Jill and Steve talk about simple words like let and leave

Jill: Hello Steve.

Steve: Hi Jill. Here we are again talking about different words in English. What do you have for us?

Jill: I will continue with, ah, Ruthie's list here and she has, ah, the words let and leave. Steve: There are, there are certain situations where they're very different. Jill: Yeah.

Steve: Ok. Like if you leave somewhere you're going away. Jill: Yes.

Steve: Depart. I leave, I left, I depart. Ok.

Whereas to let, now let also has the meaning of rent out.

Jill: Right.

Steve: Ok. We'll leave that aside. That's a very specialized meaning of let. Jill: And it's more, I think, ah, the, the British use it more Steve: More, yeah. Jill: than we would.

Steve: That's right. But, the most common meaning for let is simply to allow.

Jill: To allow, exactly. So, they're very, they're very different. They have very different meanings.

Steve: Well, you know, I always, it seems like I'm a broken record. But, you know, if we learn them in phrases, like I would definitely recommend that people save the phrase, let me be. Leave me alone.

Jill: Right.

Steve: Now, because we have used these phrases in our discussion here, which is now an episode that will be put into the library, so then people can listen and then read this discussion and they can say let me be as a phrase and save leave me alone.

Jill: And, and that, in, those two phrases actually mean the same thing. So generally, in general, let and leave have very different meanings but let me be and leave me alone do mean the same thing.

Steve: There is a certain area of overlap but, on the other hand, you would leave, for example, you would leave the knife and fork on the table; but, you wouldn't let the knife and fork on the table. Jill: Right.

Steve: But, you would let the dog out. You would let your son go to the movie.

Jill: Right.

Steve: You allow the dog. You wouldn't leave your son go to the movie. You might leave your son at home, Jill: While you go to a movie. Steve: while you go to the movie. Yeah.

So, leave has both the sense of leave behind or you might leave the house yourself to go to the movie. So, leave has, again, I mean people can also go to the dictionary. But, but I would recommend that if people have trouble with let and leave that they save phrases that have these words in them. They can also refer to the dictionary definition and that'll help to some extent, but they've also got to expose themselves to these words, notice them when they see them and save good phrases. Jill: Right.

Steve: You know that have?

Jill: And, I think, I mean, we talk about this all the time so, you know, not to belabor the point or anything. But, um, I think this is why I tell people so often to, to read and to listen to each content item more than one time, five times, ten times. Some, Steve: Right. Jill: some people, um, some of our members who have, who have really improved a lot over the past year tell me they listen sometimes 20 times or more to content items and you can't just see something once and expect that you are going to remember it. Nobody can.

Steve: Absolutely.

And, and, sometimes I hesitate to recommend, I mean, we often do tell people to do this and we know it's effective. You know, one of our themes is that you should enjoy what you are doing. So, some people don't want to listen 20 times, understandably, and, and you don't have to listen 20 times at once. Jill: Exactly.

Steve: You can listen five or six times. Like what I would recommend, what I do myself if I am learning a language, I'll pick ten items, each one of which is say three or five minutes long. So, I listen to item one, two and I'll go through all ten of them and then I go back to one again. And, sometimes I'll put them on my iPod shuffle and shuffle them around. So, that try to make it a little more interesting and sometimes you listen for meaning, sometimes you listen for certain phrases and sometimes you imitate the pronunciation. So, give yourself Jill: Different activities. Steve: a different activity. Do it for a different reason. Yeah.

Jill: And, like I said, you know, maybe five times is enough. I mean, yeah, not everybody is going to be able to do it 20 times, but Steve: Right. Jill: more than once, I think, Steve: Absolutely. Jill: is important.

Steve: Yeah.

Jill: Um, and, ah, the last two words make and do. So, which, I can understand how those ones could be a little bit confusing. Um, I think make, in general, is to create. You know, you can make a shirt. You can make a picture. I mean, you would probably say I drew a picture. That would be a little more specific.

Steve: Right.

Jill: But, to make is to create. Um, but then, of course, there's all sorts of phrases that use make. Like, I made dinner; to make dinner; to make your bed. You can't do your bed. You, you have to make your bed, Steve: But you do your homework. Jill: but you do your homework. You do the laundry; you do the dishes.

Steve: Right.

Jill: So, I think you can do the household chores. You do, you know, you do the, the cleaning; the laundry; the dishes; but, you make the bed.

Steve: But, you know, one, I think you really touched on the difference that make, aside from very specific phrases, make has the idea of production; Jill: Right. Steve: creation, alright? And do is purely action.

Jill: Action.

Steve: Right.

And I think a perfect illustration of that is if you say make something. It's different from do something. Make something. Ok, I'm gonna' get a couple of pieces of wood and I'm gonna' bang them together and I'm gonna' make a box. You're gonna' make something. Jill: Yes.

Steve: Do something. Ok, I'm going to walk five steps. Jill: Right.

Steve: You know, anything that you do is an action.

Jill: Right.

Steve: So do, in its most basic meaning is, is just plain action.

Jill: Right.

Steve: With no particular purpose, just action. Make is a little more purposeful.

Jill: Right.

Steve: However, as you said, we have so many phrases where we use do where there's an overlap. So you do the dishes, Jill: Yes. Steve: you do the laundry, Jill: Yes. Steve: ah, you do your best. Ok? But, there is action. Do your best, yeah.

Jill: Right.

And, I mean, there's times when you can use either. Like you could say, you can say something like I'll make the dessert or I'll do the dessert. Steve: Yup.

Jill: I'll make the salad. I'll do the salad. So, I mean, either is Ok.

Steve: But you can't make the dishes. Jill: No, you can't make the dishes, you can't make the laundry, you can't make the vacuuming, you know? Steve: Because the implication again with make is that you're transforming it in some way. Jill: Right.

Steve: You're transforming it. Jill: Right.

Steve: When you do the dishes the dishes are there and you wash them. It's an action. Jill: Right.

Steve: Whereas if you make a dish, for example, in cooking we talk about making a dish. Well, you're transforming it. You've got the ingredients Jill: You're creating it. Steve: and you're creating it. Jill: And the same as making a bed, really, because you are trying to restore it to its original state.

Steve: Right.

Jill: You know, it was originally made and proper and when you get up in the morning it's messy Steve: Right. Jill: and so you're, you're putting it back the way it was. Steve: A little bit arbitrary because between making a bed and doing the dishes?

Jill: Yeah, I guess, Steve: but you're right. Jill: they were clean to begin with, too, yeah.

Steve: And I like some other examples like you'll make a good mother. Jill: Right.

Steve: So that, yeah, that means that you as a person will make yourself, you will become, you will be a good mother.

Jill: A good mother. You'll be a good mother. Steve: Ah, you know, you make a decision. Now that's a very, very important phrase. We never do a decision, we make a decision.

Jill: Always, you make a decision.

Steve: Ok. I think we've kind of, we've made as much out of that as we can. Jill: Yeah.

Steve: Let's go do something else. Jill: Sounds good.

Steve: Alright.

Jill: Talk to you next time.

Steve: Thank you.

End.