English Help Online's Blog

Today, I’d like to go over a pair of words which causes confusion for many of my students: “satisfied” and “pleased”. The word “satisfied” means that someone is content with something, but feels that it could be better. The word “pleased” means that someone is happy with something and probably doesn’t think it could be better. Therefore “pleased” is much more positive than “satisfied”. For example:

I’m satisfied with your work so far, but I think you can do an even better job if you try harder.

My boss told me he’s very pleased with my work on the ABC project. That made me feel really good.

I wouldn’t say I was pleased with the presentation, but I was satisfied with it.

A: I hope my dad was satisfied with the present I bought him for his birthday.

B: He told me he was more than satisfied with it. In fact, he was very pleased.

Many of my students think the word “satisfied” is very positive, so I hope this helps people to understand how to use these two words.

Today, I have a blog entry for you about a common misunderstanding: the difference between “too” and “either”. Basically, it’s very simple: we use both “too” and “either” to say that something is also true for a second person or thing. The difference is that we use “too” for positive statements and we use “either” and “neither” for negative statements. For example:

I like pizza, and my wife does too.

I don’t like carrots, and my husband doesn’t either. 

A: I’ve been to Korea many times.

B: Oh really? I have too. What’s your favorite place in Korea?

_________________________________________________________________

A: I’ve never been to South America.

B: I haven’t either, but I’d really like to go there one day.

_________________________________________________________________

A: I can play the piano.

B: Oh really? Me too!

_________________________________________________________________

A: I can’t cook very well.

B: Me neither.

There is no difference in meaning between “either” and “neither”. We use “either” when there is  another negative word in the sentence such as “not” or “never”. For example:

A: I’ve never tried scuba diving.

B: Oh yeah? I haven’t either.

However, we use “neither” when there is no other negative word in the sentence. For example:

A: I’ve never tried scuba diving.

B: Oh yeah? Neither have I.

So, we can say “Neither have I.” or “I haven’t either.” but we CANNOT say: “I haven’t neither.” because there are two negative words in the sentence.

Today I’d like to write about something that is confusing for many people: the difference between “anyway” and “by the way”. I’d also like to go over two other expressions which have similar functions, but which are a little different.

So, “anyway” is used when we want to change the subject completely, or when we want to bring back the original subject after being interrupted. For example:

A: …so that’s why I didn’t like that movie.

B: Oh I see. I won’t go see it then. Anyway, where do you think we should have dinner tonight?

_________________________________________________________________ 

A: I really don’t think this is a good time to…

B: Excuse me. Could you tell me where the bathroom is?

A: It’s at the end of the hall. Anyway, as I was saying, I don’t think this is a good time to invest in gold.

The expression “by the way” is used when we suddenly remember something that we want to say to someone. For example:

I’m going to the supermarket after work today. Oh, by the way, Harry wants to know if you’re coming over for dinner this weekend.

I watched a really good show on TV last night. Oh, by the way, here’s the DVD you lent me last month. Thanks for letting me borrow it.

The expression “speaking of” is also used when we remember something we want to tell someone, but it is directly linked to something that someone has said before which reminds us of it. For example:

A: I’m really excited about seeing Mark’s new play.

B: Yes, I am too. Speaking of Mark, did you hear that he’s going to get married soon?

_________________________________________________________________

A: Mary just moved into a new apartment!

B: Really? That’s fantastic! Speaking of new apartments, I’m also thinking about finding a new place. I’m tired of my old apartment.

The expression “at any rate” is used to give more details about something that we have mentioned already. For example:

A: I really want to go to Europe this summer.

B: But it’s really expensive. Can you afford it?

A: I’ve been saving my money. I don’t think it’ll be so bad. At any rate, I really want to go, and this will be my last chance before I start my new job.

So this is how we use these expressions. A few people have asked me to explain this, so I hope it is clear to everyone.

A few days ago, I wrote about the difference between “in” and “later”, so today I’d like to write about the difference between “ago” and “before”. As I explained in the previous blog, “in” is used when talking about future times from the present moment and “later” is used when talking about future times from a time which is NOT the present moment.

In the same way, “ago” is used when talking about past times from the present moment and “before” is used when talking about past times from a time which is NOT the present moment. For example:

I’m late for the meeting. It started about ten minutes ago.

I went to Paris for my honeymoon about fifteen years ago. My wife and I would like to go back there again.

A few weeks ago I broke my leg, but it’s starting to get better now.

I went to a Korean restaurant on Thursday even though I had eaten Korean food three days before.

I couldn’t buy the video game I wanted. I got to the store at 6:30, and the clerk told me he had sold the last copy of the game a few minutes before.

Many people I know work at my company. I was hired by them in 2005, and my friend got a job there two years before.

As you can see with the word “before”, it is often used with the past perfect tense (had + pp). You can see this with examples 4 and 5. However, it can also be used with the simple past tense as in example 6. We use the past perfect tense when there is a direct connection between the two ideas, but we use the simple past tense when one event simply follows another event.

Many of my students make mistakes when talking about the future, so I’d like to clear up the difference between the use of  “in” and the use of  “later”.

We use the word “in” when talking about a future event which will happen at a certain time from NOW. For example:

I’m going to go to my hometown in five days.

The new Brad Pitt movie will open in one week.

My package is supposed to be delivered in a few days.

We use the word “later” when talking about an event which happens at a future time from a moment which is NOT now. For example:

I arrived in Tokyo on March 12th, and then I went to Osaka three days later.

I will get home at 6:00, and then my friend will come over about two hours later.

On my way to work, my train suddenly stopped, but it started again about five minutes later.

As you can see with the word “later”, it can be used with both the past and the future tense. We usually state the time or date in these sentences (as in the first two examples), but it’s not always necessary (as in the third example).

Last week, one of my students asked me to explain the difference between “use to” and “be used to”; so that is what I’d like to write about today.

In English, when we say we used to do something, it means that we did something on a regular basis in the past, but that we no longer do it. For example:

When I was a kid, I used to watch cartoons every Saturday morning.

I used to smoke, but I quit about two years ago.

I used to have to get up at 5:00 am but, with my new job, I don’t have to get up until 8:00 a.m.

We can also use the negative form to talk about things we didn’t do in the past but that now we do. For example:

I didn’t use to drink much, but lately I’ve been drinking a lot.

I didn’t use to have to go on business trips, but now I do.

However, when we say we are used to doing something, it means that we have become accustomed to something that we didn’t like or that was difficult for us in the beginning. For example:

When I lived in Korea, eating the spicy food was difficult for me, but I got used to it.

I really hate the crowded trains in Tokyo. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to riding them during rush hour.

A: Getting up early for my new job is really hard for me.

B: Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it eventually.

So, as you can see, “use to” is followed by the base form of a verb, and “be used to” is followed by the -ing form of a verb or by the pronoun “it”. It’s very important in English not to get these two expressions mixed up. I hope that answers my student’s question.

Today I’d like to write about some words that mean the same thing: “but”, “though” and “although”. The difference between them is not the meaning but the grammar. So this is how we use them:

I ate dinner an hour ago, but I’m still hungry.

I ate dinner an hour ago. I’m still hungry though.

Although I ate dinner an hour ago, I’m still hungry.

My friend has studied Spanish for two years, but he can’t speak very well.

My friend has studied Spanish for two years. He can’t speak very well though.

Although my friend has studied Spanish for two years, he can’t speak very well.

So as you can see from these examples, we use “but” in the middle of the sentence. We use “though” at the end of a second sentence, and we use “although” at the beginning of the sentence and put a comma in the middle. There’s no difference in the meaning, but the word “although” is the most formal, the word “but” is the most casual, and the word “though” is in the middle.

Some of my students have asked me what the difference is between “even though” and “even if”, so I’d like to write about that today. The grammatical expression “even though” can be used with various verb tenses and has the same meaning as the word “although”. For example:

Even though I was invited to the party, I didn’t go.

I will work overtime this weekend even though I don’t want to.

Even though my friend isn’t good at singing, he always sings a lot at karaoke.

However, “even if” is usually used to talk about what you will do at a future time despite something which might go against your plan. For example:

Even if my ex-girlfriend is at the party, I’m going to go.

I won’t work overtime this weekend even if my boss asks me to.

Even if my company offers me a promotion, I won’t take it.

Please note that “even if” is usually used with a future situation and that the situation on which the decision is based is only a possiblity. Therefore, with the examples above, it’s only POSSIBLE the ex-girlfriend will be at the party, that the boss will ask the person to work overtime and that the company will offer the person a promotion. These things MIGHT happen, but they’re not certain.

Today I’d like to go over the difference between to “make” someone do something, to “let” someone do something and to “have” someone do something. In English, to “make” someone do something means to force someone to do an action that they really don’t want to do. For example:

When I was young, my parents made me clean my room.

I don’t want to work this weekend, but my boss is making me.

My teacher made me do extra homework because I was late for class.

To “let” someone do something means to allow someone to do something that they want to do. For example:

I let my son go camping with his friends last weekend.

My boss let me go home early yesterday because I was sick.

My teacher let me hand in my essay a day late.

To “have” someone do something means to arrange for someone to do something. It is used when the lower level person CANNOT say no because they work for the higher level person. It can also be used when the request is so simple that nobody would say no. For example:

I’ll have my secretary type up this report, and then I’ll send it to you.

I’ll have Mr. Smith call you back as soon as he can.

A: We don’t have any wine.

B: It’s ok. I’ll call my husband on his cell phone and have him buy some wine before he comes home.

In each of these cases, the person willingly complies with the request to type up the report, to call the other person back, or to buy some wine so we use “have” instead of “make”. Please note that with all of these cases we do NOT use the preposition “to”. Therefore it is WRONG to say:

When I was young, my parents made me to clean my room.

My boss let me to go home early yesterday because I was sick.

I’ll have my secretary to type up this report, and then I’ll send it to you.

I hope this is clear to everyone.

Today, I would like to write about something which is confusing for many people: “should”, “have to” and “had better”. We use “should” when we want to say something is a good idea, but that there is a choice. For example:

I’m not good at playing the piano. I should practice more often.

If you have the hiccups, you should drink a glass of water.

I can’t save much money. I shouldn’t go out for dinner so much.

We use “have to” when we must do something and we DON’T have a choice. For example:

I have to be at work by 9:00 am every morning.

We have to hand in our reports to the teacher on Friday.

I’m sorry, but I can’t have dinner with you on Sunday. I have to help my friend move.

The expression “had better” is commonly misunderstood. It is used when we want to say that we have a choice about doing something, but that if we don’t do it, we are going to have a problem. For example:

My test is in two days. I’d better start studying for it right away. (This means that if I don’t start studying for it right away, I’m going to fail the test.)

The boss is coming! You’d better get back to work! (This means that if you don’t get back to work, the boss will be very angry.)

My boyfriend was late the last time we had a date. He’d better not be late for our date tonight! (This means that if he’s late, she’ll be very angry.)

Sometimes, “have to” can be used as a strong recommendation. For example:

If you ever go the Paris, you have to go to the Louvre museum!

A: I don’t watch “Lost”.

B: Oh really?! It’s an amazing show! You have to start watching it!

In these examples, the person has a choice about going to the Louvre museum or watching the show “Lost”, but the other person is making the recommendation very strongly.