Monday, April 29, 2013

Lesson 47--Hockey Vocabulary





In an effort to include my students in Canadian life, I have chosen to use to today's lesson to teach you some hockey vocabulary.  It is playoff time, and I hope all of you get a chance to watch some games and get to know one of Canada's favourite pastimes.

 

Overtime:

When the game is tied after 60 minutes, we call the next phase of the game overtime.  This is the most exciting part of the playoffs.  Overtime continues until one team has scored.  This can mean one minute of overtime, or several hours.

Sudden Death:

What makes this exciting is that the first team to score wins.  We don't play the whole period.  Just one goal.  One goal and you are a hero. 

Monday, April 22, 2013

Lesson 46--Different Kinds of English


Students often wonder what are the differences between British and American English. Of course they also wonder where Canada fits into all of this.  In today's post, we will just look at some examples.
 
British English                        American English

lift                                                 elevator
torch                                              flashlight
chips                                              french fries
nappies                                          diapers
petrol                                             gas
sweets                                           candy
garbage                                         rubbish
queue                                            line

In these cases, Canadians mostly use the words on the American side, but understand both of them, and will sometimes use the words on the British list for effect.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

What did you think of the lessons this week?

 
I would like some comments from my readers about the blogs this past week.  I ran three blogs on the same word; run.  Did you enjoy it?  Was it helpful?  Would you like to see something like that repeated?  Pleae let me know.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Lesson 45--Phrasal verbs with run


 
 
This week's theme has been the word run.  To finish off our week, we will look at a couple of phrasal verbs that use run.  There are many others, but we will focus on a few.
 
Run away = leave quickly, secretly
i.e.       Martin ran away before the police could question him.

 
Run away with = elope
i.e.       Cecile ran away with her boyfriend because her parents would let them get married.
            Her husband ran away with a much younger woman.

 

Run away with = to win easily/to win a prize easily
i.e.       Milos ran away with the match.
            Judith is so talented that she will run away from the field.
            The match was a runaway (the person won easily--noun form)

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Lesson 44--RUN (continued)


As I said, the word run has many definitions and uses.  Today I would like to give you some more things to consider when talking about the word.

to run someone's = somebody else is taking charge and making the decisions.

i.e.       My mother is running my life.  She won't let me do anything or decide anything.

This is usually used in an unflattering or negative way.
You might tell someone:

            I run my own life!
            Stop trying to run my life!


to run the risk = that something unintended might happen.

i.e.       If you don't tell her the truth, you run the risk that she might find out and be angry.
            You run the risk of losing all your friends if you continue this way.

As you can see, this phrase is very useful when using conditional sentences.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Lesson 43--Run


 
 
The word "run" has many meanings.  My dictionary lists 25 different meanings/uses of the word run, followed by numerous phrasal verbs.  I can't list them all, but I thought I should highlight a few important ones for you.  There will be more on Wednesday.

run = moving swiftly on your feet
i.e.       He is running in a race on Friday.

run = operating
i.e.       She runs her own business from home.

run = to travel from point to point
i.e.       The bus runs from 6 am to 6 pm.
            The bus runs from Eglinton East station to Eglinton West station.

run = flowing/ in operation
i.e.       The water is running.  Please shut off the tap.
            The car engine is running.

run = be a candidate in an election
i.e.       Marcia is running for School President.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Lesson 42--Phrasal Verbs


 

Bring Up


bring up is used to start talking about a topic or something.


e.g.      I brought up the issue at dinner.
            My teacher brought up the problems with my writing.
            It is hard to bring up uncomfortable topics with anyone but my friends.
            I will bring it up again later.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Lesson 41--Wait

Wait has a few interesting constructions worth thinking about

 

Wait+for is used with people and with time.


e.g.      I will wait for you.
            I waited for 10 minutes before I left.

it is also possible to omit for when talking about the amount of time.

e.g.      I waited 10 minutes before I left.

Wait+to is used when waiting for actions


e.g.      I waited to call.
            I waited to hear from him.

We can combine the two of them


e.g.      I waited 10 minutes to call him.

Monday, April 8, 2013

Lesson 40--Preposition Quiz


 
 
Complete the quiz by filling in the blanks with a suitable preposition.  Check your answers by clicking on the link in the top right corner--don't assume you are correct.


  1. He was absent _____school because of a cold.
  2. The company contributes ______ charity every month.
  3. The apartment comes furnished ______ a sofa, a fridge and stove.
  4. Although he didn't love her, he was very fond ______ her.
  5. The whole class is excited ______ the upcoming test.
  6. The school is connected ______ a shopping mall via underground tunnel.
  7. Being addicted ______ drugs is a cause for concern.
  8. Maria didn't know which candidate to vote ______.
  9. After work, he felt _____ having a beer with his friends.
  10. All of the students are capable ______ passing the test.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Lesson 39--Break Down

Phrasal Verb: Break down


 

When a machine, like a car, photocopier or vending machine, stops working we say it breaks down.

e.g.      My car broke down on the highway.
            The copier keeps breaking down in the middle of the job.
            Luckily the printer hasn't broken down yet.

 

The noun form of this is breakdown.

e.g.      The machine had a breakdown during the night.
            A breakdown happened due to a power surge.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Lesson 38--To Chew Someone Out


To Chew Someone Out:  to angrily scold someone
 
 

*not used for parents to children
*more often used by authority figures like your boss or teacher

e.g.      My boss chewed me out for being late.
            I get chewed out every time I hand in my work.
            The teacher chewed out the class for not preparing for the reading circle.

synonyms: yell at/shout at

Monday, April 1, 2013

Lesson 37--What's the Matter?


A useful word is matter.  When we want to talk about what is wrong with something or someone we might use these phrases:

What's the matter with your foot?
Is anything the matter?
I don't know what's the matter with her.

This is used to refer to both physical and mental issues.
When we want to say nothing is wrong we might use the following phrases:
 
There is nothing wrong with your hamburger.  Just eat it.
I don't think there is anything wrong with him.  He's just tired.