CONFUSING ENGLISH, AS MUCH AS, SO MUCH AS, THAT MUCH AS, COMPREHENSIBLE INPUT, Real American English

[00:00:00]Hello, and welcome to English for everyone where we practice real life American English. Today we're going to look at some confusing grammar. So, let's get started.

[00:00:09]So, which one is correct?

[00:00:11]As much as or so much as?

[00:00:14]Well, they're both correct, but they mean different things.

[00:00:18]Let's look at the first one, as much as.

[00:00:21]As much as is the more common one and it means equal or the same amount.

[00:00:27]Example, he has more money than me.

[00:00:30]So, it's not equal. So, I can say I don't have as much money as he does. Or I can say I don't have as much money as him.

[00:00:38]People say it both ways.

[00:00:41]So, he has more money than me.

[00:00:44]The amounts are not equal. I don't have as much money as he does. Or I don't have as much money as him.

[00:00:52]We cannot use so in this case. I cannot say I don't have so much money as him.

[00:00:57]We have to use as two times.

[00:01:00]Let's practice. He has a lot of money.

[00:01:02]He's really rich.

[00:01:04]Do you have as much money as he does?

[00:01:12]Very good. Example, they all like basketball. But the three guys standing up, they really love basketball.

[00:01:21]The girl, she likes basketball, but she doesn't love basketball as much as they do.

[00:01:27]Or I can say she doesn't love basketball as much as them.

[00:01:32]People say it both ways.

[00:01:34]Let's practice. Does she love basketball as much as they do?

[00:01:45]That's right. She doesn't love basketball as much as they do.

[00:01:49]They love it more.

[00:01:50]Now, let's talk about so much as. This is a different situation. And it's not as common.

[00:01:56]Let's take look at an example.

[00:01:58]I can say, "If you so much as come near me, I'll call the police."

[00:02:04]That means if you even come near me, I will call the police.

[00:02:09]I don't want you to come near me.

[00:02:11]So, I can say, "If you so much as come near me, I'll call the police."

[00:02:17]>> If you so much as come near the countess, >> If you so much as lay a finger on the brim, I'll never bring you another Christmas present as long as you live.

[00:02:28]>> If you so much [music] as touch me, you'll trigger six cryogenic bombs I've hidden around the city.

[00:02:33]>> If you so much as come within 100 miles of me, you're going to wind up in my tire tracks.

[00:02:37]>> If you so much as touch a hair on his head, you will rue the day you were born.

[00:02:41]>> If you so much as touch >> one key on that computer, so help me God, I'll have you hauled up for treason.

[00:02:47]>> If you so much [music] as touch the hair on my kid's head, I swear to Christ.

[00:02:50]>> I know.

[00:02:52]>> We can use so much as before a verb.

[00:02:54]Come is a verb.

[00:02:57]Again, if you so much as come near me, I'll call the police.

[00:03:00]So, don't do it.

[00:03:02]Let's practice. So, if I so much as come near you, will you call the police?

[00:03:14]Very good. I guess I'll leave.

[00:03:16]Another example. He hasn't said anything.

[00:03:19]Not one word. So, I can say he hasn't said so much as a word.

[00:03:25]Now, we see so much as before a noun.

[00:03:27]Word is the noun. He hasn't said so much as a word.

[00:03:31]The idea? He hasn't said anything. Not even a word.

[00:03:35]Let's practice. Has he said so much as a word?

[00:03:44]That's right. He hasn't said so much as a word. He's been quiet the whole time.

[00:03:49]>> It hasn't so so as belts in like thousands of years.

[00:03:52]>> Senior minority agent who hasn't so much as a bug stain on his record.

[00:03:58]>> I mean, the guy hasn't so much as spit on the sidewalk in 3 weeks.

[00:04:01]>> Another example.

[00:04:03]His girlfriend is jealous.

[00:04:04]But he hasn't looked at another girl. He hasn't so much as looked at another girl. We see so much as before the verb looked.

[00:04:13]He hasn't so much as looked at another girl. That means he hasn't even looked.

[00:04:19]He hasn't looked at all.

[00:04:21]He hasn't so much as looked at another girl.

[00:04:25]So, the example, she's jealous, but he hasn't so much as looked at another girl.

[00:04:30]Let's practice.

[00:04:32]Has he looked at another girl?

[00:04:40]That's right. She's jealous, but he hasn't so much as looked at another girl.

[00:04:44]So, now we see the difference between as much as and so much as.

[00:04:49]Remember, they're different.

[00:04:51]And what about this?

[00:04:53]Can I say that much as?

[00:04:56]Keep watching to find out and to practice more.

[00:04:59]Let's get started. A mistake I hear from a lot of my students is this one.

[00:05:04]It's not that hot as yesterday.

[00:05:08]Using both that and as with a description with an adjective.

[00:05:13]We cannot say this. We cannot say it's not that hot as yesterday. Because we're comparing today with yesterday, we have to use as two times.

[00:05:23]We say it's not as hot as yesterday.

[00:05:27]We have to use as before the adjective hot and after the adjective.

[00:05:33]It's not as hot as yesterday.

[00:05:36]Let's practice. Is it as hot as yesterday?

[00:05:43]That's right. It's not as hot as yesterday. Yesterday was hotter than today. So, when can I say it's not that hot? You can say it's not that hot as a response. For example, I say, "It's so hot today. I'm going home."

[00:05:58]And you say, "Come on. It's not that hot."

[00:06:02]Meaning, it's not so hot that you should go home.

[00:06:07]You should stay here. So, you say, "Come on. It's not that hot. You should stay."

[00:06:10]Let's practice.

[00:06:12]"It's too hot for me. I'm going home."

[00:06:18]That's right. Come on. It's not that hot. You should stay. So, remember, if you're comparing and using an adjective, use as two times. It's not as hot as yesterday. Yesterday was hotter than today. And you can use that to respond to what someone else says.

[00:06:34]They say it's too hot, you say, "Come on. It's not that hot." Today, we're going to talk about this word, stump.

[00:06:40]But, we're not going to talk about the noun, stump. We're going to talk about the verb, stump.

[00:06:46]And what does it mean?

[00:06:47]If you stump somebody, that means you ask them a question that they cannot answer. They don't have an answer to your question. So, you stump them.

[00:06:56]If I ask you a question that you cannot answer, I stump you.

[00:07:00]And if a student asks me a question that I cannot answer, they stump me. Or in the past, stumped. They stumped me. They asked me a question that I could not answer. I did not have an answer to their question. They stumped me.

[00:07:13]Let's hear some examples of the verb, stump.

[00:07:16]>> Jasmine?

[00:07:17]>> Yes, sir. I tried to stump you this evening. Very good. Very good. Great nose.

[00:07:22]>> I hope you will be.

[00:07:24]>> You have people skills and puzzle skills. And in 5 years, I don't think I've ever been able to stump you with a clue.

[00:07:30]>> Let's face it. You can't stump me.

[00:07:32]>> The agreement which a majority of the murdered women's family support will allow detectives to meet one-on-one with Ridgway and ask questions that have stumped them for years.

[00:07:41]>> Let's talk about pronunciation. When I say stump, I'm using the short uh sound like cup and up. It's a relaxed and closed sound. Uh uh stump.

[00:07:51]Stump.

[00:07:52]In the past, stumped. Use the t sound.

[00:07:55]Stumped is the past form.

[00:07:58]And we can use stumped as an adjective.

[00:08:01]If I don't know the answer, I can say I'm stumped.

[00:08:04]I am stumped. Contraction, I'm. I'm stumped. I don't have an answer to your question.

[00:08:10]Or I can say, you've got me stumped.

[00:08:13]Again, stumped is an adjective.

[00:08:15]You've got me stumped. I don't have an answer to your question.

[00:08:19]I'm stumped. Let's hear some examples of stumped as an adjective.

[00:08:23]>> Ladies and gentlemen, I've I've been practicing medicine for 23 years and I'm stumped.

[00:08:29]>> I don't know what to say here.

[00:08:31]I'm stumped. I'm baffled.

[00:08:32]>> WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE OTHERS, YOU SHORT MADMAN?

[00:08:35]>> AHA! Stumped already.

[00:08:38]>> I'm going to pretend to be stumped for a couple of seconds to give him a thrill.

[00:08:41]>> And now suddenly I have to worry about being stumped for conversation?

[00:08:44]>> I'm stumped. How about you?

[00:08:46]>> I'm stumped.

[00:08:48]What do you want?

[00:08:49]>> Well, I'm a bit stumped.

[00:08:50]>> Uh you got us stumped.

[00:08:52]>> Example. She asked him a question and he didn't have an answer.

[00:08:57]So I can use the verb and say, she stumped him.

[00:09:01]Stump in the past, stumped. She stumped him.

[00:09:04]We hear the h in him is silent because it's not an important word. We don't stress it. The h is silent. So you hear stumped him. Pronounce the t and link to him, to him. Stumped him. She stumped him. She asked him a question that he did not have an answer for.

[00:09:20]Or I can use stumped as an adjective and say, he's stumped.

[00:09:25]She's got him stumped.

[00:09:28]She has got She has contraction, she's.

[00:09:31]She's got him stumped.

[00:09:34]So I can say, he's stumped because he doesn't have an answer, or I can say, "She's got him stumped."

[00:09:40]The same idea, using stumped as an adjective. Pronunciation, "She's got him stumped." Again, him. The H is silent.

[00:09:48]You hear, "She's got him. Got him."

[00:09:50]The T is a fast D because phonetically it's between vowels. You hear, "She's got him. Got him. She's got him stumped.

[00:09:57]He doesn't have an answer to her question."

[00:10:00]Let's practice. First with the verb. Did she stump him?

[00:10:07]That's right. She stumped him.

[00:10:09]Let's practice with the adjective. Is he stumped?

[00:10:17]That's right. He's stumped. Let's practice with the adjective with got.

[00:10:21]Has she got him stumped?

[00:10:28]That's right. She's got him stumped.

[00:10:30]He doesn't have an answer to her question.

[00:10:32]So, why do we say this? Why do we use stump as a verb to talk about when someone doesn't have an answer to a question?

[00:10:39]Because this is a stump. This is a tree stump.

[00:10:43]And if someone is stupid or dumb, we have the expression, and we say, "He's dumb as a stump."

[00:10:50]So, that makes sense.

[00:10:52]If you're dumb as a stump, you don't have an answer to the question.

[00:10:56]So, they stumped you.

[00:10:58]That makes sense to me, anyway.

[00:11:00]That's how I understand it.

[00:11:01]Let's talk about the expression, "Dumb as a stump." If someone is very stupid, you can say they are dumb as a stump.

[00:11:08]Pronunciation, remember, dumb, the B is silent. Whenever you see MB at the end of a word, the B is silent.

[00:11:16]Dumb. Dumb as a stump.

[00:11:18]Not dumb as a stump, but dumb as dumb as a stump.

[00:11:22]As is not stressed. It's not an important word.

[00:11:25]So, we don't say as with the a sound like black cat. It's more closed.

[00:11:30]As as dumb as dumb as a stump. Let's use some examples with the expression dumb as a stump.

[00:11:37]>> I got this weird brain where I'm dumb as a stump, but I remember everything that I ever heard.

[00:11:42]>> Dumb [laughter] as a stump right now.

[00:11:43]>> Yep.

[00:11:44]>> Dumb as a stump.

[00:11:46]>> I love that kid.

[00:11:47]Dumb as a stump, but I love him.

[00:11:50]>> So, example, he's stupid. He's very stupid. So, I can say he's as dumb as a stump, or he's dumb as a stump.

[00:11:57]With this expression, we don't have to use the first as.

[00:12:01]Grammar tells us we're supposed to, but in reality, people don't. So, people say he's dumb as a stump, or people say he's as dumb as a stump, using the as in the beginning and at the end. As dumb as a stump.

[00:12:14]But you don't have to. Again, you can say he's dumb as a stump with one as, or he's as dumb as a stump, using as twice.

[00:12:23]They're both used. They're both correct.

[00:12:25]Let's practice. Is he as dumb as a stump?

[00:12:32]That's right. He's as dumb as a stump.

[00:12:34]So, remember, stump can be a noun. It's a countable noun, a stump, a tree stump.

[00:12:39]It can be a verb. If I ask you a question that you cannot answer, I stump you. Stump in the past is stumped, which is also an adjective. I'm stumped. I don't have an answer.

[00:12:51]And we have the expression dumb as a stump, or as dumb as a stump. Both are used for someone who's very stupid.

[00:12:58]So, we looked at the word dumb today, and we saw that the B is silent because you have MB at the end of a word.

[00:13:05]And this is a rule. We have a lot of words that end with MB, and the B is silent.

[00:13:10]But there are some strange exceptions.

[00:13:12]So, keep watching to practice more with the pronunciation of MB at the end of a word.

[00:13:17]Let's practice the pronunciation of these words.

[00:13:20]Example, we see the word lamb.

[00:13:23]You can use lamb to talk about the animal. This is a lamb.

[00:13:27]And you can use lamb to talk about the meat.

[00:13:30]I don't eat lamb.

[00:13:32]And the B is silent.

[00:13:34]No lamb b.

[00:13:35]Finish with the m sound. Lamb.

[00:13:38]And remember, lamb is countable when you talk about the animal.

[00:13:43]This is one lamb. You can have two lambs.

[00:13:47]And remember, no lambs, no b. Lambs. One lamb, two lambs. But the meat is not countable.

[00:13:53]There's no a.

[00:13:55]Some lamb.

[00:13:56]I don't eat lamb.

[00:13:58]Pronunciation, lamb.

[00:14:00]l a la m lamb lamb Let's practice.

[00:14:11]Do you eat lamb?

[00:14:12]>> No, I don't eat lamb.

[00:14:14]>> Why not?

[00:14:15]>> Because lambs are cute.

[00:14:17]>> That's right. Lambs are cute.

[00:14:19]Do you eat lamb?

[00:14:23]Do you think lambs are cute?

[00:14:28]Very good.

[00:14:30]Example, comb.

[00:14:32]No comb b. The B is silent. Comb.

[00:14:36]Comb is a noun. This is a comb.

[00:14:39]I don't have a comb.

[00:14:41]And comb is a verb. It's an action.

[00:14:44]She is combing her hair.

[00:14:47]Combing. No b.

[00:14:49]She's combing her hair.

[00:14:52]Comb.

[00:14:54]k >> [snorts] >> o Make a long o. Co.

[00:15:00]m comb comb Do you have a comb?

[00:15:06]>> No, I don't have a comb.

[00:15:08]>> Is she combing her hair?

[00:15:10]>> Yes, she's combing her hair.

[00:15:13]>> Do you have a comb?

[00:15:18]What is she doing?

[00:15:23]Very good. Example, tomb.

[00:15:26]Remember, no b, no tomb. Just tomb.

[00:15:31]The mummy is in the sarcophagus and the sarcophagus is in the tomb. The tomb is a place where they put the mummy and it's usually under the pyramids.

[00:15:44]In Egypt, they have many tombs.

[00:15:47]Tomb.

[00:15:49]T >> [snorts] >> oo too m tomb Tomb has a long oo. So, we make the sound tomb.

[00:16:02]Remember, the position is low. oo oo tomb, not too. Low too, tomb.

[00:16:10]Tomb.

[00:16:11]Are there many tombs in Egypt?

[00:16:13]>> Yes, there are many tombs in Egypt.

[00:16:16]>> Are there many tombs in Egypt?

[00:16:22]Very good. Example, honeycomb.

[00:16:26]These are bees and they're making a honeycomb.

[00:16:30]So, honeycomb is countable. This is a honeycomb where the bees make honey.

[00:16:35]This shape, this shape is a honeycomb shape.

[00:16:40]So, we can use honeycomb as an adjective describing what kind of shape is this.

[00:16:45]This is a honeycomb shape. Honeycomb.

[00:16:51]uh huh n hun ee honey k honeyk o honeyko m honeycomb honeycomb honeycomb Where do bees make honey?

[00:17:14]>> Bees make honey in the honeycomb.

[00:17:16]>> Where do bees make honey?

[00:17:21]Very good. Example, bomb.

[00:17:25]Remember, no B, no bomb, just bomb.

[00:17:29]Bomb is countable. This is a bomb.

[00:17:33]The bomb will explode.

[00:17:35]Pronunciation, bomb.

[00:17:39]B ah bah m bomb Open sound, ah ah, bomb.

[00:17:51]Bomb.

[00:17:53]It's a bomb.

[00:17:54]Did the bomb explode?

[00:17:56]>> Yes, the bomb exploded.

[00:17:58]>> Did the bomb explode?

[00:18:03]Very good. Example, womb.

[00:18:06]No B, just womb.

[00:18:09]Ooh, the baby is in the womb for 9 months.

[00:18:14]Pronunciation, womb.

[00:18:17]wuh wuh ooh long ooh woo m woom womb How long is the baby in the womb?

[00:18:31]>> The baby is in the womb for 9 months.

[00:18:33]>> How long is the baby in the womb?

[00:18:38]That's right. Very good. So, remember, whenever you see MB at the end of a word, the B is always silent.

[00:18:48]These are only some examples. There are more examples, and we'll practice them in part two.

[00:18:54]So, remember, pronunciation lamb, tomb, bomb, comb, honeycomb, and womb. Example, numb.

[00:19:06]Silent B.

[00:19:07]numb Numb is a description.

[00:19:10]It's an adjective.

[00:19:12]When you have no feeling, if you can't feel my face is numb.

[00:19:18]You go to the dentist.

[00:19:19]They give you a shot of Novocaine. You cannot feel your face. So, my face is numb.

[00:19:27]Pronunciation numb Mhm.

[00:19:32]Uh n n Mhm.

[00:19:36]numb numb numb Is his face still numb after going to the dentist?

[00:19:44]>> Yes, his face is still numb after going to the dentist.

[00:19:48]>> Is his face still numb after going to the dentist?

[00:19:56]Very good. Example, thumb.

[00:19:59]Silent B thumb. This is my thumb.

[00:20:04]My thumb hurts.

[00:20:05]If something is good, you can say thumbs up. Thumbs up.

[00:20:10]Pronunciation thumb Make a little air.

[00:20:16]Very soft.

[00:20:19]Uh th Mhm.

[00:20:23]thum thumb thumb Does your thumb hurt?

[00:20:29]>> Yeah, my thumb hurts.

[00:20:31]>> Does her thumb hurt?

[00:20:36]Does your thumb hurt?

[00:20:39]Thumbs up. Example, crumb.

[00:20:42]Remember, no B sound, crumb. It's countable. One crumb, two crumbs.

[00:20:49]One, two, three, four crumbs. There are crumbs on the table after he ate the cookie.

[00:20:56]Clean the crumbs, please.

[00:20:58]Pronunciation crumb k r kr uh kruh m crum One crumb, two crumbs z [snorts] crumbs crumbs Do you eat cookies in bed?

[00:21:19]>> No, I don't eat cookies in bed.

[00:21:21]>> Why not?

[00:21:22]>> Because I don't want to have crumbs in my bed.

[00:21:24]>> That's right. You don't want to have crumbs in your bed.

[00:21:27]Does she eat cookies in bed?

[00:21:31]Why not?

[00:21:36]Very good. Do you eat cookies in bed?

[00:21:40]Why not?

[00:21:45]That's right. No crumbs in bed.

[00:21:47]Example, climb. Remember, silent b, climb.

[00:21:53]The boy likes to climb trees.

[00:21:56]Right now, he's climbing a tree.

[00:21:59]climb climb k >> [snorts] >> l cl i cli m climb climb climb Does the boy like to climb trees?

[00:22:18]>> Yes, he likes to climb trees.

[00:22:21]>> Does the boy like to climb trees?

[00:22:26]Very good.

[00:22:27]Example, limb.

[00:22:29]Remember, no b, limb. A limb is a branch.

[00:22:35]A limb on a tree.

[00:22:37]The tree has many limbs.

[00:22:40]And sometimes we can use limb to talk about an arm or a leg.

[00:22:45]If you lose a limb.

[00:22:46]limb l i i li short sound i i li m limb One limb, two limbs.

[00:23:02]limbs limb Were there a lot of tree limbs on the ground after the storm?

[00:23:09]>> Yes, there were a lot of tree limbs on the ground after the storm.

[00:23:13]>> Were there a lot of tree limbs on the ground after the storm?

[00:23:20]Very good.

[00:23:22]Now, let's talk about some tricky words.

[00:23:25]When you have extra letters after it looks like being, but remember the B is silent.

[00:23:32]It's not climbing, it's climbing.

[00:23:35]The boy is climbing a tree right now.

[00:23:38]Climbing.

[00:23:40]Cuh.

[00:23:42]Luh, cluh.

[00:23:44]I, cli.

[00:23:47]Mmm, climb.

[00:23:50]E, climbe.

[00:23:53]Climbe.

[00:23:55]Mmm, climbing.

[00:23:58]Climbing.

[00:24:00]Climbing.

[00:24:01]Let's practice. What is he doing in the backyard?

[00:24:05]>> He's climbing the tree.

[00:24:07]>> What is he doing in the backyard?

[00:24:11]Very good. Example, dumber.

[00:24:15]We put E R after dumb. It looks like buh, but remember there's no buh.

[00:24:20]Dumber.

[00:24:22]He is very dumb, but he is dumber because we don't say more dumb.

[00:24:29]We put the er for comparison and we say dumber.

[00:24:32]He is dumber than his friend.

[00:24:35]Dumber.

[00:24:37]Duh.

[00:24:38]Uh, duh.

[00:24:40]Mmm, dumb.

[00:24:43]Er, dumber.

[00:24:46]Dumber.

[00:24:47]Dumber.

[00:24:48]Which one of them is dumber?

[00:24:50]>> He's dumber than his friend.

[00:24:53]>> Which one of them is dumber?

[00:24:57]Very good. Example, plumber.

[00:25:01]We put e r, but the b is silent. Why?

[00:25:06]Because there is a word in English, plumb.

[00:25:09]This is a plumb line, and it's used in construction. It's not a very common word, but plumber is, and that's the reason the b is silent. Plumber.

[00:25:20]He's a plumber.

[00:25:21]Plumber.

[00:25:25]o pl uh plu m plum er plumber plumber plumber. Is he a good plumber? Yes, he's a good plumber.

[00:25:42]Is he a good plumber?

[00:25:47]Very good. Example, crumb.

[00:25:50]The b is silent. You have n b at the end. Crumb.

[00:25:55]One crumb, two crumbs.

[00:25:59]Three crumbs. This is a noun.

[00:26:03]Crumble is a verb.

[00:26:06]When you break into pieces, when you make the crumbs, you crumble the cookie.

[00:26:13]Or you can say the cookie crumbles.

[00:26:16]We pronounce the b. crumb b crumble The cookie crumbles.

[00:26:23]We have an expression.

[00:26:25]That's the way the cookie crumbles.

[00:26:28]When something is not fair, you get the small half of the cookie, and your friend gets the big half of the cookie, in any situation it's not fair, that's the way the cookie crumbles.

[00:26:40]Sometimes you get the small piece, sometimes you get the big piece.

[00:26:43]Crumble.

[00:26:45]k r cr uh cru m crum b, crumb uh, crumb buh crumb buh l, crumble crumble crumble The cookie crumbles.

[00:27:11]This is a sound. [snorts] crumbles crumbles It's not fair. I have the small piece and you get the big piece.

[00:27:20]>> I'm sorry. That's the way the cookie crumbles.

[00:27:24]>> It's not fair. You have the big piece of cookie and I have the small piece.

[00:27:31]Very good. So, remember the rule.

[00:27:34]If a word ends with m b, the b is always silent.

[00:27:39]>> Thank you for watching.

[00:27:41]>> And if you want to improve your pronunciation and avoid mistakes in English, subscribe to our channel.

[00:27:46]Thanks for watching.