Hello. My name is Emma, and in today's video, I am
going to teach1
you a very good and useful trick2
on how to write essays3,
how to sound better4
when you speak, how to do better in presentations. This tip5 is very useful if you are taking the TOEFL
or the IELTS, or if you are studying in college6,
university, or high school7.
Okay? So it's a very, very useful trick. This trick is called8... Well, I'm calling it: "How to Start Right9".
Okay? So I'm going to teach you a great way to start, either10 in your essays or in your speech11.
Oftentimes12, if you're taking the TOEFL or the IELTS, you're going to be asked13 to give your opinion on something. Okay? In general life, you might have to14 give your opinion on something. Maybe15 somebody wants to know: what do you prefer? Do you prefer going to a restaurant, or do you prefer eating at home? What's better? Okay?
When you give your opinion, it's a very good idea to start by saying16 what is good about the opposite17 opinion. Okay? So, example: if I love restaurants, I want to eat at a restaurant, instead of18 just saying: "I love restaurants." A better way to start this is by saying the opposite, the good part of the opposite. So, how can I do this? Well, I can say something like19: "Although20 some people love eating at home, I prefer eating at a restaurant." Okay?
Another example. Imagine somebody wants to know if I like cats better or dogs better. What is the better animal? Well, maybe if I like dogs better, I would say: "Although some people prefer cats, I prefer dogs.", "Although some people prefer to live in cold countries, I prefer warm21 countries." So, you can use this in essays, in speaking, in so many different ways22. It's always a good idea to start with the opposite of what you believe, a good point of the opposite, and then to say your opinion. Okay?
So, I want you to try this23. Okay? I'm going to give you a question24, and I want you to use this formula. What do you prefer, waking up early25 or waking up late? Okay? So: "Although some people prefer waking up..., I prefer waking up..." and here you would say either "early" or "late". Okay?
Oftentimes12, if you're taking the TOEFL or the IELTS, you're going to be asked13 to give your opinion on something. Okay? In general life, you might have to14 give your opinion on something. Maybe15 somebody wants to know: what do you prefer? Do you prefer going to a restaurant, or do you prefer eating at home? What's better? Okay?
When you give your opinion, it's a very good idea to start by saying16 what is good about the opposite17 opinion. Okay? So, example: if I love restaurants, I want to eat at a restaurant, instead of18 just saying: "I love restaurants." A better way to start this is by saying the opposite, the good part of the opposite. So, how can I do this? Well, I can say something like19: "Although20 some people love eating at home, I prefer eating at a restaurant." Okay?
Another example. Imagine somebody wants to know if I like cats better or dogs better. What is the better animal? Well, maybe if I like dogs better, I would say: "Although some people prefer cats, I prefer dogs.", "Although some people prefer to live in cold countries, I prefer warm21 countries." So, you can use this in essays, in speaking, in so many different ways22. It's always a good idea to start with the opposite of what you believe, a good point of the opposite, and then to say your opinion. Okay?
So, I want you to try this23. Okay? I'm going to give you a question24, and I want you to use this formula. What do you prefer, waking up early25 or waking up late? Okay? So: "Although some people prefer waking up..., I prefer waking up..." and here you would say either "early" or "late". Okay?
So, I've used this word "although". "Although" is to show this contrast. Okay? It's a very, very great word, useful word when you're writing essays or speaking in a formal setting26. Something that has the same meaning as27 "although" is "even though28". Okay? So very similar29. "Even though". And we can use the same formula. Okay? If I ask you: "Would you rather30 go to a beach or go skiing31?" You can say: "Even though some people love going to beaches, I prefer skiing.", "Even though skiing is a lot of fun32, I'd rather go to the beach." Okay? So, again, you're offering33 the opposite idea first, and then your idea. Great for TOEFL and IELTS speaking.
Okay, so let's look at34 these sentence35 structures a little bit closer36. So, I have here my words: "Although", "even though". What follows is a subject37. A subject can be words like: "some people", can be "he", "she", "we", "the teacher". Okay? So, the subject is pretty much a noun38. "Although Canada", okay? "Although Canada", "Even though Canada..." Now you need a verb. "Even though Canada", can use the verb "is". "Even though Canada is a good country", okay, if I was writing now, I would put a comma39. "Even though Canada is a good country, Canada has problems."
So what I'm trying to get at here40 is that if you use "although", you will have two parts of a sentence. You will have part one before the comma, which has a subject and a verb; and then you will have a second part, part two with a subject and a verb. Okay? So let me give you one more example. "Although learning English is fun, many students find it difficult41." Okay? "Although some people like learning English, I prefer learning French." Okay? Just some examples of these types of ideas.
So let's look at a couple more42 expressions to help you show the opposite view. Okay, so let's look at some more words that you can use to show the opposing side. Okay? We can use the word "despite43". "Despite" is very similar to "although" and "even though44". Imagine this: Imagine if I ask you if you would rather live in the city or in the countryside45. Would you rather live in a big city or in a quiet town and a cool countryside. Which would you prefer? So, imagine if you prefer the city, okay. You might say something like46: “Despite the advantages47 of living in the country (comma48), I prefer living in the city. Despite the calm of the country, despite the peace, the peacefulness49 of the country, the quiet of the country, I prefer the city.
So, again, this is a great way to start, either in a
essay or when you’re giving an answer for TOEFL and IELTS it is a good way to
do this. One thing here. Despite is a little bit different than “although” and “even
though”. The way it is different is “despite” is followed by a noun50. It is not
followed by a noun and a verb, only a noun. So you can say “despite my money,
despite my dog, despite de disadvantage51,
despite my teacher, despite global
warming52”, okay, so you don’t need a verb, you just say “despite”,
“noun” and the other comma , and then you can say “subject53”, “verb”, okay. So, despite happiness,
despite peace, despite the nightlife54,
I would prefer to live in the country.
Another way you can show the opposing opinion is with
the word nevertheless55.
“Some people like living in the city, nevertheless I like living in the
countryside”. “Some people like playing computer games, nevertheless I like
reading books”. “Some people love their politicians56,
nevertheless I find politicians are not always honest. So, again, this is when
you are giving the opposite view. Finally, nevertheless has the same meaning as57
however58. “Some
people like movies, however I don’t, I prefer books. Okay, so However,
nevertheless, despite, even though and although are great ways to show the
opposing viewpoint59,
great for TOEFL and IELTS, as well as60
presentations and just every day
speaking61 and essay writing.
Vocabulary
1. Teach = ensinar
2. useful trick = truque útil
3. essays = dissertações
4. sound better = soar melhor
5. tip = dica
6. college = faculdade
7. high school = colégio
8. called = chamado
9. Start Right = começar certo
10. Either…or = ou…ou
11. Speech = fala, discurso
12. Oftentimes = muitas vezes
13. you're going to be asked = você será solicitado
a
14. might have to = pode ter que
15. Maybe = talvez
16. start by saying = começar dizendo
17. opposite = oposto(a)
18. instead of = ao invés de
19. something like = algo como
20. Although = embora
21. Warm = quente
22. so many different ways = tantas formas
diferentes
23.
I want you to try this = eu quero que você
tente isto
24.
Question = pergunta
25.
waking up early =
acordar cedo
26.
formal setting =
ambiente formal
27.
the same meaning as = o mesmo significado que
28.
even though = mesmo que
29.
similar = semelhante
30.
Would you rather = você
preferiria
31.
go skiing = ir esquiar
32. a lot of fun = muito divertido
33. offering = oferecendo
34. let's look at = vamos olhar para
35. sentence = frase
36.
a little bit closer = um pouquinho mais de
perto
37.
subject = sujeito
38.
pretty much a noun =
praticamente um substantive
39.
comma = vírgula
40. what I'm trying to get at here = o que estou
tentando dizer aqui
41. find it difficult = acham dificil
42. a couple more = algumas outras
43. despite = apesar de
44. even though = apesar de
45. countryside = campo
46. You might say something like = você poderia
dizer algo como
47. Advantages = vantagens
48. Comma = vírgula
49. Peacefulness = tranquilidade
50. Noun = substantive
51. Disadvantage = desvantagem
52. global warming = aquecimento global
53. subject = sujeito
54. nightlife = vida noturna
55. nevertheless = todavia
56. politicians = politicos
57.
the same meaning as = o mesmo significado que
58.
however = contudo
59.
viewpoint = ponto de
vista
60.
as well as = assim como
61. every day speaking = conversa do dia-a-dia