whenever I make videos or blog posts I get my English topic ideas from many
sources but my favorite source is real student questions from people just like
you in today's video I'll answer a real question that I was asked by one of my
private students here in Tokyo someone learning English just like you my
student asked me what's the difference between do you believe and can you
believe my student had heard one of these senses in a movie and was confused
by the meaning and that made her think of this question I'll explain the
difference with some real examples that you can use in natural conversation stay
tuned
the only difference between these two phrases is the first word of each
sentence do and can do you believe is asking do you think something is true or
something could be true can you believe is often used when we
hear shocking or unexpected news this is usually a rhetorical question
that means a question that we don't want or need an answer to more on that in a
minute here are some natural examples using do
you believe Jim said he shot two holes in one playing golf last weekend
do you believe him this is hard to believe I'm suspicious of his story do
you think it's true two holes in one gym really he's not that good a golfer
suspicious do you believe in ghosts this means do you think ghosts are real I
don't believe in ghosts they're not real
the president says he's going to stop corruption in the government do you
believe him politicians have history of lying this means do you think what he
said is true is he being honest here are some natural
examples using can you believe can you believe the boss said we can all leave
early today this is great this news is unexpected but of course
we're happening remember I said at the beginning of this video that can you
believe is usually a rhetorical question meaning we don't need or want an answer
so I asked can you believe but I don't expect an answer it's good news it's
unexpected but it's a fact it's a surprising fact
so it's natural to say can you believe it but I don't expect an answer I'm just
excited for the fact that we can go home early
yeah George and Kristina are getting a divorce can you believe it they always
seem so happy the fact that George and Kristina are getting a divorce is a
surprise to me I thought they were happy so this news is a shock
let's turn this example into a short back-and-forth conversation and you can
see how we naturally respond to rhetorical questions Gorge and Christina
are getting a divorce can you believe it they always seem so happy
Wow I just saw them last week at the coffee shop and they looked fine I know
right everyone I've talked to is shocked to hear this in this conversation
Bruce responds by saying Wow then he mentions that he saw the couple last
week he never answers the question can you believe it with a yes or no an
answer is not expected and he is using can you believe it to show his shock and
surprise at the fact that Jorge and Christina are getting a divorce
Mike won the lottery 700 thousand dollars can you believe it lucky guy
something I really like is when you guys write a comment for this video using the
grammar or expression that we just practiced it's also a great way to
remember what you learned later on when you use it in real conversation remember
to Like and subscribe if this video was helpful for you and visit my blog to
read the post that supports this video there's a link in the description box
below and I'll put a card at the end of the video that will take you directly to
this post thanks for watching stay tuned too much hey stay tuned too creepy hey
you've got to stay tuned what
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