Lesson Transcript

Hi, everybody. Welcome back to Ask Alisha, the weekly series where you ask me questions and I answer them, maybe. Let's get to your first question this week.
First question this week comes from Saurabh Sarde. I hope I said your name correctly.
Saurabh says, "Hi, Alisha. How are you?" I'm good. "I always confuse 'beautiful,' 'pretty,' and 'gorgeous.' Which word should I use and when?"
Okay, sure. Let's talk about these three: beautiful, pretty, and gorgeous. So, we use all three of these words to describe something that we see that we think looks good, that looks nice. We could use these to describe a person, to describe a sunset, to describe a cake, whatever. So, we can use these words interchangeably generally. But, let's take a look at a couple of small differences that can help you hopefully decide which one to choose and when.
First, let's take a look at the word "gorgeous." So, when we describe something as "gorgeous," if we imagine these three words on kind of a ranking system, "gorgeous" would mean something that is really, really special. Something that you don't see very often. So, for example, if you imagine a "beautiful" actress going to an awards show, and she wears a very special dress, she has her hair done in just the right way, we would probably describe her as "gorgeous." So, that's something that's kind of rare. We don't see that every day. We don't see this woman looking so beautiful in this expensive dress, with her expensive makeup, and expensive hairstyle. When we see something that's very rare like that, we would probably describe it as "gorgeous." "She looks gorgeous," or "The actress was so gorgeous yesterday." So, we can use the same kind of thinking for other things as well. So, for example, when you see a really, really special sunset like maybe there's gold, and pink, and purple colors, the clouds are just perfect, everything like that. When you feel this kind of sense that something is special or rare, you can describe that as "gorgeous." Like, "Wow, the sunset is gorgeous tonight." So, "gorgeous" has this kind of feel of like that something is a little bit less common. It's very, very beautiful as well.
So, let's compare this now to "pretty" and "beautiful." So, I would say that "pretty" and "beautiful" are generally used interchangeably. We could describe people with these. Like, "Oh, she's so pretty" or "Oh, she's so beautiful." I would say that in everyday communication, "pretty" is probably the lowest on these three, if we think of them in terms of like a ranking. I would say "pretty" is probably the lowest in terms of like casualness. And then, we have "beautiful" in the middle, and then "gorgeous," referring to things that are super rare. We tend to use "pretty" to talk about very young women. So, when we see a very cute little girl, for example, we would probably describe her as "cute," as I just said, or "pretty." We tend to use the word "cute" when we talk about something that's very small. So, when we talk about kids, for example. They're very short. So, we say, "Oh, she's so cute" or "He's so cute."
We use "pretty" to talk about little girls as well, too. Like, "Oh, that's a pretty dress you're wearing, or "Oh, your hair is so pretty today." We can use this as well. We also use "pretty" like I said earlier when we're talking about things like flowers, or nature, landscape, and it's just kind of like the base word that we use. When we want to level it up a little bit, we say "It's beautiful." Like, "Oh, this landscape is so beautiful." Or, "The mountain is so beautiful," or "That song you sang was so beautiful." This has a little bit more feeling of seriousness than "pretty" does. So, to recap my kind of explanation of the breakdown of these words, we tend to use "pretty" the most when we're kind of talking about everyday things. And, we use this a lot when we're talking about little girls as well. So, we use "pretty" to talk about these kinds of like just basic things in everyday life. We use "beautiful" when we kind of want to level it up and make it sound a little bit more serious. And, we use "gorgeous" when we're talking about things that are kind of special or a little bit more rare. So, I hope that this helps you understand the differences between "pretty," "beautiful," and "gorgeous." Thanks very much for sending the question along. Okay. Let's move on to your next question.
Next question comes from Majd Frass. Hi, Majd. I hope I said your name correctly. Majd says, "Hi, Alisha. I want to ask you a question. What are the differences between 'look' and 'seem'? When can I use 'look'? When can I use 'seem'?" Okay, yeah. Good question. We haven't talked about this one for quite a while. So, let's refresh our minds on the differences between "look" and "seem." Basically, we use both of these words when we want to make a guess about a situation. The difference is in how we make the guess.
So, think about the word "look." Let's take a look at the word "look" first. When we use "look" as a verb, like "look at that," or "look at him," or "look at her," we're talking about using our eyes, right? We use our eyes to direct our attention to something, right? So, when we use "looks," as in "She looks angry" or "Ooh, that looks good," we're using our eyes to make a guess about something. On the other hand, when we use "seems," we're using something other than our eyes to make a guess about this situation.
So, for example, if you look over at your co-worker and maybe she's rushing around, or she sent you a really angry email earlier in the day, you might think to yourself, "She seems upset. I'm not sure what's going on." So, you've used, of course, in this situation, your eyes a little bit, and then you used some other information about her to make a guess about the situation. Or, maybe if you're shopping for something and you take a look at the price, you might think to yourself, "Hmm, this price, this seems expensive, but I'm not sure. I don't know." So, you're using some other kind of information to make a guess about things. Yes, sometimes, it's true you read some information. So, in that sense, you're looking at something. But, generally, we use "looks" to make those guesses about situations when we're primarily using our eyes to make the guess. When we're using some other information to make a guess about a situation, we tend to use "seems." Like, "She seems upset, is she okay? She sounded kind of unhappy earlier. Maybe I should check on her." So, we're using some other information, other than our eyes, to make a guess. This is the key difference between "looks" and "seems."
So, generally, there are a lot of situations where we can use "looks." Like, "Oh, this restaurant looks good" or "That hotel looks really nice." And then, when you're using some other senses, you can use "seems" to describe your guesses. So, I hope that this helps you understand the differences between using "looks" and "seems" to make guesses for a situation. Thanks very much for sending this question along. Okay. Let's move on to your next question.
Next question comes from Mohsen. Hi, Mohsen. Mohsen says, "Hi, Alisha. What subjects are taught in American high schools? Do they teach the same lessons to all students or does each student learn only what he or she chooses or is interested in?" Oh, that's an interesting question. Yeah. Let's talk about this cultural point a little bit. So, depending on the school, the subject studied may be different, that's true. But, I'm going to talk very generally about kind of the general structure of a high school education in the USA.
Generally, there are some subjects that all students have to take. So, for example, all students have to take basic math courses, basic science courses, they have to take basic English courses, and so on. So, there are some subjects that all students are required to take. So, that might mean maybe you have to take two or three years of math, or you have to take two or three years of a science course, or whatever. And then, there are also courses that students can choose based on their interests or based on something else that they want to achieve. So, for example, if a student is interested in art, they can choose to take art classes. Or, if they want to learn more about music, they can join music classes, or band classes, or choir classes. Or, if they want to focus a lot on physical education, they can take lots and lots of sports-related classes. So, there is some flexibility, generally, in terms of which courses students can take. And, we can choose these things according to our needs.
So, to recap, both are actually true. Students generally need to take some classes that are required for all students, and they can also choose to take some classes according to their interests, or according to other requirements, or other goals that they may have. So, to give some examples, in my case, I took the required classes of course in my high school which included some history classes, math classes, science classes. In my high school, there was also a language requirement. So, I took Spanish classes for two years. And, in my case, I was interested in art and music, so I took art and music classes as well throughout my high school experience. And, I also wanted to try to prepare for tests for university and college entrance exams, so I took some courses that were specifically designed to help you to prepare for those tests as well in my fourth year of university. So, each student kind of has the opportunity to take courses that are aligned or that match their needs. So, I hope this answers your question. Thanks very much for an interesting cultural question.
Okay. That is everything that I have for this week. Thank you as always for sending your questions. Thanks very much for watching this week's episode of Ask Alisha, and I will see you again next time. Bye!

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