Twice this week I've run into the same problem while chatting with people. As you know, most questions have a simple 'yes' or 'no' answer. Example: Have you had your breakfast yet? You could answer that question with a simple yes or no. Right? That's easy and it's pretty basic English.
There is another example that isn't quite as easy to answer. If someone says, "Wow. I'm really hungry!", Then I might ask, "Haven't you had your breakfast yet?" How do you think you would answer that? Would you agree with the question and say, "Yes" or would you answer the actual question and say "No."
The answer in the second example should tell the person whether you had breakfast or not. Think of it as the opposite of the first question.
Here are the right answers to each example. The person answering the question has NOT had breakfast.
Example 1: Q. Have you had your breakfast yet? A. No. (No, I haven't had my breakfast yet.)
Example 2. Q. Haven 't you had your breakfast yet? A. No. (No, I haven't had my breakfast yet.)
In the second example it might seem proper to say, "Yes. I haven't had my breakfast yet" but that would be wrong. In a chat situation, people tend to type as few words as possible. A simple no or yes usually does the trick. Sometimes, however, you will have these kinds of negative questions that could be answered by one word, yes or no, if you use the right word. If you don't, it means that there will still be a question even after you answer it!
Example 3. (The wrong way to answer) Q. Haven 't you had your breakfast yet? A. Yes. (You are saying that you haven't had your breakfast yet but the person thinks that by saying yes, then you have had it. Get it?)
The answer to this is easy if you are me. Don't ask negative questions! But you won't always be chatting or talking to me, right? Negative questions, when used with the right tone of voice, can show disbelief. " you have not had your Breakfast yet? " This implies that the person is astonished that you have not eaten. Maybe it's NOON and you slept late.
I hope this helps you a bit and that it doesn't confuse you! Thanks for reading.
Ebaby has a lesson this week about the term 'whipped'. I don't really follow the lessons much but I wanted to see how they described this term and how they told you why it was used. These days, you will hear that term on some TV shows. American TV shows can't use the full term so they try to be cool and daring by using the word 'whipped' in the way that Ebaby describes it. But neither Ebaby or American TV can really use the full term, simply because it is a bit rude.
Whipped, at least the way that Ebaby explained it, comes from the term 'pussy whipped'. The term is a thing that guys say to each other when one of them seems to be emasculated by a woman. The woman could be a wife or a girlfriend, someone who the guy is in love with or is having a physical relationship with. If you don't know what the word 'pussy' means in this context, it is the slang word for a woman's vagina.
If you are going to use the term 'whipped' in the context that Ebaby suggests using it, you have to realize that a Western person will assume that you are really saying 'pussy whipped'. Just so you know, pussy whipped isn't something that you say in normal or even casual conversation. It is only used when you are talking to a close friend, a man, someone who you know really well. You would never use this term with your parents or a boss or with someone you don't know really well. My suggestion would be to not use it at all.
Slang has its place but when you are learning English you have to understand what you are saying before you use any slang at all. Pussy whipped or whipped isn't a term that you would want to get to know, trust me. If you are a guy, sure, give it a shot. If you're a girl, I would suggest just forgetting it completely.
Thanks for reading!
Many people ask me how to learn to listen to English. They say, "I can read English but I can't understand it when a native English person speaks to me." Here is a suggestion, give it a try to see if it works for you. Your browser must have two windows open at the same time.
Step 2. Choose Chapter 1. Press pause to stop the player.
Step 4. Choose Chapter 1.
Step 5. Open the first window and press the arrow to play the sound.
Step 6. Go back to the other window to read along with the narrator.
Now, at your own speed, you can listen to a man read Tom Sawyer while you read along in the online book. As you listen you can check the meaning of the words, see how they are pronounced and even learn how to change your voice when you see the punctuation marks. Listen to the man's voice as it changes, depending on the kind of sentence he is reading.
I think this will help you learn English a bit more easily than before. Once you get used to hearing English, you'll be able to understand it better. Once you have read one chapter, why not just listen and see if you can understand what he is saying. If you don't understand something, you can refer back to the online book and see what it is that he said.
A word of warning about the book. Tom Sawyer is an old book, more than 100 years old. Back then, people used different words sometimes than they do now. People spoke differently than they do now. Don't get discouraged if you don't understand something. Remember, you can always ask me what something means. The point of this is to learn to 'listen' to English. If you practice this way, pretty soon the words will make sense and you will be well on your way to being able to understand what someone is saying to you.
Lastly, the two websites are totally free. You can look for other books on each site, but try to match them up side by side, like I did with Tom Sawyer. I chose that book because I know that you might have taken it in school. If you can think of other books, share them with me so I can tell other people about them.
Good luck and thanks for reading!
