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Today I have a rather long entry for you about the difference between two very similar terms: “will” and “going to”. In many cases, English speakers use either of these to express the future. However, there is a slight difference in nuance. The term “going to” gives the listener the idea that someone has made the decision to do something after giving it careful thought. The word “will” is used when we are a little uncertain or when there’s no time to think carefully about doing something in the future. For example:

This weekend my friend and I are going to see the U2 concert. We’ve been planning it for weeks.

I‘m going to go on a business trip next week. My boss told me about it a few days ago.

My sister is probably going to have her baby next week. She’s very excited.

In the first example, we use “going to” because the friends have already made the decision to see the concert. In the second example, we use it because the person has been aware of the business trip for a while, so it’s now an established plan. In the third example, we use it because we know that the sister will have the baby soon, and it’s expected. However, we could also use say, “My sister will probably have her baby next week.” because it’s uncertain about the timing, and the people can’t make a decision about when the baby will be born. So, in this case, both “will” and “going to” are fine.

Here are some more examples of how to use “will”:

I think I’ll go to the beach to relax this weekend.

A: The phone is ringing.

B: Don’t get up. I’ll answer it.

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A: I need someone to write the report for the ABC project.

B: I’ll do it.

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A: Are you ready to order?

B: Yes. I’ll have a sirloin steak and a baked potato please.

In the first example, we use “will” because of the word “think”. This shows the person is not completely certain, so a firm decision has not been made. Once the decision is made, the person would say, “I’m going to go to the beach to relax this weekend”. In the second example, the phone suddenly rings and there is no time for the person to think about whether or not to answer it. In these types of situations, we always use “will”. The third example is similar. The person has no time to think about volunteering, so he uses “will”. However, after this the person would say, “I’m going to write the report for the ABC project.” because the decision has been made firmly. In the last example, when we are ordering a meal from a waiter or waitress in a restaurant, we always use “will have”. This is a standard expression for ordering food. However, when we are buying something in a store, we use “will take” to talk about buying something. For example:

A: How may I help you?

B:I’ll take these two rings and this necklace please.

If we use “going to have” or “going to take” in a restaurant or store, it will sound strange. So we use “will have” and “will take” when we are talking to the staff member who works in that place. However, when we are talking to a friend or family member, we use “going to have” or “going to take”. For example:

A: Have you decided what you want for dinner?

B: Yes, I’m going to have a sirloin steak and a baked potato. Let’s call the waiter over.

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A: Are you going to buy some jewelry?

B: Yes. I’m going to take these two rings and this necklace.

So, these are the basic differences between “will” and “going to”. It’s very complicated, so my advise, as always, is to memorize complete sentences and change the small details in order to create new sentences. In this way, you’ll start to understand when it’s appropriate to use “will” and when it’s appropriate to use “going to”. Good luck!

In my classes, many times I have had to explain the difference between “recently” and “these days”, so that will be the subject for today’s blog entry.

The word “recently” is used to focus on the present moment and the recent past, but it does NOT focus on the future at all. The term “these days” is used to focus on the recent past, the present moment AND the near future. For example:

Recently, I’ve been working a lot of overtime at work.

I’ve recently found a fantasic new Italian restaurant downtown. We should go there sometime.

Recently, I saw the movie Star Wars for the first time. It was really good.

These days, I’m working a lot of overtime.

I don’t drink much beer these days. I’m trying to lose weight.

I’m studying English very hard these days. I want to get a high score on the TOEIC test.

So, because the word “recently” doesn’t focus on the future at all, it uses different verb tenses from “these days”. The word “recently” will use the present perfect (have + pp), the present perfect continuous (have been + ing form of a verb) or the simple past tense. On the other hand, “these days” will use the present continuous (be + ing form of a verb) or the simple present.

Last week, I went over the difference between “see”, “look at” and “watch”. Today, I want to go over the difference between “hear” and “look at” which is closely related to the post last week. The word “hear” means that we physically pick up sounds with our ears, but we are not focusing on those sounds. In this way, “hear” is similar to the word “see”. The term “listen to” means that we are focusing on those sounds. In this way, “listen to” is similar to “look at”. Here are some examples:

Didn’t you hear the phone ring? I’ve been trying to call you all day.

Can you hear that? It sounds like a baby crying.

I could hear a strange sound coming from my neighbor’s apartment last night. I wonder what he was doing.

On the weekend, I listened to music. I especially like to listen to old time rock and roll.

You have to listen to this joke! It’s so funny!

The doctor listened to my heartbeat and told me he thinks I have a problem with my heart.

The term “listen to” also has another meaning. It can also mean to pay attention to what someone says to you and to do what they say. For example:

I didn’t listen to my parents when they said I should go to university, and now I really regret that.

If you listen to what Frank has to say, you’ll be very successful at this company. He’s been here for a long time.

Listen to me! If you don’t stop smoking, you’re going to have a lot of health problems in the future!

So, that is how we use these words in English. I hope everyone has a great week!

Today I want to write about another confusion for many non-native English speakers: the difference between “see”, “look at” and “watch”.  Basically, the word “see” means that we can perceive something visually with our eyes; the term “look at” means that are focusing on something with our eyes; the word “watch” also means we are focusing on something but that it is moving, and we are following the movement with our eyes. Here are some example sentences:

I can see the sign for a Chinese restaurant down the street. Let’s have lunch there.

You were supposed to stop the car. Didn’t you see the stop sign?

I saw a really nice coat in the window of ABC department store. I want to buy it.

You should come and look at this picture. It’s really nice.

Don’t look at my face! I have a lot of pimples right now!

Just look at this room! It’s so dirty! We have to clean it up.

I watched a DVD with my friend last night.

I like to sit by the window at this cafe and watch people walking around outside.

My science teacher asked us to watch an experiment he was performing.

However, the verb “see” has a few other meanings which some people don’t realize. Here are some of them:

1. to date someone. For example:

I’m seeing someone now. We’ve been dating for six months.

2. to have a meeting with someone you already know. For example:

I saw my best friend last night. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant.

3. to find out some information that you don’t have. For example:

I don’t know when the delivery date is. I’ll go and see if my boss knows.

4. to watch a public performance. For example:

My friend and I saw a movie last night. We went to the new movie theater downtown. It was really nice!

So, if we watch a play or a movie in a theater, we use “see”, but if we watch a movie at home on TV or DVD, we use “watch”.

Recently one of my readers sent me an email asking about the difference between “will” and “would”, so that’s what I’d like to write about today. When we use “will”, it indicates an intention to do something in a situation that is really possible or likely to happen. However, when we use “would”, it indicates an intention to do something in a situation that is only in our imagination or that is very unlikely to happen. For example:

If the weather is nice tomorrow, I will go to the beach.

If it wasn’t raining right now, I would go to the beach.

If I win some money at the casino, I will buy a new stereo.

If I won the lottery, I would buy a new car.

If I get sick this winter, I will go see a doctor.

If I were sick now, I would go see a doctor.

If I get a car this year, I will drive to my hometown.

If I had a car, I would drive to my hometown.

So, as you can see, the pattern with “will” is:

if + present tense verb + will

And the pattern with “would” is:

if + past tense verb + would

It’s important to note that when we use the past tense with “would”, we are NOT talking about the past. We use the past tense only because the grammar demands it.

Many of my students get confused about how to use the words “so” and “such” correctly. Sometimes they say things like, “My friend is so nice guy.” or “It is such hot today.” These sentences are completely wrong in terms of grammar.

When we use the word “so”, it is followed by an adjective. When we use the word “such”, it is followed the article “a” or “an”, then by an adjective and finally, by a noun. Sometimes there is no adjective in the sentence at all. For example:

My friend is so nice.

My friend is such a nice guy.

My friend is such a gentleman.

It’s so hot today.

It’s such a hot day today.

It’s such a scorcher today.

Harriet is so intelligent.

Harriet is such an intelligent woman.

Harriet is such a genius.

In case you’re wondering, the word “scorcher” in the sixth sentence is a casual word that refers to a very hot day. The word “scorch” has a similar meaning to the word “burn”.

It’s important to note that when we use “such”, we only use “a” or “an” in the sentence if the noun is countable. If the noun is uncountable, we must drop the article. For example:

This is such good wine. Where did you get it?

My guidebook gave me such useful information.

We had such beautiful weather during our vacation.

It’s also possible to use “so” with an adverb. For example:

My sister dances so well.

The construction job was done so badly.

Please note that we cannot use “such” with adverbs.

In English, there is a difference between “believe” and “trust” which confuses many people. The word “believe” means that we believe someone’s statement, but the word “trust” means that we believe a person is honest and reliable in general. For example:

Yvonne said she didn’t steal my money, and I believe her. She’s never lied to me before.

I don’t believe the promises that politicians make. They almost always break them after they get elected.

I really trust Peter. He’s always does what he says he’s going to do.

If I were you, I wouldn’t trust Rachel with your boyfriend. Apparently, she has stolen her friends’ boyfriends before.

We can also say “believe in” followed by some kind of spiritual or religious phenomenon such as “God”, “ghosts”, “reincarnation”, etc. However, in these cases, we can’t say “trust in”.

When can sometimes say “trust in” but this just a more formal way to say “trust”.

There is a common misunderstanding among my students between the expressions “so far” and “until now” because these two expressions are very similar in their language. So I would like to clear up this misunderstanding in my blog today.

The expression “so far” is used when we’re in the middle of a particular situation. In other words, the situation has started, but it is NOT over yet. We use “so far” when talking about the sitatuion from the beginning of that situation until the present moment. The future is something the person doesn’t know about because it hasn’t happened yet. Here is a timeline to help you understand:

start______________________now_________________________end

—————so far—————->/—————unknown—————/

For example, if the situation is the weekend, the start is Friday night and the end is Sunday night. Let’s say that now it is Saturday night. A conversation would be like this:

A: How is your weekend so far?

B: It’s really good so far.

If it is Sunday night, the conversation would be like this:

A: How was your weekend?

B: It  was really good.

Now let’s say the sitation is a work project. The start is the beginning of the project and the end is when you finish the project. Right now you have completed 40% of the project. At that point, a conversation might be like this:

A: What have you done so far with your project?

B: So far, I’ve completed writing the report and making a list of potential customers.

Let’s say the situation is a presentation that you’re doing, and you’re in the middle of the presentation. At that point you would ask:

Does anyone have any questions so far?

If you’ve finished the presentation, you would ask:

Does anyone have any questions?

So, that is “so far”. The expression “until now” is a little different because it is used to indicate that the situation has changed. For example, look at the following two sentences:

I’m happy with my new job so far.

I was happy with my new job until now.

The first sentence means that that person continues to be happy with the job but doesn’t know about the future. The second sentence means that something has happened and that he or she is no longer happy with the job; the situation has changed. Here are some more examples using “until now”:

We didn’t have any problems with the project until now. (Now we have a problem.)

I really enjoyed that TV show until now. (Now I don’t enjoy the show anymore.)

My neighbors were really loud at night until now. (Now they are quiet.)

Please take note that when we use “until now”, we use the past tense, but we DON’T use the past tense with “so far”.

Many students say things like, “I stayed in my apartment during three days.” This is wrong. The person should say, “I stayed in my apartment for three days.” So today, I would like to go over the difference between “for” and “during”.

The word “for” is followed by the word “a” or “an” or by a number; and then it is followed by a time noun (year, month, day, hour, minute, etc). However, the word “during” is followed directly by a regular noun. For example:

I’ve been working on this project for six months.

I did training for my job for a week.

The movie lasted for two and a half hours.

I fell asleep during the movie.

I got a sunburn during my vacation.

I didn’t see anyone during the weekend.

So, as you can see, with “during”, the word “the” or a possessive pronoun like “my” or “your” is usually placed between “during” and the regular noun. If we’re talking about public holidays, then we DON’T use “the”. For example:

What are you going to do during Christmas?

Many of my students mix up the words “popular” and “common”.  The difference between them is very important for effective communication. The word “popular” is used to describe things or people that many people like, but “common” is used to describe things that happen a lot. When something is common, maybe people like it, but maybe they don’t. For example:

Johnny Depp is one of the most popular actors in Hollywood right now.

Going to look at cherry blossoms in April is extremely popular in Japan.

Toy race cars are very popular with young boys, but they’re not so popular with young girls.

Working overtime is very common in Japan.

When Japanese people travel, it’s common for them to buy many souvenirs for their family and friends.

Heart problems are common among people who are 65 years old or over.

It’s important that you don’t confuse these two words. If you say something like heart problems is popular, it will sound very strange because that would mean that many people like to have heart problems which is obviously not true.