This is the All Ears English podcast.
To what do you tribute your English success?
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, Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl coming to you from Colorado and New York City, USA.
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Today we'll guide you through a tricky but useful word that is spelled the same but pronounced different, as a noun and a verb.
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Hello, Michelle.
How are you today?
How's it going?
I'm doing well, Lindsay.
How are you?
Good, good.
What are we talking about on the show today?
All right.
Well, Lindsay, now is your time to brag.
What are some of your most positive attributes?
Oh my gosh.
Well, I think I'm pretty patient with people.
Like I usually see the human side in people's mistakes and I can, yeah, I can tolerate it.
Like I could see how I could make that mistake.
So I'm pretty forgiving and patient.
What about you, Michelle?
It's your turn to brag.
I think I try and be very inclusive.
Like I notice if there's a person that seems like they're not talking as much, or if maybe someone might feel a little uncomfortable.
We've talked about this before.
I'm very empathetic, which is a strength, but sometimes also it can be a lot.
I love that.
Absolutely.
So today we're getting into this topic of attributes based on a listener question from YouTube.
Again, guys, don't forget to hit subscribe.
We're Help us get there by hitting subscribe.
Michelle, who asked the question?
All right.
So this is from Hayati04 on YouTube.
And from, oh, I'm so sorry if I did not get your name right, but there's this listeners from Japan.
All right.
I'll go ahead and read the question.
So here's Hayate's question.
Hi, everybody.
I've been listening to the podcast for two years and I've never missed an episode since I started listening to this podcast.
That's amazing, Michelle.
That is incredible.
We love that.
Thank you for being a dedicated listener of All Inners English.
Wonderful.
But it's the first time I've posted a question here.
I would like you to approach the word attribute because it has a lot of meanings and shapes.
Then I want to get the core image of the word.
Best Hayate from Japan.
Great question.
Yeah, really, really good one.
Thank you so much and thank you for listening.
So let's get into it.
So Attribute is an interesting word because it can be a noun and or a verb and the pronunciation changes as well.
So we are going to go over these two special ways of using this word today.
So the first one is attribute.
Attribute yes okay, stress on the a, that's how i use it.
In the beginning lindsay, i asked you if you had any positive, not if you had any positive.
Is there anything good about you?
I asked you what were your most positive attributes.
So this is as a noun right.
So again, Attribute.
Attribute.
Attribute.
Good.
So what does this mean as a noun?
What does that mean?
So, yeah, it means trait, characteristic, quality.
So someone's attributes could be they're funny, they're kind, they're creative.
I said I'm forgiving.
You said you have empathy.
This could be a question that might be asked in a job interview and obviously you would steer your responses depending on what kind of context you're being asked the question in.
Right.
Yeah, exactly.
And it's not just about people.
I mean, there are there are several ways that you can use it about things that are not people.
So, for example, the restaurant's greatest attribute is its atmosphere.
The food isn't actually that good.
There are places like that, right?
You just want to go because it's a place to be seen, or it's fun to be there, but you don't necessarily like the food.
But you have to order food, or flexibility is a non-negotiable attribute for yoga teachers.
Okay.
Now here we mean physical flexibility, right?
Not schedule flexibility.
Right.
Yes.
Yeah.
My friend actually just became a yoga instructor.
Congratulations.
Yes.
She just completed her training.
So I'm very proud.
It was a huge commitment actually for her to get to that.
Yeah, I've heard that that can be really intensive yoga teacher training.
Yeah, I've seen people go through that.
It's crazy.
Or I find humor in a partner to be an extremely important attribute.
Nice.
Yes.
Lindsay, what do you think are the most important attributes of a good podcaster?
That's a great question, Michelle.
I actually think it's probably empathy for or understanding of one's audience.
Always thinking about one's audience, about who's listening to the show and why are we having the show, so we don't get too wrapped up in ourselves.
It's really about the listeners.
Yeah, love it.
All right.
Now, what is the most important attribute of a good hotel?
Well, you should answer that one, Michelle, because you love hotels.
We know that you love staying in hotels.
Yes, that is a quirk about you.
So what is a good attribute of a hotel?
I feel like you probably like stay in a hotel even if you're not going anywhere on vacation.
You like take a night and just go to a hotel just for a little mini vacation or something.
But we've done that.
We've done that because we haven't really done a big trip in a while.
So yeah, sometimes it's just – yeah, not in a while.
But we should do that.
So one, I think the most important attribute of a good hotel is –
I think the I would say the design, just how I think I think how it looks, honestly.
So I think one of my favorite hotels that I ever stayed in. was in Florence.
And it was a boutique hotel, so it was really on the smaller end.
And I really liked that.
It wasn't a big chain.
And I loved that it was a little bit smaller, but it was so beautifully done.
It was like very unique and special.
So I really like how I think I think there's something about just what it looks like.
Oh, that's very cool.
I love that.
You like to be in beautiful surroundings, right?
It kind of elevates the entire experience.
Well, my answer was much more kind of average person answer.
I think breakfast included is a very important answer.
But the irony is that in the U.S., the more mid-range hotels will offer breakfast.
Like, you know, the... what the days in or the basic Marriott.
But when you go higher in the US, like JW, it usually doesn't include breakfast.
That's the thing that's crazy.
You're paying more.
You're not getting breakfast.
It makes me crazy.
Yeah.
Come on, guys.
I know.
But also I was going to say price.
I want it to look nice and I don't want it to be too expensive.
Sometimes you can't get both.
I love it.
So, but when you hear the word attribute is that kind of a, would you say it's a little bit more formal sounding or not really.
It's just, it sounds like a big word, but not that formal.
I think it's kind of intellectual sounding, but you can certainly use it in everyday conversation.
So it's not out of reach.
It's not going to make you seem like a snob that's trying to impress people, but it's clear.
I think it's articulate.
What do you think?
Yeah, I agree with you.
I think it's clear.
I don't think that it sounds too esoteric or anything like that.
But it is just it is an elevated word for sure.
Yes, it's elevated.
Yeah, we like elevated words.
Sometimes we like having choices and options.
That's what we want to give our audience today.
Yes.
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Okay, so Michelle, let's go.
Okay, so we've got the word attribute.
The spelling is the same.
Here's where the plot thickens, right?
We can also use this as a verb, but what's going to change?
Right.
So now the pronunciation changes and the stress is on the second syllable.
So instead of attribute, now my brain has to adjust.
I know you really have to adjust your brain.
It's weird.
Yeah.
It's attribute.
Yes.
Attribute.
So yeah, this basically means to give credit to something.
Something is responsible for something. something else happening, right?
So, for example, when the actress won the award, she attributed the honor to her mother for always having faith in her.
It's like she gave her credit.
Gave her credit.
Exactly.
Usually it's verbally.
It could also be in a book.
When you write a book, you write it in the credit section, right?
I attribute my failing score to my lack of seriousness on this topic.
I'll try harder next time.
So again, pay attention to the pronunciation, guys.
Attribute.
Attribute.
Okay.
And right.
So attributing, it's not always about something good, right?
So here in this example I'm saying oh, I attribute my something negative.
Yeah, so that's kind of interesting.
Or you could say maybe you meet a couple who's been very married for a very long time.
You could say what do you attribute your loving marriage to?
Right, so what?
That's basically saying what are the attributes of a good marriage?
In a way interesting, Yes.
And sometimes you'll see people, some people sometimes grammatically don't want to put two at the end of a sentence.
I think this is written, right?
But I don't have a problem with it in spoken English.
Exactly.
So we might switch it if we're writing to what do you attribute your loving marriage, right?
Yes.
Yes.
Yes, exactly.
Good point.
Well, so to what do you attribute the success of All Ears English? to build great courses.
Everything we do, we work hard.
So that's what it is.
Connection to our audience and hard work.
Love it.
All right.
Let's do a role play.
Okay.
So here we're partners in a school project.
We got a really good grade on it and we are celebrating.
That's the best part.
Yes.
Yes.
All right.
I am so proud of us.
We did it.
Yes.
You know, I really attribute our grade to all your hard work.
I know it wasn't easy.
Lindsay, thank you.
But it was total teamwork.
You brought so many amazing attributes to the team.
We couldn't have done it without your design skills, your expertise in tech, or your hard work.
Thank you.
Yeah.
And that's kind of nice.
Like, it's okay.
Even if you think like it was an even contribution on a project at work, it's okay to call it out and say you know, I attribute our success here to your hard work or to what you contributed to the project.
That's okay.
Even if it was an even effort.
Yes.
Yes.
That's a good thing.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
So yeah, here we use the word in both ways.
So you said, I really attribute our grade to all your hard work.
So again, this is the verb attribute.
Attribute.
Yeah.
Then we now we have to flip our brains.
For the next one, where it becomes a noun.
You brought so many amazing attributes to the team.
Yes.
Ooh.
Mind-bending, Michelle.
Yes, definitely.
But really, really useful.
I mean, this was such a good question.
Sometimes we have these words, that they have these other meanings, they have more than one meaning, they have different pronunciations, different word family, all of this.
So it's really important to draw attention to it, so that we know how to use it and we understand what people are saying.
Yeah.
I mean there are lots of other words that have the same spelling, that are pronounced completely differently, as a noun versus a verb right.
So maybe we'll revisit those in other episodes.
All right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Love it.
Another episode to check out.
Where should our listeners go?
Yes.
So I think this is this is probably when you did with Aubrey.
It was how to dance around tricky past participles.
That's a really important one.
Sounds interesting.
Dance around.
I love it.
We did teach the phrase dance around what that means.
It doesn't literally mean dancing like around anything.
Yeah.
Right.
So listen to the episode to find out.
So Takeaway today, Michelle, any final thoughts for our audience?
Yeah, definitely look out for this, you know, because it can start to hurt your brain, or my brain too.
Right.
Go with one at a time.
You know, choose one to start with.
Think about how it can relate to your life.
Try and experiment with it in a conversation.
Kind of get used to it.
It is common in both ways. ways, I believe.
So choose one, give it a try, see how it feels, and then switch your brain over and give that a try.
Don't break your brain in the process, right?
Yes.
Love it.
All right.
Good stuff, Michelle.
We'll see you very soon, guys.
Hit the follow button now to get more All Ears English, or subscribe on YouTube and let's get to 300000 subscribers.
Excellent.
Love it.
All right.
We'll talk to you soon, Michelle.
You have a good one.
Take care.
Bye.
Bye.
Thanks for listening to All Ears English.
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You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday.
How can you find amazing candidates fast?
Easy.
Just use Indeed.
Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other job sites.
With Indeed Sponsored Jobs, your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates, so you can reach the people you want faster.
According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on Indeed have 45 more applications than non-sponsored jobs.
Don't wait any longer.
Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed.
And listeners of this show will get a 75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at indeedcom slash podkatz13.
Just go to indeedcom slash podkatz13 right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast.
Terms and conditions apply.
Hiring indeed is all you need.
