AEE: Close to or Closed to? Can You Hear the Difference?
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What is the main topic of the episode: close to or closed to?
This is the All Ears English podcast. Close to or close to? Can you hear the difference? Welcome to the All Ears English podcast, downloaded more than 200 million times. Are you feeling stuck with your English? We'll show you how to become fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection. With your American hosts, Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl. Coming to you from Colorado and New York City, USA. To get real-time transcripts right on your phone and create your personalized vocabulary list, try the All Ears English app for iOS and Android. Start your seven-day free trial at allearsenglish.com forward slash app. Can you tell the difference when a native speaker says close to versus close to?
Today, let's figure out how they're different and how to make sure you never get confused again.
Many English learners focus on grammar. They want their sentences to be correct. But fluency isn't just about correctness. It's about sounding natural, choosing the right phrase, responding quickly without translating every thought in your head. That's why someone can know a lot of grammar rules and still feel uncomfortable in conversations. Real fluency comes from understanding patterns, tone, and natural expressions. Our free two minute fluency quiz helps you discover your level and what skills will move you forward. Go to allearsenglish.com slash fluency score. That's allearsenglish.com slash F-L-U-E-N-C-Y-S-C-O-R-E.
Hey there, Michelle, how's everything today?
Everything is good.
How are you? Feeling good, Michelle. Is there a new friend that you've gotten close to recently in your life?
Yeah, actually, I've gotten close to a lot of new friends recently. You know, I've talked about how I moved to the suburbs and I was really worried that it would be really hard to make friends because it's so different than the city life. But I've actually gotten close to a lot of people and I feel really lucky. Amazing. I love that.
I love that. Yeah. I've gotten close to a lot of people. So what I asked you at the top of the show is, is there anyone you've gotten close to recently? Michelle, what is another word that might get confusing or confused in our listeners' minds?
Yeah. So close to, right? But then there's also closed to, right? Right. Very different though, right? Very different, but they sound really similar in English. And it's easy to mix up the spelling or even to pronounce it wrong because there's only really a one letter difference, that D, but it changes both the meaning And the pronunciation. Yeah.
So I'm really glad that we're here today for really a pronunciation episode for our listeners, a listening episode. Right. So let's play a little game, Michelle. I'm going to use both of the words and I want to see if you can hear the difference. Here we go. I live close to the park, but it's closed to the public for a special event. Okay. Ooh, it's hard to hear.
Yeah, it's hard to hear. But yeah, I mean, because even native speakers get confused or misuse these sometimes. So I did hear close to the park, right? So nearby, right? But then closed to the public.
Can you hear the difference between close to and closed to?
But what was interesting is I didn't really hear that D, Lindsay.
Yeah. No, you didn't hear the D. Yes. Oh, my God. That makes it even more complicated. The way we pronounce this in American English, we don't necessarily say closed to the public. We say, but it's closed to the public. It blends right in with the T sound in the tube. It does. It does.
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. So we're going to focus today on the difference in pronunciation between these two words so that you can both hear and say each correctly. But guys, before we get into it, we want to remind you to hit follow wherever you're listening to the All Ears English podcast.
Yeah, guys, don't miss your opportunity to make All Ears English drop into your listening queue five days a week. So make sure you are following if you're on Apple or Spotify. If you're on YouTube, make sure you are subscribed. Yes. All right. Michelle, let's break down the pronunciation and make it super easy for our listeners.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic of the episode: close to or closed to?
0:00–4:06
2
Can you hear the difference between close to and closed to?
4:06–6:08
3
How does fluency relate to understanding patterns in English?
6:08–6:56
4
What are the common mistakes English learners make with pronunciation?
6:56–9:31
5
What role does context play in using close to versus closed to?
9:31–16:02
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from All Ears English Podcast
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