Ask Canguro 001
This week’s questions:
VOCABULARY QUESTIONS
- What’s the difference between helpful and useful?
- What’s the difference between thankful and grateful?
- Which spelling is best for an exam: can’t, cannot, or can not?
- What’s the difference between uninterested and disinterested?
ETYMOLOGY QUESTIONS
- Where does the expression “without further ado” come from?
PRONUNCIATION QUESTIONS
- Tips on distinguishing hassle vs hustle
- I feel like my pronunciation is horrible, even in more first language. Do I need a speech therapist for English?
.THE BIG QUESTION
- How do I move passive vocabulary to active vocabulary?
List of Highlighted Vocabulary
Note: The following words were mentioned in our podcast conversation.
Extra:
- active vocabulary: words you can use when speaking or writing without thinking, automatic words
- ashamed: feeling guilty or embarrassed
- asshole: a rude word for a very bad person
- black and white answer: a simple answer with no uncertainty
- bow and arrow: a weapon that shoots arrows; think Robin Hood
- branch: the “arms” of a tree
- bullseye: the center of a target, typically a red circle
- corpus: a large collection of real language examples
- dishonest: not truthful or trustworthy
- disinterested: neutral and without personal interest
- dissatisfied: not happy with something
- embarrassed: feeling uncomfortable or slightly ashamed, a feeling that makes you red in the face
- etymology: the history and origin of words
- frustrating: causing annoyance or disappointment
- fuss: unnecessary worry or excitement
- grace: smoothness, elegance, or kindness
- grateful: feeling a very deep sense of thanks
- hassle: an annoying problem or difficulty
- helpful: giving help
- honest: truthful and sincere
- impartial: fair and not taking sides, like a judge
- lisp: a speech difference affecting certain sounds
- notoriously strict : famous for being very strict
- overlap: to partly share the same area or ideas
- passive vocabulary: words you understand when you see or hear them but you can’t remember automatically when you want to speak
- scary: causing fear, to make one feel afraid
- spaced repetition: reviewing at increasing time intervals
- stand-up comedian: a performer telling jokes to an audience
- target: the round object you shoot at (ex: with a gun or bow & arrow)
- thankful: feeling a sense of thanks
- theatrical: dramatic or related to the theater
- to appear: to become visible
- to disappear: to stop being visible
- to hustle: to work hard with energy, to move quickly
- to look up a word: to search for a word’s meaning
- to stammer: to speak with repeated sounds or pauses (UK)
- to stutter: to speak with repeated sounds or pauses (USA)
- to take sides: to support one person or group
- to trick somebody: to deceive someone
- to-do: a lot of unnecessary fuss or excitement
- uninterested: not interested
- unsatisfied: not fully pleased or fulfilled
- useful: helping achieve a purpose, practical help
- voodoo: a religion with African and Caribbean roots
- vowel: a speech sound like a, e, i, o, u
- What do you reckon?: What do you think?
- without further ado: without any more delay
- word sketch: a corpus summary showing common word patterns
Contact us
Send a voice message: Go to canguroenglish.com/ask-canguro/ to record your question for the podcast.
Send an email: For comments, questions, and suggestions, write to us at podcast@canguroenglish.com.
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