Speaker 1: I'm sure you won't forget this lesson. Even though my
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Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from
New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael.
Speaker 1: All right, thank you, John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael
here from Happy English and I help people speak English better.
And this is Happy English Podcast, Episode eight forty three.
What does won't really mean? Hello, and welcome, thanks for
joining me for another episode of the Happy English Podcast.
I'm your English teacher, Mine Michael, and I'm so glad
you're listening. Today. We're gonna talk about a small word
that packs a lot of meaning. Won't. That's wo n
apostrophe t. It's short for will not, but depending on
the context, it can mean a lot more than just
not in the future. And as you've probably heard me
say before once or twice, context is king. So let's
break this down together. Okay. First up, we use won't
when we talk about a personal decision. Let's say I
tell you I'm going shopping tomorrow, but I won't go
to Simon's mall, I won't go there. That means it's
my choice. I've made up my mind. I've decided not
to go to that mall, So here won't choose my
personal will or decision. It's kind of like saying I
choose not to. Here's another example. Last night, I went
to this tie restaurant. I was thinking about getting the
green curry, which I love, but they had something on
the menu called red curry, so I tried it and
it was so spicy that well, let me just say
I won't be ordering that again. I won't. That's my
personal decision about red curry. And that's one common way
we use won't. Next we use won't when we talk
about a prediction. You might hear something like I was
watching TV and the forecast said it won't rain tomorrow.
It won't rain tomorrow. Now, this use of won't has
nothing to do with choice or will. It's a neutral prediction,
something we expect to happen or expect not to happen.
It's kind of like saying it's not going to rain.
There's no emotion in it, just a simple statement about
a prediction in the future. Like at the end of
the day. Yesterday, Jack was sneezing and coughing. It seems
like he was coming down with a cold, so I
guess he won't be coming to work today. Next up,
we're gonna dive deep into the human psyche. What I
mean is we use won't as a moral conviction in
this context. When you say you won't do something, it's
because morally, deep down inside, you don't believe it's the
right thing to do. Here's a real life example. When
Jack tried to kiss his neighbor at a party. She
refused and said, I like you, but I won't cheat
on my husband. WHOA. That's not just a regular no, right,
that's a strong refusal based on her values. She's not
saying I don't feel like it. She's saying that's against
what I believe in. I won't do that. So this
won't is full of principle and conviction. Let's talk about marijuana.
It's legal in New York for recreational purposes, but I
won't smoke it. I don't think it's the right thing
to do, especially if I need to drive somewhere. And
here's another one. We use won't when we refer to
stubbornness or resistance. Like I put my dog out in
the backyard, but he won't come inside, he's so stubborn.
And then I asked one of my friends to help
me clean out my garage, but he won't help me,
even though I promised him some pizza and a few beers.
In this case, won't show's refusal to cooperate. And in
a similar way, we use won't when we talk about
machines or mechanical devices that don't work as we want
them to. Like, even though I put the key in
the lock, the door won't open. I have to a locksmith.
The door won't open. And for some reason, the printer
won't print in color. And I even change the toner,
but it won't print in color. You've probably said something
like that right on a cold winter morning, the car
won't start. It's not about the future. It's about something
or someone being difficult or just not doing what you want.
So what's the takeaway? Won't can sound simple, but it
has layers. Sometimes won't means I decided not to, Like
I won't go to the mall. It probably won't happen,
Like it won't rain tomorrow. I morally refuse, I won't
smoke that, and this thing is just being difficult. The
printer won't work. Those are the different ways we use won't.
Keep in mind, the best way to remember English, like
this or any other word or phrase in English, is
to take that word or phrase, write it in a
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To learn more, just visit my Happy English dot com
and choose podcast lesson eight forty three. Remember learning another
language is not easy, but it's not impossible, and I'm
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