Pratica di Shadowing: 12 Confusing English Verbs - Impara a parlare inglese con i video

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Hello, lovely students, and welcome back to English with Lucy.
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Some English verbs are incredibly confusing.
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Some of them sound really similar, like the verbs wander and wonder.
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Some have really similar meanings, like see, watch, and look.
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Or it can be really tricky to choose the right preposition or adverb.
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Did he fall off, fall over or fall down?
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Well, today you are in luck.
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I have compiled some of the most commonly confused verbs and we are going to eliminate any doubts you might have.
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You are going to have some Eureka moments.
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As always, I have created a free PDF to go with this video.
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You'll find all of the information from this lesson with extra examples
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and a secret link to an interactive exercise pack for further practice
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if you'd like to download that pdf just click on the link in the description box
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or scan that qr code there enter your name your email address
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and choose your english level then you sign up to my mailing list
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and the pdf will arrive directly in your inbox after
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that you've joined my pdf club You will automatically receive my free weekly PDFs alongside my news,
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course updates, and offers.
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It's a totally free service and you can unsubscribe at any time with just one click.
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Let's get started with number one, hear versus listen.
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We use hear to describe the process of sounds coming into your ears, whether you want them to or not, and that's the key.
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For example, did you hear those dogs barking?
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The noise kept me up all night.
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No, I had earplugs in so I couldn't hear anything.
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We also use here with the meaning of to be told something.
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For example, Emma got the job, so I've heard, so I've been told.
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Now listening on the other hand is intentional.
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When you listen, you have to focus and pay attention.
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For example, I'm listening to a really good podcast at the moment, or he told me what the plan was,
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but I wasn't really listening.
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So hearing no effort, listening intentional requires effort.
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It's that simple.
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Number two, We have see, look, and watch, or I should really say see, look at, and watch.
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I get questions about these verbs all the time.
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See is similar to here.
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It's the process of noticing something, but this time with the eyes, no effort required.
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For example, we could see the Eiffel Tower from our hotel window, or I didn't see the person who snatched my phone.
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Look at means to move your eyes in a particular direction in order to see something.
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For example, look at that man dressed as a horse or look at me when I'm talking to you, please.
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The action of looking is generally quite short.
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Watch, on the other hand, is when you look at something or somebody for a longer period of time.
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What you're watching will usually be moving like a film, a YouTube video, a play, or a concert.
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The action generally involves more effort.
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For example, watch how I play it and then you can try and copy.
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Or did you watch the game last night?
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Now, you can see or watch a film, but be careful, we don't see television.
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We watch television.
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For example, we're going to watch or we're going to see Gladiator 2 if you fancy joining us, or I rarely watch TV these days,
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not I rarely see TV.
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Okay, number three, fit and suit.
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Here are two questions that I frequently ask my husband, but what's the difference in meaning?
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Number one, does this dress suit me?
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And number two, does this dress
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fit me
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and yes i said suit not sweet suit we pronounce suit
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with the long ooh as in boot suit okay we use
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the verb suit to ask about how attractive an item of clothing an accessory
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or even a hairstyle makes a person look
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if someone says wow those jeans really suit you they're saying
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those jeans look good on you you look attractive wearing them we use fit to talk about the size
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and shape of something.
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For example, you can have that T -shirt.
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It doesn't fit me anymore.
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It's too big or too small for my body.
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You'll often hear people say something fits well or nicely.
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And I love the idiomatic expression to fit like a glove, which means to fit perfectly.
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Oh, and I can't be on this topic and not mention go with.
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We use this phrase with the meaning of combine well.
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That bag goes really well with those shoes.
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Your bag matches your shoes or your bag combines well with your shoes.
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They look good together.
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It's a vibe.
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Okay, let's move on to number four.
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We have mind and matter.
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Now, these two verbs can cause a lot of confusion if we mix them up.
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What is the difference between these two sentences?
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Which one are you likely to say more often?
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I don't mind.
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I don't matter.
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So we usually use mind in questions and negatives.
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I don't mind means it's not a problem for me.
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For example, I don't mind doing the washing up.
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I'm happy to do it.
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Or we don't mind the noise from the traffic.
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It doesn't bother us.
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And in the question form, it can be used to make a polite request.
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Would you mind taking me to the airport?
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Notice how we can use a noun or the ing verb after mind.
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We also often use not mind to say that we are happy with any options offered to us.
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For example, do you fancy going out for dinner or should we stay in?
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I don't mind.
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I'd be happy doing either.
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And what about the second sentence?
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I don't matter.
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I really hope you never say this.
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If something matters to you, it's important to you.
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So if you say, I don't matter, you're saying, I'm not important.
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I recommend memorising these two phrases together.
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I don't mind, it doesn't matter.
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We use matter to reassure someone that something isn't important.
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Oh no, I forgot to buy the milk.
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It doesn't matter, we can do without it.
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Now, rather confusingly, you can also use the expression, nevermind here with the same meaning.
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And one final point here, don't mix, I don't mind up with, I don't care.
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If used with the wrong tone of voice, I don't care can make you sound angry or disinterested.
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Compare the responses to the question.
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What do you fancy for dinner?
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I don't mind.
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I'd genuinely be happy with anything you make for me.
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I don't care.
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That means, leave me alone.
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I don't want to have to think about this right now.
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I'm too busy.
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The difference is quite clear.
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Okay, number five.
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We're going to take a look at two verbs with very different meanings that sound ridiculously similar.
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Wonder and wonder.
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Can you hear the difference?
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I pronounced wonder with the O as in a, wonder with the a vowel sound in up, wonder.
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Lots of speakers in the North of England will use the a vowel sound like in put, wonder.
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Wonder spelt with an A is pronounced with the short off vowel,
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like in October and hot, wonder, wonder, wonder.
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Can you hear the difference?
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But what do they mean?
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Well, wonder is a very useful verb, which means to ask yourself something you wish you knew the answer to.
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I wonder what Diego's thinking right now.
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In fact, I know what he's thinking.
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It's his dinner time.
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We're nearly at the end of the lesson.
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Or I wonder what Will's bought me for my birthday.
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Wonder has nothing to do with wonder.
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Wonder means to walk around a place with no set plan or purpose.
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Like we wandered around the narrow streets of Venice for hours.
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Or the very famous line from the William Wordsworth poem, I wandered lonely as a cloud.
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Let's use them both in a sentence.
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I wonder where Diego wanders when Will and I are working.
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Next, we have fall off, fall over, and fall down.
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I cannot count the number of times
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that a student has told me they've fallen down their bike or fallen over the stairs.
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These are incorrect.
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Let's clear this one up once and for all.
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We use the verb fall when we suddenly drop from the position we are in towards the ground.
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We have a fight with gravity and gravity wins.
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Fall off can have an object, and this object is usually something we've been sitting on.
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For example, I fell off my bike, a horse, my chair, the roof, I hope not.
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Fall over is when you suddenly drop to the ground from a standing or upright position.
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and it doesn't need an object.
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I fell over and banged my knees.
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It doesn't need an object, but it can have one.
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For example, the dog fell over the cliff.
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Fall down is most commonly used for stairs or steps.
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It can be used with other inclined objects like a hill or a slope.
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My brother fell down the stairs and broke his ankle.
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Okay, I think it's time for a quiz to see what you remember.
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I have five sentences for you to complete with the correct verb.
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Make sure you conjugate the verbs.
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Make sure you use them in the correct form.
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Keep track of your score and let me know how you did in the comments.
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Number one, my baby's growing so fast, none of her clothes hurt anymore.
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Is it fit or suit? Did you say suit?
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I hope not, because the correct answer is fit.
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Her clothes are too small.
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They are no longer the right size or shape.
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Number two, I forgot to pick up your parcel.
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It, I can get it on my way home.
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Do we say it doesn't matter or it doesn't mind?
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You should say it doesn't matter.
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Number three, we spend hours, the streets of Seville.
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I want you to use wonder or wander.
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Did you say wandering with the oh sound?
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Well done.
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Wonder means to ask yourself a question.
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Number four, have you seen that reel of the girl dressed up as a ghost falling the stairs?
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Is it off, over, or down?
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That's right, we fall down the stairs, just like we do with other inclined places like hills and slopes.
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And last one now, number five.
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Sorry, I couldn't, you, I had my earphones in.
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Is it hear or listen to?
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It should be, I couldn't hear you.
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The earphones blocked the sound of your voice.
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Right.
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Let me know your score out of five.
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That's it for today.
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I hope the lesson has cleared up lots of doubts.
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I've included lots more interesting bits of information about these verbs and another quiz in the PDF.
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So don't forget to download it.
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The link is in the description box.
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I will see you soon for another lesson.

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Tutto ciò che serve per parlare fluentemente

Pronuncia con IAVoto per ogni frase
Pratica IPAPadroneggia ogni suono
VocabolarioCostruisci il tuo lessico
Gioco di vocabolarioImpara giocando

Vocabolario e note di pronuncia per questa lezione

Questa lezione di conversazione si basa sul video “12 Confusing English Verbs”. Le parole che ritornano più spesso: wonder, verb, example, fall, suit. Questo video contiene 188 frasi e 1851 parole da ripetere con lo shadowing. Il parlato dura 12:43. Chi parla mantiene un ritmo costante di circa 146 parole al minuto, comodo per lo shadowing. Il 85% delle parole rientra nelle 3.000 più comuni dell’inglese; conviene studiare le altre prima di iniziare.

Vocaboli chiave di questo video

15 parole del video che vale la pena imparare, con pronuncia e significato:

ParolaPronunciaSignificato
verb sostantivo/vɝb/verbo
wander verbo/ˈwɑndɚ/errare, vagare
stairs sostantivo/ˈstɛɹz/scala
lesson sostantivo/ˈlɛs.ən/lezione
fancy sostantivo/ˈfæn.si/fantasia, immaginazione
shoe sostantivo/ˈʃu/scarpa, calzatura
pronounce verbo/pɹəˈnaʊns/dichiarare
rarely avverbio/ˈɹɛəɹli/raramente
commonly avverbio/ˈkɑmənli/comunemente, frequentemente
phrase sostantivo/ˈfɹeɪ̯z/espressione, polirematica
gravity sostantivo/ˈɡɹævɪti/gravità
combine verbo/kəmˈbaɪn/combinare, mischiare
cloth sostantivo/klɒθ/stoffa, tessuto
slope sostantivo/sloʊp/pendio
quiz sostantivo/kwɪz/quiz

I phrasal verb che sentirai

ParolaPronunciaSignificato
fall down verbo/fɔl ˈdaʊn/cadere
pick up verbotirare su, sollevare

Frasi da ripetere

Frasi brevi e complete del video che puoi riutilizzare nella conversazione di tutti i giorni:

  • For example, did you hear those dogs barking?
  • Number one, does this dress suit me?
  • Which one are you likely to say more often?
  • Would you mind taking me to the airport?
  • What do you fancy for dinner?

La grammatica di questo video

Le strutture che chi parla usa di più, con le parole esatte del video:

StrutturaNel video
Present perfect have/has + participio passato — un’azione passata che conta ancora adessohave compiled · have created · you've joined
Forma passiva be + participio passato — conta ciò che accade, non chi lo fabe told · I've been told · is pronounced
Frasi relative who / which + frase — un’informazione in più su una persona o una cosaperson who snatched · glove, which means · verb, which means
Consigli con “should” should + verbo — dire che cosa è meglio fareshould really say · should we stay · should say

Pronuncia a cui fare attenzione

Chi parla usa 57 contrazioni e forme ridotte, come don't, doesn't, I'm. Pronunciale nella forma breve, così come le senti.

  • I suoni “th”: cloth /klɒθ/, clothing /ˈkloʊðɪŋ/, bother /ˈbɑðɚ/
  • I suoni “sh” e “zh”: shoe /ˈʃu/, intentional /ɪnˈtɛnʃənəl/, wash /wɑʃ/, confusion /kənˈfjuːʒən/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/
  • Parole lunghe — attenzione all’accento: intentional /ɪnˈtɛnʃənəl/, incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, eliminate /ɪˈlɪm.ɪ.neɪt/, genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, interactive /ˌɪn.tɚˈæk.tɪv/

I suoni difficili per chi parla italiano:

  • Consonante finale — senza aggiungere una vocale dopo: verb /vɝb/, stairs /ˈstɛɹz/, pronounce /pɹəˈnaʊns/, phrase /ˈfɹeɪ̯z/, jeans /d͡ʒiːnz/
  • /æ/ — più aperta della “e”: fancy /ˈfæn.si/, gravity /ˈɡɹævɪti/, narrow /ˈnæɹəʊ/, bang /ˈbæŋ/, podcast /ˈpɑdˌkæst/
  • /ŋ/ finale — senza pronunciare la /g/: clothing /ˈkloʊðɪŋ/, bang /ˈbæŋ/

Come esercitarsi con questo video

  1. Ascolta tutto il video una volta senza parlare e annota le parole che non conosci.
  2. Fai shadowing frase per frase a velocità normale, ripetendo ognuna finché il tuo ritmo coincide con quello di chi parla.
  3. Registrati e confronta con l’originale, facendo attenzione a parole come verb, wander, stairs.

Cos'è la tecnica dello Shadowing?

Shadowing è una tecnica di apprendimento delle lingue supportata da studi scientifici, originariamente sviluppata per la formazione dei traduttori professionisti e resa popolare dal poliglotta Dr. Alexander Arguelles. Il metodo è semplice ma potente: ascolti un audio in inglese di madrelingua e lo ripeti immediatamente ad alta voce — come un'ombra che segue il parlante con un ritardo di solo 1–2 secondi. A differenza dell'ascolto passivo o degli esercizi di grammatica, lo shadowing costringe il tuo cervello e i muscoli della bocca a elaborare e riprodurre simultaneamente i modelli di discorso reale. La ricerca dimostra che migliora significativamente la precisione della pronuncia, l'intonazione, il ritmo, il discorso connesso, la comprensione dell'ascolto e la fluidità del parlato — rendendolo uno dei metodi più efficaci per la preparazione alla prova di speaking dell'IELTS e per la comunicazione reale in inglese.

Tecnica dello shadowing: leggi la guida completa passo dopo passo →