This is an All Ears English podcast, episode 2483 two L's or one.
How to ask about spelling in English?
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Do you ever wonder if you're spelling something correctly?
Today, get the connection skill to ask how to spell commonly confused words in English.
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Hey, Lindsay, how are you?
I'm doing good, Michelle.
How are you?
How's everything going?
I'm doing well.
I'm doing well.
Oh, man, Lindsay, though, do you ever get tripped up with spelling?
I do.
I mean, I consider myself a pretty good speller.
But honestly, sometimes I write it and then I think, is that right?
Or was it IE or an EI is where I struggle sometimes.
Yes.
Oh, yeah, that.
Yep, exactly.
So, yeah, this is not just a language learning thing.
I think native speakers get tripped up a lot with certain words.
Yeah.
All the time, really.
Oh, for sure.
All the time.
So what we need to do is know how to talk about that, right?
Because that is where the connection is.
This is what we like to do on this show is we take any common thing in the world and we figure out where is the connection moment in that situation?
And this is it.
It's talking about your spelling challenges, right?
Yes.
And double checking on how to spell.
Yep, absolutely.
So this is going to be really fun.
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All right.
Absolutely.
Incredible.
So Before we get into it a little more, we have some poll results from Spotify.
Guys, we love to do these Spotify polls.
We do them for every episode really, but on some of them they're the special ones where we're going to read the results individually out loud.
And it's just a really great way to interact with everyone.
So Lindsay, what was the episode for this poll?
This was from episode 2448.
Weird and wonky weather in English.
Love the double alliteration there.
Triple alliteration, I guess.
Yes.
Fantastic.
And the poll question was, would you rather be too hot or too cold?
Yeah.
And I'm actually kind of surprised by her answer.
But I wonder if it just your answer tends to reflect on where you live, if it's the opposite of where you live, you know what I mean.
Or what season you're currently in.
Or what season you're in.
Good point, Michelle, right?
If we're in summer, people might say they'd rather be too cold, right?
Sure.
So what were the results?
So, yeah.
So, I was also surprised by these.
So, I was also kind of happy because I agree with this.
But again, it's because it's summer here and it's hot.
So 38 of those who answered said they would rather be too hot, and 61 said they would rather be too cold.
Oh, I think I'm in the too hot category.
I just feel like being too cold feels almost dangerous or something.
Do you know what I mean?
I don't know.
I don't know.
It's been really... really hot here this summer.
And it's just too bad because I just know I'm going to have which changed my mind and say I'd rather be too hot once it gets too cold.
So for sure, for sure.
Well, there you go.
There's our polls guys.
Be sure to participate in our polls.
You do need to be listening over in Spotify if you want to participate.
So consider becoming a listener in Spotify.
All right.
Absolutely.
So um, I thought that that it would be great to go through some words in English where there are a lot of mix-ups with spelling, and Or that maybe there's more than one way to spell these words.
So we're also going to show you how to ask how something is spelled, right?
When it can be done in a couple of ways.
So um yeah, we're going to go through some, some fun ones uh, just a few and then really talk about how to incorporate, um the ask into our conversations.
So ask the connection moment, right?
I love it.
I love it.
Exactly.
So one, I actually just happened to get these for my kids today, um, is donut.
Okay.
Lucky kids, right?
What kind of donuts did you get, Michelle?
Was it chocolate glazed or Boston cream pie?
Well, my son got a chocolate glaze.
And my daughter got a pink one with pink frosting and sprinkles.
Okay, got it.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah.
So that they were they were very excited about that.
So but how do you spell donut?
Yeah.
I know.
That's the point, right?
That's the good question.
Well, there are two ways to spell it.
And we've seen both.
I mean, I've seen D-O-N-U-T.
And I've also seen D-O-U-G-H-N-U-T, like dough, nut, you know, like bread dough.
I feel like I've seen, you know, for Dunkin' Donuts, I've seen it spelled D-O-N-U-T.
Maybe it's more for brands.
I don't really know, right?
Yeah.
I mean, both are okay.
I see both. um so i don't think you can really go wrong either way i think d-o-n-u-t to me it's more common um it's a little bit d-o-u-g-h-n-u-t it's i don't want to say the word snobby but it feels old-fashioned it feels a little more old-fashioned i think like a little more stiff which is which is so funny because we're talking about a donut so how can anything yeah what is stiff about a donut come on unless it's stale i guess um oh yeah i So, yeah, but, you know, here you really can't go wrong.
But D-O-N-U-T is what we've seen more frequently.
Now, this one gets me.
What's the next one?
This gets me, too.
I'm always second guessing myself when I write this word.
Yeah, it's canceled.
So it's the past tense of cancel.
We have seen it written with one L and two L's.
We've seen both.
But maybe one is more common in British English.
Which one do we think is more common?
Well, I believe two is more common in British English.
But again, I mean, you know, you can't. like either one is okay.
I actually just to double check.
I actually just typed both of them in again on my sheet to see if I would get a red squiggly line under either.
And I did not get one.
Okay.
Well, that means both are an option, but we tend to second guess ourselves.
So we may be asking someone this question.
Does it have one L or two L?
So we'll get to those phrases in just a minute.
There's another one that has the same scenario that we need to be able to use.
Our Right, which is traveled.
So past tense of travel.
So again, British English tends to have the two L's and American English might tend to have the one.
But again, you can't go wrong.
But there is always that moment where you're like wait.
Which one is it?
And I don't think anybody really knows.
What do you think?
Yeah, no one really knows.
It's true.
That makes me feel better, right?
Spelling, I think, isn't necessarily a measure of competence.
It's just some people are good at it, others are not.
It's There's so much more in the world to learn, right?
But we try to get it right as much as we can.
So we're going to take a quick break and then we'll be back to talk about a few more that get confusing when it comes to spacing Michelle.
Yes.
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Okay, I'm excited for this next one because I feel like at some point in school I learned this, and then I now I always remember it, but before I learned it, I forgot it all the time, you know.
Yeah.
Okay.
So what is it?
And tell us what you learned.
That was a lot, Michelle.
That was a lot.
That was a lot.
That was a lot.
Well, there it is.
A lot is what we're talking about here, right?
So the phrase a lot, like an excessive amount of something, right?
So we do use a space that is best for formal writing between a and lot.
So a lot is What do we think, Michelle?
Is this rule ever broken?
Yeah, I mean, I would say in an informal text, I would say it's okay.
But yeah, I always put a space.
What about you?
I always put a space, even in texting.
This one again.
I feel like it's the kind of thing once you know it, you know it and you don't forget it.
Yeah, because, again, I'm looking at the red squiggly line over a lot.
Oh, yeah.
Our notes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yep.
Yep.
Yep.
So that was a lot.
And then we're going to do one more and then we're going to get into asking about spelling.
So this one is email.
And I always thought email was with a dash e dash mail.
But apparently there is no dash now.
But I wonder if the spelling has changed though, as it's become.
You know how they used to say World Wide Web and all these things that sound so antiquated now.
I wonder if they did originally spell it like email.
Oh, that's so creative.
Electronic mail, email, you know, but now it's just email.
Could you send me an email?
It's just become a full word.
Right.
Right.
Yes.
So apparently you're right.
It was with a dash.
And then over time it did change to no dash.
So That is very interesting how that can happen.
So no dash with email.
But again, if you put a dash, I don't think anyone's going to freak out.
But yeah, it is correct to do it without a dash.
All right.
Now I'm excited Michelle, to get into the connection piece, because it's all about asking for help sometimes.
Yep.
Right?
Yeah.
And what is the scenario that we might be in when we might ask for help, Michelle, for example?
I mean, let's say you are working on a project with someone.
You might be kind of writing something together.
Maybe they're sitting next to you and you're the one taking notes.
And you might just say, oh, does this have a blank or a blank, right?
So there's, yeah, there's a lot of different scenarios.
So, or even if you're text messaging next to someone, you're sending a text and you might say wait, does this?
You know we all have these moments.
I definitely have had people ask me, I've asked people, oh, what is it?
So- um, it's a good one.
So the first you're doing like arts and crafts, you're making a sign.
I remember making a sign on cardboard with my niece and you know having that question like does this word have a two l's or one l right?
So these are the questions.
So let's get into those questions, michelle.
What are they?
Yeah, so the first one is does blank have a blank?
So we're gonna use And we're going to use nerve-wracking here, because you and Aubrey did an episode about nerve-wracking.
So, guys, you can go ahead and look up nerve-wracking and find that episode.
So, yeah.
So, for example, does nerve-wracking have a W?
Or does email have a dash?
Or is there an X in Y?
Is there a something in something else, right?
Right, right, right, right.
Is there a...
Is there a dash in nerve wracking?
Is there, right?
Is there a W in wrinkle, right?
Yes, yes, right, right.
So is there an X in Y?
And sometimes you might hear or no at the end, right?
So like, is there a G in donut or no, right?
Hmm.
And it's hard, but the answer is whichever one you want, right?
Yes.
You know, yeah.
Today's about the question, asking the questions.
Exactly.
Or what's another question you might ask if you're not sure, right?
So like for, this is especially useful for the traveled, the canceled examples.
So for example, how many X's are in that?
Or how many L's are in that?
You want me to write canceled?
How many L's are in that?
Right, right, right.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Or you could say two, one blank or two or two blank or one.
So two L's or one, one L or two.
Yeah yeah yeah yeah, do you?
Sometimes maybe you might get this when you're spelling your name, if you have a double l, like maybe a melissa or something, i'm thinking i got it, i got it, you do get it.
Yeah, of course, of course, for michelle yeah, and i'm two, but a lot of.
I mean and i think we've done this episode before, an episode about yes, names and talking about spelling, because that's a really common one whenever i meet someone who has my name, it's always one l or two right, and Every single time, every single time I meet another Michelle, there's no.
That never doesn't happen.
Yep.
And in that episode we talked about how fun it is as a connection moment, because it's kind of contested.
It's like, are you team A, team double L or team single L?
It's the same for me with EY and AY.
Guys, if you're excited about that episode, go and find it in the archives.
It's somewhere deep back in there, but it was a great connection episode, that one.
Yeah, that was fun.
Um, so yeah, another, and one more is, is that X or Y, right?
So just say, say what the spelling is.
Oh, is that D O N U T or D O U G H N U T, right?
Or you might just, you don't even have to say, is that you can just spell it out.
D O N U T or D O U G H, or you might even just use the section that's kind of debated.
So you could say, right.
N-U-T or O-U-G-H, right?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You might end up saying the whole word for the, for that one, but yeah, exactly.
So taking the most convenient part again, we want to shorten things so we can get to the connection moment.
Of course, we don't want to be too long winded in our question, right?
Exactly.
So let's show how this will look.
Yes.
Okay.
Let's do it.
Okay.
All right, so here, Michelle, we are classmates and we are working on a project, right?
Okay, perfect.
Okay, so let's write free donuts.
Okay, I could put that down.
D-O-N-U-T or D-O-U-G-H-N-U-T?
O-N-U-T.
Okay, so it says free donuts.
Does email have a dash?
No, I don't think so.
Okay, so type this.
We have a lot of free donuts.
We have, is there a space in a lot or no?
No, not here.
Okay.
Now, right.
The free donuts were canceled.
Two L's are one and canceled.
Let's go with one.
Okay.
Okay.
Nice.
We're having a lot of challenges over here.
Oh, that's fun.
Very typical conversation though.
Yeah.
Right, right, right.
Exactly.
So this is kind of fun.
So You said, OK, I can put that down.
And then you said D-O-N-U-T or D-O-U-G-H-N-U-T.
So I did the spelling method here.
Right.
And then you said O-N-U-T.
So you didn't respond with the full D-O-N-U-T.
You could have done that.
Sure.
There's no hard and fast rule here.
But you were just saving time.
And you said, O-N-U-T.
So next, let's see.
You said, oh, does email have a dash?
Right.
And then you said, no, I don't think so.
And then you asked me to type this.
We have a lot of free donuts.
And then I said, a lot.
Is there a space in a lot or no?
And I said, no, not here.
And then you said, okay, now, right.
The free donuts were canceled.
And I said, two L's or one in canceled.
And you said, let's go with one.
Well, we got our work done here, Michelle.
We got it done.
Nice.
Good job.
Well, this is great.
Michelle, what's the final takeaway for our listeners for today?
This kind of episode, what are we looking at today?
These are kind of fun.
It's always.
There are these specific words that people can probably you can probably think of 10 words if you really think about it that you always I mean for me at least, that I always have like a little bit of trouble.
Exactly.
That you're always going to forget.
And chances are that those are fairly universal.
So you can generally connect with somebody about that.
So these are just really good ways to connect.
Don't be afraid to ask.
And yeah, it's kind of fun.
Yeah, you got it, guys.
That's the connection moment right there for you.
And Michelle, I'll see you back here very soon.
Guys, hit the follow button if you love our style of connection, not perfection.
All right.
Thanks for chatting with me, Lindsay.
Bye, Michelle.
Take care.
Bye.
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