Learn 10 English Verbs with 2 Meanings in Under 8 Minutes! Acted Out For Easy Memorization!

- Hi, Bob, the Canadian here.

Welcome to this English lesson

where I'm going to talk about verbs

that have two different meanings.

The very first example I want to give you

is the verb to fight.

If you look below you can see that

to fight means to physically fight with someone.

When you go and watch a boxing match

you will see two people fight,

they will physically punch each other.

But we also use the verb to fight, to talk about arguing.

So when you hear something like this,

if someone says, oh my brothers are always fighting,

it most likely means that they are arguing.

It's a lot more rare for people

to actually start to hit each other.

So that's the very first verb I want to look at.

The verb to fight it can mean to physically hit each other

or it can mean to argue.

The second verb I want to look at is the verb to pry.

When you have something like a can of paint

sometimes it's hard to get it open

and you need to pry it open.

Maybe you use a screwdriver

or even something called a pry bar

and you use that to pry open the can of paint.

But the other meaning of the verb to pry is

when someone asks you a lot of questions.

Sometimes my mom tends to pry a little bit,

sorry mom if you're watching this.

When someone pries it means they ask you a lot of questions.

Maybe you went on a trip

and they just keep asking you questions like

how much did it cost?

Where did you go?

Did you have fun?

And it really feels like they're asking too many questions.

So the verb to pry can mean

to physically try to open something

or it can mean when someone asks a lot of questions.

The next verb I want to look at is the verb to appear.

When you appear somewhere

it means that you aren't somewhere

and then suddenly you are there.

When you go and see a magician

sometimes he will make things disappear

and then he will make them appear again.

But we also use the verb appear to describe

how someone looks.

You can say that someone appears rich

or they appear as if they're very intelligent.

So that would mean that they seem like they're rich

just by the way they look

or they seem intelligent by the way they look.

So that's the next verb, the verb to appear.

When you appear somewhere,

it means that you aren't there and suddenly you are

or you might appear to look a certain way.

You might appear rich

or you might appear to be very intelligent.

The next verb I want to look at is the verb to smell.

So you can actually smell.

So you could say, hmm, I think I smell.

And that means that you're giving off an odor

or you're giving off kind of a funny smell

but we also use the English verb to smell

to indicate that we are sniffing something

or we are seeing if something has a scent or smell.

So you can say that I smell

or you can say, I smell something really, really good.

So you can see slightly the difference.

One version of the verb refers to

whether you are giving off an odor or not

and the other version indicates

if you are actively smelling something.

The next verb I want to look at is the verb to move.

Now to move can mean to physically move,

to go from one place to another

or instead of standing still to move your body.

But it could also mean something more emotional.

Maybe when you're listening

to a piece of music, it's very, very moving.

The music can move you,

it can bring you to tears,

it could make you smile,

it could make you have an emotional response.

So the verb to move can mean

to physically move your body around,

or it can mean that something causes you

to feel a certain emotion.

The next verb I want to look at is the verb to leave.

Now you can leave somewhere.

If you are at someone's place, you can leave.

You can go home or go somewhere else.

So it means that you are somewhere and then you go away.

But we also can use the verb to leave, to talk about things.

Sometimes I leave the keys in the car for Jen

if she needs to use my keys.

So again, you can see that to leave can mean

that you yourself physically leave somewhere

or it can mean that you leave an object.

You leave something somewhere for someone else

or for yourself to find back later.

The next verb I want to teach you is the verb to follow.

So when you follow someone

it means you physically follow them.

If they go somewhere, you go there too.

If they drive somewhere

you might follow them and go to the same place

but it can also mean to understand.

If you follow what I'm talking about

it means that you understand what I am saying.

So the verb to follow can mean to physically follow someone.

So sometimes when Jen and I drive somewhere

in different vehicles, Jen will follow me.

Sometimes when I'm explaining things to my students

I'm really happy when they follow me,

I'm really happy when they understand me.

The next verb is the verb to apply.

When you paint something, you apply paint.

It means you are putting paint onto something.

Right now Jen is painting our bedroom.

She is applying paint to the walls.

But the verb to apply can also mean to ask for a job.

When you fill out a job application

it means that you want to apply for a job.

You are asking if you can work somewhere.

So once again the verb to apply

can mean to put something on.

We often use it with the word paint.

We'll say, I'm going to apply a coat of paint

or to apply can also mean to ask a place of business

if you can work there.

The next verb want to look at is the verb to admit.

When you admit something

it means that you say out loud that you did it.

Sometimes when there are cookies missing in the kitchen

I'll ask my kids who ate the last cookie

and then one of them will admit that they ate it.

So they are saying that they did it.

We can also use the verb admit though

to mean to let someone in.

Sometimes when I start class at school,

I close the door

and then if students are late, I will admit them later.

I will let them into the classroom later than everyone else.

And then I'll usually say, you know, why are you late?

And I'll ask a lot of questions.

I don't pry though, I just ask a few.

Anyways the verb to admit it can mean

to say out loud that you did something

or it can mean simply to let someone in to a place.

The next verb that I wanted to talk about

is the verb to lie.

When you lie, it means you say something that isn't true.

It's not good to lie.

You should always tell the truth.

But we also use this verb

to talk about something more relaxing.

Sometimes I lie down on the couch to have a nap.

Sometimes I lie down in the grass to look at the stars.

I usually do that in the summer though.

So the verb to lie can mean

either to say something that's untrue

or if you add the word down

and it's a little bit of a phrasal verb then

it can mean to do something a little more relaxing.

Well, hey, thank you for watching this little English lesson

about verbs that have two different meanings.

If this is your first time here,

don't forget to click that red subscribe button

and give me a thumbs up if this video helped you.

And if you have a little bit more time

why don't you stick around and watch another English lesson.

(upbeat music)