Improve, improve on, improve upon… do you know how to use these three verbs naturally in everyday English? I’m sure you’re already familiar with “improve,” but when speaking, it’s very common to add the preposition “on” to this verb. If you’re not sure what this “on” means when we use it with “improve,” that’s exactly what I teach you in this video, and keep reading for more examples! Take note of the meanings of the following verbs in English: 🔹improve = to make something better in general because it needs improvements: The teachers worked tirelessly to improve the school’s curriculum. I talk to native Spanish speakers as much as I can to improve my speaking and listening skills. 🔹to improve on something = to do or make something better than the last time you did it, or to improve a previous version of something; when you add “on” to this verb, it adds a sense of making progress and suggests that something was already good, but it can be better: Many critics praised the show’s third season for improving on the first and second seasons. I’ve been told that I speak Spanish well, but I know that there’s a lot I could improve on. It’ll be hard to improve on this design because it’s so good already. Also, “improve on” sounds nicer and less critical than just “improve,” so that’s why we often use it instead of “improve” in spoken English. 🔹improve upon something = a more formal version of “improve on,” but natives do actually use it in everyday spoken English. It can be used in all of the examples above. Finally, there are many situations where “improve” and “improve on/upon” can be used interchangeably because they have such similar meanings, like in the following examples: I’m studying hard to improve/improve on my band score, since I need it to be a little higher. In general, the difference is very subtle, but my goal is to teach you advanced nuances like this one to give you a better understanding of how natives actually speak. So, if you don’t quite understand the nuance, no worries! And to practice yourself, write a sentence with at least one of these verbs in the comments 😊 . . . . . #esl #learnenglish #speakenglish #advancedenglish - @your.english.cheerleader