Doctor English

Effect and Affect

If you find English a little confusing sometimes, there is something to make you more confused.
According to Sadhguru, these two words are the reason why people hate English.
If you can tell the difference between them right now before reading the rest of the post, I have some doubts whether you're a human.

For the rest of you, we need to talk.

Effect is a noun. Not a verb, a noun. It means a change.
For example: Smoking has a bad effect on your health.

Affect is a verb. Not a noun, a verb. It means to cause change on something.
For example: Smoking affects your health.

In short, affect is to have an effect on something. The goal here is not to understand their meaning. Both of them mean a change on something. The goal is to remember that one of them is a noun, the other one is a verb.

Why you shouldn't learn from "Ways to say ..." list or why you should learn the words with the context.

Let's say you come across a photo in instagram that has a title "Ways to say good luck". You start reading the phrases one by one: good luck, break a leg, blow them away, best of luck etc.
Now you want to sound cool and you use break a leg instead of good luck all the time. But if we learn more about the phrase break a leg, we can find that it means wishing good luck to people before a performance and not really used in daily life.

What about "Ways to say I don't like..."
dislike it, not fond of it, can't stand it, not my cup of tea and the list goes on. But these phrases don't really say I don't like something. Some of them has a meaning that says nah I don't really care or I really hate it. Let's take an example where one of these phrases would be inappropriate to use.

Imagine you're ordering a meal in a restaurant with your friend and your buddy orders a fried chicken. He asks you if you want the same meal. But you don't like fried chicken and want to order something else. You could say "nah I don't like chicken, I'll order something else". But you're genius and know lots of ways to say I don't like something. And you say "nah I can't stand fried chicken, I will order something else". While this is not a bad thing, it would mean that you really hate chicken and can't stand being around it. That would make your friend uncomfortable in a way because he may hesitate to eat chicken since you really hate it. If you said "I don't like it", it would mean "I don't like chicken but it's not a big deal."

What I am trying to say is that don't just remember the words or phrases, try to learn to use them in a correct way. I hope that was useful. See you next time.

Let's learn two phrases you can use when you have a guest at home so your visitors think you're a cool person even though you're not.

First one is make yourself at home.
So, when someone comes to your house, you can say make yourself at home. What you mean by this is your guest can feel comfortable as if they're in their own house.
Not so difficult, right?

Second is a little tricky one - help yourself.
Let's imagine you have a friend at your house and he says he is hungry. You can say "There is some pizza in the kitchen, help yourself."
But what do you mean when you say help yourself?
Well, when you say that there is some pizza in the kitchen, help yourself, what you're actually saying is that there is pizza in the kitchen and you can eat as much as you want aaand you don't have to ask for my permission.
Let's take another example. So, you're having a party, your friends are sitting around the table, the table is full of food, snacks, drinks.
You could say 'Hey, help yourselves' so that they can eat whatever they want, as much as they want.

Okay, this is it for today. Now, help yourself :)

Hello, my friends. We learned about the verb to freak out before but I think it was a little short post. Today we are going deep into every meaning of freak out with examples. Let's go.

To freak out covers lots of emotional feelings in its meaning.
For example, to become anxious, upset, afraid, scared, surprised, excited, angry etc. Freak-outs happen just one day before the homework deadlines, when your dad says "we need to talk", when you break your mother's favourite plate, when your brother catch you while smoking, when you're walking around with your girlfriend and you see your wife, when you get your salary. So, it all depends on the context. We'll see them one by one with examples.

1) I started to freak out when my girlfriend said she's leaving the city.
In this example, freak out means to become anxious, to lose control, to lose nerve.

2) Daniel freaked out when he heard he's been hired by Google.
In this case, freak out means to become excited, surprised. (Oh my god!!!)

3) Mia was coming home from work. It was late and there was no one on the street. She freaked out when she heard footsteps right behind her.
She thought someone was following her.
This example gives another meaning of freak out: to become scared, afraid.

4) When my dad found out that I crashed his car, he freaked out.
In this case, freak out means to become angry and furious.

Don't freak out, it's not that difficult. Pay attention to the context to find the actual meaning.
Advice to avoid freak-outs: do your homework on time, don't smoke, be honest with your girl, don't steal your dad's car.

What do you say to some phrase and words related to romance?
Okay, I hear you. Let's go.

If you check someone out, it means you look at someone because you find them attractive or interesting.
ex: There was a girl at the party sitting alone, I couldn't help checking her out.

player - this word is usually used for boys, sorry guys, a player is a boy who likes to chat up girls.
ex: He was a rich guy and a little bit of a player.

go on a date - to meet someone who you are romantically interested in. You can hear that idiom a lot in movies.
ex: I started using Tinder and going on lots of dates.

single - if you are single, you don't have a boyfriend or girlfriend. Sorry.
ex: If she's single, I am going to ask her out tonight.

chemistry - if there is a chemistry between two people, they like each other and are interested in each other
ex: It was obvious that there was a real chemistry between me and Hermiona.

to flirt - if you flirt with someone, you talk to them in a way that shows you are attracted to them and maybe want to have a relationship.
ex: I don't like flirting with girls but :))

There you go, you learned something new today, good. Advice from me, if you like someone, go talk to them. If they're not interested, leave it there. Now, close your eyes and listen to this song.
@Doctor_English

Hey there. Today we're going to learn some common phrasal verbs we use while talking on the phone. Let's go.

call ... up - to call someone.
ex: I am going to call my girlfriend up when I find her.

call ... back - to return a call or to call again.
ex: I am busy right now, can I call you back later?

pick up - to answer the phone.
ex: - Did she answer the phone?
- No, nobody picked up.

hang up - to end a call.
ex: After I hang up, I realized that I had forgotten to get the address of the strip club.

hang up on ... - to end a call without waiting for the conversation to end.
ex: Don't hang up on me, you bit@h.

And, you probably know about hang on.
That's it for today.
See you. @Doctor_English

Hey, what's up. You are a talented learner!
Just kidding. I lied. In fact, I just told you a white lie.
And now that you don't know what it means, we're going to learn and master it. Before we begin, I am not racist, okay? It's a language.
So, a white lie is a lie that you tell in order to avoid hurting someone's feelings or to protect them.
In other words, it's a lie with good intentions. Here are some examples with the word white lie and some demonstrating them:

- Hey, how do I look in this dress?
- You look great!

- I danced okay yesterday, right?
- Totally

- What's the harm of a white lie if it will make her feel better?
- Why hadn't she told a white lie and claimed she had a licence?

- I love you
- I love you too

Have a good day. @Doctor_English

Hey there. Long time no see. Again.
Sorry for postponing the posts, I like it.
Today's lesson is just a warm-up for next lessons.
Have you ever heard of policemen saying "roger that" or "copy that" in movies before? It just means "got it", "understood".
That's it. Have a good day. @Doctor_English

Today we're going to make your vocabulary longer without any medicine. Now, I'll tell you about 3 synonyms of the verb to want, take a sit.

to fancy - in many cases its meaning is "to like" but in some cases "to want". You'll get the meaning from the context.
ex: Sorry, I don't fancy going out tonight.
ex: Sorry, I don't fancy making out tonight.

to desire - to want something very much. Its meaning is stronger than the verb to want.
ex: He desire to kiss her again..
ex: He desired to talk to her again..

to long to do something - to want to do something very much. It's similar to the verb desire but when you long to do something, it seems unlikely to happen soon..
ex: He longed to see her again..
ex: He longed to be with her..

F@ck. That he is me. Drama. @Doctor_English

Today we're about to talk about the phrase be about to do something and you're about to understand it very well.

So, when I say I am about to do something, I mean that I am going to do it very, very soon. I don't know when, but very soon.

For example, you have a party today with friends and one of your friends still hasn't come. You call him and he says "Bro, I'm just about to leave the house". That means he is leaving the house right now, maybe he is opening the door. (But actually he is in bed, still lying down)

Another example, so you're at school, you just finished your classes and you're going to go home now. But the hottest girl in your class asked you to stay with her and help her with the homework. And you say "You know what.. I am about to go home". (Your grammar is correct, but now you're the most stupid person in the world)

The most common mistake is this: "I am about to do it tomorrow" The word tomorrow. You don't include the specific time with be about to. When you say about to.. everyone understands you're doing it soon.

Give me your examples in the comments. Tell me something you're about to do.
@Doctor_English

The first and the last post without sarcasm.

As soon as you go abroad to study or to travel, you start to feel that your English doesn't sound natural. (unless you're in India) (ok, only one)
What I want to tell you is that if you want to speak correct English, you should learn collocations as much as you can. And of course the grammar. (I don't understand those who say that you don't have to learn the grammar, you have to)

So today we will study some collocations with the word attitude. Attitude is a very useful word. Its exact meaning is an opinion, feeling or behaviour about something.
Now I'm going to tell you some collocations, expressions that you'll likely to hear.

someone has an attitude - if you say someone has an attitude, you mean that they don't seem to want to be polite or helpful.
ex: She has an attitude.

somebody’s attitude changes -if someone's attitude changes, their way of thinking, feeling, behaviour about something changes.
ex: As you get older, your attitude changes.

good/bad attitude
ex: a lazy student with a bad attitude (you?)

positive/negative attitude
ex: I have a very positive attitude to smoking.

public attitudes/people’s attitudes - opinion or feeling of people, public
ex: People's attitudes have changed
@Doctor_English

Hello, friends. Do you want to learn three collocations with the word promise? Okay, pull up a chair.

First, about the word promise. To promise is to tell someone that you'll definitely do something. It's mainly used by guys.(I'll always love you, I promise)

Okay, now, collocations:
to make a promise - to tell someone that you'll definitely do something
to keep a promise - to do what you promised to do
to break a promise - not do what you promised to do

Never forget that statement:
If you can't keep your promises, you shouldn't make them in the first place.

Of course, I won't forget to quote from Bruno Mars's song:
I will never make a promise that I can't keep, I promise that your smile ain't gon' never leave..

There is also a phrase (idiom, I don't know) I promise you, and it doesn't I promise you. (shock) It's used for emphasis, and if you want, you can translate it as trust me. (but not always)
ex: Your boyfriend thinks only about himself, I promise you.
Doctor English

Today, we talk about the difference between house and home. I know most of you already know about it. So it's gonna be a brief information.

We use the noun house to talk about a building where people live.
ex: That’s my ex's house, on the left.
ex: My house has a red roof.  

The word home is not used to talk about a building. It’s used in a more emotional way, to talk about the place where you live, the place you grew up etc.
ex: I can't wait to get home and rest.
ex: Home is where my laptop is.

For people, who still have no idea about the difference, this will help:
ex: I have moved into a new house, but it doesn’t feel like home yet.
Doctor English

Yaxshi xabar. Bundan buyog'i postlarni o'zbek tilida yozib boraman. Inglizcha ham bo'ladi. Qanday bo'lishini xozir bilib olasan.

🇬🇧 To read this in English, click here.

Ana bilib olding. Endi, bugun to freak fe'li bilan bitta ikkita narsa o'rganamiz.

to freak out - havotirga tushish, qo'rqib ketish, to'satdan jahl chiqishi, hafa bo'lish, koroche, qanaqadir bir yomon narsa bo'lsa o'shanga qanday reaksiya bildirishingni tasavvur qil. masalan, sevgan qizing bilan mazza qilib aylanib yursang birdan ko'zing xotiningga tushib qoldi. Qayerlaringdir terlab ketadi, shokka tushasan ko'rib qolmasmikin degan havotirda.
ex: She freaked out when she saw the spider.

freaking - fucking so'zini aytishga beting chidamaganida ishlataverasan. ikkalasi bir xil. freaking muloyimroq eshitiladi.
ex: Get your freaking feet off of my tabel.

UPD: English is good.
@Doctor_English

Hey! Today we talk about the difference between at the end and in the end.

at the end (of something) = at the time when something ends. You use at the end when talking about the last part of a story, book, concert, film, game etc.
ex: At the end of the concert, Ed Sheeran asked me to take a selfie with him.

You can also use at the end to talk about the last part of a period of time.
ex: We're going on holiday at the end of the month. (week, day, year etc)

in the end = finally
You use in the end when talking about the final result of a situation.
ex: He couldn't stop laughing. He got fired in the end.
ex: I had a lot of problems with my car.
I decided to sell it in the end.
Doctor English