How to Talk About Staying Safe
2020-05-02
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1This week we answer a question from Terrence in Vietnam. He writes:
2Which of the following forms is more correct in English usage?
3"Yes, we can go out but we need to be social distant from one another." or
4"Yes, we can go out but we need to be social distanced from one another."
5-- Terrence, Vietnam.
6Dear Terrence,
7Thank you for this timely question.
8The expression "social distancing" is new to everyday English.
9The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses it to describe the practice of avoiding gatherings and keeping about two meters distant from other people.
10One sign of this social distancing is the markings on floors of some shops: they show where we should stand in relation to others.
11The World Health Organization (WHO) is using a new term, however.
12"We're changing to say physical distance and that's on purpose because we want people to still remain connected," said Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious diseases expert at the WHO.
13"Technology right now has advanced so greatly that we can keep connected in many ways... without being in the same room," she noted.
14Terrence, in your sentences, you use "social distance."
15But the term under discussion employs a different noun, "distancing," to talk about the method of avoiding disease.
16I would change your first sentence this way:
17Yes, we can go out but we need to practice social distancing.
18That is using the expression as a noun. The verb is "practice."
19In March, the Merriam-Webster dictionary expanded its definitions for many of the words we use to talk about the spread of COVID-19.
20The dictionary now includes a medical definition for the verb socially distance: to distance physically from other people or avoid any unnecessary contact with others during the outbreak of a contagious disease..."
21For your second sentence, you can use this verb form:
22Yes, we can go out but we need to socially distance ourselves from each other.
23You could also say,
24We need to physically distance ourselves from one another, but I would love to meet you in a video call tonight.
25Another new expression we have is "flatten the curve."
26That basically means to slow the spread so that medical systems do not get overwhelmed.
27And you may have heard the term "front line workers."
28Those are the people employed in health care, delivery services, emergency services, food production and food stores.
29They are the people who cannot work from the safety of their homes. And we are very thankful for them.
30So, if your friend asks you:
31Why are we social distancing?
32You can answer:
33To flatten the curve and protect front-line workers.
34And now, I will ask you to do something.
35Please send your questions about English to us by email: learningenglish@voanews.com.
36And that's Ask a Teacher for this week.
37I'm Jill Robbins.
1This week we answer a question from Terrence in Vietnam. He writes: 2Question: 3Which of the following forms is more correct in English usage? 4"Yes, we can go out but we need to be social distant from one another." or 5"Yes, we can go out but we need to be social distanced from one another." 6-- Terrence, Vietnam. 7Answer: 8Dear Terrence, 9Thank you for this timely question. The expression "social distancing" is new to everyday English. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses it to describe the practice of avoiding gatherings and keeping about two meters distant from other people. One sign of this social distancing is the markings on floors of some shops: they show where we should stand in relation to others. 10The World Health Organization (WHO) is using a new term, however. 11"We're changing to say physical distance and that's on purpose because we want people to still remain connected," said Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious diseases expert at the WHO. 12"Technology right now has advanced so greatly that we can keep connected in many ways... without being in the same room," she noted. 13How to use the noun social distancing 14Terrence, in your sentences, you use "social distance." But the term under discussion employs a different noun, "distancing," to talk about the method of avoiding disease. 15I would change your first sentence this way: 16Yes, we can go out but we need to practice social distancing. 17That is using the expression as a noun. The verb is "practice." 18How to use socially distance as a verb 19In March, the Merriam-Webster dictionary expanded its definitions for many of the words we use to talk about the spread of COVID-19. The dictionary now includes a medical definition for the verb socially distance: to distance physically from other people or avoid any unnecessary contact with others during the outbreak of a contagious disease..." 20For your second sentence, you can use this verb form: 21Yes, we can go out but we need to socially distance ourselves from each other. 22You could also say, 23We need to physically distance ourselves from one another, but I would love to meet you in a video call tonight. 24Reasons for social distancing 25Another new expression we have is "flatten the curve." That basically means to slow the spread so that medical systems do not get overwhelmed. 26And you may have heard the term "front line workers." Those are the people employed in health care, delivery services, emergency services, food production and food stores. They are the people who cannot work from the safety of their homes. And we are very thankful for them. 27So, if your friend asks you: 28Why are we social distancing? 29You can answer: 30To flatten the curve and protect front-line workers. 31And now, I will ask you to do something. Please send your questions about English to us by email: learningenglish@voanews.com. 32And that's Ask a Teacher for this week. 33I'm Jill Robbins. 34Dr. Jill Robbins wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 35_______________________________________________________________ 36Words in This Story 37practice - n. the action of doing or using something 38advanced - adj. far along in a course of progress or development: 39contagious - adj. able to be passed from one person or animal to another 40curve - n. a smooth, rounded line, shape, path, etc. 41Do you have a question for the teacher? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or email Learningenglish@voanews.com