Hi, everybody. Welcome back to Ask Alisha, the weekly series where you ask me questions and I answer them, maybe. |
Let's get to your first question this week. First question this week comes from Syeda Iman Zahra Naqvi. I hope I said your name right. Hi, Syeda. Syeda says, "Hi, Alisha. How can we use, 'sort of,' in a sentence? I hope you answer my question." |
Okay, cool. So, let's talk about a couple different uses of "sort of." The first use I want to talk about is using "sort of" when we respond to someone. When someone asks us a question, they are trying to confirm something with us. Like they're trying to make sure something is correct. And they're a little bit correct, but not 100% correct. We can use "sort of" as a response to that. |
So, for example, if someone says to you, "Are you tired? You look kind of tired today." You might say, "Mm, sort of." Maybe you're a little bit tired, yes. But maybe, you're also just feeling kind of down. So, if you want to express that someone is a little bit correct but a little bit incorrect, you can use "sort of." |
Here's another situation where you might use "sort of" in this way. Imagine you're at work, and you're in a situation where you need to make a prediction about something, and many people are sharing their different ideas. One person might say to you, "So, do you think that the company is going to improve a lot next quarter?" You might say, "Hmm, sort of," which means that's a little bit true, but a little bit not true. So, "sort of" can be used as a response in this way to mean that something is in some ways correct and in some ways not quite correct. So, when you use "sort of" as a response in this way, you should expect to share some more information about your opinion. |
So, if you respond to someone's question with "sort of," you should probably indicate -- you should probably share which parts are correct or that you agree with in the situation, and which parts are different from what the other person has suggested or asked about. So, in the first situation, I mentioned maybe the person feels tired, and a little bit depressed, or maybe they have a cold as well. So, for example, you might respond, "Mm, sort of," when someone asks if you're tired, you might say, "Ugh! I'm just a little bit tired, a little bit depressed, and I'm also a little bit sick." So, this expresses the full picture. This is one way we can use "sort of." |
In my second example. When someone says, "Do you think the company is going to improve a lot next quarter?" And you say, "Hmm, sort of." You might follow that up by saying, "Well, I think we're going to improve in some parts of the company. But other parts of the company might still need a little bit of work." So, "sort of" helps kind of introduce this feeling. So, this is one use of "sort of." |
Let's talk about a different use of "sort of." This is the same as "kind of" or "type of." So, we use this when we are talking about a selection of things or maybe multiples of something. So, for example, if you go to an ice cream store, you might go to select your ice cream when you order and you think to yourself, "Hmm, what sort of ice cream do I want to get today?" So, "sort of" can be used in the same way as "kind of." "What sort of ice cream should I get?" In American English, we tend to use, "What kind of ice cream should I get today?" We would use "kind of" in these kinds of situations, but you may also hear people using "sort of" in this manner as well. So, this is an everyday situation. You might also hear this in work or in more formal situations. Like, "What sort of restaurant were you thinking for the meeting tonight?" We could also use "kind of" or "type of" in this sentence, and it means the same thing. "What kind of restaurant were you thinking for tonight?" Or, "What type of restaurant were you thinking for tonight?" So, all of these "kind of," "type of," and "sort of" can be used to talk about one item in a category or one thing from a group of possible things. So, this is another use of "sort of." |
So, I hope this helps you understand the different uses of "sort of." We can use it as a response to show that something is a little bit true and a little bit not true. And, we can use it to mean "kind of" or "type of." Thanks very much for the question. Okay, let's move on to your next question. |
Next question comes from Aurelie. Hi, Aurelie. Aurelie says, "I always confuse 'might' and 'must.' Can you explain the difference?" Sure, yeah. "Might" and "must." Let's do a quick review of these two. So, let's start with "must." We use "must" and "must not" for official rules and for very strong advice. So, the example that I always like to give when I talk about using "must" is about showing your passport at the airport. There's often a sign that says, "You must show your passport to the immigration officer." So, there's usually some kind of sign, some kind of rule at the airport or in other official places where you show documentation that says, "You must show," this document. So, "must" is used to show official rules. To show these kinds of formal things that we need to follow. |
We can also use the negative here. For example, "You must not wear casual clothes to the office." So, this expresses a formal rule in the workplace, for example. "Must" can be used to express these kinds of rules. We also use "must" to express very strong personal advice. For example, a doctor might say to a patient who is a smoker, "You must stop smoking. It's bad for your health;" something like that. Or, "You must not eat so much junk food. This is very bad for your health." So, we can use the positive and the negative. So, must has these two uses. Official rules, formal rules at work at school, maybe in public places, and for strong personal advice. |
Now, let's compare this to the word "might." So, we use "might" to talk about things that have some possibility of happening or a condition that is possible. This is in the positive. Or, we talk about a condition that maybe isn't so possible, in the negative. For example, "I might go to the beach this weekend," shows there's some possibility of going to the beach this weekend. It is possible, it's not 100%. Generally, for "might," I think about it as like a 40 to 60% chance, maybe 20 to 50%. The possibility also kind of depends a little bit on the sound of your voice. For example, if you say, "I might go to the beach this weekend." It sounds different than, "I might go to the beach this weekend." "Might" sounds a little bit less certain. So, we can use the tone of our voice to affect the level of possibility we want to express. |
We can also use this in the negative to express something that has a low chance of happening. Like, "Mm, I might not go to the beach this weekend." So, that sounds like you had a plan to go to the beach, but you were thinking, "Mm, it's not going to happen." Or, there's a possibility it's not going to happen. So, this is the key difference between "must" and "might." "Might" is used for things that have a possibility of happening or not happening. And "must" is used for rules and to talk about strong advice. So, I hope this helps you understand the differences between these two words. Thanks very much. |
Okay. Let's move on to your next question. Next question comes from Jose. Hi, Jose. Jose says, "Are there any other ways to say, 'You're welcome.'? I saw in a movie once someone said, 'Cheers' after helping someone. Can we use this word?" Yes. Great question. Okay. So, let's talk about some different ways to say, "You are welcome." "Cheers" is one way to do this, yes. We don't really use "cheers" so much in American English. But, you might hear this used in British English, you might hear this in Australian English. So, it depends a little bit on where the person is from. Generally, we don't say it in American English, but we'll understand. We don't have a problem with that. So, "cheers" is another way to say "you're welcome" for something. |
Here are a couple more expressions you can use. You can say, "No problem." "No problem," or "It's no problem." So, that shows, "Yeah. Everything's fine for me." So, you can use no problem in casual situations or when you're close with the other person. You can also use, "No sweat." "No sweat." So, again, this is good for a casual situation. "Oh, thanks so much for helping me move the sofa." "Yeah, no sweat!" So, "no sweat." "Sweat" refers to the sweat our body makes when we feel stressed or when we feel hot, yeah? So, when we say "no sweat," it means please, "Don't stress out about asking me for this." So, it's a very casual very friendly expression to use "no sweat." |
Another expression that you might hear a lot is "no worries." "No worries." Like, "Thanks for helping me move myself out." "Yeah. No worries." That sounds very friendly as well. You'll probably hear that in other dialects of English from around the world, too. Another one you can use is, "Don't mention it." "Don't mention it." So, "don't mention it" makes it sound like, "Don't even talk about it. That's not even something you need to talk about. Of course, I would help you." That's kind of the feeling here. "Don't mention it." So, if you're in a more formal situation, you could say something like, "The pleasure is all mine." So, we sometimes use this when we introduce ourselves to somebody else. "It's a pleasure to meet you." "Ah, the pleasure's all mine." So, this is a very formal way to introduce yourself to somebody. And also, to say, "You're welcome," to somebody. |
You can also use the expression, "Happy to help." "Happy to help," or "Happy to be of service." If you're in a customer service situation. This means, I am happy to help you at this time," or "I am happy to be at your service in this time." If you say "happy to be of service" to someone that is not a customer, it will sound kind of strange. So, don't really use this one with your friends, unless you want to make a joke. So, you can use "happy to help," "happy to be of service," and "the pleasure is all mine," in more formal situations, depending on the needs of the situation. So, those are all different ways to say, "You're welcome." |
I hope that this answers your question. Thanks very much for sending it along. Okay. That is everything that I have for this week. So, thank you as always for sending your great questions. Thanks very much for watching this week's episode of "Ask Alisha," and I will see you again next time. Bye. |
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