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for free hi everybody welcome back to
english topics my name is Alisha and
today I'm joined by I'm Davey hi Davey
anyway today we're going to talk about
words that Americans over use we're both
American we're from different areas in
the u.s. I'm from West Coast he's from
East Coast ish sort of Tennessee
it was pumped in the south what you're
from different view from like Tennessee
ish Nashville ish aren't you
that's the South Tennessee is the south
I have an image of that as being more
like East eCos t-than so don't say that
too like a real Tennessee okay watch out
okay
I left when I was 18 I've been back in a
long time okay cuz then you went to
Seattle - I live in Seattle for a long
time okay so you attles my second house
you've picked up all kinds of different
vocabulary perhaps more so than I have
all right anyway let's talk about words
Americans over use let's begin I have a
huge stack and I'm going to make some
combinations of words so I'm gonna start
out with the the one that I think I say
way too often which is the word like
like so it's used as a filler word when
I'm thinking I use like like like when I
want to of course make a comparison I
begin it with like but that's a bit
different so used as a filler word I use
the word like a lot for sure for sure I
thought lots of people do I was gonna
say anything but I'm glad that you uh
you've copped to that using the word
like a lot yeah yeah I do I'm aware JK
I'm like aware I'm very like aware so
like is definitely a word Americans
overuse I probably forget to be hard on
myself in this episode I will use it I
feel like a lot of people Americans a
lot of people including Americans really
sort of despise the overuse of that word
and yet they'll still do it you know
it's because it's just it's just a
filler word the same way we use um or uh
or hmm it's just a filler word so like
also falls into that category true
yep okay do you have another one what's
your what's your friend my first one is
awesome awesome awesome is the most
generic and common adjective that
Americans use I think everything is
awesome mm-hmm all the time right and so
it's lost maybe some of its original
meaning which is to say it inspiring aw
oftentimes when this word is used now
it's not to describe something that is
awe-inspiring but something that is
simply awesome something that's just
pretty good pretty good
cool nice a lot of people are really
bothered by this word as well they hear
people use this word a lot and they say
look use something else be more
descriptive but it doesn't bother me
that much
I think awesome is okay yeah awesome is
fine like you say it's important to
understand that person's barometer like
the the level of maybe a meaning
associated with that word because if
somebody uses awesome as their like the
least cool thing if that's just their
their base level of maybe judging some
things excellence okay what is what
where do they go after awesome if they
don't if they started awesome what's
like their next level up adjectives
super awesome super awesome maybe could
be could be okay but either way awesome
I feel awesome should be kind of further
up on the spectrum sure should be
reserved for things that are really
truly awesome indeed what is truly
awesome in your mind whoo so many so
many awesome things I had an awesome
bowl of curry risotto earlier this year
that sounds that stands out in my mind
as being an awesome meal that sounds
awesome the weather was awesome today
really awesome weather mm-hmm mm-hmm
so something that is like a cut above
it's a bit better than average
significantly better than average I feel
something that stands out inspires awe I
would say we don't use it in that way so
much not so much but definitely oh
that's a word that we use all right I
just used the word myself so I'm gonna
introduce it definitely definitely is a
word that we overuse I overuse the word
definitely
absolutely I definitely overuse the word
definitely definitely means 100% that's
all definitely but it's used as an
agreement phrase and it kind of is used
to end conversations to like when you
run out of how God I'm using like when
you run when you run out of things to
say sometimes you can use yeah
definitely yeah definitely in that tone
especially among young women I feel
they'll say yeah definitely I know
definitely right definitely definitely
mm-hmm so I for example just used it
there cuz I thought well I should
probably go on to the next thing and I
wanted to communicate that I agreed with
you and I felt that definitely showed my
agreement but also was a nice way to
conclude the converse yes I agree it's
often used that way it's a good kind of
finisher I don't have a lot more to say
about this definitely I'm on the same
page you know we have we have the same
opinion or feeling about this let's move
on
yep yep so it can be used to end a
conversation but and that's why I feel
that it could be overused because maybe
people aren't so good at conversations
so they don't know what else to say yeah
yeah definitely definitely and finish I
have more words but I feel like we're
finished because we've been saying
definitely so much my god
oh we're not I've got another word okay
sure sure
and I became I wrote this down before
the video and I just became conscious
that I've been using it I'm sitting and
listening to you sure sure I use that a
lot when I'm reacting to other people
listening just to acknowledge that I
understand what they're saying and I'm
following along I'll say sure so that's
that's one that I overuse and I think
other people overuse a lot too yeah
that's one that I actually recognize I
have heard you use that not specifically
just today but just in general and the
time that I've known you you or a lot
more but you always say it in a very
upbeat way though like to show that
you're listening sure oh sure sure I'm
saying it now and I'm naughty I'm not
doing it ironically I got my natural
thing I bring that you'll the natural
way I want to respond is to just say
sure or cuz it feels good is comfortable
I'm a habit these are words we use too
much just like I've
saying the word like just I can't stop
when I say more I'm trying to assure you
I see you sure I see great totally all
right hold on
totally is my next word totally is
another word that I overuse and I know
some Americans overuse as well
totally is a is a word that we use in
the same way as we would use a word like
really or very or so it's an emphasis
word yeah totally another agreement word
yeah totally that Oh sound gets sort of
opened up a bit totally yeah totally so
it's a bit different from definitely
definitely has that that that finality
to it sort of that endpoint but totally
sounds like let's continue the
conversation yeah totally I know right
yeah this is totally awesome
mmm this is totally awesome so totally
is another one that I think Americans
overuse I think these words too are also
maybe not only used by young people but
tend to be overused more so by young
people I would say perhaps yeah but no I
think maybe all generations overuse
certain words but that's a good point I
think maybe young people overuse certain
words and older generations might
overuse different words
so my next word is yeah no no yeah and
gosh how do we use this word I mean we
use this expression a lot I think kind
of noncommittally you know if someone
asks us a question or makes a statement
and you sort of a slightly agree or
slightly disagree
I say yeah no no yeah I think the word
that comes next
that's that's where the meaning is right
so if I say yeah no I'm really saying no
really
I think so I was trying to think of how
I use that expression it this also feels
like a little bit of a filler where I
can't make a decision it's like the
equivalent of maybe for me okay so if
someone says for example are you going
to I don't know a barbecue this weekend
I mean again
no I don't know yeah it's I'm sort of
thinking that's my thought process
coming out in my in my words I suppose
sure but if you said that if I heard you
say yeah no I invited you to a barbecue
and you said yeah no I would assume that
you're not coming that's probably true
well I probably wouldn't say that to the
person who invited me I guess I maybe it
is different why would I use when do you
use ya know when I'm what I'm thinking
but I think I think the word that I end
on is the way that I'm leaning ah I see
I used that actually when somebody
pitches me a suggestion and I definitely
am NOT going definitely I'm not going to
do that when someone says that hey
Alisha do you want to go skydiving in an
hour I'll be like yeah no that's I think
the implications are the way that you
say it makes a lot like the yeah shows
that I have heard that and the know the
emphatic nose has no way yeah that's
true that's an emphasis thing yeah no
yeah no definitely not mm-hmm with the
emphasis there but yeah no yeah no I
guess so the ending of that really
indicates the true feeling of the person
I think it's how you say it okay more
than anything okay good one all right
I'll go on to another one
uh I'll go with this one
I think people of many generations use
this word a lot
the phrase is oh my god oh my god and I
hear people who aren't even native
English speakers use this word it's
overused among American English speakers
I guess we too we will just drop the oh
my and just like God as sort of an
expression of frustration but oh my god
is used for surprise at any level it can
be a small thing or a big thing I've
seen people at weddings or people who
are watching weddings go oh my god it's
so beautiful or it can be a small thing
too oh my god I can't believe you got me
flowers like there's there's just a
range of emotions that can be applied to
oh my god but they don't have to be
positive they can be negative as well
you know yes I agree like you oh my god
Alicia how could you I'm very sorry so
using oh my god I think that's why oh my
god is overused because there are so
many different situations where we can
use it that's a good point or any sort
of like for anything I used like
laughing at myself for any sort of
variation in emotion we can use oh my
god to describe that oh my god did you
hear about what happened yesterday or oh
my god I lost my car right look don't
know what I do with my car that's
probably that is a situation though that
should warrants you should use something
perhaps stronger than oh my god I lost
my car like if in that moment I don't
know in what situation you're in where
you lose your car big parking garage
could be or no car is towed I don't know
oh my god I lost my cars like all the
other cars but in a serious situation
like that perhaps your initial reaction
can be oh my god I lost my car
but then there's got to be some other
higher level of like shock or surprise
you need to use yeah and most people
don't know what I bad Oh
oh my god oMG but I don't know what so
well above that would probably be we're
getting into curse word territory there
would be mm-hmm it's a different video
right but oh my god especially with that
intonation oh my god oh my god as well
there's so many different things we can
do there I've been trying really hard
not to say sure and it's it's difficult
seriously seriously is my last word
seriously is another one of those
versatile words where you can use sure
you can use it to agree with somebody
you can use it to agree with somebody or
you can use it to question somebody like
seriously are you saying sure this many
times in the video seriously or just
seriously in terms of yes I agree with
you seriously I know right so some of
these words that we've talked about
today we can actually combine to make
sentences you will hear the native
speakers use that I'm gonna lead off
with like because I've been saying it
this entire this entire episode so if
you hear a native speaker say something
like this like like oh my god
totally this is an emphatic agreement
phrase like oh my god totally like oh my
god
definitely these are expressions that we
use to agree to strongly agree what
they're do something wrong oh it's funny
it's true though right we just do that
like absolutely right or we can we can
put it in a different order like
seriously oh my god
we can totally oh my god it is
absolutely a thing sure all right can
you do it can you add anything
um well minors mine are kind of one-off
but aw does it stick an awesome at the
end any of those Oh like seriously
Osteria Slee awesome awesome oh my god
totally so all of these words this is
this is an actual sentence I'm sure yeah
but these are real sentences these are
real things people say sure sure I don't
have any more hands otherwise I would
put something else in but these are all
just ways to emphasize these are all
words that are just are just emphasis
words that native English speakers
specifically American English speakers
will use so as you can see it's easy
it's really easy to mix and match them
and there's not really that much change
in meaning no yeah I agree with you try
that I didn't feel right I want to go
I'm gonna stick with my shoe I'm staying
with my shoe staying with sure all right
sounds worse for me it's got me this far
indeed I'm overusing indeed lately I
don't know what's gotten into me with
that I like indeed okay but that's just
me now use that rocket rocking the
indeed definitely sure okay let's wrap
it up before we destroy each other so
those are those are actually quite a few
words that Americans overuse that was
really fun to talk about and now I'm
extremely self-conscious about my face
so that was a lot of fun maybe you've
noticed some other things that we say a
little bit too much like I've noticed I
say I see or no I say let's see too much
often times as well too but if there's
something that you have noticed
Americans use too much or if there's a
word that you know you use too much in
your speech let us know in a comment be
fun to compare if you have any questions
do let us know thanks very much for
watching this episode of English topics
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bye bye
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