AEE 2668: Do You Ever Question Your Questions?

This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2668. Do you ever question your questions? Welcome to the All Ears English Podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English?

We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection, with your American hosts, Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl, and Aubrey Carter, the IELTS whiz, coming to you from Arizona and New York City, USA.

And to get your transcript delivered by email every week, go to allearsenglish.com forward slash subscribe. Today, you'll learn about words that are used as both a noun and a verb. You'll learn strategies that will make your English sound more natural and details about the six most common verbs that might trip you up.

Hello, Michelle. How are you? Hi, Aubrey. I am good. How are you? Excellent. I have a question for you to start us out. What are some questions that you usually ask someone when you first meet them?

Oh, okay. So I probably ask, well, what's your name? Where are you from? And then it depends where we are. Like, how do you know so-and-so? Or how was your day?

Lots of different things. Yeah, it's so interesting. When you first meet someone, you want to keep it light, right? There's a little bit of small talk.

We got a really interesting question in YouTube about this. I'll go ahead and read this. This is from Ahmad Raksim, who said, I have a question for you. How do you feel when you use the same word as both a noun and a verb?

Like to question a question. Does it feel off? So this is really interesting. This is a great question. And the short answer is no. English does this a lot.

We do this a lot. Many words are both nouns and verbs. And then we use the context to understand them. And when this is interesting, we're going to talk about this, right?

How we will sometimes question a question and we're using nouns and verbs that are used as both. So I'm excited to dive into this today. Yes, exactly. So guys, the key is just using these naturally in conversations.

So today we're going to talk about some common words that can be both nouns and verbs, and how to use them so they sound natural instead of awkward. Because this is important for connection, because you want to sound natural, of course. And when something sounds funny, it throws the conversation off. So people can get distracted from what you're actually trying to say, and we don't want that.

Exactly. That's always the goal. The more natural, confident we can sound, the less awkwardness there will be and the easier it will be to connect, right? Which is the goal.

So guys, be sure to hit follow if you believe like we do in connection, not perfection. We are always teaching English with the goal of helping you connect in English. Be ready for those in-person conversations with coworkers and friends to build connections in English.

Yes, exactly. All right. So the listener mentioned the word question. So questions can be used as a noun, meaning something that is asked, like an inquiry.

So for example, are there any questions? Or I have an important question. But question can also be used as a verb. Isn't that right, Aubrey? Exactly. Meaning to doubt something or want to investigate it.

Like, I question his integrity. The police questioned the suspect. So this question in our listener's question was interesting. If you say, I question your question.

It's like, oh, wait, does that sound strange? Because I just used it as a verb and a noun. It actually doesn't. Because depending on the context, we know exactly what someone means.

We might laugh about it after and be like, you know what I mean. I'm asking about your question, right? We recognize that it's the same word, but we also understand because this happens so quickly. commonly.

Right, exactly. And so, you know, instead, we'd say it in a different way, right, Aubrey? We might say, I'm questioning his question from earlier, or I have doubts about his question from earlier. We might recognize like, okay, these are the same word, even though it's a verb and a noun, and I get it.

We might intentionally change the form in order to avoid confusion or just to avoid repetition. Right. Yeah, exactly. But there are a lot of other words that can be both nouns and verbs.

So the cool thing is it's kind of like getting two for one when you're learning vocabulary because they often have similar meanings, but one is the action and the other is the thing. So it's usually not just a totally different meaning. I'm not going to say always, but...

Since we did question, should we talk about answer? Absolutely, right? We do this as well with answer as a noun. It means the response to a question, of course.

That answer makes sense. Or she gave a great answer to the essay question. In both of these sentences, answer is a noun. Hmm. Yes, exactly. So, but as a verb, it's to provide an answer, right?

To provide an answer, which is a noun. So, can you answer this question or he answered quickly? Exactly. In both of those examples, it's a verb, right?

He answers a question. He answers quickly. Okay. So this is tricky. You could say, did you answer his answer? But for the same reason as question, we wouldn't usually do this to avoid vocabulary repetition, to avoid any confusion.

We probably would say this another way, right? Did you comment on his answer? Maybe. Or did you answer what he said? Did you comment on what he said? There are so many other ways to say that that would be less confused, less potentially confusing.

Right. And I think you just said the word comment. So let's go through that. That's another one. So as a noun, a comment is a remark or opinion about something.

So that was an interesting comment. Or I saw your comment on my video. Right. And it's used as a noun there, right? What an interesting comment. The comment is the noun, the thing.

But we also use it as a verb, which means to make a remark or express an opinion. So for example, she commented on my presentation, or he commented that the meeting was too long. He always comments when the meeting is too long, right? And there it's a verb.

Yep, exactly. And this is interesting. Same thing. We probably wouldn't say like, you know, he always comments on other people's comments. Comments, right.

It just sounds strange a little bit. So this is interesting. This is a really good question that was sent in by Ahmad. Yeah. Because it does sound a We avoid this not just when it's a noun and a verb like this.

Any sentence, if we have the same word repeated, we're probably going to change one of the instances, either immediately when we're thinking and talking, or if it's written, we're going to intentionally like, let's use a synonym. Let's paraphrase this just to avoid that repetition because it sounds a little awkward. And in this case, it could be a little confusing. Yeah, exactly.

Very good point. All right. Another one is access. So as a noun, this means the ability or permission to enter a place or use something. So for example, I don't have access to that file or only residents have access to the building.

So here it's a noun, something you could have. But as a verb, it's to enter somewhere or to retrieve something. So for example, you can access the report online or guests can access the pool with their key card. I mean, yeah.

So if you were to use both of them together, this makes me think of like, you know, sometimes if I need to request access for like a file that we're sending, Aubrey, maybe like a Google file. And it's like, I don't know if I would say I can't Access. This thing that I need access to, right?

Yeah, yeah, exactly. We would say it another way. Exactly. Another one is support as a noun. It means help, encouragement, or approval. So thanks so much for your support lately, or we really appreciated the community's support after the fire.

So a noun in both of those examples. What about as a verb? Yeah. So as a verb, it's to help or encourage or approve of something. So I support your decision or let's support local businesses.

So yeah, you'll see that if you said, I support your support. I support your support. I mean, grammatically, it's accurate, the verb, then the noun, but it just sounds strange to have them in one short sentence. So say it another way.

I appreciate your support. Yes. That works too. Exactly. Exactly. Let's do one more. So this is plan. So plan as a noun is a detailed idea or an arrangement.

So what's the plan for tonight, Aubrey? Or I like your plan for the project. Yeah, it's a noun in both of those examples, but we also use it as a verb to decide or arrange something in advance. So for example, we plan to leave early tomorrow, or they're planning a trip to Mexico.

So we always plan a plan, but we don't usually say that. Right, right, right. Exactly. So, and again, guys, as we've been saying this whole time, we don't want to repeat the same words too close together.

So you'd find a different way to say it. So again, as we kind of touched on today, she answered with a weird answer. You might just say her answer was weird. Right.

Just rephrase exactly. Or we planned a plan. Don't say that. You could just say we made plans. We made plans. Or she commented on my comment. Instead, she responded to my comment, right?

There are so many synonyms for words that instead of using the same word as a verb and a noun, rephrase it to avoid any kind of vocabulary repetition or a sentence that ends up sounding kind of strange.

Yes, exactly. So let's do a role play. So here, we are planning a trip to Italy. That sounds delightful. It does want to start us out. I'm in. Sure. Here we go.

Should we start planning our trip to Italy? Yes. I think the plan should definitely include some top sites, but also lots of downtime. Oh, I like that balance.

Should I create a spreadsheet with all the details? Yeah, that'd be great. But we should both have access to it so I can make changes too. Of course. I'll send you the link so you can access it too.

Perfect. I'll make comments. And if I have any suggestions, I'll let you know. Okay. Sounds good. Also, I have a question about accommodations. Do you prefer separate hotel rooms or should we share?

Let me think about that one. I'll give you an answer later tonight. Okay, sure. No rush. Oh, this is gonna be a fun trip, Michelle. I'm excited. Yeah.

Oh, my gosh. I really wish this were happening. I know. I kind of hate this when a role play is so fun. And then I'm like, this is not real. It's like when you wake up from a really good dream, right?

Exactly. Like, I want that to be real. Yeah, yeah. All right, let's go through this role play. You first said, should we start planning our trip to Italy?

So it's a verb here, right? We're going to plan our trip. That is the verb, the action. Exactly. So then you said, I think the plan should definitely include some top sites, but also lots of downtime.

So the plan. Yeah, it's a noun there, right? I think the plan should include these sites. So I set it as a verb, and then you used it as a noun here, totally normal.

They're not so close together that it feels strange, right? It would be weird if you had started, like, should we start planning a plan for Italy? That would be strange. Right.

Exactly. And then I said, that'd be great, but we should both have access to it so I can make changes. Yeah. And there it's a noun. Yep. And I said, of course, I'll send you a link so you can access it too.

So as a verb. Yep. And then I said, perfect. I'll make comments on it if I have any suggestion. And this is interesting. When we talk about commenting in a doc, we often a lot of you out there are using these shared docs with coworkers or friends, Google Docs, Google Sheets.

And it's interesting if we say I'll comment in it and use it as a verb that I wouldn't say it that way. I would say I'll make comments in it. So because often where we're using the verb comment is more like I'm telling you about something. And when we're talking about comments in a doc, we really use it more as the noun.

I'm going to make a comment. So that's a really interesting way to distinguish there. Whereas, you know, if you say like, I'll comment in the doc, it almost feels like a mistake. Like I meant I'll comment on the doc.

I'll tell you something about it. So though it's grammatically correct, we just don't really use it that way that much. I don't. Yeah, I don't think so.

Interesting. Yeah, it is. There's some strange little nuances like that. And this is your level. You guys are at the B1, B2, C1 level if you're understanding a lot of this podcast, which we know you are.

And that is a nuance of language that now you'll start noticing like, oh, people aren't saying like, I'll comment in this doc. But it also could be, who knows, regional. It could be people's different style, little things like that and how they say it, right? Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Very interesting. So we were over to... Sorry, I lost my spot. Yeah, thanks. About accommodations. Right, there we go. And then, yeah, you said, I'll give you an answer later tonight.

So here, both nouns. I have a question and then I'll give you an answer. And of course, those can both be verbs. You can say that you're questioning something or that you're answering something.

So a lot of words that we use both as verbs. verbs, and nouns. It can be really tricky. Yeah, definitely. So, guys, check out All Ears English episode 2662.

That was when you know, you know how to express your intuition in English. And we had a lot of fun with that one. So, takeaway for today is... No, we are so used to if words are nouns or verbs, but there may be times where it sounds awkward, like if you're using it in two different forms in the same sentence.

And we might make accommodations and change things around a little bit to make it feel a little less awkward. But again, the point is connection, not perfection. Always going back to that. If you're too worried about when you said it, you know, okay, so if you use it in the same sentence...

okay, it's not the end of the world, right? So don't think about that so much and think, how can I change this so I'm not repeating? Don't do that because then you're going to end up not paying attention to the connection part. So you don't want to let something like this throw you off or keep you from starting a conversation.

But I'm so glad we shared these tips because something like this is important to know because it will make your speech so much more natural. And that is the goal as well. That's the best way to connect when you're like, this feels natural.

Observe this as you're taking in English. You're going to notice you don't hear these used. You don't hear any words used often together like that in the same sentence. We just try to avoid that so that we don't sound repetitive.

But yeah, great tips today, Michelle. Really fun. And thank you for joining me for this fun grammar episode. Thank you. And thank you to our listener for that great question.

Awesome. See you guys next time. All right. Bye. Thanks for listening to All Ears English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz.

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