Sign up for your free lifetime account at English Class 101 dot com.

Hi, everybody.

Welcome back to ask Alicia the weekly series where you ask me questions and I answer them.

Maybe first question comes from Karima.

Hi, Gun.

Kareema.

Kareema says hi.

Alicia.

Could you please tell me which one of these is correct if I want to emphasize in action?

In the past, I did speak to him or I did spoke to him.

Thanks.

Yes, the correct answer here is did speak.

So when we're using the verb do for emphasis, we use do and then we use the simple, present tense form of the verb that follows it.

So the verb coming after it, in this case, speak should not change.

So your second example I did spoke.

That would be incorrect.

We don't change that second, for we only change.

The verb do so did.

In this case.

Let's look at some more examples.

She doesn't have time to meet you.

I saw her schedule.

She does have time.

So that's a present tense example Do in this case, changes to does because the subject of the sentence is she.

She does have time.

So does emphasizes the fact that she, in the situation, has time to meet with the speaker.

Let's look at one more example.

He didn't give us a key to enter the building, but he did give us a pass code.

Okay, so here we're seeing a past tense example in this case, Did give did is past tense and give is simple, present tense.

So the speaker here wants to emphasize something that they received.

Speaker A says he didn't give us a key to enter the building, but Speaker be wants to point out they got something else the speaker wants to say.

He did give us something else, emphasizing this other thing that was given so we can use, do or did for past tense toe.

Emphasize things in this way, and you'll also notice, as I did with my intonation.

Will kind of emphasize that key word with our voice, too, so that makes it sound much more natural.

I hope that this helps answer your question about using do as an emphasis word.

Thanks very much for sending it along.

Okay, let's move on to your next question.

Next question comes from Reuben.

Hi, Reuben, Reuben says.

What's the difference between help and help out?

Okay, let's start by talking about help out.

We use help out when we want to refer to one person doing something for another person to make life easier.

So it's like someone is assisting or aiding in someone else's life.

Um, and we can on Lee use help out to talk about actions done by other people.

So this is a key difference with the verb help.

So because this is used on Lee to talk about people, we can't use it for objects.

That means an object cannot help out.

So, like an object cannot help me out with something.

Let's look at some natural examples of using help out.

My parents helped me out with the paperwork when I bought my first car.

Do you think you can help us out with this week's homework?

So in both of these example sentences, we see the sample pattern help out with noun phrase.

So in this case, we've seen, like help me out with or help us out with.

So between help and out, we're splitting that verb the phrase over there, and we're inserting the object.

So, like, who is receiving the assistance in that case in the first example sentence.

Help me out with this thing.

Help me out with paperwork In the second example sentence.

It's helped us out with homework, so the person receiving help is going in between help and out there.

So help someone out with.

So with introduces that thing the person needs assistance doing.

Let's compare this then to the verb help.

So, like help out, we can use help to talk about receiving assistance for something.

Yes, but unlike help Out, we can also use objects with this firm, so that means an inanimate something.

So in animate means it doesn't move.

It's just an object, like a textbook or like a camera.

These are things that are not people, so these things can also help us.

And by that I mean they make our life easier.

They make our job easier or studies easier.

We can use objects with the verb help.

Let's look at a few examples.

This textbook really helped me understand English.

My friends helped me move into my new house.

Can you help us make dinner.

So when we use the verb help without out, we follow the verb help with the object of that firm.

So that means the person who is receiving assistance, the person receiving aid, then we follow that with the action.

So the thing that was assisted, or like the thing that was made easier for that person.

So in the first example sentenced, this textbook helped me.

The person receiving help understand English.

So that's the thing that was made easier in some way in the last example Sentence a question.

Can you help us make dinner?

So us, that's the person or the people in this case needing assistance.

And the thing they need assistance with is dinner.

So to help with something.

So remember, you can use help out for people, but you can't use it to talk about things we can use help to talk about people and to talk about things.

So I hope that this helps you understand the difference between these verbs.

Thanks very much for the question.

Okay, let's move on to your next question.

Next question comes from Michael.

Hi, Michael.

Michael says Hi.

Alicia, could you please explain the expression very next day.

What's the difference between this and next day?

Yeah, we use the word very as an emphasis word before now.

NHS Let's look at a couple more examples.

Oh, it's you.

The very person I wanted to see last Christmas.

I gave you my heart, and the very next day you gave it away.

A little Christmas joke there.

Ah, this program keeps crashing.

This is the very problem I've been having.

Okay, So very is used in these ways to show emphasis for the noun follows it.

So in my first example sentence, I said, Oh, you're the very person I've been looking for The very person I've been wanting to see that means like you are exactly.

You're just the person I wanted to see in the second example, a lyric from a well known Christmas song the very next day, like the speaker is emphasizing right away, like just the next day after this thing that happened in the third example sentence.

It's like saying just or exactly again, like, that's just the problem I've been having.

That's the very problem I've been having.

So very can sound a little bit formal a little bit on the formal side.

Um, but if you want to emphasize, like a person or a time period in this way using very you can do that very simply with this word, so it doesn't just mean very as in like, extremely or a lot of something.

It can also have just this emphasis word like Exactly or truly Or really so.

I hope that this helps you understand this use of very thanks very much for the question.

Okay, let's move on to your next question.

Next question comes from Rafael Santana High.

Raphael Raphael says, Hello, could you please explain, Do fine and to make do?

Thanks.

Okay, so let's start with Do fine.

We use do find most commonly in the progressive tense, and it's usually to respond to the question.

How are you doing?

I'm doing fine, so we typically don't say like please do fine Or are you doing fine?

We don't really use it in questions or to talk about ourselves in any other way other than to respond to that question.

How are you doing?

I'm doing fine, so that's do fine.

It's not so commonly used in everyday speech to make do, however, is a very interesting expression.

So to make do means to use something that's maybe of lower quality, even though you want something of higher quality, or it means like living without or going without something that you really wish you had.

Let's look at some examples of this in a sentence.

We don't have a very big budget, so we have to make do with the small team for this project.

I didn't have time to go to the store today.

So for dinner I'll make do with what I have in the fridge.

My camera isn't great, but I think I can make do with it for this video project.

So in each of these example, sentences we see make do with and then we have a noun phrase so make do with that thing, like make do with a small team or make do with what's in my fridge or make do with it.

So it's that thing that follows, make do, make do with that thing that's maybe of lower quality.

Or maybe it's not exactly the thing that we want, but we're going to do our best with that thing so to make do with something is kind of like to continue on, even though it's not.

Maybe the best are like the highest quality or exactly the perfect solution.

So I hope that that helps answer your question.

Thanks very much for sending it along.

Let's move on to your next question, though.

Next question comes from Con Tran.

Hi, Khan Khan says.

Hi, Alicia, can you explain the way to use?

No longer does it sound weird if you say I no longer have the ability to fulfill my responsibilities.

Thanks.

Yes, Oh, no longer just means not anymore.

We use it for something that was true in the past, like it was true until this point and then in the future, it's not going to be true.

So it's something that's not going to happen in the future.

So no longer and not anymore mean the same thing, but no longer kind of sounds a bit more formal, and we use it in a slightly different sentence structure.

So let's look at some examples, son.

We can no longer pay your rent for you.

We no longer allow pets in the building.

I no longer have to commute by car so we could changed each of these sentences to use anymore.

This is probably a little bit more common in everyday speech than using no longer, as I said, no longer tends to sound a bit more formal.

Just keep in mind that if you want to change your sentence, you need to change the grammatical structure of your sentence.

So, for example, son, we can't pay for your rent anymore.

We don't allow pets in the building anymore.

I don't have to commute by car anymore.

So when you're using anymore the anymore pattern, you'll notice that there's a negative that comes before the verb and then anymore comes at the end of the sentence.

This is different from the no longer pattern where we just use no longer before the verb.

And then there's nothing at the end of the sentence.

So just remember both of these.

Yes, both refer to the same thing, like something that was true in the past.

That from this point forward will not be true, but no longer sounds a bit more formal than not anymore.

So it doesn't sound weird to answer your question.

No, it doesn't sound weird, but it might just sound very polite if you're just talking to someone close to you.

So if you're speaking with friends, I might use any more I might recommend using anymore.

If it's a more formal situation, maybe you could think about using no longer instant.

So I hope that that helps answer your question.

Thanks very much.

All right.

That is everything that I have for this week.

Thank you.

As always for sending your questions, please remember to send your questions to me at English Class 101 dot com slash ask hyphen.

Alicia.

Also, if you like this video, please don't forget to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel if you haven't already.

Also, please check us out in English Class 101 dot com for some other things that can help you with your English studies.

Thanks very much for watching this week's episode of Ask Alicia and I Will See you again next week.

Bye bye.

Want to speed up your language?

Learning?

Take your very first lesson with us.

You'll start speaking in minutes and master real conversations.

Sign up for your free lifetime account.