This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 132.
Reimagine your Business English vocabulary today.
Welcome to the Business English podcast from All Ears English.
Get the English skills you need to achieve your dreams in global business.
For a presentation, a meeting, or your office party, this is Real Business English with your favorite American hosts, Lindsay and Michelle, coming to you from New York City and Colorado, USA.
Still translating in your head when you speak English?
It's time to change that. The Connected Communicator course from All Ears English helps you train your ear, speak naturally, and finally connect with real people.
In our tailored study plan, you'll hear unscripted interviews from tattoo artists to entrepreneurs from all across America. and you'll use new AI tools to practice speaking anytime you want.
No more stiff, scripted English. Build confidence, fluency, and cultural insight all in one course.
Plus, get real-life speaking experience at our Open Conversation Club every single week and build community with Allers English teachers and students.
Go to allersenglish.com slash connection to save $50 this week only.
Offer ends August 10th. allearsenglish.com slash connection Hey Aubrey, how's it going?
Are you thirsty today? Oh man, I'm the worst at hydrating.
I do not drink enough water during the day.
What about you, Lindsay? Well, it's so funny.
I moved to Denver, right? The West, the dry West from the East coast a few years ago.
And ever since I moved out here, everyone's constantly saying you have to drink more water.
You're dehydrated. Every ailment, even if my toe hurts, they'll tell me you're dehydrated.
You should have a water bottle. I do that to my kids, though.
I have a headache. Go get a drink of water.
Just not drinking enough water. You know what?
Kind of, and it's one of those things like, is coffee really good for you?
I've seen articles lately that challenge the idea that we're all dehydrated, actually, in notable publications like the New York Times.
So I think science is still kind of figuring out are we actually dehydrated or are we just fine i don't know interesting yeah i can always tell my skin will get super dry yeah you know and then like i've heard by the time you actually feel thirsty you are dehydrated i do say that i can i feel it in my that's why it is so dry here in denver we're at 5 000 feet what are you what's your altitude in we're almost like sea level oh you are that low okay okay okay okay so not too far north desert Yeah.
You're in the desert. Here, I do actually have... So I'll wake up and I never felt this on the East Coast.
My lips, I can feel how dehydrated I am in my lips.
It takes me half the day to rehydrate. So I'll be drinking water all morning.
So I actually do have taken that on. Yeah, it's crazy.
Absolutely. That's good. Are you good about... Do you have like a big water bottle you use all day or a small one that you refill multiple times?
Look at this honking thing. Oh, good. Let's see.
Especially right up in your camera. That looks gigantic.
Guys, check us out on YouTube. It is here on YouTube.
You'll see how much I don't drink all this though, right?
Like I don't like sometimes I get to halfway, but I've had to do this now since moving out here.
Otherwise you just are. It's incredible.
How many gallons does that hold? No, it's I think it's a I think it's one.
It's two gallons. I don't know. I'm not very good.
It looks like 10 gallons when you put it right in the camera.
You're also getting your arm workout from lifting it and drinking.
We call that the farmer's carry, right? Looks so heavy.
That's amazing. I need to get one of those.
And then if I can drink half of that during the day, I would be.
You should. I realize it's a life hack if you just put it on your desk.
You're working all day. I work all day. So I don't want to get up and refill my water.
I just grab it and it's easy to pour it.
I don't have to refill this huge jug. It's a day's supply.
Yes. I think I would need a straw, though, to drink it.
It looks really heavy. No, I just pour it into the glass though.
I don't know. There you go. Okay. That makes sense.
I'm imagining you lifting it like this. You'd have to be really strong.
Oh, that's hilarious. Oh, that's good. Okay.
So guys, we had this really great question today about adding R-E, re before verbs.
So I asked Lindsay there about refilling her water bottle, right?
Yes. have a giant one or do you refill a little one?
Yeah. Just to use one of these words, refill.
Yeah. Who knew that we could have so much fun talking about refilling water bottles, right?
Only on All Ears English. I know it's true.
And here on Business English, right? This is really interesting because this prefix we use all the time in Business English.
So we actually received this question from an All Ears English listener who I really hope is now following the Business English podcast because we're answering it here on Business English.
Yeah, guys, you got to be following both shows.
So if you're not, if you haven't hit follow on this show, go ahead and do that right now.
And then open your search bar, find All Ears English, which publishes four days a week and hit follow on that one too.
Yes, absolutely. Okay, so let's go ahead and read this question.
All right. Do you want to read it for us, Lindsay?
Here we go. Hello, my name is Kana. I've listened to your podcast for about two years.
That's awesome, Aubrey. Long time listener.
I love it. I've enjoyed all the episodes.
So thank you for the amazing stories. When the beginning of hearing your podcast, I couldn't listen to what you said because of the speed of your natural conversation.
But recently, I'm enjoying your podcast with 1.2 times the speed.
That is amazing. Right. I love to hear that progress.
That is so awesome. Oh my God. Your podcast has helped and trained my listening skill and translating skills.
That's so great. So good. That's a win for us.
Yes. Here's the question. By the way, I'm struggling to improve my IELTS score because I want to live abroad with my son someday.
So IELTS Energy Podcast helps me a lot. All the tips are useful and I have two questions.
Oops, we don't have a question yet. We We have two questions.
So yeah, right. We're not quite there yet.
So I love this to see that she's following IELTS Energy and All Ears English and hopefully now Business English.
So her first question was about the IELTS exam.
I took that for IELTS. We'll answer it on IELTS Energy.
So be sure to follow if you want to hear that question and the answer.
And we'll share her second question here.
Here's the question. There are some verbs which begin with re in English.
I think the majority of these verb meanings are doing like a verb's action again.
I want to say that the situation I begin doing something again by using the re verb.
For example, I relearn English now after having a child.
Please let me know if this is the way to use these verbs with re, if it's okay or not.
I'm looking forward to the next episode.
Take care of yourselves. Thanks, Kanaka.
Awesome. Awesome. Yes. Thank you for the question.
I loved hearing that, that at first it was almost like we speak too fast because we are speaking at our very natural native cadence and maybe she had to slow down the speed of the podcast and now she's able to speed it up.
That is amazing. She's improved her listening comprehension so much.
I can't even believe that. That is so great.
After two years, right? Steady listening four days a week, coming back to the show every morning and you can get there guys.
So be inspired by Kana. Absolutely. Yeah.
Yes, I love that. And this is such an excellent question, right?
Because you can't just add RE before any verb.
So we're going to dive into the grammar of when you can, when you can't.
The example she gave here, relearn, is an interesting one because you can say I'm relearning this.
But when we add RE, it means we're doing it over RE.
So a native speaker would actually usually say, I'm learning English again, or I'm continuing to learn English because it's not really something you can totally do over again.
It's something you continue to do, right?
Even if you've forgotten some of it and you are trying to improve sort of starting over, you're not really relearning it.
You still remember some of it. So there's some nuance here of why we would choose that prefix re or not.
So sometimes it really does. The meaning is not always that straightforward.
Just putting re in front of the verb. You have to know how the re and the verb come together.
And do they change the meaning? Right, Aubrey?
Exactly. Yes. And it can't be added to every verb.
For example, we don't. We usually just add it, like Kana said, to action verbs.
And only when that action can be completed and then repeated.
So that's where learn, you can see that we wouldn't really use it because you would never say, you know, I have completed learning this and now I can repeat learning this because learning is a process that is ongoing right it's more like you've picked it back up and you're continuing you're not redoing it again so it's more i guess kind of maybe concrete actions would that exactly a concrete action that can be completed right and then repeated that's when you can add re for example fill or refill like you fill your bottle that's a completed action you can do it again right or uh refill my cup after i finish one cup of water right refill my cup right or play replay please replay that i don't find myself especially for like a video like if you play a video yeah and then it's like oh let me replay that i missed something that's right i do that a lot replay that's the beauty of podcasting i'm always out walking my dog and then maybe we meet another dog and i talk to the owner and then i find myself i have to replay it because i haven't heard Exactly.
Yeah. Because that's a finished action, right?
I played it once. That was finished. I can repeat it.
Then we could say replay or appear. If someone appears, that's a finished, completed action.
They could reappear. So there are lots of words where we add re, but it's sort of specific verbs, specific meanings when it's completed and can be repeated.
Okay, so let's learn a little bit about how this works construction-wise, Aubrey.
Perfect, yes. So when you add this prefix, prefix-re, to a base word, you are changing the definition of that word, right, to include the repetition of whatever the action is.
So you have that prefix, re, r-e, plus the base verb, creating this new definition.
Let's give a few examples. Oh, so for example, calculate, this is to, we know this means to determine the amount of something, right?
And then recalculate, very common, right?
This makes me think of back in the old days when you had your GPS in your car, it'd be like calculating and she would kind of yell at you a little bit like, You got lost recalculating.
Yeah, right. It was like the criticism of you took a wrong turn recalculating.
I swear she had a tone. I think they programmed that in on purpose.
She had a tone. That's so true. A little passive aggressive, like you clearly missed your turn.
Now I'm recalculating. And now no one has it anymore, I don't think, right?
We all just use Google Maps or... Thank goodness.
Yeah. Yes, separate. It never worked very well.
Never worked, never worked. So then an example here, guys, would be we've recalculated this quarter's sales numbers and it turns out that we met our goal after all.
That's a good thing, right? Yes, right. We use these all the time in business English verbs where we're adding re to say we did it again, right?
So we initially calculated the stats and then something was wrong.
We need to figure them out again. So we recalculated the numbers.
Yes. Okay. What else do we have to know here?
What's another example? Yeah, so another one is the base word adjust, the verb adjust, which means to change the position of something.
We can add re to this one, right, Lindsay?
Yeah, so readjust, right? So they had to readjust the budget once material costs increased.
Exactly. So this implies that they changed it once, they adjusted it, and then they had to readjust it, change it again because these material costs increased.
So all of these verbs, you can see they follow that rule we shared with you that it's an action that can be completed and then repeated again later.
The interesting thing about readjust is I feel like it wouldn't always be necessary.
You know, you could say we adjusted it and then we adjusted it again or just we adjusted the numbers.
We changed them, whether it's the first time or the 12th time.
It could almost be a little redundant readjust because re means the same thing as adjust means change.
You know what I mean? Interesting. This is an interesting one because adjust means change.
Yeah. You don't really have to say that you're doing it again.
Yeah. We adjusted the numbers again. Unless you want to emphasize like, okay, let's get these numbers right.
Yeah. So we don't have to readjust them again and again.
I could see it both ways. Yeah. I think it depends on what you want to emphasize.
We don't want to readjust this or keep adjusting it.
So interesting stuff. Abercrombie's Viral Denim Sale is back.
And Spotify listeners get an extra 15% off with code SPOTIFYAF.
Abercrombie is known for their denim. With 30 to 50% off all jeans, find out how denim should feel.
Shop the viral denim sale in the Abercrombie app, online or in stores.
Valid in stores and online through August 11th, 2025 in US and Canada.
Excludes clearance, price reflects discount.
Code valid in US and Canada through August 11th, 2025.
Exclusions apply. See details online. Okay, Aubrey, what else?
We have another example, apply. What does this mean?
Yes, one more, right? We use this all the time at work.
Apply means to, in this case, to make a formal request.
There are more than one use of this verb, right?
We also say apply makeup or apply material to something.
But in this case, it's to request like an application.
And then if we want to do it again, we reapply.
Yeah. So for example, we plan to reapply for a federal grant this year.
That means we applied last year, we were approved, we got this grant, and now we're going to reapply this year.
Yeah. And if you say we plan to reapply for a federal grant again this year, that would also be redundant, but it would be okay.
You know what I mean? I think it's okay.
Sometimes we do that, right? We'll say again, if you have the re, you don't really need again, right?
We plan to reapply for a federal grant, or you can say we plan to apply for a federal grant again.
Exactly. Exactly. So grammar wise, Aubrey, what do we need to know about certain verbs that do not get re?
Yeah, this is key, right? A lot of verbs can't be a completed action that we can repeat.
Like we talked about learn and state of verbs we don't ever add re to.
So state of verbs are like a state of being, you know, know, be, love, believe.
And then we have another type of verb which I wasn't as familiar with this verb until I started looking at which verbs we can add re to.
These are italic verbs. Have you heard of italic verbs?
No, I've never heard of this before. Interesting.
New, right? I know. So these are verbs that don't have a built-in end point.
For example, dance, sing, change. Every time it's done is new, right?
So even if you're doing a dance... you there's no built-in endpoint every time you do it is still going to be a little new and different they call these italic verbs wow interesting okay and the other type of verb right is tele without the a so these are spelled a little strange a-t-e-l-i-c italic okay and then the other ones telic verbs denote an event that does have an end point for example rescue right okay so it's all about whether there is a clear end and you can see why this matters if we're saying you can only add re when there's a clear end when an action can be completed so that it can be repeated okay good uh and what else aubrey there's lots of common ones yeah or where we can't take off the Right.
This is what's interesting. A lot of verbs that have the prefix re are just an existing verb and re can't be removed.
Like, for example, repeat. Right. The word repeat is not a verb that means to like say something one time and repeat.
Nope. Right. Sometimes we have re as a prefix and it's just a verb that or it's not a prefix.
It's just part of the verb. Part of the verb or like recycle.
We don't say cycle. Right. And recycle.
Nope. Nope. We don't say member when we say remember.
There's no member. Exactly. There's remember, but it's not like you membered the first time and then you remembered.
Nope. That doesn't make sense. That'd be hilarious.
Or reply. There's no ply, right? It's just reply.
Exactly. Yeah, so this is where this is tricky grammar, the re.
You cannot always just remove it from a base verb and expect that to make sense.
This will really help you keep it clear.
If you think about actions, verbs that can be completed, that you can add re to, to say doing it again, right?
Repeating it. But there are plenty of words in English that have re at the beginning that isn't even a prefix.
Oh, okay. Anything else? I feel like there's a lot of asterisks here in this episode, right?
Yes. Like more things to know. Yes. One last one, right?
That for some verbs, when the prefix re, R-E is added, the meaning changes from the base verb.
So for example, remove. Is that the opposite of move, Lindsay?
Remove is the opposite. No. Or it doesn't mean to move again, right?
Right. Exactly. Exactly. It's just a little more nuanced than that. right?
Yeah, it's tricky. So there are verbs that start with re where it's not just a prefix added that means to do it again, right?
Move, of course, to move something. It does not mean do that again.
To remove means to take something away. So this is another tricky thing about re.
Yeah, the meanings are disconnected. Right, right.
Return, right? It's not the opposite of turn.
It's not turning again. Right. Exactly, right?
Return either is give back or go back. It's not turning again.
And represent is not presenting something again.
It's just another word. It's a different word.
Exactly. Represent is a totally different verb.
So this is why you can see how language learners could get really thrown off by this prefix because there's not really a clear rule.
You can't say, oh, every time I see a verb begin with re, R-E, that means it's doing that again.
No. Unfortunately, English breaks its own rules all the time.
Sometimes things aren't as cut and dry as you'd like them to be.
I know. I thought in this episode, we're going to have a clean answer, right?
A clear rule. And it's, this is one of those ones where it unfolds and you realize it's more complicated than you thought, because I also just would throw in a slang, right?
I hear the word re-up, right? For example, renewing a contract, right?
So an example from the dictionary here, I'm not likely to re-up with this phone company.
That's the worst. Our phone company contracts.
That's one that maybe is more slangy that we might hear.
Yeah, for sure. And if you're speaking more formally, you might say, I'm not going to renew my contract with this company.
But we often would say re-up instead. But it's not the same situation, right?
Because up, we wouldn't say, did you up with your phone company?
Are you going to up again? No, that doesn't make sense.
It's not a thing. So it is complex here, guys.
This is fun, though. We can have a sense of humor about it.
And then we can listen to native speakers and pick up what we hear.
Absolutely. I think let's do a role play here.
And then I do think we have a pretty clear takeaway as far as which verbs you can add re to with confidence.
All right, let's do it. Here we go. So we are colleagues and we're chatting before the beginning of a meeting.
Very common situation for our business. Right.
Sure. Yeah. I'll start us out. I had to redo these slides this morning.
So hopefully my presentation isn't confusing.
Oh, yeah. Why do you revamp it? The CFO asked me to add a bunch of info.
I was able to reuse most of my slides though.
I'm sure you'll do great. That's tricky to reimagine a presentation last minute.
Reimagine is a very style word right now, right?
That's true. It's true. Let's go through these.
We used a bunch. I first said I had to redo these slides.
And this is where we have this verb that is a completed action.
I did something, right? I made these slides and then I had to do it again to redo the slides.
Exactly. And then I asked you, oh, yeah, why did you revamp it?
I've always liked this word. It just feels fresh.
Revamp something. Right. But this is this kind of falls into that weird category.
We don't say vamp. Exactly. This is one of those that even though it starts with re, it doesn't mean vamping again.
Right. Not a word. Not a word. Not a word.
I'm aware of why we have to be careful here.
Yeah. And then you said the CFO asked me to add a bunch of info.
I was able to reuse most of my slides. And this is one where you can split them.
And it does. It's more true to the actual meaning here for today.
Right. Exactly. Use is an action that can be completed.
It's finished. And then you do it again so you can reuse these slides.
Yes. And then I said, I'm sure you'll do great.
That's tricky to reimagine a presentation last minute.
Yeah. And that one follows the same rule, doesn't it?
Exactly. This is interesting where you definitely can imagine something and see that as a completed action, right?
I imagined that happening. And then you can do that again and reimagine this presentation.
We do use this often, like you said, Lindsay, to be creative about the way we're thinking about something.
Yeah, I heard this word come, maybe not even now, but around the time of the pandemic, 2020, 2021, I heard this coming out in the news a lot around scheduling, like re-imagining work, work from home.
And now companies are trying to figure out, a lot of companies are calling, from what I've read, calling employees back into the office, but they're almost having to put together a hybrid schedule.
So they're trying to reimagine what would a hybrid schedule look like?
Not all remote, not all in the office, but what would it look like to reimagine how we work?
Right? Very common. That's happening a lot, right?
As we adjust after COVID and figure out this new working world, we have to reimagine the way things are going to work for different employees.
Totally. So if you read like The Economist, New York Times, the Harvard Business Review, you'll hear a lot of this talking about how business evolves, right?
Interesting. So as far as using this at work, we want you guys to be confident knowing when you can use re before a verb, right?
I loved this question. I immediately thought of business English because that's when stakes are a little bit higher.
If you're planning a presentation, if you're planning a meeting, you come across a verb and you're not quite sure, you have to think about the meaning of that action verb.
Is it an action that can be completed? and then done again and the example our listener gave us of learn is one of those tricky ones you're like hmm okay okay i can see that this is not something that's really a completed action so i wouldn't say relearn i would say continue learning yeah there's really nuance here right but it does apply really nicely to business because that's what business is is just always kind of doing things again and improving the next time pivoting making it better improving your product Right.
So it fits, Aubrey. I like it. It's good stuff.
Absolutely. Yes. And now you guys have the tips you need to confidently know that you're using this prefix re correctly.
Absolutely. Good stuff. All right, Aubrey, thanks for hanging out.
And guys, don't forget, hit follow on this Business English podcast for more episodes that apply directly to the business world and your performance at work.
Right. Awesome. Sweet. I'll see you next time, Lindsay.
All right. Take care. Bye. Bye. Thank you for listening to Business English, a podcast just for you, the high achieving global professional.
Want more from All Ears English? Don't miss our biggest and best podcast with 8 million monthly downloads.
Just search for the All Ears English podcast and hit follow to get four new episodes per week on fluency, American culture, grammar, and so much more.
Or tap the link in the show notes. Remember, we believe in connection, not perfection when it comes to learning English.
Follow the All Ears English podcast now.
