Today’s English tip is about 3 words that might look similar, but have very different pronunciations and meanings — “quit”, “quite”, and “quiet”.
Let’s take a look 👀 (and a listen 👂🏼) to their differences below:
QUIT
The word quit is said in one syllable with the short vowel “i” sound. This word means to stop doing something completely.
Example sentences:
- “I had to quit my old job in order to start a new one in the city.”
- “Why did you quit the basketball team?”
- “Can you quit making that noise?”
QUITE
Similarly to “quit”, the word quite is pronounced in one syllable, but with the long vowel “i” sound (because of the silent “e” rule). In English, this word is often used to exaggerate or amplify a word or phrase, as in the examples below:
Example sentences:
- “That shirt is quite small on you, I think you need a bigger size.”
- “The mall is quite far from here, I don’t think we could walk there.”
- “She is quite a nice teacher!”
QUIET
Our final word of the group is pronounced in two syllables with the long vowel “i” and short vowel “e” sounds. This word is used as the opposite of “loud” or “noisy” as in the following examples:
Example sentences:
- “Shhhhhhh 🤫! Be quiet while you’re in the library!”
- “Tell the people to quiet down in the movie theater.”
- “I like to go to the mountains for some peace and quiet.”
Now you know the difference between quite, quit, and quiet.
Hope you enjoyed this quick English tip — see you at the next one! 🎉
