Hi again. Welcome to www.engvid.com. I'm Adam. Nice to see you again. Today, I want to talk
about a topic that is a little bit unusual. Everybody thinks that English is all about
vocabulary, or grammar, or punctuation, things like that.
There's little things, too, that you need to worry about, and people often ask me about
these things in particular: ", and so on", "etc.", "...", three dots, sometimes four,
I'll explain, "blah, blah, blah", and "blah". Okay? Not everyday stuff. I mean, every day,
you're going to see it all the time, but this is not something that ESL teachers will teach
you, it's not something that you will really learn in books, so here it is; I'm going to
First, "and so on". First of all, notice I put a comma before it. Why? Because this will
always come at the end of a sentence or after a list of some sort. Okay? When we put ", and
so on", we mean: and we continue with the same examples. Right? So you ask me: what
kind of foods do I like? Well, I like pizza, I like hamburgers, I like fish and chips,
you know, and so on. What does that ", and so on" mean? Does that mean that I like egg
white only omelettes with like asparagus and broccoli? No. Why? Because I listed hamburger,
junk food; pizza, junk food; fish and chips, junk food. So when I say: ", and so on" means
and more examples like the ones I just said. Right? So it's very important to remember.
Many of my students, they just throw ", and so on" all the time. Talking, talking, talking,
"and so on". And so on, what? I don't understand. Right? So you have to be careful. This has
a very specific use. You're continuing the same list or the same idea.
Next: "etc." Usually, you will see it like this: "etc." Now, how to pronounce. This is
the actual word when you open it up: "etcetera". Now, some native speakers will say: "et-cet-era",
"etcetera". Most will say: "ek-se-chra". That's what it sounds like when most native speakers
say it. "Etcetera". Correct, "etcetera", but both are acceptable. Now, what does etcetera
mean? It means: "and so on". It means the exact same thing as "and so on". Again, you're
continuing the list that was started before. Right? Now, people often ask: how do I use
it in writing? Usually, you can... If it comes at the end of a sentence, you put the period,
that's it. But if it comes in the middle of the sentence... So: "I like pizza, I like
hamburgers, fish and chips, etc., but I also like..." etc. There you go. So I'm writing
whatever I write, whatever I write, etc., but I also like other things. Right? So, it's
a little bit confusing, you got period and a comma. The period goes for the shortened;
the comma goes for the sentence. Okay? Not that important, but if you want to write it
correctly, that's how you do it.
Next, we have three dots. These are called ellipses. You don't necessarily need to know
this word "ellipses", but just understand that it's referring to this. What does three
dots means? "And so on". Same idea. Right? But this is... Usually, you see this in writing.
Instead of writing three words, you just put three dots, because it's easier, people understand
it. But also remember sometimes it's used just as a pause. Okay? So, person "A" says:
"Well..., I think..." You ask: "What do you think about climate change?" for example.
"Well..." I'm thinking, thinking, thinking; dot, dot, dot. "I think that..." Etcetera.
Now, "And so on" means... "And so on" means the idea is going to continue. Okay? I'm about
to give you my opinion. Right? This is in writing. Some people will actually say: "Dot,
dot, dot", but they're trying to be dramatic or cool. If you saw the movie Trainspotting,
you heard it there, "dot, dot, dot". Very dramatic scene. I liked it. Okay? But basically
so far, all more or less the same idea.
Now, you get into: "blah, blah, blah". First of all, don't ever write this. Very, very,
very casual. This is usually for spoken English. What does it mean? It also means "and so on",
but because the conversation is not interesting. Okay? My friend, Harry, he came over to my
house and he started telling me about his kids, blah, blah, blah. And then we went out
to watch the hockey game at the bar. Why did I put "blah, blah, blah" after his kids? Because
I don't care. I don't have kids. It's not interesting for me. So, here's the story,
I'm making it very short because it's not really interesting. Right? So he started talking
about his kids, blah, blah, blah. Time passed by. And so on, his kids, his life, his toys,
his kids' toys. I don't know. I don't have kids, again, remember. Blah, blah, blah, and
then the important part: we went to watch the hockey game. So, I'm skipping all the
not interesting conversation by putting in: "blah, blah, blah".
But sometimes we use the word "blah" only one; not three. Here, three means and so on.
One has a very different meaning. "Blah". You see how I'm saying it? "Blah". -"How do
you feel today?" -"Blah. Not so good." -"How's the steak?" -"Blah." Means not much flavour,
a little bit bland. -"How's the weather?" -"Blah." It's like raining and cold, and not
so nice. So, basically, any time you want to say something negative about something,
just say: "Blah." But you have to say it like this: "Blah." It's like coming out of your
mouth and you don't want it to, but it has to come out. Right? That's why it doesn't
feel good. It's almost like a sickness.
So, there we have it. ", and so on", "etc.", "...", especially for writing, "blah, blah,
blah", to skip the not interesting part, and: "blah". Now, I hope that this lesson wasn't
blah, but that's up to you to decide. If you want to practice a little bit more on these
things, go to www.engvid.com. There's a quiz there. If you're watching on YouTube, A) subscribe
to my channel, B) go to www.engvid.com and practice these things. And lastly, if you
have any questions, write them in the comments section and I will get back to you. Okay?