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  • Hi, everybody.

  • Welcome back to Ask Alisha, the weekly series where you ask me questions and I answer them,

  • maybe.

  • First question!

  • First question this week comes from Imon.

  • Hi, again, Imon.

  • Imon says, “What is the use of definite article 'the?'”

  • We usethewith a singular noun to refer to a specific instance of that noun.

  • So, when you're telling a story, we'll often introduce the first instance of a noun with

  • “a” and then after that, we'll usetheto refer to the specific instance of that

  • thing.

  • For example, a simple story.

  • “I was walking down the street and I saw a dog.

  • The dog was really cute.

  • I pet the dog.”

  • So, in that situation, when I introduce “a dogin the story, the first time I talk

  • about the dog in the story, I used “a” to introduce it.

  • Then, after that, I usedtheto refer to that specific dog that I introduced earlier

  • in the story.

  • Every other time that I want to talk about that same dog, I usethebefore it.

  • So, use the word, “the,” when you need to refer to a specific noun or when you have

  • to refer to a specific group.

  • So, for example, “The teachers in the school district went on strike.”

  • So, specifically, we're talking about teachers in a specific school district, “The teachers

  • went on strike.”

  • The mothers at the PTA meeting organized a bake sale.”

  • It's a specific group that is defined by something else.

  • So, in this case, “the mothers at the PTA meeting,” only the mothers that were at

  • that meeting, not the mothers from a different group, for example.

  • We usetheto talk about a specific instance of something.

  • Next question!

  • Next question comes from Johnny.

  • Hi, Johnny.

  • You wrote a very long message.

  • Thank you very much for watching.

  • There's a slang expression that I've heard several times and don't understand well.

  • 'I know, right.'”

  • Using “I know, right,” it's like an invitation then for the other person to agree again really.

  • “I know, right.”

  • So, think of “I know, right,” as like an even stronger, even more emphasis on the

  • agreement and an invitation for the other person to agree again, “I know, right.”

  • It's like, “Yes and you agree too, don't you?”

  • Next question comes from Zafar Ahmad.

  • Zafar Ahmad, hi.

  • Zafar asks about two sentences.

  • Okay.

  • One, 'Have you ever cried in a film?'

  • Two, 'Have you ever cried at a film?'

  • My question is about the preposition 'in' or 'at.'

  • Which sentence is correct and explain the reason.”

  • Of course, I will explain the reason.

  • Let's take a look at the first one, “Have you ever cried in a film?”

  • This is actually a point where the differences between British English and American English

  • might come into play a little bit.

  • Have you ever cried in a film?” could have a few different meanings depending on

  • the situation.

  • If, for example, you were speaking to an actor and you say, “Have you ever cried in a film?”

  • meaning, when you were in a film, when you were acting in a film, did you cry at any

  • point in time?

  • So, “Have you ever cried in a film?” it could also mean have you gone to watch a movie

  • in a movie theatre and cried at the movie theatre or in the movie theatre.

  • Your second sentence, “Have you ever cried at a film?”

  • So, using act shows like the direction of an emotion.

  • We use it with other emotions as well like, “My mom is mad at me,” or, “My dad is

  • angry at me.”

  • So, it's showing the direction of emotion.

  • In this case, “Have you ever cried at a film?”

  • meaning, did a film cause you to cry?

  • Have you ever cried because of a film?

  • In my case, though, if I wanted to ask my friend if a movie had ever caused them to

  • cry, I would say, “Have you ever cried at a movie?”

  • Next question.

  • Next question comes from Igor.

  • Hi, Igor.

  • Why are verbs like 'bury,' 'hurry,' 'study,' 'tidy,' and 'try' in

  • the irregular verbs list.

  • Their past simple and past participle forms have “-edendings like other regular

  • verbs.

  • The course books we use have listed these verbs in the irregular verb list.”

  • Alright.

  • Tough question because I did not create the textbooks and I don't know the logic that

  • was used for the textbooks.

  • But, if I had to guess why those verbs are included as irregular verbs, I would imagine

  • it's because these verbs all end in Y.

  • And, yes, although the verbs do end in “-ed,” there is an irregular change that happens

  • with verbs that end in Y.

  • So, that's to drop the Y and add “-iedinstead of just an “-ed.”

  • So, we maintain thatihsound liketidy,” “bury.”

  • However, the spelling of the word changes.

  • Next question is from Pohria.

  • Pohria asks, “What's the difference between these words, 'interior' and 'internal,'

  • 'exterior' and 'external.'”

  • Alright.

  • Well, there are grammatical differences.

  • Interiorandexteriorare nouns.

  • Internalandexternalare adjectives.

  • We useinteriorandexteriorto talk about the inside and the outside of something.

  • But, “internalandexternal,” those are adjectives.

  • We use them to talk about the qualities of something.

  • Next question from Stanislav.

  • Hi, Stanislav.

  • Stanislav asks, “How do you politely address unfamiliar women and men.

  • 'Lady,' 'miss,' 'missus,' 'mister,' and 'sir.'”

  • Ah, nice question.

  • Alright.

  • If you're in a formal situation, it's better to useMr.” with men.

  • Sirtends to be used more in like a service relationship.

  • The same thing withMa'am,” for women.

  • Mrs.” is used for married women.

  • If I don't know if someone is married or not, a woman is married or not, I'll useMiss.”

  • Next question!

  • Next question is from Leon.

  • Hi, Leon.

  • What are the differences between 'test,' 'exam,' 'quiz,' and 'questionnaire.'

  • And, when should I use each of them?”

  • Nice question.

  • Alright.

  • Let's start withtestandexam.”

  • We use these two words quite similarly when we're talking about tests of knowledge or

  • like examinations at school.

  • We can use either of those.

  • Like, “I have a test this week,” or, “I have an exam this week.”

  • I think in American English, “testis probably used more commonly thanexam

  • or the long form, “examination.”

  • However, when we want to check the status of our bodies, we'll often use the word,

  • exam.”

  • So, for example, “a physical exam,” that's an expression we use to mean like a full check

  • of the body which is commonly done maybe once a year or so.

  • So, “an exam,” like, “a dental exam,” or, “an eye examis a check of the condition

  • of your body as well.

  • A “quizis essentially a mini test.

  • A “questionnaire,” however, is quite different from the three that we've talked about thus

  • far.

  • A “questionnaireis something that's given usually to customers that is for feedback.

  • We usequestionnairesfor feedback.

  • So, those are all the questions that I want to answer this week.

  • Thank you so much for sending your questions.

  • Remember, if you have not sent a question yet or if you just want to send more questions,

  • you can send them to me at EnglishClass101.com/ask-alisha.

  • If you liked the video, please make sure to give it a thumbs up, subscribe to the channel

  • if you haven't already and check us out in EnglishClass101.com for some other good resources.

  • Thanks very much for watching this episode of Ask Alisha and I will see you again next week.

  • Bye-bye.

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