advice.

Now natives.

Do use the word elders.

In this context.

You should respect your elders.

In this context, elders represents.

Older people.

I instantly think of grandparents or  senior citizens, so they're older.

People.

With life experience and wisdom, elders now of.

Course older.

Is more general, so you can say this.

Is the older.

Section of the library, my dog.

Is older.

Than my cat.

So let's try the quiz.

Again.

She is the of the two sisters, but her.

Husband is much than her,  so the first one is elder.

Because.

It compares age within a family, but her  husband is much older than her and again,  

I would personally say older in both.

Now let's.

Talk about effective.

And efficient, even native speakers  confuse these the new marketing strategy.

Was very.

At increasing sales, but it wasn't.

Very because it.

Took too much time and money.

Now the second I see time and money I know  it's efficient and a result increasing.

Sales that tells.

Me, the first one is.

Effective.

So we can be efficient and effective cogs.

I always considered your father a  very effective and efficient man.

Both.

Relate to results, but they  focus on different aspects.

Effective means something  achieves its intended result.

Efficient means something  achieves a result with minimal.

Waste of.

Time or resources.

Now they are often used together.

I'm looking for an efficient.

And effective.

Way to become fluent I'm.

Sure you are.

You can say this new study method is very.

Effective it produces the desired  result, you can say this study method.

Is very efficient.

It doesn't waste time, it  doesn't waste money or any other.

Resources.

Let's try another quiz.

This medicine is at treating headaches, but  a more solution would be to find the root.

Cause, well, the.

First one.

Talks about.

Achieving a result.

So effective.

And then the second one is talking about.

Using resources so.

Efficient.

Now let's talk about.

Respectable versus respectful.

Here's the quiz the.

Professor's students are in his class because.

He's.

The.

Students are respectful because he's respectable.

So both relate to.

The concept of respect, but they  describe things differently.

Respectable describes.

Someone or something?

Worthy of respect.

The professor deserves respect.

That's respectable.

Respectful describes.

Someone who shows.

Respect to others.

So you can say he became a respectable manager.

Through hard work.

You are very focused, I respect that.

Or you can say becoming fluent  in a second language is quite.

Respectable, worthy of respect.

Now respectful is giving, so the students were.

Respectful.

During the guest lecture or you  can use this in the imperative.

Please be.

Respectful of all.

The different cultures and customs in this.

Group.

Now let's try another quiz despite  working in a male dominated industry.

Her colleagues are always towards her.

And treat her like a engineer.

Will her colleagues show respect?

So they're respectful because she deserves  respect, because she's a respectable.

Engineer.

Let's talk about.

Lonely and alone, even though he.

Was.

In the house he didn't feel because.

He was busy.

Reading, he was alone in the house.

He didn't feel lonely.

So they both relate to.

Being by yourself.

But again they have different meanings.

Lonely means feeling sad and is due to a lack  of social connection so it sounds negative.

Alone just means.

Physically by yourself.

It's not positive or negative.

It's neutral.

You can say he felt lonely.

Again, this is an adjective  that you feel the emotion.

He felt lonely after moving to a new city.

I am lonely.

Even though she has a big family,  she sometimes feels lonely.

Now you can say.

I prefer to.

Study alone so.

How do you?

Study alone, without anyone else.

Or I usually.

Eat lunch alone in the garden  by myself without anyone.

Let's try another quiz.

Although she likes.

Spending time working remotely can get  She likes spending time alone by herself,  

but working remotely can get lonely, so notice.

Here to.

Get lonely.

Talks about that.

Transition from not lonely to lonely.

Now let's talk about incredible and incredulous.

Do you know this adjective?

It's an advanced one.

Incredulous.

She had an opportunity to.

Receive a free scholarship abroad.

But her parents were When she told them about it,  

she had an incredible opportunity,  but her parents were incredulous.

So both relate to believability, but they differ.

In meaning incredible means a  amazing or unbelievable in a.

Positive way.

But incredulous it describes someone.

Who is skeptical, doubtful, or?

Disbelieving.

So the parents were.

Skeptical about this?

Incredible opportunity.

So of.

Course with incredible you can say the view  from the top of the mountain was incredible.

Incredible view.

Or he told an incredible.

Story about his travels.

Now with.

Incredulous, She gave.

Him an incredulous look when he claimed  he learned English in one month.

So a skeptical look like I don't.

Believe you or my boss was  incredulous when I said that my.

Dog ate the proposal.

So my boss did not believe my excuse.

Now let's.

Try a quiz now that you  understand what incredulous means.

At first I was of the discount.

But it was.

An deal in the end.

So at first I was skeptical.

Doubtful.

I didn't believe.

It I was.

Incredulous, but it was an incredible deal.

Let's talk about famous and infamous.

Here's the quiz.

The director is for his blockbuster.

Films but his former partner  became after a scandal on set.

The director is.

Famous, but the partner scandal  that tells you you need infamous.

So both relate to being widely known,  but again with different connotations.

Famous, it sounds.

Positive.

Or at least a neutral reputation  of being well known but infamous.

There's a.

Negative reputation.

You're well known for something  negative, like a wrongdoing or a scandal.

Notice that pronunciation.

Because it's infamous.

The syllable stress is on  the in, so it's not infamous.

No, that's not how you say it.

Infamous.

Infamous.

So let's see these two together.

Positive and negative.

The city is.

Famous for.

Its historic architecture.

But infamous for its high crime rate.

Or the author.

Became famous after publishing a best  selling novel about an infamous politician.

Infamous.

Really now?

Here's your quiz.

Question, Martha.

Stewart.

Once celebrated as a homemaker, later became  for her involvement in insider trading Well,  

if you know that insider trading is a crime,  

then you know that she became infamous  for insider trading, although.

She has.

Always been a famous homemaker.

Now let's talk about  complimentary and complimentary.

Notice that.

Different spelling the.

Hotel offered.

Us a meal and the wine paired with  dinner was truly So the first one  

is it spelled with a middle I or a middle E?

It's a middle IA complimentary meal and the  wine paired with dinner was complimentary.

Now notice the pronunciation is the same.

Spelling is similar.

But different.

And the meanings are different,  so let's repeat the pronunciation.

Complimentary, complementary.

Now complementary with an I means.

Free of charge $0.00 or.

It can also.

Mean giving praise.

Giving compliments but complementary  with the middle E means two things.

Go well together so if you're.

At a hotel, you might ask?

Is this water?

Complementary, which means.

Is this water free?

Or you can say she was very complimentary.

About his proposal, she.

Gave him a lot of.

Praise A.

Lot of compliments.

Now you can say she's more  data-driven and he's more creative.

Their.

Skills are complementary.

So they go well together.

Or how about this one?

Apple pie and ice cream are highly complementary.

They go together.

Here's the quiz.

I'm not just being.

Your skills are truly well, your  skills, they go well together.

So the.

Second one, you want the middle E complimentary  

and I'm not just saying this  to be nice to give you praise.

I'm not just complimentary the middle eye.

How about this?

Pair continual, continuous.

Here's the quiz The Babies.

Crying was exhausting, and the noise  from traffic made it even more.

Difficult to sleep.

What do you need?

Well, this is.

A trick question because grammatically  and logically, both of them.

Would work.

In both situations, now both  adjectives refer to repetition.

But they differ.

In frequency, so continual means happening  repeatedly, but there's breaks between.

So the baby cries for 20 minutes  and then doesn't cry for an hour,  

cries for an hour, then doesn't cry again.

Continuous means the whole  time the baby cried for.

Three hours without.

Stopping so you can say grammatically  and logically the dogs continual  

or continuous barking annoyed the neighbors.

Now, if you say the rain was continual for  three days, it means some periods of rain break.

Other periods break so.

On and off but.

If you see.

The rain was continuous for three days  is another way of saying non-stop.

So let's try this.

Quiz question where I designed it so only one.

Choice fits logically.

Let's see if you can identify it  the flow of the waterfall made.

It easy to.

Catch.

Fish but the.

Changes in the water level made it.

Difficult to predict the.

Best fishing spots What do you think?

Well, to me a.

Waterfall.

Is generally non-stop.

So I think.

Continuous sounds more.

Logical, but it could also.

Be the other one, to be honest.

And then the water.

Level it probably.

Doesn't non-stop go up and down?

It goes up.

For a period of time and then it changes  for a period of time, so I think.

Logically.

Continual changes makes more  sense, but again, it is absolutely.

Possible that it's the reverse.

Our final pair Fun versus funny.

You may think you know this, but I hear  mistakes with this one all the time.

The.

Party was so especially because of  Jake's stories, the party was so.

Fun because of Jake's funny stories.

Both describe positive experiences,  but they focus on different aspects.

Fun is of course, enjoyable.

Funny.

Makes you laugh so if.

You said to me, Jennifer, the piano  concert was so fun, I would think.

That's great.

But if you said Jennifer, the  piano concert was so funny.

I'd say, oh really?

Why?

Why did the piano concert?

Make you laugh.

Now let's try another quiz.

Here you go.

We had a weekend because we saw a really.

Movie Easy, right?

We had a fun weekend because we saw a funny movie.

Now you can use these 21 confusing adjectives.

Correctly.

Do you?

Want me to keep teaching you?

Confusing.

Word pairs.

If you do put, let's go, let's go, put.

Let's go in the comments and of course,  

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