What Are You Willing to Do?
2020-01-31
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1Hi everyone! Thanks for listening to Everyday Grammar.
2If you listen often and find the material easy to understand, you probably have been practicing English for a long time.
3That's great - it means you have made a lot of progress since you first began.
4But maybe there are a few things you'd still like to work on. So, I've got a question for you:
5What are you willing to do to improve your English?
6The idea of being willing to do something is the subject of today's Everyday Grammar program.
7Native English speakers use the phrase often, so you'll hear and see it everywhere.
8The phrase "be willing to" gets its meaning from the adjective "willing."
9The adjective "willing" means to be ready, eager or prepared to do something.
10Note that being willing to do something is not the same as wanting to do it.
11The idea is just that you don't need to be persuaded.
12Listen again to my earlier question:
13What are you willing to do to improve your English?
14In other words, what are you ready or prepared to do to get better in English?
15Now, let's talk about how to form sentences with "be willing to."
16The structure of the phrase is: be + willing + infinitive verb.
17You probably remember that the infinitive form of verbs is "to" plus the simple form.
18So, in my question about improving English, I use the infinitive "to do."
19As for the main verb, I used "are" in the example.
20As you know, "are" is the present form of "be." The "be" verb can also change tenses.
21For example:
22Your English is really good! I can see you were willing to work hard to improve it.
23Or:
24He was willing to stay late to finish the job.
25Notice the suggestion of a cost in those two examples.
26Being willing to do something often means making an investment or sacrifice.
27Improving your English requires effort and time.
28And the person who stayed late to finish the job probably sacrificed his plans for the evening.
29It makes sense, then, that the phrase "be willing to" can also take a negative form to show someone does not agree to make an investment or sacrifice.
30He wasn't willing to stay late to finish the job. His family was expecting him for dinner.
31We also sometimes add a condition to say that someone is willing only if something else happens. Here's what a person might say:
32The couple is willing to buy the car if the owner makes some repairs.
33In this statement, the condition is repairs on the vehicle.
34Someone might also be willing to do something if it helps others or a greater purpose.
35Imagine you are working on a creative video project with a coworker.
36You are the main video creator.
37When your partner sees what you have made, he says this:
38I like your video, but it is too long for our show.
39Are you willing to cut the ending?
40You say "yes," even though you like the ending.
41Later, your coworker says, "Are you willing to show Sam how to use the video software? Today is his first day."
42You say "yes" again, even though you are really, really busy.
43But welcoming a new coworker is more important.
44In these examples, being willing means you are able to accept something.
45The meaning has to do with valuing cooperation.
46Well, that's all for today.
47I'll end with the same question I started with: What are you willing to do to improve your English? Tell us in the comments and make sure to use "be willing to"!
48I'm Alice Bryant.
1Hi everyone! Thanks for listening to Everyday Grammar. 2If you listen often and find the material easy to understand, you probably have been practicing English for a long time. That's great - it means you have made a lot of progress since you first began. But maybe there are a few things you'd still like to work on. So, I've got a question for you: 3What are you willing to do to improve your English? 4The idea of being willing to do something is the subject of today's Everyday Grammar program. Native English speakers use the phrase often, so you'll hear and see it everywhere. 5The phrase "be willing to" gets its meaning from the adjective "willing." 6The adjective "willing" means to be ready, eager or prepared to do something. Note that being willing to do something is not the same as wanting to do it. The idea is just that you don't need to be persuaded. 7Listen again to my earlier question: 8What are you willing to do to improve your English? 9In other words, what are you ready or prepared to do to get better in English? 10Forming sentences 11Now, let's talk about how to form sentences with "be willing to." The structure of the phrase is: be + willing + infinitive verb. 12You probably remember that the infinitive form of verbs is "to" plus the simple form. So, in my question about improving English, I use the infinitive "to do." 13As for the main verb, I used "are" in the example. As you know, "are" is the present form of "be." The "be" verb can also change tenses. 14For example: 15Your English is really good! I can see you were willing to work hard to improve it. 16Or: 17He was willing to stay late to finish the job. 18Notice the suggestion of a cost in those two examples. Being willing to do something often means making an investment or sacrifice. Improving your English requires effort and time. And the person who stayed late to finish the job probably sacrificed his plans for the evening. 19It makes sense, then, that the phrase "be willing to" can also take a negative form to show someone does not agree to make an investment or sacrifice. 20He wasn't willing to stay late to finish the job. His family was expecting him for dinner. 21We also sometimes add a condition to say that someone is willing only if something else happens. Here's what a person might say: 22The couple is willing to buy the car if the owner makes some repairs. 23In this statement, the condition is repairs on the vehicle. 24Someone might also be willing to do something if it helps others or a greater purpose. 25Imagine you are working on a creative video project with a coworker. You are the main video creator. When your partner sees what you have made, he says this: 26I like your video, but it is too long for our show. Are you willing to cut the ending? 27You say "yes," even though you like the ending. Later, your coworker says, "Are you willing to show Sam how to use the video software? Today is his first day." 28You say "yes" again, even though you are really, really busy. But welcoming a new coworker is more important. 29In these examples, being willing means you are able to accept something. The meaning has to do with valuing cooperation. 30Well, that's all for today. I'll end with the same question I started with: What are you willing to do to improve your English? Tell us in the comments and make sure to use "be willing to"! 31I'm Alice Bryant. 32Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. 33_____________________________________________________________ 34Words in This Story 35practice - v. to do something again and again in order to get better at it 36phrase - n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence 37eager - adj. feeling a strong and impatient desire to do something or for something 38tense - n. a form of a verb that is used to show when an action happened 39negative - adj. expressing denial or refusal 40sacrifice - n. the act of giving up something that you want especially in order to get or do something else or to help someone