AEE: Does This Content Make You Feel Content?

This is an All Ears English podcast. Does this content make you feel content? 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.

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You're likely hearing the word content a lot, but do you know if you can make it plural? And why is content spelled the same but sounds so different? Find out today.

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Start now at allearsenglish.com fluency score. That's allearsenglish.com f-l-u-e-n-c-y-s-c-o-r-e. Hello, Michelle. How are you? I am good, Aubrey. How are you?

Excellent. I have a question about your internet habits, your online habits. Would you say you consume a lot of online content? Hmm. Yes, I would say, I mean, the biggest place where I consume online content has been Instagram, like just like reels on Instagram.

Like recently, the Knicks, we're recording this, we're recording this in advance, guys, but the Knicks won the championship. Which is your team, right? Yes, and it was... We hadn't actually talked about this. It's so exciting.

It was... Oh, wow. What a moment. I could do a whole episode just me talking about the mix. Right. So anyway, like so like all my the content that I'm currently consuming online is just like interviews of the players.

And my brother and I are sending reels back and forth, just little snippets of things. And so that's it's just funny because you see how your algorithm works.

changes it's like it's gonna be based on what's going right what based on what's going on in your life it's like sometimes sometimes i get only healthy snack ideas and you know like different videos much more fun so i'm glad the next one for your sake and that you have fun basketball content to watch now Well, the reason this is coming up is I heard a mistake in one of our live online speaking sessions. I've heard this a few times is someone saying managing contents, which this is so confusing because we often do use content in the plural, right? The contents of your suitcase.

And so this is tricky. We are going to dive into the different meanings of this word content and when you should or should not make it plural. Very interesting. Very interesting.

Okay, well, I'm excited to talk about this with you. Where should we start? I know, right? So this is interesting, this word content. It is especially tricky because it can be a countable noun or an uncountable noun.

So that's what really will make a noun tricky in English. If it's one or the other... Easy. We got it, right? Well, we can figure it out. But when depending on the meaning, depending on the context, it could be both.

That's what can really throw a wrench into what we're doing here, right? And this word comes up a lot, especially lately with how big social media is and all of the content everyone's consuming and we're talking about the different things. So this word is even more common now than it was when we were young, right, Michelle? Yeah.

Yes, yes, exactly. Yeah, that's true. So yeah, I think this is important for connection just because it's, yeah, like you said, it's coming up a lot. And so could be at work or online, a conversation, right?

And if you use it incorrectly, it can sound a little bit funny. So we're going to help make sure that you know how to use it and say it. So we're hit the follow button wherever you're listening to the All Airs English podcast.

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All right. Let's dive in with this first meaning of content is what we were talking about. If you are managing content or consuming content, we would never make this plural. This is an uncountable noun like information.

And so this means online media that is created or consumed, information stuff, right? But all online. So videos, posts, blogs, podcasts, website pages, articles, all of that online content. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.

So for example, we need better content for our website. So yeah, that means just anything, whatever's on it, we need. It's sort of a numbrella term for anything that could be posted online, right? Is all right.

Yes. Or what type of content do you post online? So yeah, do you post pictures? Do you post articles? You know, what is it? Exactly. Yeah. So this is interesting.

There are some common collocations with this. So of course, online content, you might say online content should be engaging, right? Or content marketing, you might say, is content marketing dead? So there are certain nouns that we chunk this word with.

Mm hmm. Or I like this one to create content. I create content for our company's blog. So you write the blog. If there's pictures, you put it up or post content.

I post content on TikTok. Exactly. Or manage content. You might say, I manage content for several social media accounts or I work in content management.

So yeah, it's interesting how there's like creators and there's managers or all these professions now for all of the internet content that's out there. And then of course we have content strategy. A company might say, you know, what is our content strategy for the next few months? Because of course they have, you know, they're making use also of all of these social media

channels and ways to market, you know, use digital marketing. Right. Or a content creator. I mean, this ended up being a full job, right? This is like a newer collocation, content creator.

I am a content creator. My primary platform is YouTube. So yeah, I knew this might be some sort of influencer too. Yeah. You just, you know, maybe you do videos and create the content for them.

So yeah, interesting. Yeah, so interesting. All right. So number two, totally separate meaning here is we'll say the content of someone's character. This means a person's true nature, their values, integrity, their inner personality.

It's sort of an abstract expression. It's not super common, but we will hear it. And it's also uncountable. Just like online content, we wouldn't make it plural.

We wouldn't say the contents of our character. We always just say the content of one's character. Right. And this was also a Martin Luther King Jr., right?

Yes. Part of his speech, you know, like by the content of their character, right? Exactly, right? That we shouldn't be judged by anything else about us, you know, not the color of our skin, not anything about our background, but the content of our character.

That means whether we have integrity, are we a good person? Yes. Yes. Do you ever start speaking English and suddenly the words disappear? You pause too much, you hesitate, you know what you want to say, but only later, not in the moment when it matters.

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All right. And now we just have content, the physical items inside something. This could be in a container, a bag, a room, and this is a countable noun. So how does that make it different, Michelle?

Yeah. So in this one, you can add an S. So it's almost always plural. So the contents of a suitcase, for example. And it is somewhat formal. So in casual conversations, I would be more inclined to say something like stuff.

or things like oh like the the things in my suitcase right um so but here for example the contents of the bag were all wet so yeah i i wouldn't say that like if my if my kids came home from camp and i'm opening and i'm telling my husband that we need to you know put stuff in the dryer i would never say the contents of the bag were all wet Would you? Where we're going to hear this more is like technical, maybe at the airport, someone that might say, I need to check the contents of your bag or please empty the contents of your pockets, right? Where it's elevated language to be more systematized, right?

It's not casual conversation as much. It's more when we're trying to be a little more formal and professional maybe. Right. Or please check the contents of the package.

Right. So, yeah, definitely a little bit more elevated, more professional sounding. So, yeah, I mean, some common collocations with this word, the contents of a suitcase. So the contents of my suitcase were all over the floor after airport security checked it.

Or the contents of a box. She carefully unpacked the contents of the box and placed everything on the table. And then what about a table of contents? This is probably when we hear it the most often.

Yeah. If you're a reader anyway. Yes, exactly. So this is like a book context, right? So the table of contents is the page that happens in the beginning of a book that shows you what chapters are coming up, what chapters are in the book.

Not every book has a table of contents. There are a lot of times for textbooks, but could also be in fiction. Yeah. As well, but not always. Depends on the book.

Depends on the style. Yeah, exactly. So you might say, look at the table of contents to find the right chapter. And it might show chapter names with a page number.

But yeah, more for nonfiction books, self-help books, textbooks, almost always have a table of contents. Yes. Right. And then number four is tricky. Content.

Spelled exactly the same. When it's an adjective, it sounds and means something completely different. And instead of the stress being on the first syllable, content, it's now on the second syllable, content. And it becomes a schwa in the content.

That first vowel changes entirely. Right. Content. Right. Exactly. So, but yeah, it means to be happy, satisfied, or at peace. And would this ever be plural, Aubrey?

Oh, good question. Because it's an adjective. It will never be plural, right? We would only add that S to a noun. So never will have an S. For example, she feels content with her life.

That means happy, satisfied. Yes. Or I'm content just staying home tonight. I might say that. Everyone wants I know, me too. I was thinking that sounds delightful.

He's content at home. Right. Or he seems really content in his new job. So yeah, happy in the new job, satisfied, you know. But again, yeah, the... just to review the pronunciation, again, as a noun, we say content, content marketing, online content, contents of a suitcase.

And then as an adjective, it is on that second syllable and the O turns into a schwa. So she is content with her life. I feel content. Exactly. Let's do a role play and use all of these in one conversation.

You and our friends here, you got a new job in content management and I'm asking you about it. Ready? All right. Here we go. Hey, how's the new job going?

It's good, but I've been so busy. I'm managing all the content for our website now. Oh, wow. That's a lot. What kind of content? Oh, you know, blog posts, videos, social media, websites.

So today I was just reorganizing the contents of different pages to make sure everything flows better. Wow, that's different from what you were doing before. Are you liking it? Yeah, overall, I feel pretty content.

It's definitely more creative than my last role. And I was missing that element. Yeah. Oh, really interesting, especially content. I could see really throwing you off.

And even native speakers, when you're reading along, and you've been thinking content, and then you see that word, there's a chance you would read it wrong and be like, just kidding, content, right? Because they look exactly the same.

Yeah, exactly. So let's see. I said I'm managing all the content for our website now. Yeah. So that's everything. If there's a blog, if there are menus, that means you're handling all of that.

And then I said, you know, what kind of content? And you gave some details, blog posts, videos, social media. And then you said, I was just reorganizing the contents of different pages. So this is interesting.

If you're thinking of these pages as a container for all of this different content, you could make it plural here, right? Reorganizing the contents of all of these things. And then you could make it plural.

Yes, exactly. And then you said, are you liking it? And I said, yeah, overall, I feel pretty content. So I feel pretty satisfied. I feel pretty happy.

Yeah. Ooh, really interesting. This is such an easy mistake to make. And some real pitfalls here, some traps with content and content being spelled exactly the same.

So tricky. But I'm excited you have all of these details now, especially where we do talk a lot about online content these days. You probably know people who work in digital marketing or whatever they're doing. They're probably working in content or

They might even just be posting their own content on their own social media and you might be talking to them about that. Yep, exactly. All right, guys. So check out episode 2687 if you haven't yet.

We just did that episode. It was learn English anywhere, anytime with anyone. So that was a really good one where we talked about any and eight different ways to use it. So we had fun with that one.

Lots of important information over there. Scroll up to check that one out. And thanks for joining me today, Michelle. This was a fun episode. All right.

Thank you, Aubrey. And thanks guys for listening. I'm really content after recording with you. I hope everyone is content after listening to that episode.

All right. We'll see you guys next time. Bye. All right. Bye. See you next time.