How to say CAN and CAN'T in British and American English
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 มิ.ย. 2017
- I'm British and Jay's American and this video explains step by step how we both pronounce 'can' and 'can't'. Sometimes I find it hard to understand Jay and here's one reason why - we pronounce 'can't' differently.
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*I actually know these things I watch it just because they're cute.*
Ha! Well thanks Kawaii, and we're glad you're watching, for whatever reason.
I just watch these when I’m bored but it’s kinda funny with face expressions
I'm from Germany. I didn't know anything about that haha
I know you watch anime cuz of 'kawaii'
SAME
Wow! Old people on TH-cam are surprisingly entertaining! More videos, please.
Ha! Not sure how to respond to this comment, but we'll try to make more videos before we keel over.
This comment is complementary and insulting simultaneously. Please make a video on this phenomenon.
You made me laugh :-) And I've learned a new word: to keel over. thanks for that!
I've just found this comment Mim Moon. Sorry for the delay in replying. So glad you liked the video and thanks for writing.
Ha! Yeah, we really should try to address it Nick. We also get called Grandma and Grandad by some of our viewers too! We'll have to make a video about it! Sorry I've been slow to respond. Somehow this one slipped through the cracks.
2:47 the lady is so cute.
Thank you Anuska.
😍
Ikr
Ikrr
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This channel is the best for studying english.
Thank you so much! Please tell your friends! :-)
안녕하세요 , 내 이름은 사마타입니다. 만나서 반갑습니다 신지호. Hi Shin Ji- ho, I'm an Indian and my mother tongue is Telugu. I'm learning Korean. I really love Korea a lot.... My name is Samatha 😃. Bye. 인녕.
1:30 omg I can't stop replaying this 😂 her reaction is just too cute and funny
I use both US & UK slangs when I am speaking in English (I am not a native speaker), but when it comes to the word "can't" , I always pronounce it like a British because I think it would be easier for people to understand me ☺️
Great to meet you Last Uchida. This is Vicki writing. I think the British can't will be clearer too.
I am from the U.S. and only very rarely ran into an issue with differentiating between 'Can' and 'Can't' but I do agree the British way is better. I could start pronouncing 'Can't' like the British, but as a native American English speaker, I am sure to be laughed at and considered a snob if I did.
Completely agree. In this case i go for British accent. American "can" is very confusing.
yesss
yeah, ditto to avoid confusion.
that's why the military uses affirmative and negative
Oh I hadn't thought about that before. Interesting. Thanks Rizal.
I can negative. I doesn't work.
God man you almost killed me hahahaha
Better yes and no?
And not just the military. Anyone who relies on clear and accurate communication (air traffic control, emergency services) especially over radio in situations where 'interference' is likely - eg background noise, static.
Technically, 'affirmative' = 'yes' not 'can', 'negative' = 'no' not 'can't'.
I'm American and didn't realize how our "can't" was so hard for other people to hear. I could understand Jay perfectly in the video.
Thanks for this Paul. You're not alone. Jay thinks I should understand him too. :-)
I just mix the both accent 😎
We're working towards that too Bhien. It's just taking us a long time. :-)
I love your accent 😊😊😊 always love british accent.
I do the same 😂
That would sound kind of weird to both of us. I think it’s better to pick one accent or learn both but use one.
Me too 😁😅
Can = can, can't = can. Can Americans communicate telepathically?
Ha! Good question DonLoranikus. :-)
That's the result of being visited by the aliens every year😂
DonLoranikus you didn’t know we could?
@@gourd3 omg! xD 😨😱😁😂
Takitty Love have you been living under a rock?
I want to appreciate the fact that they answer every comment
Thanks Thap. We try to. We're a relatively small channel so it's always been possible in the past. We have been getting a lot of new subscribers recently and it's led to a (very happy) problem - lots more comments. But Jay and I will continue to try to respond to everyone for as long as we can.
@@SimpleEnglishVideos can or can't?
@@jazkoming I kaen see what you did there.
I love the way lady explains. It's really fun.
So glad you liked it Gabriel. Thanks for writing.
I'm American and I could perfectly hear Jay pronounce the T sound after "can't" (at 4:08).
You think it was perfectly pronounced Destiny?
Not perfectly, but if you listen you can definitely hear the difference between can't and can. The way Jay said "I can't open jars" also had a negative impression. You could easily go by that if you can't hear the difference.
I pronounce "can" as "kæn", like the way "can't" is in British English (but without the t sound at the end). Even though I'm used to that, I can still understand a negative tone and a positive tone.
After many years living with Jay I can hear a difference between his 'can' and 'can't'. It's not a big one because there's a stop on the t in can't and the vowel sound stays the same. But I'm confused destiny. We don't say kænt in British English.
I'm not American or British I'm Russian, but I also heard it.)
destiny hhh
Can : Can I help you?
Can't : I can't do it.
We can learn English with you but we can't touch you.
But we can communicate. :-) Great to see you Mollie.
You're adorable, very entertaining and very good teachers. I'm neither English nor American but I enjoy this and find it very helpful. Thank you.
So glad it was useful. Thanks for writing MAbduser.
American: *pronounces can*
British: LOL such an American't
😂
lol
🤣🤣🤣🙌
Bri ish
:))
I'm an Australian native speaker, and I cannot understand the difference between 'can' and 'can't' when Americans say it. They both sound like 'can' to me. As I'm an ESL teacher this is sometimes are problem because most of my students studied American English in school.
Great to meet you Roz. I have the same problem when I'm listening to Jay, (as we illustrated in this video.) It's getting a little better with practice, but it's a constant challenge. :-)
I'm a brasilian. What's the acronym ESL ?
@@guilhermeoliveira1854 English as a Second Language.
I'm American, and I can't NOT hear the difference. It doesn't quite sound like a full "t" at the end, but it doesn't sound like "can" either.
You can't touch this
you can touch this
I don't know the difference :,,v
you two are amazing! well done!
Thanks Marcelo! Much appreciated.
Both? :)
I love how delighted you are, Vicky, to be speaking about the topic of English. Me too hun. Me too.
Ah, another English lover. Nice to meet you Kyle. :-)
@@SimpleEnglishVideoshaha so polite. So British.
I love British granny omg her accent is so warm😍😍😍
Hi Error 274. Thank you for the kind words! :-)
about can and can't ..British English is easier to understand
I agree, though Jay doesn't :-)
Simple English Videos jhhhf h jbggbhjjhbbcvnnvfgv
I totally DISAGREE! I can never understand what they’re saying
just beware to not say something not in place
I carn't !
There was one time I said "You can't" in British accent and a student thought I was cursing. SMH.
Oh that's funny! Keep practising. It's just a matter of getting the vowel sounds right.
Oh my xD
I can relate to that! 😂😎
@@SimpleEnglishVideos Thanks! 😊
@@BernardoPatino 😊, it was an awkward situation. Haha.
These are wonderful English teachers! Lady is cute! Way of teaching and her expresions are catchy! Best channel for english learning!!
Lol from India!
Dr. Chevan, thank you so much for those very kind words. And thank you for watching our videos.
Both presenters are absolutely cute. I love the way they act out. Charming!!! I just keep smiling all the way through the video. Am I the only one hypnotized? Guess no))
Алексей, thank you so much for your kind words. And thanks for watching our videos.
Brilliant video as always guys! You two are my guilty pleasure!
Good to hear from you again Tao of David. So glad you're enjoying the videos.
At last a good video that shows clearly the difference between Can and Can't in American and British Pronunciation. Thank you so much!👏😀
So glad you like it D'juna Kosmo. Thanks for writing.
Thanks for the video. Hopefully it won't take me long till I'm able to fully understand and distinguish both of them without depending merely on negative/positive tones
I live in London and honestly l do really love the British accent...!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing this video, 👍🙋🙋🙋🙋
You are most welcome, Giulia. Thanks for writing to us and thanks for watching our video.
@@SimpleEnglishVideos 👍👍 l love the British accent and if l have been taking an accent is most the British one, but it's very pedagogical every video aims to teach the differences between different English languages as this one. So, well done 👍
I love so much British accent.
I been learning English listening British people.
Henriques, thank you so much for watching our video. We're pleased to know that our video is helping you learning English. Thanks for writing to us.
Very clear and very useful videos...
Thanks Tibor! Glad you like them.
I wish I could have parents or relatives like you! You're so cute and I'm learning a lot of things from your videos! Thank you from Italy 💙
Rebecca, that's such a nice compliment. Thank you very much and we are very pleased you are learning from our videos. Thank you so much for watching.
Thank you too 😁
I found this channel today, I hope learn more English now, greetings from Chile!!!
Hello Matias, greetings to you in Chile and welcome to our channel. It's great to have you with us. :-)
The lady is a good teacher i have ever seen
Thanks so much Woodpecker Honeybee. :-)
I’m not native English speaker, and British speech and pronunciation always seemed to me more clearly to understand than American speech😁
Thanks for sharing this. Some other viewers have reported this too, and other shave reported that they find American English easier to understand.
Екатерина Кабанова I’m born and raised in England and I completely agree with you.
American eng is way easier to mimic, i am a parrot so to speak and cockney i cannot do that. Properly, that says a lot
It s realy interesting thank you
So glad you like it.
I like Vicki, she looks and expresses the words so kindly. :)
Thank you so much! You've made my day. :-)
Vicky speaks very clearly.
:-)
I'm from Russia and I feel something native and personal to me in American English. I really love it.
P. S. British English is great for me at fantasy movies. It opens the door to the magic medieval world...
Hello Robert. This is Jay writing back to you. One thing that Vicki pointed out to me when she first came to America, is that men with British accents were often the 'bad guys' in American movies. So there's another example of British accents in movies. Thanks for writing to us and thanks for watching our videos.
Best Channel on the internet machine thing...
8minute for learn just how to pronounce can and cant... But it worth it... Because... I miss my grandpa and grandma..
Hi Yusri. We're so glad you found this video worthwhile. Thanks for writing to us and thanks for watching.
@@SimpleEnglishVideos well.. TH-cam recommendation is weird though... That is why im here... (*•∆•).. Hahaha
I have seen many videos on this subject I must say that YOU ARE THE BEST, THE BEST, THE BEST !!!! Thank you very much!!
Wow, thanks Olivia! Much appreciated. :-)
It's even more difficult to understand the American version when the following word starts with a T.
I can touch it
I can't touch it
Sounds exactly the same to me
Ah yes. Great example. I think these would sound the same Q.
So entertaining! This channel deserves more subscribers! Already subscribed just now! 💕
Thanks so much Gesta and welcome to our channel! :-)
Both accent at the same time in one video. I'm Enjoying!
Hi Alex. We're really glad you like it. Thank you so much for watching.
both of them are so cute!! the smile 🥺
Thanks kiwi kiwi. :-)
Thank you now I understand the pronunciation
That's great to hear David. So glad it was useful.
sometimes eastern people (most of them Slavic) can say another word that begins with c the last letter is t and at the middle you find the synonym of the world pistol but without g at the beginning
I like the way you teach. Excellent class, thank you.
We're so glad you liked it chucarotorito. Thanks for writing! :-)
Grown up with British English. The can and can’t in Hollywood movies are so confusing to me.
In formal conversation, I use “cannot” to avoid confusing.
That sounds like it will work and alleviate the problem Sonnenabend. Cannot is pretty formal though, as you indicate.
Feel free to pronounce the t in can't even when learning an American accent. No one will notice. I just said it out loud and I would never notice if someone else was speaking and pronounced the t instead of using a stop. It's extremely subtle.
Thanks for this idea Typical Lib. :-)
I can understand your video more than the super popular and long famous TH-camr's videos.
Thanks!! 👏🏻✨
Hello Manu. That's so kind of you to say. Thank you for that and thanks for watching our videos.
@@SimpleEnglishVideos you're welcome. ✨
I am fluent in English but I still love these videos.
So glad you like them Blastaux. Delighted to have you with us.
Interesting, as always! I think the British pronunciation is easier to catch (sorry Jay ;-) )
I agree Philbert! :-) (from Vicki)
Hello I am from Argentina, and I think British pronunciation it's only easier in the RP dialect which is the less common to hear unless you are all time watching BBC, on the other hand American could be easier with less different accents and dialects if you will. Words in American English tend to be pronounced more like he are spelled, specially if you are latin, you will find American more open. That's my humble opinion. Though British is my favorite! Congrats, for your videos!
@@shakeo Nah, both American and British don't pronounce the words like how they spell it
Yeah. Especially in this topic "can't/ can US English vs British English. But British English also has several words that hardly to understand than American English.
English is overrated!
I think they should do some of British English vs southern English, or Cajun-English..
That would be nice. I'm not sure where we'd find the Cajun speakers in Philly though. Thanks Chris West.
This channel is a better idea than many others english teaching channels not doubt
That's so kind of you to say, Nobody Tagota.
Hello from Far Eastern Russia!Thanks for your educational videos, they are very useful for non-native speakers like me! You're both really cute:)
Hello Vlad and greetings to you in Russia. So glad you like our videos. :-)
I prefer english British, cause is more easy to understand
Hi Jeymenson. Understanding is the key to communicating with other people in any language, and that's what's most important, regardless of which accent you use. Thanks for writing to us and thanks for watching our video.
I say cannot, kenot! I never say cant
Well that's another solution to the problem, Appleman. And my guess is it's a very smart solution when communication is key! Thank you writing.
@Sapien where?
We've now made another video about this that you can see here: th-cam.com/video/kkSBXBSOyoc/w-d-xo.html
I remembered an instance when I was speaking to a guest over the phone and I already used both accents and still got misunderstood so I just used 'can not'. I started using it since then especially over the phone.
Great solution... 😂
I realized that it was a little difficult for me but after this video I can say it properly .
Thanks.
That's great fannyrenecito. Keep up the good work!
These videos are awesome, they help me a lot because i am an Argentine student and i'm learning english.
We're so glad you like them santiago nader. Greetings to you in Argentina. :-)
It's really interesting and very confusing.
I need to practice. Thanks.
I'm sure you'll get it Jose.
José Orellana hhghb
Vbhjh
I'm Italian and it's hard for me to recognize the differences. It's strange that two sentences with opposite meanings sound similar. Thank you anyway, funny video.
So glad you liked it barbaglio79.
I love them...thanks for all your videos.
I am so glad that l found this channel.I'm from Serbia and l am studying English.It's good to know the difference between British and American English
HI Ollie. We're so glad our videos are helpful. Thanks for letting us know and thanks for watching.
Maybe it's because I'm not a native speaker but I kept hearing cXnt everytime the lady said can't. Shame on me. Nice video, very entertaining, fun and well explained.
Ha! It sounds like we need to do some videos on English vowel sounds Gera. Glad you liked the video.
Ha! It sounds like we need to do some videos on English vowel sounds Gera. Glad you liked the video.
gera solis
When she said c’n
I heard c*nt...
Same with Can’t
Unless the speaker is applying extra emphasis, for some reason, the word 'c*nt' has a similar but shorter vowel sound in 'British' English - and a very different short vowel sound in American.
In America we also have a problem with the can and can’t we also struggle to we be like can or can’t and the other have to emphasize on the last letter so we know like caN or can’ T
Hello Faithful Rose. Thanks so much for writing. It's great to hear I'm not the only one struggling. :-)
i love this channel. I usually listen american english and sometimes i can't understand what they say (because i learned british english).
Ignacio, we so glad the channel is working for you. Thank you so much for watching.
This couple is fantastic! Really outstanding!!!
Thanks so much for the kind words Giliardi. :-)
We Filipinos already know British and American, we are major in both English 😉
That's great King Payla. :-)
I can't open jars.
American: " I can open jars"
What I hear:
"I can dopen jars."
Very interesting blackheavyblans. This is Jay writing back to you. Saying 'can't in American English can sometimes be a problem. I often have to repeat my sentence to Vicki by emphasizing the 't' in can't or by saying cannot. Americans, though, usually can understand. Thanks for writing to us and thanks for watching our video.
Love love your videos! This one was a great way to explain to my students who learnt American English why me and other Australians can only hear them saying can whenever they say can/can't. Thanks Vicky and Jay love your work!!
Leon, we're so glad your students are watching our videos. It's really gratifying to know we can help. Thanks for writing to us.
Educational yet entertaining! Great job grandpas and grandmas
Thanks you! :-)
You are both adorable 💙
Love from Iraq 🇮🇶 ♥️
New new. Thanks for the kind words. Greetings from Philadelphia. :-)
you two look so lovely
Thank you @HZ!
I am from Indonesia... all your videos verry helping me.. thanks
That's great to hear. Thanks so much for the encouragement Rizky. :-)
Great examples and great explanations! THANK YOU!!!
Thanks so much Ren. :-)
I prefer British, sorry Jay 😄❤ I love british accent! I'm trying to learn it. I'm finnish/hungarian 💞 and yay Jay is lefthanded too! I'm lefthanded 😄❤
Great to hear from you, Alma and good to know we have a lefthanded viewer. :-)
perfect way to retire. I love you guys
Thank you Izustic. Glad you're here.
These teachers are very good ,I really like they're videos . greetings
Glad you like them, Nassi. Thanks for watching!
British Accent i s simply Marvelous! I love it.
Thanks AstronoyBrasil. :-)
i love them and i want to protect them
How kind of you Shia. Thank you so much for thinking of us.
I'm American, and I can't NOT hear the difference between the two. "Can't" doesn't quite sound like a full "t" at the end, but it doesn't sound like "can" either.
Thanks for sharing this Kevin. It can be so hard to pick up the difference when you're not used to it, but there is a difference there.
That why I'm lost my English.. I think US is good to hear..
Incrível!! Thank you very much for giving answers to our doubts!
So glad it was useful. Thanks for writing Wes.
Very helpful and entertaining! Thank you guys!
We're so glad you liked it. Thanks for writing Fabi. :-)
Their show reminds me of “Dr Sheldon Cooper presents Fun with flags” from Big Bang Theory
Am I alone?
Hi MilenLight. You're not alone. Several people have mentioned they thought so too! :-)
English is overrated!
What makes me say that🤔?
Let's see
I know 7 languages, offcourse including English but English is the one which emphasizes on stupid pronounciation
(Which doesn't make sense)
A lot of words in this language are spelled so differently than how they are pronounced or rather I would say how we all are supposed to say it.
It is like some drunk lecturer read a couple of words and now people are supposed to follow it.
Also how we mention our relations with people is quite limited compared to any other languages I know
Again this is completely my view and I don't intend you'll to agree
I wanna learn american eng but I just like saying can't like british like u! Will it be wrong?
Hi Bizim. Vicki here and this sounds like a great idea to me because I think the British 'can't' is easier to distinguish from 'can'. Now are you taking any exams? I ask because some exam boards require consistency, so either American or British (or Australian, or Irish, or Canadian, or whatever) is acceptable, but they require you don't mix them up. I've never understood why mixing them up should be important, but unfortunately, that's what they do.
@@SimpleEnglishVideos I am 15 years old . And I love English sooo much and we are responsable for the subjects that are turgut in school and teacher do not care whetever words belongs AE-BE cuz in school it is mixed which eng is taught I am just curiously about eng cuz i fall in love with eng i only study accent , pronunciation grammer and vocabulary or in school it is like that
-I love red colour at vacation you got it ? Some words belongs AE and some words belongs BE ! I hope i could write with no mistake what i wanted:)
I adore the way she is. God save this English" queen! 🇬🇧
Thanks for your kind words. :-)
I really love your classes. God bless you, guys!
That's so kind of you to say Marco. Thanks for watching our videos.
The American version is so confusing.
Ha! Vicki here Akbar. I agree! I doubt if Jay does though. :-)
it's actually not so difficult. it's easy to know he is saying "can't" because if the word "can" was being used in those sentences, it would have the "kun" pronunciation. "i kun open the jar" versus "i can't open the jar." the vowel sound used tells you he said can't and not can.
I’m American and I never realized we pronounced it can and kin but we totally do
Ah yes, there's so much we do unconsciously von Hessen.
I'm an English teacher in Spain, in my 40's, I love that these guys, who are 20+ years older than me, can give me ideas for my English classes, rather than the ramblings of 20-somethings who think that they are good. They are fantastic at English teaching without it feeling like the only people who teach are young people, and they come without the ego's that you usually see with young folk on TH-cam.
Stuart, that is most gratifying for us to hear. We are so pleased our videos are useful for you. Thanks for letting us know and thank you so much for watching.
I just want to thank you for all these beautiful videos you share with us. I've been watching you in order to improve my skills and what I have received has been really amazing! Thank you so much! God bless you! I'm your fan 😊🙏🌌🙋
Good to hear from you Jaz. We are so pleased we're helping to improve your skills. Keep at it and thanks for watching.
I agree with her, American English is hard. British sounds more beautiful and easier :)
Thanks Thiago. Vicki here. I think British English is easier too, though Jay would disagree. :-)
I agree with her too
- absolutely agree with you, particularly: take=toik, father=fava, mother=mava etc. Real english!
us and uk talks about who has the best pronounce
2019 colorized
Hi Sahelian. I don't think there is any one best pronunciation. What's most important is that whatever accent you have, you are understood by the English speakers with whom you are communicating. Thanks for writing to us and thanks for watching our video.
@@SimpleEnglishVideos i more like british accent
I loved this video! So simple, straight to the point and fun to understand, and you guys are adorable. I love Vicky's smile, very friendly ☺
Thaks for your kind words and thanks for watching. - Jay
Marvellous and spot on!!!
Thanks Andrew. :-)
We italians must be careful with the brit way of can't as we easily say the c... word 😆
It's all about the vowel. :-) Thanks Ale.
As Russian native speaker I completely agree with Italians so I always say "can not". I don't want to swear. :)
Hello @@const.z. Well that will certainly fix the swearing problem. :-)
We've now made another video about this that you can see here: th-cam.com/video/kkSBXBSOyoc/w-d-xo.html
Oddio😂😂
You are so beautiful! I’m so glad I found you! With love from Russia ❤️
We're delighted you've found us and welcome to our channel. :-)
Hi.I'm from Russia.
love you both more than English, i CANT stop loving you
Thanks so much Vikram. :-)
I saw your video and I think that it was very entertaining. I learned some new.Thanks from Colombia!!😃
Hi Johan. We're very glad you were able to learn something new from our video. Thank you so much for letting us know and thanks for watching our video.
Just say Cannot instead problem solved for us Americans lol
Ha! Well, it's one solution SDSen. It will make you sound rather formal though.