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0:08I have a cold this week.
0:09Hi everybody, welcome back to Ask Alisha,
the weekly series where you ask me questions
0:16First question this week comes from Mo.
0:19Mo says: I would like to know how to use "I
will" or "I would go with that" when I order
0:24from a menu in restaurants.
0:27Um, well, I suppose it depends a little bit
on the situation, but for kind of a general
0:33way to use these two,
when you make YOUR decision; the thing you
0:37would like to order, the thing you plan to
order, you can say,
0:41"I'll go with...blah blah blah."
0:43Or "I will go with (something)."
0:45Remember to use the contracted form.
0:48If you're making a recommendation to someone
else, however, like
0:52you've chosen your item; you know what you
want to order,
0:56but you're recommending someone else something,
you're recommending like, a drink pairing
1:00or a side dish or something,
when you want to make a recommendation to
1:04someone else,
you can say, "I would go with the blah blah
1:11Because when you're saying "I would go with,"
it's like saying,
1:14"if I were you, I would choose this thing."
1:18So it's like, if I were you, I would go with
that thing.
1:22But we don't say "if I were you."
1:24So when you're making a recommendation, you
can say, "I would go with."
1:28When you're talking about your own choice,
you can say "I'll go with."
1:33Okay, let's go to the next question.
1:34Next question comes from Isik Alexander again.
1:37Isik says: Hi Alisha, can I also use "I've
not + p.p. for PPT?"
1:42I think this is past participle; is your "p.p."
and "present perfect tense" maybe is PPT?
1:47Could be past perfect as well.
1:49Let's talk about it assuming it's present
perfect tense.
1:53The answer is you can, but in American English
it sounds too formal.
1:58So I'll give you some examples.
1:59I've not been to France.
2:01He's not eaten his dinner.
2:03They've not visited this week.
2:04Actually, with all of these sentences, there's
not a communication problem happening.
2:08But, uh, they sound too formal for American
English.
2:12Maybe if you ask a British English speaker,
they'll have a different opinion on the way
2:16that these, uh, expressions are used.
2:18But from an American English speaker, it sounds
a little too formal.
2:21It sounds too stiff, it sounds a bit unnatural.
2:23So, you can use them, but I don't necessarily
recommend it.
2:28I hope that helps you a little bit.
2:30Okay, let's go to the next question.
2:31All right, next question comes from Paulo.
2:34Paulo says: Hi Alisha, what is the difference
between "planning to do something" and "planning
2:42For example, "are you planning on helping
John?"
2:46Um, really, there's no difference here.
2:47It's just the speaker's preference.
2:49Let's look at a couple more examples.
2:51Are you planning on going out tonight?
2:53Are you planning to go out tonight?
2:54We're planning on having a surprise party.
2:57We're planning to have a surprise party.
2:59So, you can really use these in the same way.
3:01They're interchangeable.
3:02Don't worry about it!
3:03Thanks for the question.
3:04Let's go to the next question.
3:05Next question comes from Hello Alisha.
3:08Hello Alisha says, uh: Can you tell me the
difference between "make sure" and "ensure"
3:16Also, "certain" and "ascertain"?
3:20Let's start with "make sure" and "ensure"
and "assure."
3:23Make sure and ensure...they both mean "to
make certain of something."
3:28Um, "make sure" sounds more casual than "ensure."
3:32Also, "ensure" is used like in more formal
situations, yes.
3:37So, because it's used in those cases, like
with contracts, or maybe with formal business
3:42letters,
it has the idea of a guarantee.
3:45So there's like some higher level of certainty,
almost.
3:48Like, you're guaranteeing something.
3:50Uh, "make sure" isn't so strong.
3:52It's more like "check" is kind of the feeling
with "make sure."
3:56"Assure," then, the last one in this first
group,
4:00sometimes it can also mean "to make sure of
something," but it has like, the feeling of,
4:05um, like
giving confidence to the listener.
4:08Giving confidence to the reader.
4:10Like, that something is possible or there's
some positive information.
4:14Some, like, um...You want that person to feel
at ease about the situation.
4:19Like, you're making them feel confident about
what's going to happen in the future.
4:25Or it's like you want to remove any questions
or any doubts that someone has about the situation.
4:32We call that "assuring" someone.
4:34So, let's look at some examples here.
4:36I'll be finished with the report tomorrow,
I assure you!
4:39He assured us the car was safe.
4:41They assured us our bags would be brought
to the hotel room.
4:44So, in these cases, you can see that assure
is like you're making someone else feel at
4:50Feel relaxed, feel secure about whatever's
going to happen.
4:53So I hope that helps.
4:55So, let's move along to the second part of
your question; the difference between "certain"
5:01You can hear the pronunciation is quite different.
5:03"Certain" is used as an adjective, which means,
like, it's something that's definite.
5:08It's fixed, it's decided, it's settled.
5:11So, depending on the situation, um, it can
mean one of those kind of similar words.
5:16Like, I'm certain he's coming to the event
tomorrow.
5:20Or, did you make certain that the bank account
was full of money?
5:26Or, I want to make certain that everyone understands
the program?
5:31To "ascertain," however, to ascertain⸺that's
a verb.
5:36Ascertain is a verb which means, like, you
are making something certain.
5:40Like, you are gaining information in order
to feel certain about something.
5:46We ascertained that the problems were the
result of poor communication.
5:50That's data that can easily be ascertained
from a quick web search, for example.
5:55It means like, it's easy for us to find that
information, or to make certain of that information
6:01So, parts of speech are different.
6:03Certain is an adjective.
6:06And "ascertain" means "to do something in
order to be sure of something."
6:11Like, to be fixed, to be settled on something.
6:12So, I hope that helps you understand the difference
between those words a little bit better.
6:17Thanks for the question!
6:18All right, let's go on to the next question.
6:20Next question comes from Mazyar.
6:23Mazyar says: what is the difference in meaning
between these two sentences?
6:28"What did they do to you?" and "What have
they done to you?"
6:33It depends on the situation, in some cases.
6:36Let's look at the first example sentence.
6:38Uh, "what did they do to you?"
6:40Here, we're using simple past tense.
6:42Remember, we use simple past tense for actions
that started and finished in the past.
6:48So, that means that when this person asks
the question, it's like they're asking about
6:53something that's done.
6:56It's not going to continue.
6:57Also, the effects of whatever happened in
the past are, like, we can't see.
7:03They're not visible, like, there's no effect
that we can see now, here, in the present.
7:09So, a situation you can imagine is like someone
went to a doctor and they had a lot of, like,
7:15really crazy tests done.
7:17Um, but there were no effects from the test,
or maybe they had a lot of treatments, but
7:21there were no effects from the treatment,
and the speaker wants to ask, like, "what
7:26Like, I'm so curious; what happened?
7:30There seems to be no effect in the present,
uh, but I want to know about what happened
7:36In the second example sentence, however, "what
have they done to you,"
7:40there we're using the present perfect tense.
7:42What have they done to you?
7:43Which means that there's something that happened
in the past and maybe is continuing to the
7:48present, or the effects of that action from
the past are continuing to the present.
7:54So again, imagine if you go to like a crazy
doctor or like a crazy hospital, or something,
8:00and there's all these mistakes.
8:01And your body gets injured.
8:02Like, your face gets, I don't know, messed
up.
8:05There's something terrible that happened to
your body.
8:09People might ask: what have they done to you?
8:14Like, in other words, we see something happened
in the past, and we see the effects of that
8:21So that's why people might use the present
perfect tense here.
8:24Because the effects of something that happened
in the past are still visible; are still continuing
8:30Keep in mind: in that situation, also, you
might hear speakers say,
8:33"what did they do to you?"
8:35It would NOT necessarily be incorrect.
8:38They are asking about something that happened
in the past, like a specific action that happened
8:44So using simple past tense to ask that question
is not necessarily in correct.
8:48"What did they do to you" is okay to ask.
8:51However, if back in situation one, where there
are no effects from some kind of crazy medical
8:57treatment, in that case, if you ask,
"what have they done to you," it doesn't make
9:03It seems unnatural because there are no effects,
there seems to be no problem.
9:07So just keep this in mind.
9:08So, I hope that helps you.
9:10Thanks for an interesting question.
9:12Okay, let's go on to the next question.
9:13The next question comes from Débora Carvalho.
9:16Débora says: Hi Alisha, could you help me?
9:19Which one is correct: "different than," or
"different from"?
9:23Aha, yeah, you hear both of these in American
English, actually.
9:27I think American English speakers use "different
from" more often.
9:31Um, you might also hear "different to" as
well, though I understand that is used more
9:36Um, I think "different than" might also be
used more in British English.
9:41In general, everyday speech, we use "different
from" most commonly in American English.
9:46Thanks for the question!
9:47Let's go to the next question.
9:48Next question comes from Milin Patel.
9:51Uh, Milin says: What does "nailed it" mean?
9:53Aha, yeah, nailed it.
9:55Yeah, see episode 26 of this series for some
information on "nailed it" and a comparison
10:01to "damn it," a similar word.
10:04To review: "Nailed it" is a casual expression
that means you did something perfectly.
10:09Thanks for the question!
10:10All right, let's go on to the next question.
10:12Next question, um, next question comes from
Khushi.
10:15Khushi says: Hi Alisha, in one of your videos
you said that you've learned Japanese.
10:20I'm learning Japanese too.
10:21Any tips to learn a new language fast?
10:24Um, well, "fast" is sort of a matter of opinion.
10:27Um, I don't think learning a language is going
to happen in one day, or even a month, perhaps.
10:35But, in general, to improve the speed at which
you learn, here are a few things that helped
10:41me and that might help you.
10:44Try living in the country where they speak
the target language.
10:47Watch media in the language you're learning.
10:50Actively, not passively.
10:52Read things in the language you're studying.
10:54Write and speak in the language as much as
possible.
10:56So, those are just a few ideas for things
that you can do.
10:59Yeah, it's an every day thing.
11:01And "fast" means different things for different
people.
11:04So, I think it's up to you and to your studies
and to how much attention and time you devote
11:11to reviewing materials and really working
hard to understand the things available to
11:18Also, challenge yourself, too.
11:19Like, once you learn something, you have to
push on to the next level.
11:22Like, you can't always just do the thing that's
easy for you.
11:25You have to be willing to challenge yourself
and try new things.
11:28So, once you learn, like, um, how to...I don't
know, order food from a restaurant,
11:32you need to think about the next thing that
you need to be able to do in that language.
11:36So, keep trying to push yourself too.
11:38That can help you avoid that intermediate
plateau.
11:41Okay, so I hope that those tips helped you.
11:43Um, just a few ideas quickly, off the top
of my head.
11:47Anyway, those are all the questions that I
have for this week; thank you, as always,
11:51for sending your questions.
11:52Remember, you can send your questions to me
at englishclass101.com/ask-alisha.
11:58Make sure to send them here, not on YouTube
or Facebook, because I can't collect them
12:02So please send all of your questions here,
and thank you for such interesting questions
12:07I really, really appreciate it.
12:08Of course, as always, don't forget to give
this video a thumbs up, subscribe to our channel,
12:12and check us out at EnglishClass101.com for
some other things that can help you in your
12:18Thanks very much for watching this week's
episode of Ask Alisha, and I will see you
12:22again next week. Bye bye!
