Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Lesson 118


 
 

Idiom:  Take a backseat


 

Meaning:  To become less important, to lose status, to lose priority.

 

examples


Once he got a new job, his hobbies took a backseat.

Jim's problems took a backseat after he had a child.

Once the economy improved, problems that had taken a backseat became more important.

Greg was upset that his concerns always took a backseat to his sister's.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Lesson 117--Take a Load Off (and other expressions)


 
In English we have a lot of ways to indicate a break.  Quite a few of them involve take.

 
take a break

take five/take ten (the length of the break is indicated by the number)

take a load off

take a breather

take a minute

take a second (a very short break)

 

examples


Okay everyone.  Take a break.

You look tired.  Sit down and take a load off.

After running the marathon Dan took a breather before his interview.

 

 
*********
Please note, take a rest, is not a correct expression, even though my students use it all the time.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Lesson 116--Three Expressions with catch


 

Catch a cold


This is used to explain the moment of getting a cold.  Once you catch a cold, they you have a cold.

I caught a cold last week.
Be careful or you will catch a cold.

This is more often used in past or future tenses.


catch my breath


This is used to explain the feeling of being out of breath.  These situations include exercising, or running, or just needing a short break.

Just give me a minute to catch my breath.
It took me a long time to catch my breath after the marathon.


catch a break


This is used to explain being lucky or fortunate.

When the policeman stopped me for speeding, I caught a break.  He was my neighbour and he didn't give me a ticket.
If we are going to win this match, we will need to catch a break.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Lesson 115--Prepositions


 

Using prepositions can be confusing, but with a little practice and repetition, you can gain confidence and start to master them.  Here are some useful combinations and examples.


distinguish ___ from ____

I cannot distinguish the colour mauve from purple.
It is hard to for some people to distinguish Canadian football from American football.
Although they are twins, it is easy to distinguish Cathy from Candace

 

distinguish between ____ and _____

I cannot distinguish between mauve and  purple.
It is easy for me to distinguish between Canadian and American football.
Because they are not fraternal twins, everyone can distinguish between Cathy and Candace.

 

 

Monday, October 21, 2013

Lesson 114--prepositions


 
 
Using prepositions can be confusing, but with a little practice and repetition, you can gain confidence and start to master them.  Here are some useful combinations and examples.


the same as


Rob plays the same sport as Brian.
Marsha works at the same company as Alfred.
Tennis is not the same as badminton.

 The preposition is not used when the subject of the sentence includes both things that are being compared.


Badminton and tennis are not the same.
Marsha and Alfred work at the same company.

 

different from


Tennis is different from badminton.
The food in Japan is different from the food in Canada.
James' house is different from mine in many ways.

The preposition is not used when the subject of the sentence includes both things that are being differentiated.


Tennis and badminton are different.
James' house and my house are quite different.

Friday, October 18, 2013

Lesson 113--phrasal verb: to leave (something) out


phrasal verb:  leave out


Meaning:  to omit, to not include


Patterns
Leave something out.
Leave out something.
Leave it out.

examples

He left out his aunt by mistake when he was counting the party guests.

James was Angry when his father left him out of his will.

Maria left out some important parts of the story when she was explaining what happened.

Mark was left out of his friends' weekend plans and he was furious.

Their teacher reminded them not to leave anything out when they answered the questions.

When the children explained what happened they left out their friends' names because they didn't want them to get in trouble.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Lesson 112--more gerunds versus infinitives

 

 
The phrasal verb go on can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive.  The meanings of these two things are not the same.

 

+ gerund


He went on talking about his car for two hours.

This means he only talked about his car, non stop, for two hours.

 

+ infinitive


He started talking about motorcycles, then he went on to talk about cars.

This means he changed the subject (either closely related or not).  He started talking about one thing, then something else.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Lesson 111--Gerunds versus Infinitives Quiz


In the following quiz, you need to put the verb in the blank, either as an infinitive or gerund.  When you are done, check your answers by clicking the quiz button in the top right corner.  There are some tricky ones, so don't forget to check your answers,  You might be surprised.

 
  1. I am interested in ________(play) tennis this afternoon.
  2. The carpet needs ________(be) vacuumed.
  3. The rug needs ___________(vacuum).
  4. Vanessa dislikes _________(watch) black and white movies.
  5. Gregory had trouble _______(find) a gift for his wife's birthday.
  6. Paul's mother refused _____(allow) him to get a tattoo.
  7. Grace was not accustomed to working so much every week.
  8. I advise you ________(study) harder.
  9. It takes time ______(learn) English.
  10. The politician denied _______( take)bribes.
  11. Everyone deserves _______(have) a good life.
  12. He regrets _____(tell) his mother about his new job.
  13. When I get more money, I mean _______(buy) a new television.
  14. Janice stopped ____(buy) milk on the way home.
  15. After talking about cars, he went on ______(talk) about motorcycles.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Lesson 110--to blow it


to blow it


 
He doesn't look happy.  I guess he blew it.

This expression means to fail, to not succeed, to miss an opportunity.

examples.

Although he knew the answer, he blew it by not answering quickly enough.
The baseball player blew it for his whole team when he struck out.
Daniel doesn't want to blow it with his new girlfriend, so he is taking it slow.
HIs coached warned him not to blow this perfect opportunity.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Lesson 109--Get in on the ground floor


Get in on the ground floor

 

 

This expression indicated that you took advantage of an opportunity very early.  You could be among the first ones doing something

examples

Paul had a chance to get in on the ground floor with Apple, but missed his chance.
Maria got in on the ground floor of a new company and now she is a millionaire.
Getting in on the ground floor is the dream of every investor.
Greg was too late to get in on the ground floor of the company, and had to buy stock at a much higher price.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Lesson 108--jump at the chance


Jump at the chance



This expression shows enthusiasm and excitement for the opportunity of doing something.  This can be used to show actual enthusiasm or imagined enthusiasm.

examples

I jumped at the chance to appear on TV.
Pamela would jump at the chance to get a makeover.
Mathew jumped at the chance to see his favourite band play.
If I were you I would jump at the chance to do something so cool.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Lesson 107--Useful Expressions



 

 
 
 
 
Get one's (my, your, his, her, their, our) foot in the door


This expression is used when starting something new, most often a job.  Getting your foot in the door means you have started something, and will hopefully progress to the next level.

 

examples

I took the job of salesman just to get my foot in the door.
Bob was sure that if he could get his foot in the door, he would rise quickly to the top of the company.
Without a good education, you can't even get your foot in the door.
Mary didn't want her father to get her a job, just to help her get her foot in the door.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Lesson 106--Take one for the team


Take one for the team


 
 
This sports related idiom means to sacrifice on behalf of other people.  It isn't just for sports, but can be used in everyday situations as well.

examples


He took one for the team when he volunteered to work the weekend shifts.

To make up for her mistakes, Melissa took one for the team when she took all the blame for her mistakes and the mistakes of her co-workers.

Sometimes you have to take one for the team.

synonyms:  sacrifice