Learn English

Tear and desert

‘Tear’ and ‘desert’ are words that are pronounced differently to indicate their meaning. The noun tear, which is a drop of fluid from the eye, rhymes with the word dear.

‘She shed a tear when her cat died.’

But when we use ‘tear’ as a verb, meaning to rip, it's pronounced 'tear' and that rhymes with the word 'bear'.

‘Don't tear the book.’

The noun ‘desert’ means a barren dry, sandy and often lifeless place.

‘It rarely rains in the desert.’

But when the word ‘desert’ is used as a verb, meaning to run away, it's pronounced 'desert'.

‘Don't desert me, stay and help please.’

When it's spelt with two Ss ‘desert’ is used to describe the part of a meal that is often eaten after the main course. It usually consists of something sweet.

‘I don’t think I'll have any dessert thanks, I am already full.’

Flickr CC: Elisa Banfi

Gonna and Gotta

In informal English conversation, we often use shorter, versions of common word combinations.

One of the most common is ‘gonna’ - short for ‘going to’.

When we say the words ‘going to’ very quickly, they run together and sound like ‘gonna’.

So ‘Are you going to wash the car today?’ becomes:

B: ‘Are you gonna wash the car today?’

And ‘We are going to go home for dinner.’ becomes:

‘We’re gonna go home for dinner.’

We also shorten ‘got to’ so it sounds more like ‘gotta.’

Here, ‘got to’ means ‘have to’ or ‘must’:

So ‘I have got to wash the car today,’ becomes:

‘I’ve gotta wash the car today.’

And ‘I have got to go home for dinner,’ becomes:

‘I’ve gotta go home for dinner.’

Flickr CC: Bark

Practising contractions

Pronouncing contractions can be tricky - let’s practise some:

‘I am’ becomes ‘I’m’.

I’m

I’m going to the beach.

I’m going to come with you.

‘You are’ becomes ‘you’re’

You’re

You’re going to the beach today, aren’t you?

You’re late.

‘She is’ becomes ‘she’s’

She’s

‘She’s coming to the beach with me.’

‘She’s running late again.’

‘He is’ becomes ‘he’s’

He’s

‘He’s coming to the party.’

‘He’s already here.’

And ‘it is’ becomes ‘it’s’

It’s

‘It’s too late to start watching a movie now.’

‘It’s too hot to go to the beach today.’

Flickr CC: Rob Parker

Doubt or Question?

Many English learners confuse the nouns ‘doubt’ and ‘question’.

A ‘question’ is something you ask when you want to find out information.

‘Can you answer my question?’

‘Does anyone have any questions?’

The noun ‘doubt’ describes a feeling of not being sure about something.

‘I have doubts about my ability to pass the test.’

‘I never had any doubt you could do it.’

So if you have ‘doubts’ it means you feel uncertain.

If you have ‘a question’, it means you want to ask something in order to find out more information.

Flickr CC: Noelia

How to join a conversation

If you hear an interesting conversation, it’s a good idea to listen in and make sure it’s appropriate to join.

If it’s a personal or private conversation, the speakers might not want you to interrupt. You‘ll have to use your own judgement, and take a risk.

If they seem friendly and open, you can try to find something interesting to add. Don’t try to change the subject or talk too much about yourself.

Remember to smile, be friendly and ask questions about others.

You could try one of these phrases for joining in:

‘Excuse me, I overheard you talking about…’

‘Hi, my name is … ‘

‘I heard you talking about…’

‘Did I hear you say…?’

Here are some examples:

‘Excuse me, I overheard you talking about travelling to Australia. My sister went there last year. When are you going?’

‘Hi my name is Shirley. I heard you talking about Adelaide university. I’m a student there, too. What do you study?’

‘Did I hear you say you’re watching the new Game of Thrones series? I’m half way through it, I love that show. Where are you up to?’

If you find it hard to find a natural way to join the conversation, you can say:

‘Excuse me, would you mind if I joined your conversation? I don’t know anyone here yet, and you look interesting to talk to.’

Of course, not everyone wants new people to join their conversation. If it doesn’t work out, don’t take it personally. Try again next time.

Flickr CC: Ruth Ellison

Carnivores, herbivores and omnivores

A ‘carnivore’ is a meat eating animal. It eats other animals.

‘The lion is a carnivore, as is the leopard.’

Carnivorous, an adjective, means ‘meat-eating’.

‘The Tasmanian devil is the world's largest carnivorous marsupial.’

A ‘herbivore’ is an animal that eats only plants.

‘Zebras are herbivores.’

An ‘omnivore’ is an animal that is able to eat both animal and plant life.

‘People are omnivores.’

Flickr CC: Chen Wu

The final ‘s’ sounds in words can be confusing as there are three different ways that we can pronounce ‘s’ endings. Listen to the following three words and listen for the difference:

Cooks Earns Damages

There are slight differences here:

Cooks makes the /s/ sound. Cooks / cooks. Other examples are:

Checks

Graduates

Hates

Earns makes the /z/ sound. Earns / earns. Other examples are:

Boys

Girls

Hours

Messages makes the /iz/ sound. Messages / Messages. Other examples are:

Closes

Damages

Faces

Listen to the following examples of words ending with ‘s’ and Identify the correct sound. We will tell you if you are right or wrong:

wants

things

sandwiches

products

loves

places

paints

lives

phrases

Flickr CC: William Chew

More tongue twisters

Tongue twisters are an excellent way to practise your pronunciation. Listen to the following tongue twisters and follow the script below. Then, practise saying the tongue twister yourself.

Practise a few times slowly so you can pronounce the sounds of each word. You will hear yourself improve each time. You might also like to record your voice then compare your pronunciation to ours.

Tongue twister number 1

A big black bug bit a big black dog on his big black nose.

Listen again.

A big black bug bit a big black dog on his big black nose.

Tongue twister number 2

Santa's short suit shrunk.

Listen again.

Santa's short suit shrunk.

Tongue twister number 3

Whether the weather is warm, whether the weather is hot, we have to put up with the weather, whether we like it or not.

Listen again.

Whether the weather is warm, whether the weather is hot, we have to put up with the weather, whether we like it or not.

Flickr CC: Thorsten Ludewig

Word Pairs

‘Wine and dine’; means to entertain someone with food and drink - often with a motive in mind.

The only way to win the new contract is to wine and dine the clients.

‘Sink or swim’; means to fail or find a way to succeed.

Note that we always say ‘sink or swim’ in that order.

The phrase ‘sink or swim’ is used to talk about someone who is thrown into a difficult situation where they must succeed without help from others.

It’s a difficult job and there’s no training. He will sink or swim.

Up

‘Bring up’ means to take care of and educate a child.

Some people think it is better to bring up a child in a small country town.

The past tense is ‘brought up.’

She was born in Sydney but brought up in Melbourne.

‘End up’ means to become or turn out to be.

She started doing business at university but ended up doing medicine.

No matter what she ends up doing, she will succeed.

‘Use up’ means to finish.

Someone’s used up all the bread.

Don’t use up all the toothpaste, I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.

‘Take up’ means to begin or resume.

Do you want to play chess? Let’s take up where we left off last time.

When did you take up fishing? You’re very good at it.

Flickr CC: Eigenberg Fotografie