Tom here from BBC learning English.

Today, I'm going to explain the difference between 'to steal' and 'to rob'.

Both to steal and to rob mean to take something without permission.

To steal focuses on the object or the thing which is taken.

For example, "Somebody just stole my phone."

Rob focuses on the victim of the crime.

For example, "The man robbed a bank last night."

I wouldn't say "Someone robbed my phone."

I would say "They robbed me and stole my phone."

Hi, I'm Sam from BBC learning English.

And today we are looking at the difference between 'no,' 'not any' and 'none.'

Let's have a look.

Imagine you ask me this question.

Do you have any change?

I have zero change.

And I can say this in three different ways.

"Sorry, I have no change" where we use the verb have with no followed by a noun.

"Sorry, I don't have any change" where we use the negative don't followed by the verb, followed by any, followed by the noun

Or I can say "Sorry, none at all" where we use none without a verb or a noun.

So it's a short answer.

So now, you shouldn't have any problems with this.

I'm Sean from BBC learning English.

And today we're gonna look at the difference between 'lay' and 'lie.'

So lay always has an object and it means: put something or someone down carefully.

Normally in a flat position.

"When I eat, I lay a cloth on the table."

"You can lay a baby in a cot."

The past tense is laid but careful with the spelling.

"I laid all my cards on the table."

The verb lie doesn't have an object and it means that you are in a flat position or you put yourself in a flat position.

So you move on your own.

Tonight, I want to lie on the sofa and watch a film.

But be careful. Now, the past of lie is lay.

"Yesterday, I lay on the beach and read my book.

Hi everyone, Dan from BBC learning English here.

Today we're going to talk about 'don't mind' and 'doesn't matter.'

The verb mind means dislike, be annoyed by or object to.

It's followed by verbing and often used in negatives and questions.

For example, "Do you mind opening the window?"

"No, I don't mind."

If someone says "I don't mind," it means that they have no preference or that they are happy for something to happen.

However, the verb matter in English can mean be important.

English matters means English is important.

If we say "It doesn't matter," it means that the thing that we are talking about is not important or not significant.

"Do you want tea or coffee?"

"It doesn't matter."

Ok.

Sometimes they can both mean the same thing.

"Do you want chicken for dinner?"

"I don't mind."

"Do you want chicken for dinner?"

"It doesn't matter to me."

Hi, I'm Phil from BBC learning English.

I'm gonna tell you three facts about 'the.'

We use the, when we're referring to a specific thing and that both you and the person you're talking to know which one you mean.

"Please pass me the milk."

We can see the bottles and we know it's that one.

Number two, we don't use the when we're talking about something in general.

For example, I love chocolate.

Number three, we don't use the when it doesn't matter which thing we're talking about; we usually use, a, or an here.

"Give me a cup of tea."

I don't care which cup, any cup will do.

Hi, I'm Georgina from BBC learning English.

Do you ever wonder about the differences between 'next,' 'the next' and 'nearest'?

Next means immediately after this one and is often used with day, week, month or year.

"I go on holiday next Tuesday." "I'll start my diet next week."

The next means the period of time starting from now.

"The next two weeks are very busy."

"It'll be cold for the next few days."

Nearest means the closest to something or someone in distance.

"The nearest bus stop is over there."

"I think we should stay at Susie's. She lives the nearest to the airport."

Right. I'm off to the nearest cafe to get a coffee. Bye.

Hi, everyone.

Welcome back to English in a minute.

'Peep,' 'peer' and 'glimpse' are all verbs of sight that mean look at something but are used in different situations.

Let's look at some examples.

"My friend peeped at my test answers."

This verb means to look at something quickly and secretively.

"I peered at the document trying to understand it."

Peer means to look at something intently or carefully in detail.

It can also be used in another way.

"I was peering at the clock in the distance."

This example means that I had difficulty reading the clock.

Maybe the clock was very small or I had bad eyesight.

"I glimpsed the sunlight through the trees."

Glimpse means to see something for a short time or to only see part of something.

We often use glimpse as a noun with the verb catch.

For example, "I caught a glimpse of Phil as he left the office."

Bye, everyone.

Hello again, everyone.

Tom here from BBC learning English.

Today, I'm going to explain the difference between 'what' and 'which' in questions.

What is used to ask a question which has a lot of possible answers.

Consider the question, what do you want to eat for lunch?

Here, there are no choices to limit your reply.

You could choose anything you want.

We use which when we have options to choose from.

So here we have two choices, a sandwich and a melon.

So I can say "Which do you want to eat? The sandwich or the melon?"

Now, next time you need to ask a question, you'll know which word to use.

What for anything and which when you have a choice.

Hi, I'm Phil from BBC learning English.

Today, I'm gonna tell you the difference between 'still,' 'ready' and 'yet.'

They all talk about things around the present, but they don't mean the same.

We use still to talk about something that hasn't finished.

"Are you still studying? Let's go out."

We use already to talk about something that has finished and maybe we didn't think it would have by now.

She's already finished work.

She's gone home.

We use yet in questions and negatives to talk about things that haven't happened, but we think they will.

Haven't you left yet?

You'll be late.

So, just remember, things that are still happening, haven't finished.

Things that have already happened have finished and things that are yet to happen, haven't started.

"Are you still watching?"

"Have you learned this yet?"

"You remember it already?"

Fantastic.