AEE: To What Do You Attribute Your English Success?

Summary

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All Ears English Podcast — Episode Summary

Episode Title:
AEE: To What Do You Attribute Your English Success?
Date:
September 13, 2025
Hosts:
Lindsay McMahon & Michelle Kaplan
Theme:
A deep dive into the word “attribute”—its dual roles as a noun and verb, pronunciation differences, practical usage, and guidance for English learners on mastering both forms to express complex thoughts more clearly and naturally.

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Overview of the Episode

This episode centers around the versatile English word “attribute”: how to use it as both a noun and a verb, its pronunciation nuances, and real-life conversational examples. Triggered by a listener question from Japan, Lindsay and Michelle focus on helping English learners gain confidence in expressing nuances related to qualities, characteristics, and giving credit—crucial vocabulary for personal, professional, and academic communication.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Warm-Up: Self-Attributes and Bragging

• Lindsay and Michelle share their own positive personal attributes in a playful opening segment, modeling the use of “attribute” as a noun in a real context.
  • Lindsay: “I think I’m pretty patient with people. Like, I usually see the human side in people’s mistakes... I’m pretty forgiving and patient.” (02:30)
  • Michelle: “I try and be very inclusive... I’m very empathetic, but sometimes also it can be a lot.” (02:45)

2. Listener Question

Hayate from Japan asks for clarification on “attribute,” noting its multiple meanings and forms in English.

3. Attribute as a Noun: Meaning & Usage

• Pronounced “ATTRIBUTE” (stress on the first syllable: AT-tribute).
• Definition: A trait, characteristic, or quality (of a person, thing, place, or experience).
• Usage:
  • “What are your most positive attributes?” (04:57)
  • Example (not only about people):
    - “The restaurant’s greatest attribute is its atmosphere.” (05:31) - “Flexibility is a non-negotiable attribute for yoga teachers.” (05:47)
• Workplace and relationship examples:
  • “I find humor in a partner to be an extremely important attribute.” (06:28)
  • “What do you think are the most important attributes of a good podcaster?”
    • Lindsay: “Probably empathy for... or understanding of one’s audience. It’s really about the listeners.” (06:42)

4. Real-Life Examples: Hotel Conversation

The hosts discuss their preferences:

• Michelle: “I think the most important attribute of a good hotel is the design—how it looks, honestly.” (07:26)
• Lindsay: “I think breakfast included is a very important attribute.” (08:21)

5. Formality and Usefulness of “Attribute”

• Is it formal?
  • Lindsay: “I think it’s kind of intellectual sounding. But you can certainly use it in everyday conversation... It’s articulate.” (09:19)
  • Michelle: “It is an elevated word for sure.” (09:34)

6. Attribute as a Verb: Meaning, Function, Pronunciation

• Pronounced “atTRIBUTE” (stress on second syllable: at-TRIB-ute).
• Definition: To give credit to or hold responsible for a result.
• Example sentences:
  • “She attributed the honor to her mother.” (11:16)
  • “I attribute my failing score to my lack of seriousness on this topic.” (11:38)
• Used for both positive and negative outcomes.
• Structure: “attribute [result] to [cause/someone].”
• Michelle: “It’s not always about something good... you can attribute something negative as well.” (11:57)

7. Nuances: Ending a Sentence with “to”

• Some formal writing avoids ending a sentence with “to,” but it’s normal in spoken English.
  • “What do you attribute your loving marriage to?” (12:26)
  • “To what do you attribute your loving marriage?” (more formal) (12:39)

8. Attributing Success: All Ears English Example

Michelle: “To what do you attribute the success of All Ears English?” Lindsay: “Staying connected to our audience and working hard.” (12:43)

9. Role Play: Practical Application

• Lindsay and Michelle act out a scenario using both the noun and verb forms:
  • Lindsay (verb): “I really attribute our grade to all your hard work.” (13:27)
  • Michelle (noun): “You brought so many amazing attributes to the team.” (13:32)

10. Learning Advice & Takeaways

• Focus on one meaning or function at a time; practice it in daily conversation.
  • Michelle: “Go with one at a time... experiment with it in conversation. It is common in both ways, I believe.” (15:34)
  • Lindsay: “Don’t break your brain in the process!” (16:02)
• Encouragement to listen for other words with dual noun/verb forms and to check out related episodes.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I usually see the human side in people’s mistakes... I can tolerate it.”
  — Lindsay, on patience as an attribute (02:30)

• “I try and be very inclusive... I’m very empathetic.”
  — Michelle on her own attributes (02:45)

• “Flexibility is a non-negotiable attribute for yoga teachers.”
  — Lindsay, about non-people examples (05:47)

• “I think breakfast included is a very important attribute.”
  — Lindsay, on practical hotel preferences (08:21)

• “It’s kind of intellectual sounding... It’s articulate.”
  — Lindsay, describing the tone of “attribute” (09:19)

• “When the actress won the award, she attributed the honor to her mother for always having faith in her.”
  — Michelle, demonstrating the verb form (11:16)

• “I really attribute our grade to all your hard work.”
  — Lindsay, in role play (13:27)

• “Don’t break your brain in the process!”
  — Lindsay, summarizing the challenge of multiple meanings (16:02)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:20 — Personal attribute sharing (bragging segment)
• 03:38 — Listener question introduction (Hayate from Japan)
• 04:57 — Attribute as noun: pronunciation and meaning
• 06:42 — Attributes of a podcaster
• 07:26 — Hotel attribute preferences
• 09:19 — How formal is “attribute”?
• 11:04 — Attribute as verb: pronunciation switch
• 11:16–11:57 — Examples and nuances with the verb form
• 12:26–12:39 — Sentence structure: ending with “to” or not
• 13:14 — Role play using both noun and verb
• 15:34 — Final learning tips

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Final Takeaways

• Use “attribute” as a noun for qualities or characteristics.
• Use “attribute” as a verb to credit a cause or person for a result.
• Practice both forms to sound more natural and precise in English.
• Don’t get overwhelmed by words with multiple meanings—focus on one form, then the other.
• “Attribute” is an elevated but everyday-use word—appropriate and clear in both formal and informal settings.

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For more episodes or to join the C1 course, visit allearsenglish.com.
Aim for connection, not perfection!

Transcript

[Lindsay McMahon]

This is the All Ears English Podcast. To what do you attribute your English success? 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/app.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Today, we'll guide you through a tricky but useful word that is spelled the same but pronounced different as a noun and a verb. Don't break your brain. Listen today. Isn't it frustrating when you can't express the nuances of your opinions, when you can't explain exactly what you mean by, or when your English statements don't match the complexity of your thinking? We solve all of those problems in our C1 fluency course. It's live now and our Special offer ends September 14th. Go to allearsenglish.com c1 to save up to $100 off and practice your speaking with our live speaking events every single week. Plus get our brand new AI conversation guides. For unlimited speaking speaking practice with feedback, go to allearsenglish.com letter C number one, all earsenglish.com C1 See you there.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Hello, Michelle. How are you today? How's it going?

[Michelle Kaplan]

I'm doing well, Lindsay. How are you?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Good, good. What are we talking about on the show today?

[Michelle Kaplan]

All right, well, Lindsay, now is your time to brag. What are some of your most positive attributes?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Oh, my gosh. Well, I. Uncomfortable question dragging.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

I think I'm pretty patient with people. Like, I usually see the human side in people's mistakes and I can, yeah, I can tolerate it. Like, I could see how I could make that mistake. So I'm pretty forgiving and patient. What about you, Michelle? It's your turn to brag.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Oh, I think I try and be very inclusive. Like, I, I noticed if there's a person that seems like they're not talking as much or if maybe someone might feel a little uncomfortable. I've, we've talked about this before. I have. I'm. I'm very empathetic, but. Which is a strength. But sometimes also it can be a lot. I love that.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Absolutely. So today we're getting into this topic of attributes based on a listener question from YouTube. Again, guys, don't forget to hit subscribe. We're getting close to 300, 000 subscribers, so help us get there by hitting subscribe. Michelle, who asked the question?

[Michelle Kaplan]

All right, so this is from Hayati04 on YouTube and from. Oh, I'm so sorry if I did not get your name right. But there's this. Listeners from Japan.

[Lindsay McMahon]

All right, I'll go ahead and read the question. So here's Hayate's question. Hi everybody. I've been listening to the podcast for two years and I have never missed an episode since I started listening to this podcast. That's amazing, Michelle.

[Michelle Kaplan]

That is incredible.

[Lindsay McMahon]

We love that. Thank you for being a dedicated listener of all ears.

[Michelle Kaplan]

English.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Wonderful. But it's the first time I've posted a question here. I would like you to approach the word attribute because it has a lot of meanings and shapes. Then I want to get the core image of the word best. Hayate from Japan, great question.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, really, really good one. Thank you so much and thank you for listening. So let's get into it. So attribute is an interesting word because it can be a noun and or a verb and the pronunciation changes as well. So we are going to go over these two special ways of using this word today. So the first one is attribute. Yes. Okay. Stress on the A. That's how I use it in the beginning. Lindsay, I asked you if you had any positive, not if you had.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Do you have any positives or anything good about you. It's a valid question.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I asked you what were your most positive attributes. So this is as a noun, right? So again, attribute, attribute, attribute, Good. So what does this mean as a noun? What does that mean?

[Lindsay McMahon]

So again it means trait, characteristic, quality. So someone attributes could be they're funny, they're kind, they're creative. I said I'm forgiving. You said you have empathy. This could be a question that might be asked in a job interview and obviously you would steer your responses depending on what kind of context you're being asked the question in, right?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, exactly. And it's not just about people. I mean there, there are several ways that you can use it about things that are not people. So for example, the restaurant's greatest attribute is its atmosphere. The food isn't actually that good.

[Lindsay McMahon]

There are places like that, right? You just want to go because it's a place to be seen or it's fun to be there, but you don't necessarily like the food, but you have to order food or flexibility is a non negotiable attribute for yoga teachers.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Okay.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Now here we mean physical flexibility, right? Not schedule flexibility. Right?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes. Yeah. My friend actually just became a yoga instructor.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Congratulations.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes. She just completed her training, so I'll very proud. It was a huge commitment actually for her to get to that.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah, I've heard that that can be really intensive yoga teacher training. I've seen people go through that. It's crazy, right?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Or I find humor in a partner to be an extremely important attribute.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Nice.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes. Lindsay, what do you think are the most important attributes of a good podcaster?

[Lindsay McMahon]

That's a great question, Michelle. I actually think it's probably empathy for or understanding of one's audience. Always thinking about one's audience, about who's listening to the show and why are we having the show. So we don't get too wrapped up in ourselves. It's really about the listeners.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right? Yeah. Love it. All right, now what is the most important attribute a good hotel?

[Lindsay McMahon]

Well, you should answer that one, Michelle, because you love hotels. We know you love hotels. Yes, that is a quirk about you. So what is a good attribute of a hotel? I feel like you probably like stay in a hotel even if you're not going anywhere on vacation. You like take a night and just go to a hotel just for a little mini vacation or something.

[Michelle Kaplan]

We've done that, we've done that. Cuz we haven't really done a. A big trip in a while. So. Yeah, we sometimes it's just. Yeah, not in a while, but we should do that. So 1. I think the most important attribute of a good hotel is I think the. I would say the design just how I think, I think how it looks honestly nice. So I think one of my favorite hotels that I ever stayed in was in Florence and it was a boutique hotel. So it was, you know, really on the smaller end. Okay. And I really liked that, you know, it wasn't a big chain and I loved that it was a little bit smaller but it was so beautifully done. It was like very unique and special. So I, I really like how, I think, I think there's something about just what it looks like.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah, that's very cool. I love that you like to be in beautiful surroundings. Right. It kind of elevates the entire experience. Well, my answer was much more kind of average person answer. I think breakfast included is a very important match. But the irony is that in the U. S the lower, well, the more mid range hotels will offer breakfast. Like you know, the what the days in. Or the Marriott. The basic Marriotts. But when you go higher in the U.S. right. Like JW, it usually doesn't include breakfast. That's the thing that's crazy. You're paying more, you're not getting breakfast. It makes me crazy.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah. Come on, guys. No, I, I, I know, but also I was going to say price. I want it to look nice and I don't want it to be too expensive. So sometimes you can't get both.

[Lindsay McMahon]

I love it.

[Michelle Kaplan]

I love it. So, but when you hear the word attribute, is that kind of a, Would you say it's a little bit more formal sounding or not really. It's just, it sounds like a big word but not that formal.

[Lindsay McMahon]

I think it's kind of intellectual sounding. But you can certainly use it in everyday conversation so it's not out of reach. It's not going to make you seem like a snob that's trying to impress people. But it's clear. I think it's articulate. What do you think?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, I agree with you. I, I think it's clear. I don't think that it sounds too esoteric or anything like that, but it is just, it, it is an elevated word for sure.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yes, it's elevated. Yeah, we like elevated words sometimes. We like having choices and options. That's what we want to give our audience today.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes.

[Lindsay McMahon]

It'S your last chance to join our C1 English fluency course at this special price. Follow our step by step study plan to make your English more precise and then join our live speaking events like Fluency Party, Open Conversation Club and more to share, practice and connect. Enroll [e-mail] C1. You save up to $100 off the normal price and you get access to our new AI conversation guides, our special AI formula to build your own conversation partner. Then get unlimited speaking practice on course topics. But this offer ends September 14th. Get it now at allearsenglish.com SLC1 that's allearsenglish.com letter C number one. Okay, so Michelle, let's go. Okay, so we've got the word attribute. The spelling is the same. Here's where the plot thickens. Right. We can also use this as a verb. But what's going to change? Right?

[Michelle Kaplan]

So now the pronunciation changes and the stress is on the second syllable. So instead of attribute, now my brain has to adjust.

[Lindsay McMahon]

You know, you really have to adjust your brain. It's weird.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, it's a tribute. Yes, a tribute. So, yeah, this basically means to give credit to something. Something is responsible for something else happening. Right. So for example, when the actress won the award, she attributed the honor to her mother for always having faith in her. It's like she gave her credit.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Gave her credit. Exactly. Usually it's verbally. Could also be in a book. When you write a book, you write it in the credit section. Right. I attribute my failing score to my lack of seriousness on this topic. I'll try harder next time. So, again, pay attention to the pronunciation, guys. Attribute, attribute. Okay.

[Michelle Kaplan]

And. And, Right. So attributing it's not always about something good. Right. So here in this example, I'm saying, oh, I trip. I attribute my Something negative. Yeah. So that's kind of interesting. Or you could say maybe you meet a couple who's been very married for a very long time. You could say, what do you attribute your loving marriage to? Right. So what? That's basically saying, what are the attributes of a good marriage? In a way, Interesting.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yes. And sometimes you'll see people, some people sometimes grammatically don't want to put two at the end of a sentence. I think this is written. Right. But I don't have a problem with it. Spoke in spoken English.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Exactly.

[Lindsay McMahon]

So we might switch it if we're writing. To what do you attribute your loving marriage? Right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes, yes, yes, exactly. Good point. Well, so to what do you attribute the success of all your Zingley.

[Lindsay McMahon]

So.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Hi. It sounds like I'm the queen. Yeah.

[Lindsay McMahon]

When you say to what. To what. I think it's what I said before. Staying connected to our audience. Number one and working hard. We work really hard here at Dollars English to bring an amazing. To build great courses. Everything we do, we work hard. So that's what it is. Connection to our audience and hard work.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Love it. All right, let's do a role play.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Okay. So here we're partners in a school project. We got a really good grade on it, and we are celebrating. That's the best part. Yes.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes. All right. I am so proud of us. We did it. Yes.

[Lindsay McMahon]

You know, I really attribute our grade to all your hard work. I know it wasn't easy, Lindsay.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Thank you. But it was total teamwork. You brought so many amazing attributes to the team. We couldn't have done it without your design skills, your expertise in tech, or your hard work.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Thank you. Yeah. And that's kind of nice. Like, it's okay. Even if you think, like, it was an even contribution on a project at work, it's okay to call it out and say, you know, I attribute our success here to your hard work or to what you contributed to the project. That's okay. Even if it was an even effort. Right.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yes.

[Michelle Kaplan]

That's a good. Absolutely.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

So, yeah, here we use the word in both ways. So you said. I really attribute our grade to all your hard work. So again, this is the verb a tribute attribute.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Yeah. Then we now we have to flip our brains for the next one where it becomes a noun. You brought so many amazing attributes to the team.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Mind bending, Michelle.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes, definitely. So. But really, really useful. I mean, this was such a good question. We sometimes we have these words that they have these other meanings. They have more than one meaning. They have different pronunciations, different, you know, word family, all of this. So it's really important to draw attention to it so that we know how to use it and we understand what people are saying. Yeah.

[Lindsay McMahon]

I mean, there are lots of other words that have the same spelling that are pronounced completely differently as a noun versus a verb.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

So maybe we'll revisit those in other episodes.

[Michelle Kaplan]

All right. Yeah. Yeah. Love it.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Another episode to check out. Where should our listeners.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes. So I. I think this is. This is probably when you did with Aubry, it was how to dance around tricky past participles. That's a really important.

[Lindsay McMahon]

That one sounds interesting. Dance around. I love it. We did teach the phrase dance around, what that means. It doesn't literally mean dancing, like around anything. Yeah.

[Michelle Kaplan]

Right.

[Lindsay McMahon]

So listen to the episode to find out. So takeaway today, Michelle, any final thoughts for our audience?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yeah, definitely look out for this, you know, because it can start to hurt your brain or my brain too. Right. Go with one at a time. You know, choose one to start with. Think about how it can relate to your life. Try and experiment with it in conversation. Kind of get used to it. It is common in both ways, I believe. So choose one, give it a try, see how it feels, and then switch your brain over and give that a try.

[Lindsay McMahon]

To brain over. Don't break your brain in the process. Right?

[Michelle Kaplan]

Yes. Love it.

[Lindsay McMahon]

All right, good stuff, Michelle. We'll see you very soon, guys. Hit the follow button now to get more all ears English or subscribe on YouTube and let's get to 300,000 subscribers. Excellent. Love it. All right, we'll talk to you soon, Michelle. You have a good one. Take care.

[Michelle Kaplan]

You too.

[Lindsay McMahon]

Bye Bye. Thanks for listening to allears English. Would you like to know your English level? Take our two minute quiz. Go to allearsenglish.com fluencyscore and if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything. See you next time.

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