12 Words To Remove From Your Vocabulary Immediately

Of course, you want to expand your vocabulary  so you can learn new words, new expressions,  

new phrases to help you communicate  your ideas fluently and confidently.

What about removing words?

Removing phrases from your vocabulary because  they're either grammatically incorrect,  

sound unnatural, or aren't  helping you become fluent.

And that's what we'll talk about today.

You'll learn 12 words that you need to  remove from your vocabulary immediately.

And I promise removing these words will help  you sound more fluent and more confident.

And don't worry because I'm going  to teach you what words to replace  

so you'll expand your vocabulary at the same time.

Welcome back to JForrest English.

Of course, I'm Jennifer.

Now let's get started.

The first word you should remove is try.

Why?

Because it's disempowering, it lacks  commitment, and it sounds weak.

For example, I'll try to  improve my speaking skills.

This doesn't sound like  you've made a true commitment.

This doesn't sound like you believe it's possible.

So instead use stronger words  that show that you're committed,  

that show you believe in yourself as well.

You can use will or commit to.

I will improve my speaking skills.

When you say will, you're making a commitment.

It sounds very strong.

People will respect you when you say I  will do this because it's a strong word.

You can also say I'm committed to I'm  committed to improving my speaking skills.

Now, these words don't mean that  you're going to improve today or  

tomorrow or even that you know how is  just saying that you are committed.

You will, whereas the word try sounds weak.

Maybe I will, maybe I won't.

Don't worry about taking notes because I  summarize everything in a free lesson PDF.

You can find the link in  the description #2 Advices.

Do you know why you should remove  this word from your vocabulary?

I hear this word every single day from many  many students, even my most advanced students.

Well, what's the problem with the word advices?

It's grammatically incorrect.

The word does not exist in English because  the word advice is always singular.

Now there are many grammar  mistakes that you can make  

and most native speakers won't even notice them.

But if you say advices to a native  speaker, they will instantly  

think your English isn't very fluent.

And if you are in a job interview  or going for your IELTS,  

this could make you fail and  not get the result you want.

So it's really important that right now  you remove this from your vocabulary.

And remember, don't say  I'll try Jennifer, I'll try.

No, what are you going to say?

I will remove this from my vocabulary today.

I'm committed to removing this.

So all you have to do is drop that S Remember,  you can't say thanks for your advices.

Or can you give me some advices?

What do you have to say?

Remember drop that us.

Thanks for your advice.

Can you give me some advice?

And notice you can still use a modifier some  with the singular advice and to sound even  

more fluent and more professional,  you can use piece or pieces of advice.

Advice is always singular and this  is to emphasize singular or plural.

So you can say that's a great piece of advice if  you want to emphasize one, or you could say those  

are great pieces of advice, pieces of advice  if you want to emphasize more than one plural.

So are you enjoying the  advice in this video S far?

If you are, of course, like this video, share it  with your friends and subscribe and put woohoo.

Put woohoo in the comments.

So I know you're enjoying this advice.

The next word you should remove  from your vocabulary is wrong.

The word wrong.

This is because in English it can sound very  harsh, critical, and it's also disempowering.

As a teacher, I avoid saying  that answer is wrong because  

that might make the student feel bad about  themselves, bad about their English level,  

because there are a lot of strong  emotions in the word wrong.

Think of all the times you've been told this as  

a child or even as an adult  and how it makes you feel.

So I say instead, as a teacher,  that answer is incorrect.

You could also say that answer isn't correct.

It sounds more neutral and  it sounds more empowering.

So for you, if you're in a social situation  or a professional situation and someone says  

something and you know that information  isn't correct, don't say you're wrong.

For example, the meeting starts at 3:00 PM and  you know the meeting doesn't start at 3:00 PM.

Don't say to that coworker you're wrong  because that sounds very critical.

You can use the word actually.

Actually is used to correct  information, a false assumption.

So you can say actually it starts at 4:00  PM, that is a softer way to communicate it.

Or you could say I have it  in my calendar for 4:00 PM.

Let's confirm the correct time.

Think of how much better this will  be for your relationship with that  

person rather than saying you're wrong #4 can't.

Of course this word is disempowering and  it sounds weak, similar to the word try.

I'm sure you've said statements about  your English using can't many times.

I can't understand native speakers.

But this sounds like a definitive  statement which isn't empowering you  

or motivating you or encouraging you, and  it makes you sound weak to other people.

There's a great strategy where you can still  use can't just add the word yet at the end.

So say I can't understand native speakers yet,  

which means right now this is true, but  in the future this will not be true.

So it's such an empowering sentence just by adding  that one word yet and add it right at the end.

You can also use commit to which we  learned before as a replacement to try.

Right now, I can't understand native speakers, but  I'm committed to improving my listening skills.

Think of how much more empowering that sounds.

Now let's talk about recommend me.

What's the problem here?

Why shouldn't you use recommend me?

Well, just like with advices,  it's grammatically incorrect.

I hear recommend me from students so often that  

it's starting to sound normal  to me because I hear it so much.

But from students, it is  not grammatically correct.

Native speakers don't say that.

So what do you think of this sentence?

Would you recommend me this book?

What do you think about that?

It's incorrect.

The correct sentence structure is  recommend something to someone.

So how can you fix that sentence?

Would you recommend something,  this book to someone to me?

Would you recommend this book to me?

So starting right now, you need to  remove recommend me from your vocabulary.

Let's talk about I don't know.

You should remove this because again,  it's disempowering and it sounds weak.

You want to communicate confidently.

Saying I don't know often  makes you sound unconfident.

You can say I don't know when  the meeting starts, that is fine.

You can say I don't know  how to use the word myriad.

Can you explain it to me?

That's fine.

But don't make general statements and say I  don't know how to improve my speaking skills.

This is disempowering.

It doesn't motivate you to  try to improve your speaking  

skills because you just said you don't know how.

Instead, you can say I'm confident.

I'm confident I can improve my speaking skills.

Think of how much more  professional strong you sound.

If you said that in a meeting,  I don't know how to use Excel.

I'm confident I can learn how to use Excel.

So you can use this in any situation.

You can also simply say I know I can.

I know I can improve my speaking skills or I will.

I will improve my speaking skills.

Now let's talk about gonna.

I strongly feel you should  remove this from your vocabulary.

And the reason is because I work with students  every single day in the Finally Fluent Academy,  

and I see students try to use the word gonna,  but they either use it incorrectly and it doesn't  

sound professional or the grammar that they use it  is completely wrong, so it sounds unprofessional.

Now remember, gonna is slang and  it sounds unprofessional if used  

in the wrong context or if it's used incorrectly.

Native speakers use this word all the time.

Instead of saying going to  native speakers say gonna.

This is a reduction that naturally  takes place in spoken English.

I don't think should I use the word gonna,  

it just comes out naturally because our  sounds combine naturally in spoken English.

So even in a workplace situation,  I could say to a Co worker,  

we're gonna grab a bite, you want to join.

So instead of saying going to I  combine those sounds and say gonna.

The problem is I see students try to use this,  

but instead they say I'm gonna to  send you the report by 5:00 PM.

Well, first of all, this is  grammatically incorrect because  

going to is gonna so you don't use two again.

And also the context of this sentence sounds  more professional if this were written English.

So in this case it would be inappropriate to use  in a professional context in written English.

Native speakers use gonna in written English,  

but in a more informal context  quick text messages or quick emails.

But it depends on the situation, because you might  not know when you should or shouldn't use gonna.

That's why I recommend you  remove it from your vocabulary.

Going to is always correct.

Gonna is often incorrect  or unprofessional #8 shall.

This is outdated in most contexts.

First of all, shall is a modal verb for  a future action for the subjects I or we.

First of all, you need to know how to use  it correctly, and many students don't.

But native speakers don't use the word shall  anymore except in very specific situations.

A native speaker would not  say I shall go to the party.

A native speaker would say I will go to the party.

So for future actions, native speakers use will,  

but native speakers do use shall  in very specific situations.

For example, if you're at a restaurant or  an event or a party and you want to leave,  

you can turn to the person and say shall we go?

And the other person can  reply back and say we shall,  

but you might not know how  to use this word correctly.

And because native speakers only use it in this  very specific situation, and in all other cases  

it makes you sound outdated, I recommend  removing it from your vocabulary #9 good.

This is vague and it's also basic.

Native speakers use this  word all the time as well.

For example when I often ask my husband how  was your day he just says good it was good.

What does that tell me about his day?

It tells me nothing.

Or you might ask your friend how was your  vacation or your Co worker how was the meeting?

And if all they say is it was good.

You don't have a lot of information do you?

So you can still say good, but I recommend  expanding that with at least one specific point.

For example, how was the meeting?

It was good.

We learned a new method for organizing our files.

So technically you can keep good in  your vocabulary, but add on to it.

Don't just say it was good #10 interesting.

This word is vague, and it's also quite confusing  in English because interesting can be positive  

interesting in a good way, or it can be negative  interesting in a bad way, depending on context.

Sometimes native speakers use the word  interesting when we don't want to offend someone.

So if my friend asked me, oh, do you like my new  shirt, I can say, oh, that's an interesting shirt.

So in reality, I don't like the shirt.

So I can describe it as interesting,  which is actually a negative in this case,  

but hopefully my friend doesn't realize that.

So if your friend asks you, how  was the party, now you know,  

don't just say it was good and also  don't just say it was interesting.

If the party was positive, you can say the party  was entertaining, engaging, enjoyable, delightful.

These words only have a positive meaning.

Or if you want it to mean  interesting in a bad way,  

you can say the party was dull,  boring, tedious, lifeless.

So those are great positive and  negative adjectives to replace the word.

Interesting #11 really, this is  overused even by native speakers.

And it's also very basic.

I'm really tired.

But there is one word that means really tired.

Do you know what that word is?

I'm really tired.

I'm exhausted.

So it communicates the same thing  without using the word really.

I'm really busy.

What's the one word to replace?

Really busy?

I'm swamped.

The party was really good.

What's one word to replace?

Really good?

Well, there are many many options.

For example, the party was  amazing, entertaining, exciting.

Start with these that I shared and keep  

learning one word alternatives  to really plus word #12 persons.

A native speaker will instantly know that English  is not your first language if you use the word  

persons in an everyday context because it's only  used in a government, legal, or official context.

In everyday English, there's one person, the word  is singular, and then what's the plural to people?

People is the plural of person.

So in any everyday context,  including business and academic,  

you would say all people must register  before attending the conference.

But in government, legal or official  English, they would say all persons  

must complete the form or this policy  applies to all persons older than 55.

I hear English learners say I met  some interesting persons at the party.

This is an everyday context and  using persons sounds unnatural.

You should say I met some  interesting people at the party.

Do you want me to keep teaching  you words that you should remove  

and other words you should add to your vocabulary?

If you do put more and more and more.

Put more and more and more in the comments below.

And of course, make sure you like this lesson.

Share it with your friends and subscribe.

Don't say Jennifer.

I'll try say Jennifer.

I will and then do it.

And you can get this free speaking  guide where I share 6 tips on how  

to speak English fluently and confidently.

You can click here to download it or  look for the link in the description.

And this lesson will help you fill your vocabulary  with words you should use starting today.

So watch it right now.