Choose, chose, choice

Knowing the correct use of choose, chose, and choice is a common confusion English learners have. 

Choose - (verb) to make a choice or selection
Chose -  (verb) the past tense of choose.
Choice - (noun) the act of choosing; a selection

- Davide couldn’t choose whether to attend Harvard or Yale University. - verb

- Edoardo chose to buy a home in the countryside because he loves nature. - verb, past tense of choose

- Lisa made an excellent choice by buying an electric car. - noun

The problem may be that chose and choice sound very similar, though chose is the past verb and choice is a thing, a noun. 

- In chose, the “s” is pronounced like a “z”; Click here for the correct pronunciation of chose. 

- Choice is a little different. Click here for the correction pronunciation of choice. 

The key to getting it right is memorization, so try your best and you’ll always make the correct choice. 

Keep = continue

In everyday conversations, there are some words that are convenient and used all the time. Keep is one of those words. We say it when we want someone to continue an action. The simple past and past participle is “kept”.

When I have English conversations I often say “keep talking” to encourage people to share and explain more. Say it for any activity you want to extend or prolong: keep going, keep eating, keep working, etc.

More examples:

- I can’t hear the film because those people keep talking.
- To keep losing weight, Steven maintains a healthy diet combined with daily exercise.
- Harvey kept speeding and eventually lost his driver’s license.
- Someone keeps calling but never leaves a message.

Do you think you can work “keep” into your conversations?

*** The word “keep” has many other definitions but my focus for this post is its use as “continue”.

Listen To

Listen is a common intransitive verb but, from many other languages, it often translates to listen to in English. Listen + to are frequently used together.

It has Germanic origin, meaning pay attention to, so when you're listening to a sound, you are giving your attention to it.

What kind of music do you listen to?
Ryan never listens to his dentist and now his teeth are falling out.
If you listen to Nat's advice, you won't have any problems.
Carlo didn't listen to me when I told him not to drink the acid.

You must use a prepositional phrase headed by to, as in “listen to something”, in order to specify the thing being heard.

How many people are in a group?

When talking about a group of people, express the quantity by using there are (or there were for the past tense).

It seems obvious, but many languages literally translate this incorrectly. For example, I often hear "we are in five" when it should be "there are five of us".





If you are part of the group, of us will explain that.
If you are talking about other people or other things, of them is used to indicate that.

Incorrect: They were in two.
Correct: There were two of them.

So when you talk about group experiences, be aware of the correct usage and try to practice in any situation: There are three of us in the elevator. There are ten of us in the office. There were four of them in the car.

Embarrassment prevention: fun or funny?

Speaking spontaneously is the ultimate goal when learning a new language. You’ve abandoned bad habits like thinking in your mother tongue and have mastered the idiomatic words and phrases that can be rather difficult to use appropriately. In my quest to spare you from as many embarrassing mistakes as possible, let me clarify another English language trap concerning the use of fun and funny.

When I have conversations with English learners we often exchange stories. A good adventure or positive experience regularly results in someone telling me that what they did was really funny (something that makes you laugh). I, of course, take that literally thinking that something was comical until I realize what they meant to say was their experience was fun (entertaining; enjoyable).

Fun is usually used to talk about things that you do or experience:
The birthday party last night was a lot of fun. (the things I did at the party)
Playing in a band is fun. (the action of playing in a band)
We had fun last weekend. (the things I did over the weekend)

Funny is usually used to talk about things that you see or hear:
The story he told me was very funny. (I heard it.)
The movie was really funny. (I saw it.)
My best friend is funny. (I hear and see her often.)


Who is the funniest person you know? Why are they funny?

Listen to or Hear

I like English lessons that are simple but with high impact for the speaker and today I offer one of those.
There is a common confusion among English learners regarding the use of hear and listen to. They seem synonymous but the difference is your involvement.

Hear is inactive; you do this without thinking.
Example: Paola can't sleep when she hears her husband snore.

Conversely, listen to is active; you give your attention to a sound.
Example: I often listen to the radio when I’m cooking.

What things do you actively listen to?

Everyday words that we use every day

Did you think I made a mistake in the title when I wrote everyday as one word and then as two separate words? I didn’t. Everyday and every day are used in two different but simple ways in English, and knowing the difference makes you a better and well informed speaker. So, what’s the distinction?

Well, everyday means ordinary, commonplace, daily and it’s an adjective, so you might use this to tell someone about what you do that’s ordinary, such as everyday chores around the house, or that you wear everyday clothes on the weekend but a suit for work. We like to take exotic vacations to escape from everyday life. Ordinary, common, regular, normal. Every day, written separately, simply means each day or daily. Every is an adjective and day is a noun.

Every day Elisa writes in her journal.

Mattia plans on going to school every day except Friday.

Marina loves pickles and eats them every day.

Alex wears a suit to work every day but on the weekends he wears everyday clothes.

Pardon me?

When learning a language, listening can be just as challenging as speaking because it often seems like native speakers talk too fast, doesn’t it? I’m always trying to improve my skills in Italian and Spanish and, when conversing, I usually think, “What did they just say???”

Of course it’s normal to ask someone to repeat something but politeness is important. It's best not to simply say, “What?” on its own. It can sound rather harsh, blunt, and informal. Here are some suggestions to ask for repetition:

Could you repeat that, please?

Pardon me? I beg your pardon? Pardon?

Would you mind repeating that?

Excuse me?

(I’m) sorry?

Sorry, what did you say? What was that again?

Sorry, could you say that again please?

Sorry, could you repeat it more slowly?

Sorry, would you mind speaking a bit slower?

I’m sorry, I couldn’t/didn’t hear (what you said).

Sorry, did you say…?

I didn’t quite catch that.

Did you catch that?

Say Something

Say or Tell. Which one do you use? The title has a clue.

Say and tell can be confusing for an English learner. In my English conversations with Italian students, I hear this everyday: He said me; I said her; She said him; I said you. It’s incorrect. You always say something (to someone) or you tell someone something: He told me; I told her; She told him; I told you.

Claudio told Paolo about a karaoke bar.

He said that he loves karaoke.

Paolo said, “I’m a terrible singer, but I sing better after a couple of beers.”

Claudio told Paolo to meet him at 10 o’clock.

He said that the cover charge is free if you arrive by 10 o'clock.

Paolo told Claudio that he will drive in his father's new, luxurious, shiny, deluxe Ferrari convertible sports car.

Paolo said, “He is working out of town and, besides, it will impress the ladies. ”

“O.K,” Claudio said, “let’s go!”

So if you think you want to use “She said him to meet her at the karaoke bar”, you really want to use this:

• She told him to meet her at the karaoke bar (she told someone something). OR
• She said to him, “Meet me at the karaoke bar.” (direct quote: she said something to someone). OR
• She said that she’ll meet him at the karaoke bar (reported speech: she said something). OR
• She told him that she’ll meet him at the karaoke bar (reported speech: she told him something)

Say Something (To Someone) OR Tell Someone Something.

What can you say about that?