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How to intentionally vary your vocabulary.
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What is the difference between intentionally, deliberately and on purpose?
Let's get into the tiny details today to find out if there is a major difference and how to use all three.
You can be technically correct in English and still not sound natural.
Maybe your sentences are grammatically right, but something feels stiff, a little robotic.
Not quite how a native speaker would say it.
That's nuance.
Fluency lives in collocations, phrasal verbs, and word choice, not just grammar rules.
If you keep using the same safe phrases, it may be time to stretch.
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Hey, Lindsay, how are you?
Doing great today, Michelle.
How about you?
How's it going?
I'm good.
Thanks.
Lindsay, question.
Okay.
Be honest.
Did you ever hit your brother on purpose when you were growing up?
Oh, yeah.
I can't lie.
Yeah.
We had some nasty fights.
I think when you know both verbal and sometimes physical, you know this happens with siblings for sure.
Yes, what about you?
Um, i was a pincher and a scratcher.
A pincher oh yeah, so that's, those are my tools.
Yeah like okay um, yeah and um, we had certain like ways of fighting that we would say no, that's off limits, you can't do that.
That's like yeah uh so but but but, for the most part um, you know, i got along well with my brother.
So yeah well now, now you're okay.
Now yeah right no, but even as a kid, like okay, you know he, he was good, because we're six years apart oh, he was good.
He was good about letting me play with his friends.
And I just remember it because we had a basketball hoop on the driveway.
And he would let me out there.
And then I would always somehow get hit in the head with a basketball.
That's pretty funny.
So yeah, there you go.
But today we're going to answer a really good listener question.
Um, so this comes to us from YouTube.
Uh, Lindsay, would you like to read the question for us?
Yeah, this is from our wonderful listener.
I am need for, they said, I love your podcast and your YouTube channel.
They helped me a lot.
I would like to know how to tell deliberately on purpose and intentionally apart.
Thank you.
Oh my gosh.
Great one.
Great one.
Yeah.
Oh my gosh.
Yeah.
So these words are so close in meaning.
Yeah.
So deliberately on purpose and intentionally.
So we're going to go over some helpful tips today to clear this up for you.
So lindsay yeah, should we get started?
Let's get started.
But before we do that, guys don't forget, we do have a youtube channel and you can find us if you type in all ears english over on youtube.
You can hit subscribe, and we also have another podcast.
We may do a follow-up over there, because some of these words can be kind of businessy, right.
Yes.
We may do a follow up on business English, but to find that show, open your search bar right where you're listening in your podcast player and type in business English.
You will see the yellow come up and just hit follow there so you don't miss any potential follow up.
Okay.
Absolutely.
Love it.
So Let's get started.
So deliberately, what is deliberately?
I mean so a lot of these are.
First of all, I want to say these questions.
These three words are very similar.
So we're going to be really, what do they say, splitting hairs?
Is that the expression we use?
Yes, that's a great one.
I mean, first of all, we really can't go wrong with any of these, but we'll go into the tiny, tiny differences.
I think today
I mean something that was done deliberately is something that was done that had a lot of thought behind it, right?
It could have been planned.
It's conscious.
It's a decision to do something.
For example, he deliberately waited until his boss was in a good mood to tell her the bad news.
Yes.
Yep.
Or I deliberately wait a few minutes to text my dates back when they text me.
I don't want to seem too readily available.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
So you're just saying you're doing that on purpose, which is the next phrase that the listener asked about.
Right.
On purpose.
Yeah, exactly.
But what would the adjective, uh, form for deliberately?
Yeah.
You can say it was not an accident.
It was deliberate.
Deliberate.
Yeah.
Yeah.
This could be when you're like, you're saying you're trying to commit harm.
Like you're trying to harm someone maybe.
Yep.
Right.
Um, Yeah.
And then what about on purpose though?
Because it's so close.
Yes, exactly.
Well, this is what I used in the beginning, asking you about if you would hit your brother on purpose.
Yeah.
So, I mean, this is just the opposite of something being accidental.
It's casual.
It's I think this sounds a little bit more casual, a little maybe a little juvenile.
So kind of the sound is a little different.
Yeah.
Perhaps it's planned out like deliberate, but it also just may be simpler than that.
I find that deliberate, it has a little more backstory to it, perhaps.
Maybe.
I do agree that on purpose can sound juvenile.
Depending on who says it and who it's said to and how it's said.
But it doesn't have to, right?
Right, exactly.
You can still use it as an adult.
So here's, again, with the siblings.
He hit his sister on purpose.
Or I charged my phone in the living room on purpose so I wouldn't forget it.
Right.
Oh, did you, was that a mistake that you did that?
No, I did it on purpose.
Right.
Right.
Exactly.
So, but you could also say purposefully.
So, and that, that really, um, elevates how it sounds, right?
It's interesting when he is on purpose versus purposefully, that sounds more formal and elevated.
So I purposefully left him the keys so he could get into the house later.
Yeah, I agree.
Exactly.
So this is a good one.
We're going to go to a quick break and then we'll be right back to talk about intentionally, right?
Yes, exactly.
Okay, Michelle.
So intentionally doesn't sound juvenile to me, right?
So this one's a little more formal, kind of similar to deliberately.
Moving towards a goal, thought through.
We intentionally waited until he left to start the meetings.
Did you intentionally leave the chicken in the freezer?
You're giving someone the benefit of the doubt, right?
Right, right, exactly.
So in the adjective form would just be intentional.
It was an intentional choice to wait another month to make the hire.
Yes, yes, good.
So living with intention, right?
I mean, knowing why you're doing things is a good thing in general.
So intentionally and deliberately are a bit more formal.
Again, guys, we're really splitting hairs here with these.
I think they're more calculated.
So on purpose is a little less formal.
At times it might sound juvenile if it's said by a kid.
Oh, my brother, he punched me on purpose.
Right?
Right.
That sounds juvenile.
But if it's delivered in a professional environment, it doesn't have to be juvenile.
Okay?
Right.
I mean, there are some where on purpose would sound a little bit odd.
Right?
So like...
If we go back to some of the other examples from earlier, like with deliberately.
He deliberately waited until his boss was in a good mood to tell her the bad news.
He waited until his boss was in a good mood on purpose.
I don't know.
It doesn't sound quite as elevated.
However...
However, when you change on purpose into purposefully, now we have a ballgame.
We have a ballgame.
But the problem with that word is it's hard to say.
It's a big mouthful because of the way you're moving from the S sound to the F sound.
It's pretty unnatural in English, purposefully.
Yeah, that's true.
It bothers me.
Again, as Lindsay said, we're splitting hairs here intentionally and deliberately, I think.
Just more, so have a little bit of thought behind it, whereas on purpose may just be.
Oh sorry, like I didn't do that on purpose.
I, you know, I I accidentally turned off the light.
Right.
Right.
So yeah.
Like does, does your partner ever turn off the light when you're like still in the room?
Right.
And you're like, Oh my God, that always happens with Dan.
I'm like, I am here.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Maybe defensive defending yourself a little bit.
Right.
I didn't do it on purpose.
I didn't do it on purpose.
Exactly.
So like you wouldn't like, I don't think you would say like oh, it was, like I didn't do it intentionally.
You know what I mean?
Right.
Intentionally sounds a little more profound, a little more deep, like.
Right.
You could use that if someone's accusing you of something, but it would have been something deeper, you know.
Right.
A little heavier, a little bit like, with perhaps a little more thought behind it, and on purpose could be as well.
But it could also just I think that's for the simpler.
Oh, sorry.
I didn't mean to close the door on you.
I didn't do it on purpose.
Sorry.
Yeah.
So we could say that on purpose is kind of more day to day stuff, a little less heavy, less serious stuff.
Right.
That's my opinion.
That's that's how it sounds to me.
I just also wanted to add the word calculated.
So this one is the bonus for today.
This one is more thought through and maybe even a little evil sounding, but not always.
Right.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Right.
So for example, you might hear, you might hear someone say a calculated risk.
You put a lot of thought into it, or I really thought through all the possibilities here.
It is a calculated risk.
Now, when would it sound evil?
Michelle, can you kind of explain that a little bit?
I think like, Oh, like that, the, um, Or if you describe someone as calculating.
Yes.
No, I totally agree.
I think it can definitely sound sinister.
It was a calculated decision for her to... to tell everyone the rumor.
Yeah.
It sounds manipulative.
Right.
Yeah, exactly.
Yeah.
Someone is trying to cause trouble.
And so they take these calculated steps.
Um, and that's when that might come into play.
So you could also say intentional steps, but intentional feels a little bit more, I don't know.
Neutral.
Neutral.
Yeah.
Let's do a role play, Michelle, and see how these all come out.
Let's do it.
Yes, exactly.
All right.
So here we are sisters and we are talking about a family party that we are planning.
Okay.
Here we go.
Okay, so I deliberately made the time on the invite 2.30, even though it starts at 3.
I know Tyler is always late.
Good idea.
It seems like he arrives late on purpose.
True.
And can we talk with the waitstaff about the drink choices?
Yeah, I was intentionally waiting to talk to you about that, because I wasn't sure how much you wanted to spend.
Right.
I mean...
I know not everyone drinks, but I looked at the list and think we can get the fancier option.
It's a calculated risk, so I don't think we're going to lose money.
All right.
So we used all of them here, right?
So here again, family party planning, right?
Uh, so you said, so I deliberately made the time on the invite to 30.
So you thought through that and you did it with intention again.
Again, some of these are interchangeable at sometimes, right?
You did it with intention.
Yeah.
And then we're talking about Tyler, who's always late.
And you said it seems like he arrives late on purpose, like not accidentally.
That's what he does.
Right.
It's yeah, exactly.
And that's a little more conversational, we said.
And then you said, yeah, I was intentionally waiting to talk to you about that.
Because I wasn't sure how much you wanted to spend about the drink choices.
Right.
Like you could have said.
I mean sure you could have said I was waiting to talk to you about that on purpose.
But it would have a slightly different feel.
Yeah.
It's good for our listeners to just try different phrases, right?
You don't want to always say on purpose, you want to elevate your language a bit guys, right?
Exactly.
Yeah.
And what about the calculated risk?
What is the calculated risk?
Why is it a calculated risk?
Well, we're trying to make this decision.
You know, on the menu maybe it's an open bar or it's just wine and beer or whatever it is, and I'm trying to decide what will be the best financial option for us.
So I'm saying it's a calculated risk, so I don't think we will lose money.
So I'm I'm confident in my decision because I've thought it through.
Maybe I did some calculating actually.
Yeah, maybe.
Well, maybe the calculation is you know who the guests are, you know how much they drink.
You are averaging a certain number of drinks per person.
You don't think it'll go over that.
So that's the calculation instead of just a random group that you don't know very well.
Right?
Yes.
There's some thought that's going into this.
Right?
Exactly.
Exactly.
So, yeah.
Guys, also check out another really good one was All Ears English.
It was a Saturday episode further versus farther.
Stop the confusion.
I love it.
A sassy Saturday episode.
We love those.
We love we love these sassy Saturdays.
Michelle, any final thoughts today?
Yeah, I mean, again, guys, these are so close.
You know, I don't think you can really go wrong.
So I What the thing that would be going wrong would be thinking about this so much and getting it in the way of connection and you don't use any of them, right?
Exactly.
So, but we did give you some ideas today, right?
On purpose being perhaps a little less formal, um, a little less thought into it.
Um, But don't let this get in the way of connection.
Whatever you use is probably fine, honestly, because they're so close.
Yeah, just know that you have the option to use many of them, and do use all of them at different times.
That would be the one thing we want you to do.
To build connection is, you know, use a variety of vocabulary range, as we say on ielts right, use a variety of vocabulary words because it does make you more interesting sounding and that leads to better connection.
But don't sit there and think, do i use deliberately or intentionally?
Oh no, and then the connection passes you by, because connection needs to happen immediately, in the moment, not with preparation necessarily right.
Right.
Yeah.
But this was still a great question.
And thank you for this question.
Really, really useful vocab for today.
Good question.
Thanks to our listener.
And guys, don't forget to send your questions into support at allersenglish.com.
Make it a specific one, because the better the question, the more likely we'll answer it for you on the show.
All right.
All right, Michelle.
You take care.
Bye.
Bye.
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