Spoken English

Words we use for words

I am not a linguist (a person who studies languages).

But during my English lessons, my students and I often discuss what “kind” of English they want to learn. Colloquial? Informal? Idiomatic? Slang? Dialect? What do all those terms actually mean?

In this article, I will try to explain what we English teachers mean when we throw these terms around. As I said, I’m not a linguist, so please take my information “with a grain of salt.”

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Register. Basically, linguists use register to define a language’s degree of formality. In academic writing and social situations such as job interviews and committee meetings, people tend to use formal register: higher-level vocabulary words and less slang, with more attention to proper grammar and precise wording. On the other hand, casual or informal register is more conversational, more colloquial, more idiomatic, and more “natural.” In general, English writing is more formal in register, speaking is less so. But for both, there’s still lots of variation between formal and casual register, and English learners need to pay attention to identifying which people and situations require what degree of register.

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Vernacular. This is a broad, rather “catch-all” phrase used to describe “the language of a people or a national language.” The term can also be used as a synonym for colloquial or informal. It includes both spoken and written English.

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Colloquialism. Colloquial. In contrast to formal language, colloquialism (general parlance) is simply the everyday language people use when they are casual, relaxed, and not trying to impress people. This general term includes slang, abbreviations (like LOL), and idioms. When English learners want to sound “real,” native-like, and authentic, they want to learn this kind of English. Colloquialism is more common in spoken English, although written texts that try to replicate human speech often use colloquial expressions. Colloquial language can generally be understood by people of different ages and socioeconomic classes in a broad geographical area, but some expressions are more limited.

For example, many Americans, when they tell someone that they’re going out for a drink with a friend, might say, “We’re gonna go grab a …” “Gonna” is a widely used colloquialism for “going to.” Your English textbook may tell you that Americans say, “I am going to walk to the store.” In fact, nine times out of ten, you will hear them say, “I’m gonna walk to the store.’  And although “to grab” generally means to catch or seize something, Americans will understand that this simply means to go get something right away, and relatively quickly. However, in different regions, the name for that drink may vary. For example, in the Northeast, people usually say a “soda,” in the South, a “Coke” (even when the drink is a different brand), and in the Midwest, a “pop.” So, there are colloquialisms that are more generally used throughout the US, and others that are more regional.

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Idiom. Idiomatic. I have already written two articles on idioms so I won’t repeat myself too much here; my general definition is:

  • They are a group (or pair) of words in a specific order that doesn’t change. The speaker will include the idiom as one fixed “chunk” of language into their speech or text.
  • Their meaning is different from the individual words that form the phrase. In other words, you won’t be able to figure out the meaning of the idiom from the meaning of the individual words.
  • They are usually specific to a certain language and can’t be translated word-by-word to another language.

While colloquialisms include any informal, everyday expressions, idioms are limited to those phrases that are both fixed and figurative. Most idioms are colloquial; we wouldn’t use them in formal speech, but not all colloquial language is idiomatic

Remember … fixed and figurative. The word order will generally stay the same, and a literal (word-for-word) meaning won’t help you catch the meaning, although it can result in some funny images. If your children are “glued to the TV set,” they aren’t (fortunately!) literally and physically attached to the screen. If you take my advice with “a grain of salt,” you aren’t going to be eating salt … you’re just going to be a little skeptical. If you’re “beating a dead horse,” you’re not committing animal cruelty … you’re simply wasting your time on something that’s already over and done with.

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Slang. Slang is casual spoken language that’s very informal. While colloquialisms can be understood by most Americans, slang is specific to a particular group, age, region, or profession. Slang can become a group identity … so that if you know the slang, you “belong” to the group; if not, you’re an outsider. Slang generally goes in and out of fashion. Words like groovy and sweet (to describe something pleasing) now seem very outdated. Some slang expressions are perfectly acceptable in any conversation (cool or brilliant or yikes). Others are more vulgar (offensive and rude) and should be used with caution! Urban Dictionary is a wonderful resource for learning American slang (but it’s definitely X-rated, so readers beware!).

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Jargon. Jargon is a language that’s specific to a particular activity or profession. Lawyers use legal jargon (appeal, motion, bench); golfers use golf jargon (birdie, boogey, par).

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Dialect. Dialect is a particular form of a language spoken by a certain group of people, such as southern English, Black English, even standard English. When it’s in the form of writing that shows the accent and way people talk in a particular region, dialect can be a huge obstacle for readers of English literature. Here are some examples:

Dialect in Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain):

Jim (a Black man in what the author describes as “Missouri negro dialect”): I didn’ know dey was so many un um. I hain’t hearn ‘bout non un um, skasely, but old Sollermun, onless you counts dem kings dat’s in a pack er k’yards. How much do a king git?

In Standard American English: I didn’t know there were so many of them. I have scarcely heard of any of them, except old Solomon, unless you count the kings that are in a pack of cards. How much does a king earn?

Dialect in The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett):

Dickon (a country boy in Yorkshire, England): It’s rare good for thee. There’s naught as nice as th’ smell o’ fresh growin’ things when th’ rain falls on ‘em. I get out on th’ moor many a day when it’s rainin’ an’ I lie under a bush an’ listen to th’ soft swish o’ drops on th’ heather an’ I just sniff an’ sniff … I never ketched cold since I was born. I wasn’t brought up nesh enough.

In Standard American English: It’s really good for you. There’s nothing as nice as the smell of freshly growing things when the rain falls on them. I get out on the moor many days when it’s raining and lie under a bush and listen to the soft swish of drops on the heather and I just sniff and sniff … I’ve never caught a cold since I was born. I wasn’t brought up nicely enough.

Although literature written in dialect closely mirrors the speech patterns of the characters and thus makes them sound more genuine, it can be exceedingly difficult for even native English speakers to read. In the same way, a movie in which actors speak dialect can be almost inaccessible. If this happens to you, try not to feel frustrated! Many American high schoolers have given up (or wanted to) on Huckleberry Finn, even though it’s considered a classic in American literature.

 

Two languages

This may be a discouraging thought but the fact is, when you learn English (or most other languages), you’re dealing with not one but two languages … spoken English and written English.

In his lectures on the history of human language, Professor John McWhorter points out a couple of striking differences between spoken and written English:

  • Spoken English uses a much more limited vocabulary than written English. First, there are the “big” words that you are likely to encounter only in written English, and often in more formal or academic writing. Even native English speakers may have to look these up in a dictionary: words like adumbrate, derisory, and hyperbolic. English speakers will rarely use these in speech and, if they do, they will tend to sound a bit pretentious (like they’re trying to show off and impress people). But spoken English also limits more ordinary words; for example, we are likely to use a lot of rather than numerous, a great many, or a multitude of.
  • Spoken English has no punctuation. In spoken English, we don’t worry about whether we’re using complete or incomplete sentences; there are, in fact, no sentences. Instead, English speakers tend to put together “word packets” that, if written down, would not necessarily follow the rules of syntax that are expected in written English. Spoken English also uses shorter and simpler structures than written English. Professor McWhorter gives an example of this in a transcription of an academic conversation:

On a tree. Carbon isn’t going to do much for a tree really. Really. The only thing it can do is collect moisture. Which may be good for it. In other words in the desert you have the carbon granules which would absorb, collect moisture on top of them. Yeah. It doesn’t help the tree but it protects, keeps the moisture in. Uh huh. Because then it just soaks up moisture. It works by the water molecules adhere to the carbon moleh, molecules that are in the ashes. It holds it on. And the plant takes it away from there.

I have students who prepare for tests of speaking ability by writing down transcripts of what they want to say. But this hardly ever sounds natural. Here’s an example of a prepared, written response to a typical TOEFL question compared to a natural, spoken one:

Question: Some students prefer to work on class assignments by themselves. Others believe it is better to work in a group. Which do you prefer? Explain why.

“Prepared” written response:

Considering various aspects of this situation, I believe that it’s preferable for me to work on class assignments by myself. This is due to the fact that I’m a fairly solitary individual who profits more by working in isolation and by concentrating and focusing more fully and deeply on my assignments. As a true introvert, I feel more anxious and apprehensive when I have to interact with my peer group. Therefore, I believe that engaging in various academic tasks by myself results in a better performance and hence higher grades.

Natural spoken response:

Well, I guess I’d rather work by myself on my class assignments. I don’t know … I guess I’m kind of an introvert … I’m used to working by myself … you know, I listen to music and sort of tune out what’s going on around me and … actually, I get a lot of work done that way. You know, when I’m in a group, I get kinda stressed out … like, I’m more worried about saying something stupid or what people think about my clothes, or whatever … and seriously, my grades are actually better when I just do the work by myself.

What does this mean for you as an English learner?

Think about how you’re going to be using English in the future.

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If you are more interested in conversing with English speakers and listening to shows, movies, and lectures in English, then focus on spoken English.

  • Listen to as much “natural” English as you can. Flood yourself with English! I suggest some good listening resources in this article. My experience from learning French this way is that when you concentrate on understanding as much as you can and focus on “noticing” certain structures, phrases, and words, you eventually absorb them, make them “your own,” and use them in your own speaking.
  • Remember that even academic lectures and news broadcasts are still delivered in spoken English. The speakers may use less slang and colloquialisms like I’m gonna or you hafta, but their vocabulary will still be more limited and their structures will be simpler.
  • Rely less on textbooks, and more on “authentic” English – the way it’s spoken in real life. Even the best textbooks tend to provide conversations which sound unnatural and “written.” For example, in one textbook I read the following:

A: What about you? What did you do on Saturday?

B: I did not do anything special. I stayed home and worked around the house. Oh, but I saw a really good movie on TV. And then I made dinner with my mother.

In “real life,” the conversation would probably sound more like this:

A. Whadda ’bout y’all? How’d your Saturday go?

B. Ah, nuthin’ to write home about. Mostly just hung out. Got some stuff done around the house, I guess … and oh yeah, I streamed an awesome chick flick. Plus me and mom fixed something for dinner.

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If you want to study in an English-speaking country, reading academic texts and submitting essays, reports, or papers, or to work in an international company where you’ll be communicating in writing with English-speaking colleagues, then you’ll need to work on both spoken and written English skills.

  • Good English writing is an art. Mastering this art requires years, not months or weeks. As a case in point, the law school where my husband teaches employs two full-time writing instructors for 400 students — almost all of whom are native-English-speaking, American college graduates.
  • Just as lots of attentive, focused listening helps develop speaking skills, so lots of reading helps develop writing skills. What should you read? One good rule of thumb is to focus on reading material that you need to write. If you need to write engineering reports, read engineering reports. If you need to write general academic essays, read general academic essays. When in doubt, just keep reading. A great textbook that integrates academic reading and writing is From Inquiry to Academic Writing by Greene & Lidinsky.
  • Grammar and syntax, as well as vocabulary, are more important in written English, so you’ll need to focus more on these areas. There are a million and one English grammar books. I prefer Cambridge grammar for British English and the Azar series for American English, but you will find plenty of teachers who prefer others 🙂 My favorite online website for studying grammar is Teacher Paul’s Learn American English Online.
  • There are many, many books about becoming a better writer of English. Here are a few different articles listing some “best books about writing.”

10 Books to Help You Polish Your Writing & English Skills

Three Books That Will Immediately Improve Your Writing (Forbes Magazine)

The Best Books for Improving Academic Writing

My personal favorites are The Elements of Style by Strunk & White and The Sense of Style by Steven Pinker.

I also recommend the Purdue OWL Online Writing Lab for lots of practical advice on issues like citations, formatting, subject-specific writing, applications to college and graduate school, etc.

 

 

 

Let’s say …

One of my long-time students, who is extremely fluent in English, has recently started to pepper her conversation with the phrase let’s say. This just didn’t sound quite right to me, but why? I did some thinking about three common conversational phrases that can sometimes be confusing.

First of all, let’s say, by itself, has a fairly narrow meaning. We use it to introduce a suggestion or a hypothetical situation.

It’s a beautiful day. Let’s say we go to the park and have a picnic.

Let’s say you had a million dollars … would you spend it on a trip around the world or a new house?

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Then there’s let’s just say. Because English speakers tend to run these words together, you might think you’re hearing let’s say. Here’s what let’s just say usually sounds like.

 

This common phrase let’s just say can be used to convey different meanings.

You can use it to provide a sort of summary of what you’ve just said, where you aren’t providing all the details.

The traffic to the airport was so heavy I missed my flight. Then I found out I’d left my phone charger at home and couldn’t call to cancel my hotel reservation. Let’s just say the trip was a complete disaster.

Speaker 1: How was your first date with Vincent last night?

Speaker 2: Let’s just say it was also my last date with Vincent.

You may also use let’s just say after a discussion, especially one during which you’ve been arguing.

Let’s just say we agree to disagree.

Let’s just say we’re never going to come to a consensus about this.

Or you can use it to question an assumption that you might disagree with.

Let’s just say that we do end up getting to the movies late. Does it matter? They always show lots of previews before the film starts anyway.

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Another helpful conversational phrase is I mean. This is a common discourse marker that we use to clarify, correct,  repeat, or add additional information to something we’ve just said. It can also be used to justify or explain your previous statement.

I’m not sure why I don’t like the new teacher. I mean, it seems like she tries to explain things … but I just don’t think she’s very clear.

I don’t think we should bother going to the movies. I mean, it’s getting so late we’ll miss the first half.

I really don’t like my boss. I mean, she seems to criticize everyone without any good reason.

Don’t confuse I mean with I mean it. I mean it emphasizes the truth of what you just said. (Parents seem to use this phrase a lot.)

To a child: If you don’t clean up your room right now, we aren’t going to the zoo. I mean it!!

Or if someone doesn’t believe what you said, especially if it’s a compliment …

Man: That dress looks beautiful on you.

Woman: Seriously? It doesn’t. It makes me look fat.

Man: No, you look gorgeous. I mean it!

 

Relax is not a noun

If I had a dollar for every time I heard an English learner say to have a relax or a relax time, I’d be rich!

The key point is that relax can never be used as a noun.

To relax is a verb.

I relaxed by taking a hot shower.

Students relax by playing video games.

We can relax after we finish studying.

Relaxing and relaxed are participial adjectives.

We had a relaxing time on vacation.

We felt so relaxed on vacation.

You can use the verbals, to relax and relaxing, as the subject or direct object in most cases.

I like to relax in the evening.

Relaxing is my favorite activity.

Relaxation is the noun form of relax.

Everyone needs some form of relaxation in their life.

Relaxation is as important as medication in treating high blood pressure.

But there are lots more fun and interesting ways to talk about relaxing.

For example, you can say that students need a little R & R (rest and relaxation).

You might also need to unwind, kick back, take a break, take it easy, have some downtime, and chill out.

And how to describe those situations that make us want to relax?

We can say that our lives are hectic, stressful, exhausting, draining, and nerve-wracking.

In these situations, we may feel stressed out, wiped out, pressured, frazzled, and wound-up.

Finally, how about some idioms that we can use to describe feeling stressed and feeling relaxed?

You can say that you feel tired as a dog, or dog-tired.

At the end of a long day, you might feel beat. Or bushed. Your work day was a real pressure cooker!

You might feel you need to take a chill pill. Or chillax. Or put your feet up.

It feels good to mellow out, let your hair down, and find your happy place.

 

Too … !

Too, spelled with two o’s, is a very common word in English, but one that is sometimes used incorrectly.

Using too as an adverb modifying a verb is pretty straightforward and easy. We can use it instead of also or as well.

Are you going to the movies? I’m going too.

Do you like scary movies? I like them as well.

Did you take TOEFL last week? I also took it.

Me too is frequently used to express agreement.

Speaker A: I thought that test was really hard.

Speaker B: Me too!

Using too as an adverb modifying an adjective or adverb is a bit trickier.

First of all, don’t confuse too with so. So can be used to mean really, very, or extremely.

That movie was so good! It was really amazing.

Too, on the other hand, has a negative meaning. It means to an excess.

That movie was too scary. I couldn’t even watch some of it.

That soup is too hot. I can’t drink it.

He’s driving too fast. He’s going to get stopped by the police.

She’s talking too fast. It’s hard to understand her.

We often use the phrases too much and too many. Remember that as adjectives (determiners), much is used with singular non-count nouns and many with plural nouns.

I ate too much dinner. It’s unhealthy to eat too much sugar. Those shoes cost too much money.

I had too many cookies. Fast food has too many calories. She has too many shoes.

We can also use too much as an adverb.

He slept too much. She talks too much. We have to study too much.

We can also use too much in a general, unspecific way.

Life was just too much for her. She needed a break.

Things have just been too much lately. I’m really depressed.

Way too is an informal way to intensify too.

I ate way too many chips. Our teacher gives us way too much homework. I was working way too hard.

Then, there’s too too, sometimes spelled too-too. It means going beyond the edge (over the edge, overboard) in terms of convention, acceptability, good taste, or common sense. We can use it as an adjective by itself or as an adverb modifying an adjective.

Her house is just too too. (Meaning that it might be over-decorated, too showy, too pretentious, too ornate, or over-the-top)

Her children are simply too too precious. (Depending on the tone of voice, this could mean that the speaker really thinks the children are precious (adorable, lovely, wonderful) or it could imply that although the parents think they are precious, the speaker doesn’t.)

In general, too as an adjective is a relatively weak word to use in more formal business or academic writing, so be careful not to overuse it. Good synonyms that specifically mean being to a higher degree than is desirable, permissible, or possible include:

excessively

overly

unduly

inordinately

disproportionately

Learning idioms

In my last article, I talked about what idioms are, and aren’t. How many idioms are there in English? Some estimate that there are 25,000!

With so many idioms, you may feel overwhelmed at the prospect of learning them … and of course, you will probably never know them all, or need to!

My suggestion for learning idioms is to take it slow and make it fun. Don’t try to memorize boring lists of idioms from a textbook or website. Go on a never-ending “idiom hunt,” keep an “idiom notebook,” use visualization, discover origins of idioms, and work on slowly incorporating idioms into your vocabulary.

First, how do you “hunt” idioms? In my opinion, the best way to find new, unfamiliar idioms is to read non-academic texts like internet articles or popular books and listen to native English speakers (either “in person” or on a podcast, in a lecture, or on a YouTube channel). Encounter idioms in their natural environment … in the places where you are likely to go. This also helps ensure that you select idioms that are currently popular.

For example, many of my students are familiar with the idiom, “raining cats and dogs.” And that is an English idiom but, in my opinion, not one that is used much in day-to-day conversation. It’s more likely an American will just say that it’s “pouring.”

Once you find an idiom, you should have a place to store it. With an “idiom notebook,” you can collect idioms to memorize and review when you get a chance. Quizlet is a good choice, but you can also use a paper notebook, a document on your computer, or anywhere else that’s convenient and accessible.

You might also want to classify the idioms you collect into categories. For example, you could have categories for idioms that express certain emotions: surprise (to jump out of your skin, to do a double take, to be struck dumb); anger (to have a cow, to see red, to get your panties in a wad); and happiness (to be on cloud nine, to be happy as a clam, to be a happy camper).

How to remember idioms? Visualization can help. For example, an idiom I used when writing to my brother today was “to ring a bell.” I asked him about the name of a person I had read about and whether that name “rang a bell” … in other words, did he remember someone who had that name? Was it familiar to him? To memorize that idiom, you might visualize a little bell in your head that starts to ring when you remember something.

It can also be fun to match an English idiom with one in your own language, or to discover the origin of an English idiom …. something that many Americans themselves don’t know. This is one very scholarly and comprehensive website, but a simple Google search will usually give you some information about an idiom’s origin. For example, to “rub someone the wrong way” (to irritate or annoy someone) comes from the reaction cats have when you rub their fur against the grain. “Getting your back up” (getting upset and ready to fight) also relates to cats, this time their tendency to arch their backs when they’re angry.

If you accept that you can never learn every idiom in English, and instead just relax and enjoy your discoveries, you’ll be a happier learner. Idioms shouldn’t cause stress but instead be a source of amusement. With persistence, you’ll slowly add idioms into your working vocabulary and have fun in the process.

What are idioms?

Almost every student I’ve had says something to the effect of, “I want to learn more idioms!” So, what exactly are idioms?

Idioms have three characteristics.

  • They are a group (or pair) of words in a specific order that doesn’t change. The speaker will include the idiom as one fixed “chunk” of language into their speech or text.
  • Their meaning is different from the individual words that form the phrase. In other words, you won’t be able to figure out the meaning of the idiom from the meaning of the individual words.
  • They are usually specific to a certain language and can’t be translated word-by-word to another language.

I’ve seen English teaching websites, even reputable ones, that confuse idioms with other types of language, such as phrasal verbs,  proverbs, or popular sayings.

For example, the following question was part of an “idiom quiz” at one website.

Why can’t you _______ this problem? It’s really not that difficult.

a.  figure out     b. get into     c. go over     d. hold on to

The correct choice is a. figure out, but “figure out” is NOT an idiom; it’s a phrasal verb. The words DON’T follow a set order, because you could just as correctly say, “Why can’t you figure this problem out?”

Proverbs and popular sayings aren’t idioms because you can usually figure out what they mean from looking at the words. Also, you can often find the exact same proverb or saying in another language.

Proverbs are “wise sayings” that offer some sort of advice or express a belief that is generally thought to be true. Often, my students tell me that they have a similar proverb, or a saying that expresses a similar idea in their own language. For example,

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Two wrongs don’t make a right.

A friend in need is a friend indeed.

Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.

There are other popular sayings that may not be quite so “wise” and thus, I wouldn’t exactly call them proverbs. Here are two saying that are frequently used in my family.

Finders keepers, losers weepers

I used this today when my son found a $10 bill outside on the curb. Since it would be impossible to find the owner (the loser of the money), my son can keep the money. It’s not a “wise” saying, because in many cases, a person could in fact, with a bit of effort, find the loser of the item, and that would be the right thing to do.

You snooze, you lose

There are four coffee drinkers in my family and one 12-cup coffee pot. So the last person up in the morning (the snoozer) ends up having to make another pot of coffee. This saying doesn’t apply just to literal sleep … it basically means you need to pay attention or you may miss a good opportunity.

Now that we know what idioms are NOT, what are some examples of common English idioms? Here are just a few of the many hundreds that we use all the time.

Keep talking … I’m all ears.

It’s time to call it a day … we’ll work on this project tomorrow.

That party was so much fun … we all had a blast.

That test was a piece of cake … I’m sure I got an A.

He’s such a couch potato … as soon as he gets home, he just grabs a snack and watches Netflix for hours.

Because there are so many idiomatic expressions in English, the task of learning them might seem almost impossible. I’ll give you some advice about that in the next article.

The upside of upspeak

If you Google “upspeak” you will find that it gets a pretty bad rap (that means, people don’t like it and criticize it). Some say that it sounds unprofessional, that you should avoid it if you want to make a good impression, especially in work settings or on job interviews. But I think that a little bit of upspeak can actually make you sound much more like a native English speaker, especially if you’re young (let’s say, under 40).

What is upspeak? It’s also called uptalk, rising inflection, upward inflection, or high rising intonation. It basically means that speakers use a rising intonation after declarative clauses within a sentence, and standard falling intonation at the end of the sentence.

In other words, when you come to the end of a sentence, you will almost always use falling intonation if it’s a statement and rising intonation if it’s a question. In this example, I’ll say the same thing, first as a statement of fact and then as a question.

He’s going to work today.

 

In upspeak, you will use the standard falling intonation at the end of a statement. But within the sentence itself, you may choose to end phrases or clauses with a rising intonation. I’ll give you an example in a moment.

Why do I like upspeak? Mainly because so many Americans use it, and if you’re taking a speaking test like TOEFL, it will make you sound more natural, especially when answering the independent questions (One and Two).

Let’s take this imaginary TOEFL Speaking Question 1.

After a tiring day at school or work, most people like to relax. What activity, ritual, or practice do you use to help you relax when you are tired and need to relax? Use specific examples and details in your response.

Here’s my response using standard inflection.

 

And here’s my response mixing in a little bit of upspeak.

 

You don’t have to overdo the upspeak. And in TOEFL questions where you’re being asked to summarize a lecture or synthesize the ideas in a text with those in a lecture, it may not be appropriate to use upspeak. Upspeak tends to make you sound less authoritative and more tentative. In other words, you may sound like you’re not sure of what you’re saying. But when you’re trying to capture a native-like, conversational tone in your response, there’s definitely an upside (an advantage) to upspeak.

How to practice? Just listen to the intonation patterns of a young American YouTuber … I guarantee you’ll hear plenty of upspeak. Or try repeating the conversations you hear in practice TOEFL conversations for Questions 3 and 5 (go to one of the Chinese websites with TPOs to hear them).

We’re even

Even … a four-letter English word with a ton of uses and meanings.

My student Ray asked me a few days ago if there was any difference between although and even though. And that made me think about all the ways we use this little word.

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First, even can be used as an adjective (or as an adverb with –ly) to mean flat, smooth, or level.

The highway workers are filling in holes to make the road more even.

She spoke evenly and calmly, without raising her voice.

An even-tempered person won’t get annoyed or angry easily.

Or even can mean equal or balanced.

The tennis players are an even match; I don’t know who will win.

The mother divided the cake evenly among her five children.

Another common use of even is divisible by two; the opposite of odd.

Even numbers are two, four, six, eight, and so on.

 

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We often use the phrasal verbs even out and even up.

Even out usually means to make something level or fair.

The workers evened out the road surface by filling in the holes and smoothing out the bumps.

My co-worker and I took turns answering the office phone. Sometimes he had to talk to difficult clients, and sometimes I did, but in the end, it evened out.

Even up is often used when something or someone reaches the same level as something or someone else.

Our basketball team was behind, but at halftime, the score had evened up.

 

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Even can be used to emphasize how strange or unusual something is.

Some Americans don’t even know how many states are in the U.S.

You can find McDonald’s even in remote parts of the world.

Even the best students sometimes fail a test.

Or even can be used as an intensifier for comparatives.

He is even stupider than I thought.

She was even more beautiful than he had imagined.

 

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How about even though and even if, which are both subordinating conjunctions?

Even though can be used in the place of although, but there is a subtle difference in meaning. Even though means despite or in spite of.

Even though it’s raining, I’m still planning to go to the park.

Despite (or in spite of) the rain, I’m still planning to go to the park.

Although is used more in “on the one hand, on the other hand” situations.

Although the text states that dinosaurs might have lived in Antarctica, the professor disagrees.

Even if means no matter whether or not something happens.

Even if it rains, I’m going to go to the park.

Notice that even though is used in a situation that is already happening (it’s raining right now), while even if is used for a possible future event (it may or may not rain in the future).

Beware!

I often hear TOEFL test-takers use even by itself when they should use even though or even if. For example:

Even the man studies tonight, he still might fail the test. (It should be even if the man studies …)

Even the woman wants to see her family, I think she should stay in her dorm and study. (It should be even though the woman wants …)

 

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Finally, some other common uses of even.

Even so, by itself, is a short way of saying “Even if this is so (i.e., true)”; it has the same meaning as nevertheless.

Speaker One: It’s raining right now!

Speaker Two: Even so, I’m going to take a walk.

Even now emphasizes that something is the same as it was before (maybe in surprising way).

Even now, after all these years, I think back on my grandmother’s death and feel sad.

To get even means to get revenge.

After he left his girlfriend, she was determined to get even.

To break even means that the profits of a company equal its costs.

Holiday sales helped the store to break even, despite the decrease in customers earlier that year.

A common idiomatic expression is to be even. This means that your situations are now the same, implying that there might have been a difference before.

You got an A in chemistry, and I got an A in calculus, so I guess we’re even.

He paid for the gas, and she paid for the parking, so they’re even.

Finally, there is a very trendy expression, I can’t even.

This means that something is so funny, or cute, or scary, or remarkable in some way, that there’s nothing you can say. This is an expression that’s particularly popular and common on social media.

Improving your speaking with a five-item list

Recently I was listening to a psychology lecture by Professor Mark Leary on my favorite video learning site, Great Courses Plus. In discussing how our mind works, he pointed out that talking is almost completely nonconscious (psychologists prefer this term to unconscious): that is, we don’t consciously choose our words when we speak. Words usually come out of our mouths without our really thinking about what we’re saying. We make a conscious effort to choose the right words only in special situations … like when we’re being interviewed or when we have to discuss a sensitive issue with a friend or colleague.

I believe that nonconscious talking is really the same as language fluency. As a fluent speaker of our native language, we can easily talk nonconsciously. But when we’re trying to speak another language, we become all too conscious of what we’re saying.

When we first learn a language, we’re hyper-conscious (that’s my made-up word to mean very, very conscious). We struggle with pronunciation, grammatical forms, vocabulary, putting sentences together. As our fluency improves, our speaking becomes more nonconscious; we are able to speak more quickly, about lots of different topics.

On the other hand, in certain stressful situations, we may return to being more hyper-conscious … we speak with more pauses and hesitations and may repeat what we have just said to make sure we got it right (this is probably why test-takers often do worse on the TOEFL Speaking section).

Unfortunately, as we progress in our language learning, we often pick up bad habits. We get in the habit of making a particular error and repeat it without being aware of the mistake. These errors become, in fact, nonconscious. We don’t notice them and, thus, we don’t correct them. To make matters worse, when we repeat a particular behavior, it becomes embedded (set, planted, rooted) in our brain. And once our brains are wired to make this mistake, it’s difficult to change. Just like any bad habit, it’s very hard to break.

In addition, there are certain expressions, or structures, or phrases that we find difficult to use fluently and nonconsiously. For example, we have problems with using he and she, or with adding the final -s in the third-person singular present tense. We may be able to proceed along in a conversation quite fluently, and then have to pause while we think about how to say something correctly.

So how do we get out of this rut and re-wire (re-train) our brain to avoid making the same mistakes and to become more nonconscious in our speaking?

I suggest using a five-item list. Here’s how it works.

  • Start your list with one expression/structure/phrase that causes you problems — either because you have picked up a bad habit or because you tend to hesitate and think consciously about how to say it correctly. I recently had a student who repeatedly said “do mistakes” rather than “make mistakes.” When I pointed this out, she said she knew that she should say “make mistakes” but she’d gotten in the habit of using “do mistakes” instead. Since we’d identified this as a phrase that she used fairly frequently, I suggested that she start her list with this expression, along with a few others that are similar: make errors, make decisions, make choices.
  • Once you have an item on your list, practice this expression/structure/phrase regularly, in a variety of ways. For example, my student with the bad habit could repeat a number of made-up sentences like these:

           I make mistakes in English.

           I made a mistake yesterday.

          Making mistakes is common.

           I want to avoid making mistakes.

       Or, my student who has problems with conditionals could “fill-in-the-blanks” like this:

           If I had ——, I would ——- (a certainty)

           If I had ——, I could ——– (a possibility)

       He could then extend this practice by replacing had with other past tense verbs (like went or saw)

  • Your goal for each item is to replace your bad habit with a good habit or to use this particular expression/structure/phrase without hesitation. You will know you have succeeded when you are speaking nonconsciously and you say something like, “I always make a mistake” instead of “I always do a mistake.”
  • As you encounter other common items that have become bad habits or cause you to hesitate, add them to your list. Don’t go over five items at one time. When you feel you’ve really mastered something (so that, for example, you say “make mistakes” without giving it any thought), then cross that item off your list.
  • Remember that this is a method to re-wire your brain and correct bad habits that have become unconscious. At the same time, to improve your fluency, you’ll also be acquiring new information, like new vocabulary words or new irregular past tense verb forms. By combining both strategies, you will make quicker progress toward becoming a fluent English speaker.

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Hilary Miller @ 2016
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