Lesson 79--onomatopoeia (part one)

 

 

Words representing sounds are different in every language.  Here are some common ones that you will encounter in English.

"Whoosh"       

This is the sound of air rushing forward, such as when a jet flies overhead, or when air rushes into a vacuum.  It is a dramatic sound.

"Clang"

This is the sound of metal hitting metal.  The sound is heavy and is used to remind people of machines and the clash of metal.

"Ding"

This is the sound of a bell ringing once.  It is used for timers, and anything that uses a small, resonant bell.

Lesson 78--Fall Through

Not the clearest picture, but you get the idea

Phrasal Verb:  Fall through

meaning:  be unsuccessful, fail, not happen

(for plans, deals and arrangements
              not for tests or exams)

i.e.       His plans fell through.

            The deal fell through at the last minute.

            When she couldn't raise the money, the whole thing fell through.

 

Lesson 77--Phrasal Verb Quiz

Quiz time

 

 

Fill in the second sentence using a phrasal verb so that the meanings are identical.  When you are finished, please click on the Quiz Answers link in the top right corner of this blog.  Though you think you might be right, you had better check, because you might be surprised.

 

My car stopped working while I was driving on the highway.

My car _____ _____ while I was driving on the highway.

Please wait while I get the manager.

Please _____ _____ while I get the manager.

He wanted to stop drinking because of his health.

He wanted to _____ _____ drinking because of his health.

I do not want to hear your sarcasm.

I can ____ ____ your sarcasm.

A new movie is being released on Friday.

A new movie is ____ ____ on Friday.

Marie will assume the manager's job starting today.

Marie will ____ ____ the manager's job starting today.

The wind destroyed all the boats in the marina.

The wind ____ ____ all the boats in the marina.

Jim created a new drink menu for the bar.

Jim ____ ____ ____ a new drink menu for the bar.

Jim ____ ____ a new drink menu for the bar.

Michelle found a new restaurant on her way to work.

Michelle ____ ____ a new restaurant on her way to work.

You can depend on Veronica.

You can ____ ____ Veronica.

Lesson 76 Using too (part two)

 

 

 

too can also be used with for

form too + for + subject+ infinite

i.e.       It too late for us to go out.

            It is too far for him to travel.

            It is too greasy for me to eat.

Modification

Just like the previous use of too, it can be modified using the following phrases:

much, far, a little, a bit, rather

i.e.       It's far too late for us to go out.

            It's much too late for us to go out.

            It's a little too greasy for me to eat.

            It's a bit too greasy for me to eat.

Lesson 75 Using too (part one)

 

This is a negative expression and fits really well into sentences.

form: too + adjective + infinitive

i.e.       It's too late to go out.

            He's too slow to play for our team.

Modification

the phrases can be modified by the following phrases:

much, far, a little, a bit, rather

i.e.       It's a bit too late to go out.

            It's a little too late to go out.

            It's far too late to go out.

            It's much too late to go out.

Lesson 74--Idiomatic phrases

not sure if this picture works, but I felt I had to put something up here.

in the zone                   in a groove

 

Used to express that things are going well, and are proceeding easily.

Used very positively.

 

i.e.       When I am in the zone, I play video games better than anyone.

            I was in the zone.  It was like I had eyes in the back of my head

            He won 7 games in a row.  He was really in the zone.

            He was in a groove.  Every serve was an ace.

            She was really in a groove.  She wrote that essay in less than an hour.

Lesson 73--Vocabulary

Capable

an adjective used to describe what you can do.

i.e.       I am capable of eating a whole pizza.

            He was capable of holding his breath for 3 minutes.

            They aren't capable of murder

            He is a very capable person.

word family

adjective          incapable

adverb             capably/incapably

noun                capability/incapability

typical confusion with capacity (the capacity of the jar is 1L)

Lesson 72--Phrasal Verbs

 

Phrasal Verbs:  To come to a stop

 

used for vehicles to indicate they have stopped moving.

i.e.       The car came to a stop two metres from the edge of the cliff.

            The train came to a stop exactly on time.

Lesson 71--Confusing Words--economic vs. economical

 

 

Economic refers to the science of economics, or to the economy of a country.

i.e.       I study economics.

            We have a lot of economic issues to deal with.

Economical means that you are not wasting money.

i.e.       My car is very economical on gas.

            To save money for my trip, I have to be very economical.

Lesson 70--To break a record

Used when an amazing feat or accomplishment is done better or faster by someone.

For example.

The record for this race is 29 minutes and 10 seconds.  Today, the runner broke the record by 16 seconds.

Very similar to set a new record.  The only difference is that breaking the record seems more exciting.  If the difference is huge, we might say smash the record.

nouns...record breaker

i.e.  He's a record breaker in this event.

 

adjective...record breaking

i.e.  It was a record breaking match.

 

Lesson 69--Counters for Uncountable nouns

 

 

I know this is difficult for some of my students because things just aren't the same in their native language.  Sorry, nothing I can do for you there.  Hopefully, you will find some useful expressions from this list, and will hear them quite soon and be able to remember them.  Good luck, but review often.

 

Advice            a piece of advice, pieces of advice

furniture          a piece of furniture, pieces of furniture

information     a piece of information, pieces of information

news                a piece of news, pieces of news

                        a bit of news, bits of news

bread               a loaf of bread, loaves of bread

                        a slice of bread, slices of bread

                        a piece of bread, pieces of bread

luck                 a stroke of luck, strokes of luck

                        a bit of luck, bits of luck

thunder            a clap of thunder, claps of thunder

 

lightening        a flash of lightning, flashes of lightning

                        a bolt of lightning, bolts of lightning

 

Lesson 68--mathematics

Today's lesson is how to say simple math phrases.  I like math and science, and I think you should be able to express these things in English.

addition

1+2=3              one plus two equals three

                        one plus two is three

subtraction

9-6=3               nine minus six equals three

                        nine minus six is three

multiplication

2X5=10           two times five equals ten

                        two times five is ten

                        two multiplied by five equals ten

                        two multiplied by five is ten

division

45/9=5             forty-five divided by nine equals five

                        forty-five divided by nine is five

                        nine into forty-five equals five

                        nine into forty-five is five

                        nine goes into forty-five five times

Lesson 67--more numbers

Another lesson on how to say numbers.  Today's lesson is on years.

 

1984                nineteen eighty-four

                        eighty four (shortened usage)

2006                two thousand (and) six

                        oh six (shortened usage)

1492                fourteen ninety-two

                        (no shortened usage)

2012                two thousand twelve

                        (no shortened usage yet)

Lesson 66--Numbers

 

 

A lesson on numbers.  In English we say numbers differently depending on the context.  Today's lesson is on temperature

 

10 degrees Celsius                  ten degrees

                                                plus ten

                                                ten above zero (rare)

 

-10 degrees Celsius                 minus ten

                                                ten below

                                                ten below zero