Everyday Grammar TV: What Is an Optimist?

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Dr. J: John, are you ready for the softball game after work? Our office is playing the public radio team tonight. JR: No, I don’t think we can win. We haven’t been practicing enough. Dr. J: But look on the bright side, we have some good hitters, like Anna Matteo, on our team. JR: That reminds me, we have been talking about pessimism and optimism. Optimism is a noun describing the feeling that things will go well, and an optimist is the person who usually feels that way. I think you’re a good example of an optimist. Dr. J: That’s true – I do try to look at how things can get better. If we want to use the adverb, adding –ally, we can say I look at things optimistically. JR: And sometimes I only think of how things can go wrong. Like that time our star player injured himself. Dr. J: Yes, you’re a pessimist. But let’s get going, the game is starting soon. [later] JR: Wow, that was a great game! We beat ‘em 20 – 14. I never thought we could win. Dr. J: Andrew and Anna both played really well. I believe they were both optimistic about winning. We add the suffix –ic to make the adjective form, optimistic, describing someone with that hopeful world view. JR: But we probably won’t win next week. Dr. J: We’re playing the Washington Post team. JR: Oh, no! They’ve won all their games this year. We don’t have a chance of winning! Dr. J: Don’t give up hope! Think more optimistically. Maybe they’ll have a bad day. So, to review, we have used these word forms: Optimism and optimist are b

Published 2024-10-22 · Watch on YouTube ↗
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