Lesson Transcript

Hi, everybody! Welcome back to Ask Alisha, the weekly series where you ask me questions and I answer them, maybe!
Okay. Let’s get to your first question this week.
First question this week comes from Mo-ADAM.
Hi, Mo-ADAM!
Mo-ADAM says…
“How do I express the plural form of non-humans, like animals or things? Should I use ‘it,’ ‘are,’ or ‘they are’?”
Use “they are.” I assume, for this question, we’re talking about countable nouns. If you’re using countable nouns, please use “they are” plus the noun with an S sound at the end.
So I know that we might kind of associate using “they” with people, but we actually also use “they” when we’re talking about objects. So, we don’t use “it” when we’re talking about plural objects. We will, however, use “it” if we’re talking about an uncountable noun, so please keep this mind. If you’re using a countable noun, please use “they are.” If you’re using an uncountable noun, use “it is.”
So, let’s take a look at some examples of “they are” with the plural form, and these things will introduce non-human things. For example:
“These computers? They’re from my company.”
“Nice shoes! They’re brand new, yeah?”
“I wish I could stay in a luxury hotel, but man, the rooms, they’re so pricey.”
So, in sum, please just make sure, if you’re using a countable noun, use “they are” plus the plural form of your noun. I hope that this helps you. Thanks for the question.
Okay. Let’s go on to your next question.
Next question this week comes from Aniko.
Hi, Aniko!
Aniko says…
“Hi, Alisha! Could you please explain the meaning of, ‘for the record’? When and how is it used in everyday speech?”
Okay, sure. We use “for the record” to mean “my official statement is” or “my official opinion is.” So, we use “for the record” just before we make the statement or just before we share that information. The idea here is that we expect that information is going to be written down or is going to be recorded like literally recorded in a record. So, a “record” literally used to refer to something like a notebook where we keep information. So, when we say, “for the record,” it literally means this is information that I want to say and have included in a record.
So, we use this a lot when we’re trying to clear up, so that means trying to make something clear, when we’re trying to clear up something that’s controversial or maybe there’s been a misunderstanding or there’s been trouble or a problem of some kind because information is not so clear and so, we say, “for the record” to make our official statement or to share our official opinion about something.
Let’s take a look at some examples.
“I would like to say, for the record, that I think this is a terrible decision.”
“For the record, I didn’t cheat on that test.”
So, you might hear people like begin an interview or you might hear people beginning like a legal situation with the expression, “State your name for the record,” which means please say your name, so that we can officially record it. So, “for the record” just means give us information that you expect to be considered official.
Another related term that you might hear, also in kind of legal or like maybe police-related or controversy-related situations, is the expression “let the record show,” let the record show. So, “let the record show” is usually said by like a lawyer or some other kind of legal professional and it’s usually said to the person writing notes or the person recording like the discussion or the situation, and they use it to mean, please like make a note in the record that something happened.
So, for example:
“Let the record show that the witness refused to answer questions.”
So, in simple English, that means please write down in the record that the witness refused to answer questions. So this “let the record show” is kind of a specific expression that we use in legal situations.
“For the record” is fairly similar, though you may also hear it used in everyday speech to sound kind of funny. Like if we want to make kind of a basic or very, like everyday opinion sound a little official, just like for humor purposes, to sound funny, someone might say, “For the record…” and then introduce their opinion. But in most cases, especially for like media, “for the record” is used to make official statements, so I hope that this helps you. Thanks for an interesting question.
Okay. Let’s move on to your next question.
Next question comes from Jungeun Kim. I hope I said that right.
Hi, Jungeun Kim!
Jungeun says…
“A friend of mine asked if something was mine. I was sure it did not belong to me. What’s the best way to respond to the question, ‘Is this yours?’ in a case like this? ‘It couldn’t be mine’ or ‘it can’t be mine,’ which is correct?”
You could use either, really. I think I would probably use, “It can’t be mine” because “It couldn’t be mine” sounds to me a little bit too formal and too polite and you mentioned, you’re talking to your friend in this case. So, I would probably say it can’t be mine if I had to choose from one of these. I mean they’re both correct, they both communicate the same idea.
But if it were me, again, in this situation, I would probably say something a little bit different. I would probably say something like, “That’s definitely not mine. Mine is in my house.” Or, “There’s no way that’s mine. I threw mine away last year.”
I would probably say something like, “That’s definitely not mine” or “There’s no way that’s mine.” Like, those feel a little more direct and they're a little bit rough, so it feels natural to use those expressions with my friends.
By the way, the expression, “there’s no way” means there is no possibility, like there is no chance that that is mine. That’s what that expression means.
So, in sum, you could use all of these. I think I will probably use there’s no way that’s mine or that can’t possibly be mine, something a little bit more direct and then I follow up with some evidence, like “Mine is at my house” or “I threw it away last year.”
So you can use any of these, whichever you prefer, but I would suggest using something a little more direct when you’re speaking with your friends. So, I hope that this helps you. Thanks for the question.
Let’s move on to our next question.
Next question comes from Alexander.
Hi, Alexander!
Alexander says…
“Hi! Do the expressions, ‘you want to do something,’ ‘you should do something,’ and ‘you need to do something,’ mean the same thing? I’ve heard many people say, ‘you wanna do something,’ meaning, ‘you should do something,’ but I can’t find any explanations about using ‘want to’ in this way. Thanks!”
I’m guessing that this use of “want to” is when people are teaching someone else how to do something. So, like for example, if you’re showing someone how to use software for the first time, you might hear people use “you wanna do this,” “you wanna do that,’ like you’re kind of teaching them something, but some people choose to use “you want to” like the next step you’re going to want to do. That’s kind of the feel of this expression. This is a personal choice. So, in that case, yes, when you’re teaching someone to do something and, like you’re showing them steps in a process, you can use, “You want to do this.”
So, for example, like if I’m teaching someone how to edit video, I might say:
“First, you wanna import the video. Then, you wanna make a timeline. Then, you want to start choosing the parts of the video to use.”
So I’m using “want to” there, but you could replace that with “you should.”
“First, you should import the video. Then, you should create a timeline. Then, you should choose the parts of the video.
So yes, in that specific situation, “want to” and “should” can have the same meaning. But in general, no, they have very different meanings, like we use “you want to” generally to ask about someone’s feelings for something, like, “You want to go to a movie later?” or like, “You wanna get something to eat?” Like you’re asking for someone’s opinion about something, making a suggestion.
When you’re using, “you should do (something),” it’s for advice reasons, so that’s kind of similar to teaching someone to do something.
Then your final point about using “you need to do something,” that could also be used to describe steps in a process, yes, but it has that feeling of responsibility. So we use that when we have obligations, like things that we need to take care of like, “You need to go to the bank today,” like you’re telling someone else to do something. You’re telling someone else about their responsibilities.
So, in sum, yes, in this specific situation, when you’re teaching someone steps in a process, you should do something and you want to do something can mean the same thing, but outside of this situation, they have very different functions and very different meanings. So, I hope that this helps you. Thanks very much for this question.
All right. Let’s move on to your next question.
Next question comes from Jin.
Hi, Jin!
Jin says…
“What is the difference between ‘new’ and ‘newbie’? How do I use these words?
Ah, nice one, yeah! “New” is an adjective. “Newbie” refers to a person who is new in a situation and it is a noun.
Let’s take a look at a couple of example sentences to compare how we might use these. Let’s imagine you have just joined like a team of some kind, like a new sport or some kind of activity. You could introduce yourself to the people in your team by saying, “Hi, I’m new” or you could say, “Hi, I’m a newbie.”
So, using “Hi, I’m new” sounds a little bit more natural in that situation because you’re introducing yourself to people you don’t know. So, the deal with “newbie” or the thing about newbie is that it’s kind of a cute word. It’s sort of casual, it’s friendly. We use it when we’re talking to people that we already know or we’re kind of in a community that we already know. So for that reason, “Hi, I’m a newbie” might sound a little bit too friendly when you’re introducing yourself to someone for the first time.
Let’s compare this then to a different situation. Let’s imagine you’re working together with your teammates on a new project and you need to learn a new software, like, I don’t know, Microsoft Excel or something.
You might ask your teammate for help by saying something like:
“Hey, I’m new to Excel, can you help me?”
Or, you could say…
“Um, I’m an Excel newbie, can you help me?”
So, in that case, either is fine, but “newbie” sounds a little cute, a little friendly, a little bit closer. So, “newbie” has the feeling of friendliness a little bit, like you’re in a community, you’re in a situation where people already know who you are and you can kind of feel that it’s acceptable to use that word.
So again, both sentences, they communicate the same idea. It’s just a little bit of a distance difference, like the distance between you and the person listening is a bit closer than if you say, “I’m new.” So, you can think about this when you’re choosing between these two words. Again, “new” is an adjective. “Hi, I’m new.” And “newbie” is a noun. “Hi, I’m a newbie.” So, I hope that this helps you.
One more bonus point, you may also see N-O-O like the number, zero, zero, and B, “noob.” So “noob” is an ever more casual word that’s very commonly used online and in video games and it means someone who is new to the situation, but also doesn’t really know very much and they’re kind of irritating or they get in the way. So, you might hear people using “noob” in this way. Some people, myself included, also like to use “noob” in a kind of self-deprecating manner. So, “self-deprecating” means you use it to make yourself seem a bit lower. So, when you want to express that you’re new to something and not very good, you can say, “I’m a noob.” So again, it’s a noun, just like “newbie.”
So, a few extra points there. I hope that this was helpful for you. Thanks for an interesting question.
Okay. That is everything that I have for this week. Thank you, as always. Thanks very much for watching this week’s episode of Ask Alisha and I will see you again next week. Bye-bye!

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