- Hello everyone, and welcome back to English With Lucy.

Today, I've got an important lesson for you

about the three words you should never, ever say

or use in English.

This lesson is going to help you improve all apects

of your English, but in particular,

your vocabulary and your writing.

But it will also help

with speaking, listening, and storytelling as well.

It's also going to be especially useful

if you want to sound more professional.

But more about that later.

Before we get started, I'd like

to mention one other thing that

can drastically improve your English language skills.

It's the Lingoda Language Marathon.

I'm going to talk about this fully

at the end of the video,

but you can go to the time shown on the screen now

if you want to know about it right this second.

Basically, you an do 90 days of English lessons

with qualified native teachers

and get your full course fee refunded.

That's up to 807 euros.

But first, let's get on with the lesson.

The first word that you should never,

ever say or write in English is,

dare I even say it?

It's very.

Now, I've spoken about this horrible little word before.

But I think it's essential that you

understand why you should never use it.

Especially when writing, and God forbid,

in essays and exams.

Very is a very weak word.

See what I did there.

It doesn't communicate enough information,

and in my opinion it's one

of the most useless words in the English language.

All it does is magnify another word.

So how can you avoid using it,

and what should you say instead, if anything.

I'm going to give you some options,

and I'm going to give you loads

of vocabulary that you can use

that will make you sound like a total pro,

short for professional.

First I'm going to ask you a question.

Which of these sounds better?

The audience were very scared by the very loud noise.

Or the audience were very scared by the deafening noise.

I mean,

I think the second one sounds better.

What have I done?

I have replaced very and the adjective, very loud,

with one powerful adjective that serves very's purpose.

What about the audience, where they very scared?

Can we think of something better?

How about, petrified?

The audience were petrified by the deafening noise.

So much better, and we've used less words,

which is much better for essay writing

because you have word limits.

Here are some examples of words that you can use

instead of very plus adjective.

Very bad, atrocious.

Very poor, destitute.

Very risky, perilous.

Very tired, exhausted.

Very hungry, ravenous.

That is one of my favourite words I think.

What a fantastic word, ravenous.

And very clean, spotless.

I actually think finding these more powerful adjectives

is loads of fun, and it makes your writing

and your speech so much more descriptive.

Plus, you automatically sound

like you know so much more English

because you've got all these words

that sometimes even natives don't know.

I think this calls for some homework.

Yes, even in free YouTube videos you do get homework.

I want you to comment below

with at least three alternatives for very plus an adjective.

Let's see how many we can get under the video

and make sure to check out everyone else's responses,

so we have this huge resource for everyone to use.

Go, go, go.

Comment three.

Right.

The next one.

Oh, what a terrible word.

Said.

Said.

It's such a boring word, it doesn't tell me anything.

Now, the word replacements I'm

going to tell you are more geared towards writing,

but it will help you with your speaking,

and definitely your storytelling

when you're recounting a lot of dialogue.

So why shouldn't you say said?

Because it's bloody boring, that's why.

Read this.

I'm leaving you forever, she said.

No, he said.

How dull is that?

Let's try again, but changing up the dialogue words.

I'm leaving you forever, she announced.

No, he cried.

See, so much better, right?

We could take it one step further with adverbs as well,

but be careful with these,

'cause sometimes it can make the writing a little bit busy.

Scatter them in every now and again.

I'm leaving you forever, she announced powerfully.

No, he cried pathetically.

See, so jazzy now, isn't it?

Now I am a very generous teacher,

and I have curated a list of amazing dialogue words

that you can use in your writing

and in your speech, but a quick Google search

will leave you with hundreds of alternatives,

so make sure you do your revision.

I've organised mine into sections.

Anger, bellowed, snapped, cautioned.

Affection, consoled, comforted, soothed.

Excitement, babbled, gushed, exclaimed.

Fear, stammered, gasped, screamed.

Determination, declared, insisted, commanded.

Can you tell I'm really enjoying this lesson?

Happiness, sighed, gushed, laughed.

Sadness, sobbed, moaned, lamented.

Show conflict, sneered, scolded, glowered.

To show amusement, teased, chortled, guffawed.

And for storytelling, recounted, recalled, resumed.

I hope those are really useful for you.

As I said before, a quick Google search,

and you'll have pages and pages of alternatives to said.

Are you ready for the last word

that you should never, ever use?

It is,

thing.

Yeah, I know.

Awful isn't it?

Isn't it just the most awful word?

The most frustrating and annoying word in the world.

My boyfriend always shouts to me,

Luce, where did you put the thing?

And I reply, what thing?

And then he says, you know, the thing.

It's infuriating.

Words like thing, and stuff, are convenient placeholders.

When we can't remember the name of something

or we get distracted, we use them instead.

It's actually really hard

to kick this habit in conversation,

so I'm not so strict with that.

But it is so important that we don't use them in writing.

That's just lazy.

There is always a better word.

For example, I looked at all of the things.

I felt sad.

You don't know anything about what's making me feel sad.

How 'bout if I say it like this?

I looked at all of my mother's

childhood teddies and possessions.

I felt sad.

There, I tell you loads of information about the situation,

and you understand why I feel so sad.

Seems obvious, but it's amazing how many people

use thing in their writing.

In conclusion, stop saying these three things.

I've said it before, but it's very important.

(laughs) Ah, I did a funny.

I made a joke.

Okay, it is now time to talk about the ins and outs,

an idiom meaning all the details,

of the Lingoda Language Marathon

which you can do for French, Spanish, German, English,

and business English.

(fanfare blasts)

It's new, oo!

And actually, business English has got me really excited,

because I know so many of you are learning English

to improve your career prospects and to find a job.

The best way to learn a language

and retain what you have learned

is to study a little bit every day

and to practise with native speakers.

I know that a lot of you don't have the time

or the funds, the money, to attend in-person classes,

so Lingoda is offering a really affordable

and convenient solution.

If you haven't heard of Lingoda before,

it's an online language school,

where you can study with native qualified teachers

anywhere, anytime, as long as you have a laptop

and a stable internet connection.

You study in a virtual classroom

with very small group sizes.

There's no need to travel.

Study at home, weekends, evenings,

five o' clock in the morning,

whenever you want.

I've tried the classes out myself,

and I think it's a fantastic service

for busy people like me.

So, what is the Lingoda Language Marathon?

Lingoda want to offer you an extra source of motivation,

because let's face it, marathons are not a walk in the park.

Successfully take one group class

every day for three months,

and Lingoda will refund your course fee in full.

I think that's achievable.

And many students manage it every year.

But if that's too much for you,

but you still want to challenge yourself,

you can do the half marathon

which is 15 classes every month,

and when you complete them successfully,

Lingoda will refund half of your course fee.

If you're interested in taking the marathon in English,

you have two options.

The standard English marathon is for all levels,

beginner to advanced,

and it will help you improve your general fluency.

The new business English marathon

is perfect for getting that new job

or advancing in the workplace.

Learn everything from interview skills,

to writing emails, to giving presentations,

to hosting business meetings.

Please note, this is for English levels B2 or above only.

The marathon runs from the 1st of October 2018,

to the 1st of January 2019.

And don't worry, Lingoda have made special arrangements

so you don't have to take a class

on the 24th, 25th, or 26th of December if you don't want to.

You have to sign up before the 21st of September 2018,

and pay the five euro entry fee,

but if you use my voucher code, learn1,

you only have to pay 50 cents.

So use the code learn1 on the link below.

After paying the entry fee

that secures your spot on the marathon,

you automatically sign up

for a three month long subscription.

Every month you'll be charged a fixed amount.

That's three times in total,

depending on which marathon you choose to take.

If you subscribe straight away,

you won't be charged until the 24th of September,

but you can still cancel your participation.

You've got 14 days from signing up

to stop your first payment or

to get a refund for your first payment.

So how do you get the refund?

Lingoda will refund your marathon tuition fee

in full, if you attend an agreed number of classes

within each marathon month.

By following the contest rules in the terms and conditions.

There's no trick or catch here.