3 Commonly Confused WORD PAIRS in English

Some everyday words are used incorrectly every day. Did that last sentence make any sense to you? Don't worry if it didn't. Even native English speakers sometimes do not know the difference between "maybe" and "may be". In this lesson, you will learn the difference between three word pairs and how to use them correctly every time. Try our quiz at the end to test your knowledge and get extra practice.
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TRANSCRIPT
"To be strong and to have speed is not the same as having power and quickness. These are easily confused." Hi. James from engVid. I'm reading Miyamoto Musashi on strategy. Hiya! Except Mr. Musashi said something rather interesting, and that's today's lesson. Confusing words. You probably heard me talk about speed and strength being confused with power and quickness. We native speakers regularly confuse it, thinking that they are the same things, and there are other words that I know you probably have problems with, and maybe some native speakers as well, and we're going to learn them today. You ready? Let's go to the board.
So. Confused words. Mr. E, Sensei. What do we have? "Everyday, I ain't learned nothing, but may be I should have studied harder!" Okay, I'm putting on an accent and playing. Mr. E is saying: "Every day..." And "ain't" is bad English. We've got a video on that, so go check it out, okay? It talks about when people say it, and then you'll understand my strange accent. Okay? And: "Learned nothing, but I should have studied harder." Well, there are... There's a confused word here and here, and this word is wrong. When we finish the lesson, you'll understand why I say that, and why these confuse people.
The first one we're going to do is "study" versus "learn." What does it mean to study, and what does it mean to learn? It's often been said: "You can study a lot, and learn nothing." Why? Because learning, when you learn something, you gain knowledge by studying, by practicing. You know, you play the piano again, and again, and again, that's practice. You don't look at the keys, ding dong dong, you actually practice it to get it into your body, so to speak. When you study, that's more like reading or trying to memorize things, right? For a test.
So learning, you are going to gain a skill, or you will get knowledge. You will learn something new, something you didn't understand, you will now understand. Okay? There's something you will have. It may not be something you put in your hand, but it's something you put in your head. Okay? And the best thing about it is not only have you put it in your head, you can now take this information and use it to learn new things, or use it to do things. Right? You can study how to make a cake, but when you learn how to make a cake, you have a recipe. Right? And you can use that recipe again and again.
Studying is a little different. Why? Because studying is actually a part of learning. If you look carefully up here, it says: "Studying, practicing, being taught." You know, somebody... Somebody will teach you. You go and you get a teacher. A teacher says: "You're doing this, this, this, and this." You're not reading and memorizing; someone is speaking to you. And even when we talk about learning experience, right? Trust me: if you get hit by a car... I've been hit by a car three times, man. Not fun. Riding a bicycle, boom! You learn: look both ways, and be smart. You didn't have to memorize that. One hit by a car - you will learn, okay? So, that's what learning means.
When you study, we talk about studying being reading, right? Memorizing facts, that means trying to put it in your memory so you don't have to keep thinking about it. But another thing about study which is a little confusing is when you attend school. What do I mean? Well, when you attend school, you go for classes, right? So sometimes you hear people say: "What do you study?" And they're talking about what is the subject, right? Or: "What are your classes? Do you take mathematics?" You say: "I'm studying math, geography, and history this term." Studying, that means memorizing some facts from these and reading about them. Okay? Or: -"What are you studying?" -"The law. I'm going to get a law degree", or: "I'm going to get a medical degree." You cannot learn a medical degree, you study for a medical degree. So when we say "study," we talk about attending school. What school do you go to? What subject, what classes?

[@bastianoperdomo]

He's the best teacher I've ever seen in my entire life and his pronunciation is flawless. He really focuses on people's everyday problems with English, he's not one of the bunch, James is a master. Thank you so much for your work, I've improved a lot! I send you greetings from Venezuela!

[@kabayanhustler]

I studied this video and learned a lot. Every day when I'm feeling lonely, I visit Sir James videos so that maybe I could learn from him. Thank you Mr. James :D

[@newmanny1896]

You are the top notch teacher in the Internet that I had meet! Thx

[@abdullahpilot5537]

Do you think you are the best teacher ? My answer yeah you are the best.

[@Toyahan43]

Every day I learn something new thanks to James.

[@differentconceptforteachin9933]

In one word . There is no teacher like u ....Keep going our teacher we love u all

[@Fanouvvi]

James you are an excellent teacher. I appreciate your gift of teaching you have freely giving away your knowledge to help us learn. God bless you!

[@cecilioviegasoaresfilho998]

In my opinion you the best teacher. Thank you Mr. James

[@someoneontheinternetsequel1538]

Ik its been 3 years but its you're* sorry

[@4drn]

I want to give a HUGE shout out to you James, your classes are awesome! thank you!!

[@deepudrop]

You are the best teacher i have ever seen.

[@fabianologfatec]

Hi James, it's just amazing how you cover "super" intricated subjects with simplicity and objectivity! Thanks a lot!

[@takehikomori4559]

Well, it's important to learn the differences between similar & confusing word pairs. Thanks a lot for sharing a great English lesson.

[@josejn2007]

James, you are an excellent teacher! I salute you!

[@robsonbritofsa]

Maybe the best english teacher at engvid.

[@luzavila5017]

Thank you so much. Every lesson with you are an amazing experience.

[@ChristianMartins042]

Thank you soooo much for what you do and for your time! With videos, it's so much easier!

[@FelipeCM123]

You are genius man! Great lesson, the way you construct the knowledge combining the things are really effective.

[@khiemthongminh]

Thank you so much Teacher James, I'd been confused about these for so long until I saw this video. Please make more videos, because your video complete me ^^

[@babaauwhisky9589]

Your lessons are so cool and easy to understand. Every day I learn new things.... Maybe I should study more your other videos to may be the best of my class. I'll kept trying to make sentences using your lessons and hope not to do mistakes :)

[@nerissagorospe3880]

I learned a lot with James.

[@subashgurung5349]

Great video ,for English learners.Thanks a lot James!

[@Ridvan978]

It's become a everyday routine for me to watch some of your videos and I keep learning lots of stuffs even though I studied English at university. Maybe, one day I can meet you in person to thank you!

[@huswaj]

Every single video of yours is a pleasure to watch and I learn (not study) a lot. Thanks!

[@hannahm.1740]

Hey, I am Hannah from Germany, i want to get better english skills. James already helps me but i think it's better to write and talk with people in a language you want to learn. So my question do you want to help me ? Than you can find me on facebook ( hannah Meder) i really just need someone i can talk with in english. Hope you don't think i am silly, thx a lot Hannah

[@huswaj2569]

Hi Hannah! I would be great to talk since I am learning German and I need a native German speaker to improve my German skills. I looked up your ID on Facebook and there are quite a few Hannah Meders, which one are you?

[@tatoPVH]

MAAAAAN! You are a ROCKSTAR teacher!! You help me so much!

[@husainahmmed9025]

Thanks for this wonderful lesson.

[@joecebu4368]

this is so cool, just now i've come to know the correct usaged of these word. thanks james!

[@asmasalama3701]

I really can't describe how much you helped me to improve my english language! you teached me even the simple details. thank you from the bottom of my heart❤ you are such a great, funny and an awesome teacher😍👌 keep going we all support your usefull videos.

[@sajeenaniyas2745]

U r the best...I sam addicted to all ur videos...I wish I could see u...the best English teacher in this whole world.... By a girl from India,Kerala

[@jera4003]

can you also make a video on when can we use or what is the difference of maybe, possibly, probably, and perhaps. Thanks! Btw I love your videos, it is simple yet I learned a lot.

[@CooCoo212]

Thank you Mr.James for teaching us. Even my English language is not very well, but I can understand you. My problem in English is that I can't understand the ' perfect ' in future or past or present, I suffer from these grammars. Please help me Mr.James.

[@nguyenmanhhung4633]

cygy

[@leduchoang3493]

Thanks a lots James

[@bashirhakimi4579]

Thank you james… great lesson. Keep up the good work.

[@miss1meda]

Perfect as usual. Thanks!

[@phugodness]

your videos are so informative. i like most of them. keep it up! i always support you. you are doing a great job.

[@SHENDELEprod]

I wish James was my teacher in school 😄

[@RenanDuarteHB11]

I dont know how its happen, but all that guy speaks i can comprise :) Thx James

[@WongCH55]

I like your lessions. thanks!

[@ratnamishra6707]

Excellent explanation

[@Che.Castor]

Great class!!!

[@desislavgeorgiev2070]

I appreciate those lessons, they helping me a lot. :)

[@philippebrechbuhler873]

Very interesting lesson...thank you !

[@tanya_happyrich]

hey, James! thank you for your useful and interesting lectures. could you make one about worth & worthy. I'm always confused about their usage. thank you in advance!

[@vavavavava8351]

Very helpful thank you!!!

[@максезер]

James,I'm looking forward to more vids form u,cuz you're fascinating guy!

[@jasonn5810]

That's exactly what I often confused.Thx

[@edsonmelendez2445]

Excellent class as always. :)

[@bijesarka]

Thank you!

[@sharifahmed45]

Hi James, I would like you to do a favour for a millions of students(including me) scattered around the world: To create a playlist for intensive English Grammar,in another word to approach the subject methodically instead of cherry picking.This will help those Anglophile students who eagerly wait your upload on a weekly basis. Thanks again Learn and study differention.

[@hoanglamvo3518]

you've helped me a lot with the critical distinction between "study" and "learn". Genuinely, I had failed to distinguish those words for a fairly long time, maybe since i started studying English=((. Your video is the shit^^

[@SoSo-xh7qm]

it's a grate lesson thank you

[@CarlosLopez-du7ey]

thank. Very heplful lesson.

[@salmaragab2129]

I like your videos a lot and i leaned from you so thank you so much

[@hano2187]

Thanks a lot 💜

[@truebro77]

Great watching you dude! Perfectionist!

[@juliakl8957]

its very useful video ! thanks a lot!

[@HanoufB]

Thank you

[@Gabriel1245100]

Yeah ! The teacher is back ;)

[@rohithlatchannadumpala8811]

Please make a video on vehicles names and when and how to use it.

[@PauloSantosPHDS]

JamesESL English Lessons (engVid) Hello, Mr. James and Mr. E. (I'm your fan James' [tipsy] buddy... hehe). My name is Paulo and I am studying English (and hopefully learning it well). By the way, thank you so much Mr. James for all your hard work - your videos are fantastic. I am from Brazil, so my native language is Portuguese (Brazilians do not speak Spanish as a second language, most of them do not know Spanish at all. Actually, some Brazilians can understand Spanish because it is quite close, but not enough to speak the language). In Portuguese, specially in Brazil, there are two words that got different meanings (in a formal way), but Brazilians used to use them in the same situations. I am talking about the words "estudante" and "aluno." The "estudante" is the person who studies the content of a class (in the classroom or at home or anywhere else): student. The "aluno" is the person that only attend school, but it does not actually mean that that person is studying what he/she is listening to or writing about or watching in the classroom (the mind is far away, only the body remains in the classroom). Some people used to say: "Don't be an "aluno", be a student. When you get home, review your notes." My question is: Do Americans have a word for those people that are only in the classroom (students that do not read or memorize things but only attend school - sometimes for fun)? Brazilians used to translate "estudante" and "aluno" equally to the word "studant." Maybe I could say that better like this: Don't be an observer, be a student. When you get home, review your notes. Don't be a scholar, be a student. When you get home, review your notes. Don't be a schoolchild, be a student. When you get home, review your notes. Don't be a kid, be a student. When you get home, review your notes. However, this video clarified my mind and I started to think that that sentence could be expressed this way too: "Don't be a student, be a learner." (Still not the same thing, but I think it sounds good... hehe) Thank you for your time and patience! I really appreciate it! Regards, ~ Paulo

[@majedalharbi497]

thanks a lot.

[@daklina]

I love your lessons and you dress very nice and smart :P

[@mohamadsh3914]

Thanks alot

[@mrooomz1]

Thank you, you make it easy for me =)

[@marvinsinger7990]

hey, ur videos are very good to learn a bit vocabulary, but can you also teach gramma please

[@mihaelaguzun3344]

Awesome as always 😃😃😃😃😃

[@artooof]

thanks James so much. I like 2 listen to your vides

[@jheneguia]

I like Mr. James' tutorial, every single tutorial of his. However, I noticed that "experiencing" and"auxiliary" were mispelled. ☺️

[@CUNHAEM]

Thank you teacher !! great !!

[@uzeirsantos2061]

Thanks

[@viguega]

brilliant!

[@dimaslimani7707]

very good lesson thaks sir

[@chienluocthanhcongc]

I love this video, good luck for me

[@superiorwisdom1465]

I like your lessons ))

[@a16traceur]

I only got nine of ten correct, but I´ll go on and try to improve my skills constantly . Could you make a video about just and only, because I always confuse myself by using these words. Thank you.

[@ندىمحمود-غ5غ]

wonderful

[@pacomedalin-k3478]

thanks

[@akilijeff9243]

well done my brother

[@sardashtaliart]

amazing...👍

[@ndeshukurwakaaya4385]

Thanks cool/ good 👍

[@irisjimenez9897]

you are the best, awesome :)

[@NachHill]

Hello, What is the differene 'as' and 'like' ?? example: 'as You know' or 'like You know' Amazing clases, thanks You.

[@joserobertoparaiso]

Muito bom. I mean it's very good

[@binyang8583]

teach me IELTS please! James!

[@mustafaintro9491]

Good man

[@MZ11037]

Great 5 star Saber

[@Berikbol87]

i understand the lesson

[@wafi316140]

can you make a lesson about wedding expression, how to congratulate people who have a wedding. also death what to say to people who have someone dead from their family.

[@valenrizki4564]

Nice juan

[@deanhisoyami4985]

Hi teach can I ask you about the last board ? Last night, instead of studying my English notes .... why you didn't say " English's Notes"

[@erojnyoupane8536]

Thats what i was wandering

[@anunkash5185]

haha i use ain't all the time, along with y'all. i'm born and raised southern though, just without an accent.

[@farrokhayrashtrasht2634]

why I cant join to this program that I like it very much

[@laurynasskirgaila5535]

Lithuanian has a lot of "Confusing" Words. That may be why I don't have a lot of problems with these ones :D

[@user-rx1jz5st2c]

good :)

[@Fatretfee]

I have some confuse about this word learned / learnt there is a form of learned in the past tense

[@ABUS3DON]

Excuse me Do you have channel in iTunes? 🌺

[@BalezinD]

Apart from a wonderful lesson, I would say that this style suits you so well. I thought for a moment you had a gun (becasue of the braces)... here you look like Al Copone

[@arnaldofernandes1319]

hi James, how are you? I have a question is it possible study english alone? 'cause I'm studing english alone, I 'm learning more than when I was at the school

[@joecebu4368]

Arnaldo Fernandes use that learning not only at your school but also out side, english is like two way of learning, listening which means learning and second communicate means interact with others by speaking english. yolo :)

[@seriekekomo]

"Every day I go to the school" I think here, "every day" works as an adverb of time which affect to the whole sentence. Am I wrong?

[@TheMocorongoBR]

+seriekekomo I agree with you, I do not understand why he said it's an adjective =/

[@АндрейБобренёв-э5у]

+Ener Gil, Maybe he meant that the word "every" is also an adjective as "everyday" is.

[@leosmi1]

+seriekekomo every day i go to the (different) school? is this correct?

[@seriekekomo]

Leandro de Oliveira Que quer dizer com isso? What is your question?

[@joecebu4368]

seriekekomo your correct, means Every day refer to a days in a week or a group of days that are individual.

[@apurbabauri3878]

Sir, What is the difference between "less" & "lesser"??????