Ron's ESL Blogs

Expert Teacher, Sidhartha Desai, answers your questions on English and English Learning. If you would like to submit your questions for publication, Click Here. (Questions may be edited)

Question:

What is the difference between be and do?

Alyson, China

Answer:

The verb to be describes something about what you are, or who you are. For example, John is happy, or Sally is a dentist. To be does not describe an action you are doing.

So, when we write that John is happy, we don’t know what actions he is doing. We know in general about his being; he is a happy person. The same is true about the sentence: Sally is a dentist. In this case, the verb to be is put in front of a profession. It shows what kind of job someone has, but doesn’t tell us what actions they do.

The verb to do tells us about some actions someone is doing.

Think of this: John is happy. As a result of his happiness, he jumps up and down and dances.

Happiness describes John’s inner being; how he feels deep inside. Dancing and jumping up and down describe the actions that John does because of who he is.

- Sidhartha Desai, www.ExpertEnglishTeacher.com

Question:

I have a question about the word chili in the following sentence: Then he added some bits of hot green chili, and then put the top piece of toast onto the chili bits.

Lucy, USA

Answer:

This is a delicious question!

A hot green chili (also known as a chili pepper) is a vegetable that is commonly used as a hot spice to add flavour to food. Chili bits would be small pieces of chili peppers. They are usually found in Indian, Mexican, Thai, and even Chinese food. They are an excellent source of vitamin C; however, if you are not used to eating spicy food, be careful. Some chilies can make you feel like your mouth is on fire. But, once you get used to it, you will love it.

- Sidhartha Desai, www.ExpertEnglishTeacher.com

Question:

Which is better: More reading or more listening?

Ali Baba Ali, Malaysia

Answer:

Well, the real answer to this question is: Both are equally important. But, I know that’s not the answer you want to hear.

If you have to choose only one to focus on, it depends on your specific situation and needs. If you feel that your reading skills are weaker than your listening skills, then practice more reading. If your listening skills are weaker than your reading skills, then practice more listening.

It can also depend on the type of job you have. I have many students who have jobs where they have to speak to people in North America on the telephone. They just want to practice listening and speaking in English, so they can communicate better on the telephone. In their cases, reading and writing are not as important.

So, think about your situation and needs. What do you need English for? Is it for talking to friends? Is it for a job? Is it to pass a test? Then think about which needs more practice: reading or listening.

Also, whenever possible, try listening to podcasts that have reading scripts; then you can practice both.

- Sidhartha Desai, www.ExpertEnglishTeacher.com

Expert Teacher, Sidhartha Desai, answers your questions on English and English Learning. If you would like to submit your questions for publication, Click Here. (Questions may be edited)

Question:

I have some trouble with my listening; how can I improve it? I do some listening training every day, but the effect is not notable. Thank you.

L. Feng, China

Answer:

Thanks for your question and I’m sure many other people have the same problem.

Here are my suggestions to improve your listening:

1.       Make sure you are listening to the right level of English. If the listening material is too advanced (this means if you don’t understand about 75% of what they are saying) it won’t help you very much. The same is true if the listening material is too easy. Make sure you understand the listening material, but it also challenges you to improve your vocabulary and listening skills.

2.       Try and find listening exercises that include comprehension questions, and also a script of the listening passage. If you have to answer listening comprehension questions, then you will know how well you understand the passage. Plus, after you listen to the listening passage the first time, you can listen again with the script. This will allow you to improve your vocabulary and sentence structure as well.

3.       Try reading out the script of the listening section after you hear the recording. Speaking and listening are quite connected. When you practice your speaking, you often improve your listening.

4.       Be patient, don’t give up, and keep practicing. I’m sure you are working very hard, and sometimes it is hard to notice progress.

- Sidhartha Desai, www.ExpertEnglishTeacher.com

Question:

Can you help me with the following question:

The city has a major problem with traffic jams and the elephants are making things _________ worse.

a.       Totally

b.      Absolutely

c.       Utterly

d.      Considerably

(The correct answer is utterly – why?)

I. Lannes, Brazil

Answer:

This is a great question. It’s the kind of question I get asked all the time in my online classes, here in Toronto.

Let’s examine why totally, absolutely, and considerably are incorrect, while utterly is the correct answer in this case.

1. Considerably is not a synonym for utterly; considerably has a weaker meaning than utterly. Considerably means much, or a lot. It is grammatically correct to say: …the elephants are making things considerably worse. However, it is not strong enough for this sentence. If we say the elephants are making the traffic jam considerably worse, it sounds like an inconvenience, but not something extraordinary, like elephants in the middle of a traffic jam.

2. Totally and Absolutely are both synonyms for Utterly. However, in English, there are certain words that are used together that sound more natural. This is called co-location. Certain words sound natural together and certain words do not sound natural together.

In this case, the correct co-location is utterly worse. This is a more advanced idea than just learning vocabulary. Now, you have to be aware of what combinations of words are correct and incorrect. The way to develop this skill is to keep practicing your reading and listening of English websites, newspapers, and magazines. Also, keep practicing your writing and make sure your teacher corrects your phrases, which sound unnatural.

- Sidhartha Desai, www.ExpertEnglishTeacher.com