if someone asks you a question like
should we go and get some food and you
want to say hmm I have no preference
should you say I don't mind or I don't
care or I don't matter one of these is a
common mistake I hear from students
another one
sounds very rude and the other one
sounds perfect if you know which one is
which
then perfect you don't need this video
but if you don't want to sound rude and
you don't want to make a mistake keep
watching
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so first to mind this means you don't
like something you're annoyed at
something so a question like do you mind
if I play music you're asking is it a
problem if I play music so depending how
you feel about this you should answer
one of these yes I mind remember it
means is it a problem so if this is a
problem to you if you don't like it
you say yes I mind yes it's a problem
yes I don't like it but if it's fine
it's not a problem for me then you say
now I don't mind again you're saying no
this is not a problem it's fine the verb
mind it's most common in questions like
this do you mind if la blah blah you're
asking permission you're requesting
something usually you're asking is this
a problem and if you want a verb after
use the verb ing form for example I
don't mind listening or you can use a
noun for example I don't mind your music
it's fine but you wouldn't often say
this in the positive if it wasn't a
response to a question so for example if
he is playing the music she just wants
to say excuse me your music is a problem
for me she won't say excuse me I mind
your music that doesn't sound natural no
she would just say excuse me I hate your
music turn it off but remember if it's
an answer - do you mind that's fine I
don't mind also means I have no
preference for example someone gives you
a choice chocolate or straw
you want to say I have no preference you
can say hmm
I don't mind I have no preference but
this is where the confusion comes in
this is where people get confused matter
that is also a verb and it means to be
important to be significant so if I say
to you hey you you matter I'm saying you
are important so if you want to say this
thing isn't important
it doesn't matter an example if you
break your friends phone and your friend
is super cool your friend wants to say
don't worry it's not important don't
worry don't worry it doesn't matter
she's saying it's not important
don't worry your friend is cool now of
course this is not great but your friend
is super cool and apparently super rich
she wants to say it's not important and
it's not a problem for me don't worry it
doesn't matter
I don't mind we're still friends
still cool so you can use both of those
in this context and they basically mean
the same thing
also you can also use it in this context
again you can say I don't mind but you
can also say it doesn't matter this is
not saying the ice cream is not
important of course it is it's just
saying the choice isn't important I'm
happy with this and I'm happy with this
I have no preference so here they can be
used in the same way but remember the
difference it doesn't matter
I don't mind hmm but what about I don't
care well that has a different feeling
now if you say I don't care in some
contexts yeah it means you don't
a preference but mostly I don't care
means I have no interest in this thing
so use it carefully for example you're
talking with your boyfriend or
girlfriend about plans for tonight hmm
what should we do tonight now for you
you don't have a preference they can
choose hmm I don't mind say this one you
don't have a preference they can choose
say this hmm
doesn't matter this one is okay but it
sounds like you care a little bit less
so depending how you say it you might be
in trouble with your boyfriend or
girlfriend so be careful I don't want
your boyfriend or girlfriend leaving me
an angry comment and finally hmm I don't
care this sounds like you have no
interest no feelings about the whole
thing so be very careful don't use this
one it sounds like you're being rude it
sounds like ah it's not important to me
yeah again don't mind no preference
doesn't matter mm-hmm it's not important
I don't care I have no interest no
feelings about this however in my
experience Americans and Canadians they
will use this one and for them it has
the same feeling as I don't mind so
British English it sounds rude American
Canadian it's more normal so back to
this example now you know the difference
I don't matter no you're saying I'm not
important that's not what you meant you
wanted to say I don't have a preference
right so it doesn't matter
this one can sound rude it's saying this
I have no interest in our plans that
would sell rude
but this one this one is saying I have
no preference you can choose if you like
use this one the question for you to
answer in the comments when you learn
English what do you think matters the
most
does pronunciation matter most does
grammar even matter what do you think
let me know in the comments thanks for
watching remember to follow me on
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me and if you want extra extra English
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the next class
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you