This is the Business English Podcast, episode 488.
Get used to this tricky English pronunciation.
Welcome to the Business English Podcast from All Ears English.
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This is real business English with your favorite American hosts, Lindsay Ann Aubrey, coming to you from Arizona and Colorado, USA.
You know the feeling.
You say something in English and a native speaker asks, sorry, what?
And then the fear creeps in that you'll repeat and they'll say what again.
It's frustrating, right?
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Here's the truth.
It's not your grammar or vocabulary.
It's the sound system of English.
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Go to allearsenglish.com slash pronunciation.
That's allearsenglish.com slash P-R-O-N-U-N-C-I-A-T-I-O-N.
Hello, Lindsay.
How are you?
Doing good.
How are you doing?
I am great.
I have a question for you.
Okay, let's do it.
What's something you used to do that you don't do anymore?
Oh, well, I used to ride the subway every day when I lived in New York and Boston.
But I don't do that anymore.
Yeah.
No subway in Denver or Phoenix.
I miss it.
I miss the subway.
Me too.
I miss the walking.
But life changes sometimes.
That's okay.
Today's episode is inspired by a YouTube question.
Aubrey, I mean listeners.
Don't forget that we do have a YouTube channel for the All Ears English podcast.
So you can find our episodes five days a week over there on YouTube.
Yeah.
Yes, absolutely.
And this was from broadcaster Abdullah, who said, I'm confused about the word used or used.
When do I say it with an S sound and when with a Z sound?
Such a good question.
A good question.
I'm surprised we've never covered this, but it's an excellent question.
Guys, we love your questions.
Send them in to support at allearsenglish.com.
And Aubrey, what should our listeners do right now on the show?
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All right, we're gonna break this down and answer this question with a pro tip.
What is our pro tip for today, Aubrey?
Yeah, so high level, if it's a verb, an action, then it's gonna be the Z sound.
Okay.
Use, sounds like a Z. Okay.
And if it's a thing or a concept, So a noun, then it'll be that S sound, use.
Nice.
So that's kind of, like you said, a high level tip.
We're going to keep that in mind throughout the episode today.
And it doesn't get a little more complicated than that because we are going into used to.
I used to do something, which that's really what's tricky here.
But this is also tricky that as a verb, it sounds different.
Use with that Z sound.
And as a noun, it's an S sound.
All right.
So let's get into the exact details.
So When we're talking about U-S-E as a verb, what does it sound like again?
Yeah, this is where it's the Z sound, use.
For example, I use my laptop every day.
Or can I use this pen?
Z, can I use this pen, right?
So that one's pretty straightforward, but where else do we need to look at this?
Yeah, so then as a noun, it's written exactly the same, U-S-E. but here it has an S sound.
So it'll be like a use for this or the use for this and it becomes an S sound.
Yeah, that's why I can totally see why this question came in and why this could be confusing for our listeners.
Absolutely.
Especially at work, you don't want to mix differently.
We don't want to mess this up at work.
So the use of smartphones has increased dramatically.
Or what's the best use for this software?
Perfect.
Okay, we're going to get a little bit more complicated now.
And what is the next piece we want to look at?
Yeah, so used to is tricky in English.
So as past tense, right?
It has that st sound with the vowel.
So the ed is pronounced as a t sound.
It doesn't sound like a d. And this functions as a modal verb.
It is a phrase that describes a past habit, action, or state that is no longer true, right?
I used to do that, but I no longer do it.
Habits in the past, right?
So, for example, we used to work with that vendor, but things didn't work out.
Exactly.
Or meetings used to be on Fridays, but now we usually meet on Tuesdays.
Is there an exception to this rule, Aubrey?
Yeah.
So, this is where the spelling is a little bit tricky, right?
So used to, without a D.
What we just talked about is spelled U-S-E-D used to, but you don't hear that d, it's silent.
Yeah, and what's tricky here is we also have this phrase used to without the d, and this is the verb is just pronounced with that s used to yeah, so used to versus did used to yeah, they sound the same.
So this doesn't matter when we're speaking, it only matters when we're writing.
Yeah, and i would say, to be honest, a lot of native speakers mess this up like a A lot of them.
Absolutely.
This is a common mistake, right?
Especially because it's tricky anytime.
If something sounds the same but is written differently, that's going to cause problems for sure.
So a lot of native speakers will make the mistake and say they'll write did you used to?
By putting U-S-E-D, but that's wrong, right.
Exactly.
So a quick dive into why this is the case, what's happening here.
When you use an auxiliary verb, like did or didn't, to form a question or a negative sentence in the past, the main verb that follows reverts to its base form.
Yeah, makes sense.
Right?
Yeah.
So, however, the pronunciation stays the s instead of the z. Yeah.
Okay.
So, some examples here.
Didn't he used to work here?
And again, that is used with just U-S-E, no D at the end.
Right.
Exactly.
Or I didn't used to come in early.
So it's not always a question because here's a statement.
I didn't used to come in early, but we're behind on this project.
So I have to now.
Yeah.
So because they sound the same whether they're spelled with that D or without.
This can definitely throw you off when you're, if you're writing an email, if it's written, because they are spelled differently.
OK, but same pronunciation, right, Aubrey?
Exactly.
OK, well, that's helpful.
Yeah, that's right.
Nice.
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Okay, we're back.
So Aubrey, what does this mean for connection in business?
Yes.
Right.
A great way to connect in English with co-workers and colleagues is to share what you are and aren't used to at work.
Right.
So policies might change.
Yes.
Kind of the way things are done might change.
And it is interesting to ask someone what they're used to at a previous job, or to share like oh, we used to do things this way, but now it's changed.
Yeah.
I mean, even, you know, when I started working online for the first time, it was 2017.
2013 2014, when we founded the podcast.
I mean, just working online was something to get used to, you know.
Exactly.
Because no one was doing it.
Everyone was going into the workplace all the time still.
It was so weird.
There were a lot of things that we had to get used to during the pandemic a lot of changes to how people were working and a lot of things right.
It was just a lot to get used to.
Oh my God.
What about you, Aubrey?
Anything else at work that you had to get used to Oh, yeah.
We started using Monday.com for scheduling.
And that's always interesting because it helps you stay organized.
It helps make sure tasks don't fall through the cracks.
But also, it's something to get used to.
You have to remember to check it and mark tasks as completed.
Exactly.
Exactly.
It's a double-edged sword, right?
It can help you, yeah, if you use it.
That's for sure.
So do we have a role play here, Aubrey?
Shall we go into it?
Yeah.
So Lindsay is a project manager here.
And I'm a team member in this role play.
And we're going to use all these different... versions of use and use and used to.
So listen really closely because today is about pronunciation.
Listen really closely to our pronunciation here.
Okay.
Exactly.
All right.
I'll start us out.
Do you mind showing me the new software?
I want to make sure I can use it correctly.
Sure.
I've been impressed by how many different uses I've found for some of the features.
Oh, awesome.
I used to struggle with this type of software, but I'm getting the hang of it.
Oh, yeah.
I didn't used to like tools like this either.
They felt complicated at first.
Nice.
Okay, so we've used all of them here.
Let's go through this.
The first one I said was, I want to make sure I can use it correctly.
I heard a Z sound.
Because it's a verb here.
Yeah, you hear that Z sound.
I can use it correctly.
I think that's the only Z sound I heard.
Is that right?
Exactly.
Everything else.
That's another good point that every other use of this.
It sounds like an S sound sound.
It's only when it's a verb that it sounds like a Z. Use it.
Good.
So just to recap the next pieces.
So I said, I've been impressed by how many different uses, and that is the S sound I found.
It's a noun here, right?
A use of something.
So many different uses.
It's a noun.
And then you said, oh, awesome.
I used to struggle with this type of software, but I'm getting the hang of it.
I used to struggle.
And here it's spelled U-S-E-D.
And then new word T-O, used to, but you don't hear that D at all.
It sounds because the T replaces that D sound.
There's elision there.
So you just say, I used to struggle.
And elision is something we talk about in depth in our new course Global English Pronunciation, Opry.
Yes, exactly because this is one of the biggest things that can make your speech sound more native and natural when you are using these.
You know elision assimilation, all of the linking that we do between words and sounds.
Yes, 100%.
So guys, if you haven't checked it out, make sure you check out our course.
And let's see, what else in the role play did we say here, Aubrey?
All right, so then finally you said, yeah, I didn't used to like tools like this either.
And this is where, because we have that auxiliary in the past didn't, I didn't used to that replaces the D, So there's no D there, it's just U-S-E-2.
So if you're writing, it matters.
But as you noticed, it sounds exactly the same.
So when you're speaking, you don't have to worry about it at all.
I used to struggle, sounds the same as, I didn't used to like, tools.
Right.
So it's kind of reassuring that we're only finding the Z sound, the Z sound in one use, right?
One use.
There you go.
There you go.
There's the S sound because it's a noun.
One use is the verb, right?
I mean, that helps to simplify it quite a bit in my mind.
Yes.
This is a great pro tip, right?
The only time you're going to use that Z sound is when it's a verb.
You know, I use something a certain way.
You're using it as an action there.
Yeah.
Where should we leave our listeners today?
Yes.
So English can be frustrating, especially when the pronunciation of words seems to break the rules.
When a word like this is spelled exactly the same but has different meanings and different pronunciations depending on the meaning or the word form.
So try not to let this stress you out.
I think these tips will help you know that.
You know the only time you'll use a Z sound is if it's a verb.
Yeah.
And I think the other key is knowing the rules we talked about today and now going and listening as much as you can, getting as much input as you can, because that's where that natural aspect will come in.
Right.
Yes.
And use this to connect with coworkers.
Right.
I think that's such an interesting question.
What, What were you used to at your old job?
Or sharing like oh, I was really used to it being like this, but now it's changed.
What have you gotten used to over time is another interesting question.
There's a lot there for good connection.
And you know we need those good questions to build that relationship with our colleagues and also maybe learn a little bit about the history of our company.
That could be interesting.
True.
Right.
Yes.
Right.
What's changed recently?
What are you used to that just changed?
That's interesting.
Super interesting.
All right.
Good stuff.
Great question, guys.
Again, send your questions in to support at allearsenglish.com.
We love good targeted questions.
Absolutely.
Yes.
Thank you for sharing this question on YouTube.
You can leave your questions and comments on YouTube or send them in your reviews.
Yes.
And maybe one will be answered on a podcast.
Sounds great, Aubrey.
Talk to you soon.
Have a good day.
Thanks, Lindsay.
Bye.
Bye you for listening to business english a podcast just for you.
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