10 COMMONLY CONFUSED Word Pairs in English - May be / Maybe | Every Day / Everyday | Lose / Loose

275,286 views ・ 2017-11-17

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Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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Welcome back.
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In this lesson, we’re going to look at ten commonly confused pairs of words.
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I will show you how to avoid the confusion and use all of these correctly without making
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mistakes.
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There are two quizzes in this lesson – one in the middle and one in the end – for you
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to check your understanding.
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So let’s jump in.
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The first pair of words are ‘lose’ and ‘loose’.
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The word ‘lose’ with a single ‘o’ is a verb.
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The most common meaning of this verb is ‘to not have something because you can’t find
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it’.
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For example: “I don’t take my watch when I go swimming so that I don’t lose it.”
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Notice that the last sound in this word is /z/ - /lu:z/.
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Another meaning is ‘to fail to win a competition’ as in: “The team will be out of the tournament
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if it loses this match.”
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‘Loose’ with two ‘o’s is an adjective that means ‘not fixed or not attached strongly’.
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For example: “It looks like you have a loose button on your shirt.”
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Here, the last sound is /s/ - /lu:s/” One of my teeth is loose.
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I think it’s going to fall off.”
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To recap the pronunciation, ‘lose’ has a /z/ sound at the end and ‘loose’ has
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a ‘s’ sound at the end – ‘lose’, ‘loose’.
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Number two is the pair of ‘every day’ and ‘everyday’.
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The difference in spelling between these forms is the space.
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When we write ‘every day’ with a space, it’s an adverb phrase that simply means
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‘each day’.
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In most situations, this is the form you should use.
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For example: “I get up at 7 am every day.”
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“He goes to the gym every day.”
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and so on.
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When it’s written without a space, ‘everyday’ is an adjective that means ‘common or ordinary’.
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“I need to buy a pair of jeans for everyday wear.”
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(meaning for daily use.)
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“The best teachers explain difficult concepts using simple, everyday language.”
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That means using ordinary language.
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So remember that ‘every day’ with a space means ‘each day’ and without a space,
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it means ‘common or ordinary’.
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Next up are the words ‘maybe’ and ‘may be’.
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Again, the difference is the space.
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These words are very close in meaning.
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Both of them are used to make guesses or talk about possibility.
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When we write ‘maybe’ as a single word, it’s an adverb.
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Take this sentence: “It will rain tomorrow” – here, the main verb is ‘rain’ and
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there’s the helping verb ‘will’ – this is a modal verb used to make predictions about
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the future.
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So this sentence sounds like I’m confident that it will rain tomorrow.
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But if I’m not so sure, I can say: “Maybe it will rain tomorrow.”
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So the maybe at the beginning makes it a little softer – I’m not so confident.
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Instead, we can also say “It may rain tomorrow.”
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or “It might rain tomorrow.”
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Here, we have used the modal verb ‘may’ or ‘might’ (same meaning) to make a weak
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prediction or guess about the future.
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Here’s another example: let’s say that a baby is crying.
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Someone asks, “Why is the baby crying?” and the answer is “She is hungry.”
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That sounds like we’re very sure that that’s why the baby is crying.
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But what if we’re not so sure?
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Simple: add ‘maybe’ to the beginning of the sentence.
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But I have a question for you: what is the main verb in this sentence?
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It’s ‘is’ which is a present tense form of ‘be’.
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There’s no helping verb here because we don’t need one in the present tense.
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So here’s another way we can say this: “She may be hungry.”
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Here, ‘may’ is a modal verb and ‘be’ is the main verb in the sentence.
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This is always true when we write ‘may’ and ‘be’ as separate words: ‘may’
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is a modal verb that shows uncertainty and ‘be’ is the main verb.
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One last example: “I forgot to get my brother a birthday present.
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Maybe that is why he’s angry with me.”
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You can also say, “That may be why he is angry with me.”
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If you want, stop the video, read all of this and make sure you understand.
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Then play the video again and continue.
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Number four is the pair of ‘Desert’ and ‘dessert’.
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‘Desert’ (with only one ‘s’) is a noun refers to an area covered with sand where
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there’s no water or plant life.
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For example, “The Sahara is the largest desert in the world.”
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The word ‘dessert’ refers to something sweet that’s eaten at the end of a meal.
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Like cake, pie or ice cream.
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So, after you have dinner at a friend’s place, you can ask: “What’s for dessert?”
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Now, as for me, “I love having chocolate cake for dessert.”
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Notice the way that we pronounce these words.
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Both of them have a /z/ sound in the middle.
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The difference is in how we say the first vowel: ‘desert’ (with an /eh/ sound and
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with the stress on the first syllable – ‘desert’), ‘dessert’ (with an ‘i’ sound and with
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the stress on the second syllable – ‘dessert’).
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It’s really simple but there’s one little exception.
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The word with the single ‘s’ can also be pronounced /dessert/ in one situation – when
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it’s used as a verb.
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And it means to leave someone without help.
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“Darling, I promise I’ll never desert you.
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I’ll always be by your side.”
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A very romantic line.
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But, if this is confusing for you, don’t worry.
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This use is not so important.
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Just remember that ‘desert’ is an area covered with sand and with no water or plant
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life, and ‘dessert’ is something sweet that’s eaten of a meal.
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Number five are ‘Principal’ and ‘principle’ which both sound the same.
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‘Principal’ (spelled with ‘al’ at the end) is an adjective that means ‘main
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or most important’.
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For example: “The principal aim of this channel is to bring free English lessons to
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all learners.”
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‘Principal aim’ means the ‘main aim’.
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‘Principal’ can also be a noun that means the head of a school (because he or she is
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the most important person in the school): “I think you’re in trouble.
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The principal wants to see you.”
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The word ‘principle’ (spelled with ‘le’ at the end) is a noun that means a theory
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or a rule.
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“To be a good musician, you should learn the basic principles of music theory.”
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It can also mean a moral rule – that is, a rule for good behavior: “I never cheat
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on exams because it goes against my principles.”
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So ‘principal’ with ‘al’ is means ‘main, most important’, or ‘the head
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of a school’ and ‘principle’ (with ‘le’) is a theory or rule.
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Alright, now it’s time for the first exercise.
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This will help us to practice the first five pairs of words that we just discussed.
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There are ten sentences on the screen.
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In each one, I want you to choose the correct word.
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Stop the video, think about your answers, then play the video again and check.
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OK, here are the answers.
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If you want, stop the video and check them with your answers.
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Alright, let’s now turn to number six – ‘compliment’ and ‘complement’.
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The difference in spelling between these two words is the one letter in the middle – ‘i’
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or ‘e’.
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But both words are pronounced the exact same way.
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The word ‘compliment’ with an ‘i’ is a verb that means to praise someone for
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something.
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For example: “I must compliment you on your English.
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It’s excellent!”
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So I’m praising you for your English skills.
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With the same meaning, it can also be used as a noun that means ‘a comment or expression
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of praise’.
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“Please give my compliments to the chef.”
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It’s common to say this to a waiter in a restaurant when you really enjoyed the meal.
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When someone pays you a compliment, that is someone praises you, you can say: “Thank
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you for the compliment.”
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The word ‘complement’ with an ‘e’ is normally a verb that means ‘to make something
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better, complete or perfect’.
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So if we say that A complements B, it means that A makes B better or complete.
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For example: “Her scarf complements her sweater perfectly.”
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It means that the scarf makes the sweater look complete or more attractive.
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And with the same meaning, ‘complement’ can be a used as a noun that means ‘a thing
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that improves or completes something else.’
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“Vanilla ice cream provides the best complement to apple pie.”
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That means it tastes great if you eat vanilla ice cream when you also eat apple pie.
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So, ‘compliment’ with an ‘i’ means ‘to praise someone for something’ and
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with an ‘e’ it means to ‘make something better, complete or perfect.”
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Next up are ‘ensure’ and ‘insure’ which are usually pronounced the same way.
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‘Ensure’ (spelled with an ‘e’ at the beginning) means the same thing as ‘make
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sure’.
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You say it when you want to tell someone to definitely do something.
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As in: “Before signing any contract, ensure that you read and fully understand it.”
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“We must ensure that this doesn’t happen again.”
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In both these sentences, we can use ‘make sure’ in the place of ensure and the meaning
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would be the same.
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The word ‘insure’ (with ‘i’ at the beginning) is also a verb and it means to
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purchase insurance for something.
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For example: “We’ve just insured our car against theft.”
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That means, if our car gets stolen, the insurance company will pay us some amount of money.
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People sometimes get strange types of insurance: “The famous actor insured his nose for a
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million dollars.”
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That means if something happens to his nose by accident, then he might not look so handsome
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and may not be able to get acting jobs.
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So, the insurance company will have to pay him a million dollars.
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So remember, ‘ensure’ (with an ‘e’) means ‘to make sure’ and ‘insure’
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(with an ‘i’) means to purchase insurance for something.
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Number eight is ‘Affect’ and ‘effect’.
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These two words are related.
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‘Affect’ is a verb and it means ‘to create a change in someone or something’.
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It’s generally used in a negative sense.
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For example: “Glaucoma is a disease that affects the eyes.”
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“Many large cities are badly affected by pollution.”
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‘Effect’ is a noun, and it means ‘the result or the change caused by something’.
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“Too much homework can have negative effects on children.”
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“Are you sure this medicine has no side effects?”
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Side-effects means any negative effects that the medicine might produce apart from the
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main, positive effect.
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So, ‘affect’ is a verb that means to create a change, and ‘effect’ is the change or
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the result.
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Up next are ‘break’ and ‘brake’.
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These two words are pronounced exactly the same way.
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But they mean different things.
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‘Break’ (spelled with ‘eak’) is usually a verb that means ‘to damage something’.
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For example: “Be careful not to break that glass!”
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In some situations, this word can be a noun which means ‘a short period when an activity
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is stopped’.
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As in: “Let’s take a short break now.
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Please be back in 10 minutes.”
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We usually talk about lunch breaks, coffee breaks, etc.
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The word ‘brake’ (spelled with ‘ake’) is a noun that refers to a device that’s
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used to stop a vehicle (like your car, motorbike etc.): “I slammed on the brakes when I saw
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the old lady walk onto the road.”
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“Slammed on the brakes” means I applied the brakes suddenly.
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And finally, number ten is the pair of ‘breath’ and ‘breathe’.
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‘Breath’ (without the ‘e’) is a noun.
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It refers to the air that we take into and leave out from our lungs.
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For example: “Are you drunk?
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Your breath smells of alcohol.”
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Notice that the last sound in this word is ‘th’ like in ‘thing’.
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“Take a deep breath and relax.”
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‘Breathe’ is the verb; that is, it’s the action of taking air into the lungs and
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then leaving it out.
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“It’s hard to breathe in here.
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Can we open one of the windows?”
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Here, notice that the last sound is ‘dh’ like in ‘this’ or ‘that’.
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“Divers use oxygen masks to breathe underwater.”
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So remember that ‘breath’ is the noun and ‘breathe’ is the verb.
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Alright, now it’s time for the second and final quiz.
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Once again, I want you to choose the correct word in each sentence.
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Stop the video, think about your answers, then play the video again and check.
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OK, here are the answers.
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Let me know how many you got right in the comments section below.
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If you enjoyed this lesson, give it a thumbs-up by hitting the ‘like’ button.
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If you’re new to my channel, make sure to click that subscribe button and the bell icon
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next to it to get my latest lessons right here on YouTube.
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Happy learning, and I will see you in another lesson soon.
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