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Category

📚
Learning
Transcript
00:00Hello everyone and welcome back to English with Lucy.
00:04Do you make common mistakes like these?
00:09He explained me why not.
00:13I think yes.
00:16How's it called?
00:21Now if you do, I'm going to help you stop.
00:24In this video, I'm going to teach you five of the most common mistakes in English.
00:31I hear my beginner students make these mistakes, but also some of my most advanced students
00:38have these errors ingrained in their brain.
00:42Now to help you even further, I have created a free PDF that goes with this video.
00:48You'll find all the information from today, lots of extra information, along with a quiz
00:53and a link to some extra exercises.
00:56I've basically written your lesson notes for you.
00:59To download it for free, just click on the link in the description box or scan that QR
01:03code there, sign up to my mailing list and you'll automatically receive it.
01:08Right, let's get started.
01:09The first mistake.
01:11I think yes.
01:13I hear my students say this all the time and I know that this is often a direct translation
01:20from other languages, but it's just not right in English.
01:24We will understand you when you say it, but it's technically not correct.
01:30We usually say, I think so.
01:33For example, is Catherine coming today?
01:36I think so.
01:38You can also say, yes, I think she is.
01:41Or I think she is, yes.
01:44You can even just say, yes, on its own, but not, I think yes.
01:50Erase that phrase from the English speaking part of your brain.
01:54And an extra note, we don't say, I think no, in English either.
01:58I wonder if you know what we do say.
02:00We usually say, I don't think so.
02:04Does Mark eat meat?
02:05I don't think so.
02:07You could also say, no, I don't think he does.
02:09Or, I don't think he does, no, or even no on its own.
02:14Okay, common mistake number two.
02:17Do you ever say, how is it called?
02:21Again, this is a direct translation from many other languages, but we shouldn't say it in
02:27English.
02:27We will understand you, but it's not correct.
02:30We also don't say, how do you call it?
02:34Do you know which question word we use instead of how?
02:38How?
02:38It's what.
02:40What is it called?
02:41What do you call it?
02:43We use what in questions to ask for specific information about something or somebody.
02:51What's that called?
02:53What is it called when you wake up but can't move your body for a short time?
02:58Sleep paralysis would be the answer, I guess.
03:00We have a fantastic word with what.
03:04Whatchamacallit.
03:05It's in the dictionary.
03:06We use this word when we can't think of the name of something or even someone.
03:13I need a whatchamacallit, a whisk.
03:16Remember, it's whatchamacallit, not howdiamacallit.
03:19Now, remember, when asking about someone or something's name, we also use what.
03:25What's she called?
03:26What's your dog called?
03:28Okay, next up.
03:29Mistake number three.
03:32I'm married with Will.
03:34This is incorrect.
03:36And no, marrying Will was not the mistake.
03:39The preposition with is incorrect.
03:41We don't say with in this sentence.
03:44What should it be instead?
03:46It should be to.
03:47I'm married to Will.
03:49No mistakes there.
03:50To identify our husband or wife, we use the structure married to.
03:55He's been married to Alice for 50 years.
03:58She got married to her long-term partner last week.
04:03Now, I often hear a common pronunciation mistake with married.
04:07Lots of my students try to use three syllables.
04:10They say married, but it's married with two.
04:15We can also say we're married to something figuratively.
04:18This means someone is extremely committed to something and so involved with it that they
04:23don't have time for anything else.
04:25For example, Ellie is married to her job.
04:29She works all the time.
04:31However, you might have heard married with used in a correct way before.
04:37You will see married with children as a phrase.
04:42This means a person is married and has children.
04:46Think of it as married with children.
04:49Ken is married with three children.
04:52He's married to someone and he has three children.
04:55It's very important not to mix up married to and married with in this case.
05:00I'm sure you can understand.
05:02Okay, common mistake number four is in these sentences.
05:06I wonder if you can spot it.
05:08She explained me the rules.
05:11Can you explain him how this works?
05:15Explain me or explain him is not right.
05:19Explain is not generally followed directly by a person, whether that's an object pronoun
05:26like me or him or a noun referring to a person.
05:30It is not she explained John the rules or he explains people the history of the building.
05:36Let's correct it together.
05:39You can explain something.
05:41So, explain can be followed by a noun that is not a person.
05:46She explained the rules.
05:49Pete explains difficult concepts clearly.
05:53We can use adjectives before the noun like in difficult concepts.
05:57If you want to mention a person, you can explain to somebody.
06:03It's hard to explain to people who aren't in the industry.
06:07Now, often there's a noun after explain.
06:10For example, she explained the situation to us.
06:15Or, will you explain it to me?
06:19It is an object pronoun, but it refers to a thing, not a person.
06:23Now, explain can be intransitive, meaning it doesn't always require an object.
06:27For example, please let me explain, not let me explain you.
06:33We follow explain with a clause beginning with the words how, who, where, what, when or why.
06:39For example, the boss explained who each person is and what they do.
06:45Or, please explain why you haven't finished yet.
06:49We also have the structure explain to somebody what, who, how and so on.
06:55For example, Ian explained to us what he was doing.
07:00And we can use explain plus the that clause.
07:04He explained that he hadn't been feeling well.
07:07So stop saying, please explain me, and choose one of the many other structures we can use
07:14instead.
07:14Okay, we have reached common mistake number five.
07:18Can you spot it in this sentence?
07:21I don't know, where is Diego?
07:24So the problem here is with the word order.
07:28It should be, I don't know where Diego is.
07:33Most of my students see where, or another similar WH question word, and immediately switch the
07:40subject verb order of the words after it from a statement to a question.
07:46For example, where is Diego?
07:49It's correct.
07:50But with, I don't know at the beginning, the sentence becomes an indirect or embedded question,
07:57and we should have a statement word order.
08:01Subject plus verb.
08:02I don't know where Diego is.
08:06Here are a couple more examples of indirect questions.
08:09I don't know who she was.
08:12Or, I wonder who's coming.
08:15We don't use a question mark when the introductory phrase has a subject verb word order.
08:21This is the case with, I don't know, and I wonder.
08:24We can also use introductory phrases like, do you know, or could you tell me, to create
08:29indirect questions.
08:31We use a question mark because the introductory phrases have a question word order, verb plus
08:37subject.
08:37For example, do you know where Helena is?
08:42Where Helena is, not where is Helena.
08:45Could you tell me what time it is?
08:49What time it is, not what time is it.
08:52Okay, those are the five mistakes.
08:54Now it's time for a quiz.
08:56If you get five out of five on this, it's exceptional.
08:59You've really been paying attention because some of these concepts are really quite tricky.
09:03Question number one, complete the gap.
09:06Ethan is married, Joanne.
09:09Is it with or to?
09:16It's to.
09:17We say you are married to someone.
09:19We only use married with to talk about a married person who has children.
09:23To.
09:23Is this sentence grammatically correct?
09:26Can you explain the plot of the film to me?
09:34Yes, it is.
09:36Explain can be followed directly by a noun, not a person, and then to somebody.
09:41Remember, we can't say explain me the plot.
09:44Correct.
09:44Number three, correct the mistake.
09:46Is it going to rain today?
09:48I think yes.
09:54So, I think so is probably the most common option, but you could also say, I think it is.
10:01Yes.
10:01Yes.
10:04Yes.
10:04Yes.
10:15So, B, we don't know who Beth is.
10:19After we don't know, we use a subject verb order in the next clause.
10:23Okay.
10:24The final one.
10:25Complete the gap.
10:27Is that thing called?
10:34It's what.
10:36What's that thing called?
10:38Remember we use what, not how, in questions to ask for specific information about something
10:44or somebody, including for names.
10:47And do you remember that really cool word I taught you?
10:50Watch him or call it.
10:51Okay.
10:52How did you do?
10:52Let me know your score out of five in the comments.
10:55And with that, we're at the end of the video.
10:58I've already prepared your lesson notes for you.
11:00There's lots more information in the free PDF download, as well as a quiz and a link to
11:06some secret exercises.
11:07Let me know what your score is and other mistakes that you find it hard to avoid in English.
11:13I will try to put them in my next video.
11:15I hope you enjoyed this lesson.
11:16I hope you learnt something and I'll see you in the next video.
11:19Bye.
11:21Bye.
11:23Bye.
11:27Bye.
11:34Bye.
11:41Bye.