expressions – ‘since’ and ‘for’.

These two time expressions are  commonly confused in English.

But after watching this video,  

you'll have a good understanding of the  difference and when to use these words.

Let’s get started.

Let’s start with ‘since’

‘since’ shows when a past action first started.

We always need a starting point with ‘since’

so when you use ‘since’, you always  need a specific time expression.

Let's take a look at some example sentences.

The first sentence says,

‘I have been working since  8 o'clock this morning.’

You'll notice that the specific time expression comes after ‘since’.

And it shows when this person started working.

The next sentence says,

‘She has been on a diet since August.’

The specific time expression here is August

and it comes after ‘since’.

It shows when she started dieting.

Okay, now, I will talk about ‘for’.

We use ‘for’ to express a  length of time in English.

It is used to express duration or  how long something has happened.

Let's take a look at some examples.

The first sentence says,

‘I have been working for five hours.’

In this case, we have a duration five hours

and it comes after ‘for’.

The next sentence says,

‘She has been on a diet for three months’.

Again, we have three months which shows the duration

- how long she has been on a diet.

Again, notice it comes after the word ‘for’.

Now, let's do a checkup.

In this conversation, there are two sentences.

In one of the sentences, we should use ‘since’

and in the other we should use ‘for’.

Take a moment to think about  where we use ‘since’ and ‘for’.

‘A' says,

‘Have you been working here _blank_ 2008?’

You'll notice the specific time expression ‘2008’.

Remember, when we use a specific time expression,

we put ‘since’ before the expression.

So ‘A’ says,

‘Have you been working here since 2008?’

‘B’ says, ‘No, I’ve only been  working here _blank_ two weeks.’

‘two weeks’ is a duration.

It shows how long this action has been happening.

So the best answer here is ‘for’.

‘No, I’ve only been working here for two weeks.’

So let's take a look at the whole conversation.

‘A’ says,

‘Have you been working here since 2008?’

And ‘B’ says, ‘No, I’ve only  been working here for two weeks.’

Now you know the difference  between ‘since’ and ‘for’.

Be sure to practice these two time expressions.

They're very important to properly  express time and duration in English.

Thank you guys so much for watching.

And I’ll see you in the next video.

Hi, everyone. I’m Esther.

In this video, I’m going to talk about two  similar sounding and confusing English words

‘accept’ and ‘except’.

We will work on pronunciation and usage to help you master these words.

Let’s get started.

First, let’s start with ‘accept’.

Listen carefully to how I say it.

‘accept’

‘accept’

It's a verb.

The main meaning of ‘accept’ is to agree or  receive something that is offered to you.

Someone wants to give you  something and you accept.

We accept things.

Let’s look at some examples.

The first sentence says,

‘I can accept a gift from my friend.’

So if a friend offers a gift to you,

you can take it or accept it.

The second sentence says,

‘When Tony asked Leslie to marry him,

she happily accepted.’

So Tony asked Leslie to marry him and she agreed.

She accepted this offer.

Now, I will talk about ‘except’.

Listen to how I say it.

‘except’

‘except’

It is often a preposition.

It means to not include something.

Let’s look at some example sentences.

The first sentence says,

‘I like all fruit except grapes.’

So out of all the fruits,

I like them all,

but I don't like grapes.

I am showing that I don't want to  include grapes in this sentence.

The next sentence says,

‘Everyone passed the exam except for Robin.’

So again, there's a group  and everybody is included

except for Robin.

Robin is not included in the  group that passed the exam.

Now, let's do a checkup.

In this conversation, there are two sentences.

In one of the sentences, we  should use the word ‘accept’.

In the other, we should use ‘except’.

Take a moment to think about where  we use ‘accept’ and ‘except’.

‘A’ says,

‘Did you _blank_ the new company position?’

A new company position is an offer

and someone can choose to take it.

In that case, you say ‘accept’.

‘Did you accept the new company position?’

‘B’ says, ‘Yes, I now have to  work every day _blank_ Sundays.’

This person now has to work almost  every day of the week but Sundays.

So we're not including one  of the days of the week.

And so we use ‘except’.

Again ‘B’ says, ‘Yes, I now have  to work every day except Sundays.’

Now, let's take a look at this as a whole.

‘A’ says,

‘Did you accept the new company position?’

And ‘B’ says, ‘Yes, I now have to  work every day except Sundays.’

Now you know the difference  between ‘accept’ and ‘except’.

Be sure to practice these two words.

Thank you guys for watching this video and I’ll see you in the next video.

Hi, everybody. I’m Esther.

In this video, I’m going to talk about two similar sounding and confusing English words

‘affect’ and ‘effect’.

We will work on pronunciation and  usage to help you master these words.

Let’s get started.

Let’s start with ‘affect’.

Listen carefully to how I say it.

‘affect’

‘affect’

It's usually a verb.

It means to influence or change.

A quick way to remember ‘affect’ as a verb

is to remember ‘a’ is for action.

Verbs are actions.

Let’s look at some examples.

The first sentence says,

‘Junk food affects your health.’

We all know that junk food can change our health.

It can make it bad or worse.

The next sentence says,

‘New technologies continue to affect how we live.’

This is something we also know.

New technologies change the way we live.

They make things easier. They make things faster.

They affect the way we live.

Now, I will talk about ‘effect’.

Listen carefully to how I say this one,

‘effect’

‘effect’

‘effect’

It's usually a noun.

It means a result.

Let’s look at some example sentences.

The first sentence says,

‘Pollution has a negative  effect on the environment.’

We all know that pollution causes  negative results in the environment.

You'll notice that in this  sentence we used ‘effect’ as a noun

– ‘a negative effect’.

The next sentence says,

‘Spicy food has a bad effect on my stomach.’

For some people spicy food causes  some bad results in the body.

So again, we use ‘effect’ like result - a noun.

Now, let's do a checkup.

In the sentence below we need  to use ‘effect’ and ‘affect’.

Take a moment to think about  where we use these words.

The sentence says,

‘The _blank_ of the war will _blank_ the economy.’

Take a look at the first ‘blank’.

The _blank_

Remember, if there's a ‘the’,

we usually need a noun

so we use ‘effect’.

‘The effect of the war…’

that means the results of the war

‘…will _blank_ the economy.’

Here we have ‘will’ and so we need a verb.

That's ‘affect’.

‘The effect of the war will affect the economy.’

Now you know the difference  between ‘affect’ and ‘effect’.

Be sure to practice these two words.

Thank you guys for watching and  I’ll see you in the next video.

Hi, everybody. I’m Esther.

In this video, I’m going to talk about two similar and sometimes confusing English words

‘quite’ and ‘quiet’.

Although ‘quite’ and ‘quiet’ are  spelled and pronounced differently,

many students still confuse these words

especially in their writing.

By the end of this video, you'll  be a master at using them.

So keep watching.

Let’s start with ‘quite’.

Listen carefully to how I say it.

‘quite’

‘quite’

It's an adverb.

it means to a large degree or completely.

It can also mean truly or considerably.

Let’s look at some examples.

The first sentence says,

‘We've had quite a lot of rain this year.’

The word ‘quite’ emphasizes  that there was a lot of rain.

The next sentence says,

‘I hadn't seen Rebecca in quite a while.’

Again, ‘quite a while’ emphasizes  that it's been a really long time.

I hadn't seen Rebecca for a very long time.

Now, I will talk about the word ‘quiet’.

Listen carefully to how I say it.

‘quiet’

‘quiet’

It is usually an adjective.

It means there is very little or no sound.

Let's take a look at some examples.

The first sentence says,

‘She spoke in a quiet voice.’

This means that her voice was very little - I almost couldn't hear it.

The next sentence says,

‘It's so quiet without the kids here.’

When the kids are not here, it's quiet.

There is not much noise.

Now, let's do a checkup.

In the sentence below, we need to fill  in the blanks with ‘quiet’ or ‘quite’.

Take a moment to think about  where these words belong.

The first part of the sentence says,

‘He's _blank_ intelligent.’

I want to use the word that  shows that he's very intelligent,

emphasizing how intelligent this person is.

So which word do I use?

I use ‘quite’.

‘He's quite intelligent.’

The second part of the sentence says,

‘but he is a very _blank_ child.’

We need an adjective to describe this child.

‘quiet’ is the right word to use.

So we should say,

‘He's quite intelligent, but  he is a very quiet child.’

Now you know the difference  between ‘quite’ and ‘quiet’.

They can be confusing especially in writing

but now you know how to use them well.

See you in the next video. Bye.

Hi, everyone. I’m Esther.

In this video, I’m going to talk about the two similar and sometimes confusing English verbs

‘say’ and ‘tell’.

‘say’ and ‘tell’ have similar meanings

but they are used in different ways.

A lot of my students confuse these words,

so I hope to clear up any confusion.

Keep watching to know the  difference between these two words.

Let’s start with ‘say’.

It is an irregular verb so  the past tense form is ‘said’.

It means to speak, express something  in words or to tell someone something.

Let’s look at some example sentences.

The first sentence says,

‘I’m sorry what did you say?’