Lesson 131--To Go Off

To Go Off: Different meanings and uses

 

 

The phrasal verb go off has several meanings.  A basic idea and example are provided.  This phrasal verb is inseparable.

To explode

The bomb went off just before the Prime Minister arrived.

To ring

The car alarm went off, but nobody was there.

 

To lose your temper (kind of like explode)

The coach went off on the whole team because of their poor play.

To quit

He went off his diet because he was tired of tofu.

To stop working

The heater went off and the room got very cold very quickly.

Lesson 130--Whatever

Whatever

 

Whatever has more than one use, but the basic idea is that it means, it doesn't matter what.  Though it can be used as an answer to a question very informally, it often joins clauses in a sentence.

examples

I will do whatever you want.

Whatever he says, don't answer.

He spends his money on whatever he wants.

as a answer

A: What do you want to eat for dinner?

B: Whatever.(informal: be careful with your voice tone as this can sound rude)

or

B: Whatever you would like. (more polite)

as complete disregard for what someone says.

A: You can't eat hear.

B: Whatever. (usually accompanied by a gesture indicating you are not listening or a rather sarcastic voice)

Lesson 129--Be My Guest

 

When you want to give permission there are some interesting ways of saying yes.

These include:

                                    Be my guest.

                                    Go ahead.

                                    Go for it.

All of these expressions have the same meaning and they are quite useful.  In the following examples, any response could be used.

 

A: Can I use your phone?

B: Be my guest.

A: Can I use your iPad?

B: Go for it.

A: Can I change the channel?

B: Go ahead.

Lesson 128--Sitting

 

 

Of course, most of my students think of sitting in a chair, or on a sofa when they think of the word sitting.  Sitting can also mean take care of.

examples

babysitting = taking care of someone's baby (not your own).

house-sitting = staying at someone's house while they are away to look after their place.

apartment sitting = the same idea as above, but in an apartment.

rarer, but still possible

cat sitting = taking care of someone's cat.

Lesson 127--Using the verb pay

to pay

 

This is a useful verb, but seems to cause a lot of confusion amongst my students.  The meaning is clear, but some of the combinations are not.

He paid for dinner.  =  He bought dinner.

He paid for my dinner. = He paid for my dinner.

He paid me to do fix his computer. = I fixed his computer for a small fee.

He was paid to design a new logo. = He designed a new logo and charged the company some money.

He paid a high price.  =  This might mean is was expensive, or it might be an idiom indicating that the result required some sacrifice (He scored a goal, but was injured in the play.)

Lesson 126--A loss of power

 

 

I wasn't able to get today's lesson up at my normally scheduled time because the power was off in the city where I live.  Luckily, it provided a good theme for today's lesson.

Expressions to explain a loss of power.

 

Experiment and enjoy using these expressions.  You will always here them in a sitcom when the power goes out....and this happens at least once in every sitcom.

 

There was a power failure in my city last night.

There was a blackout in my city last night.

The power went out in my city last night.

There was a brownout in my city last night.

The power went off in my city last night.

The electrical grid went down last night.

We were without power last night.

There was no power/electricity last night.

The power was interrupted last night.

 

The power is out.

Lesson 125--Using While for contrast

We can use while to direct contrast between things.  This is not the only use for while, but it is the one we will focus on in this lesson.

 

While Jane is smart, Martha is a little dumb.

While Martha has a big smile, Jane has a small one.

Martha is short, while Jane is tall.

Mathew is interested in getting a tattoo of his favourite band, while I am not.

 

Notice that the comma is used in both positions for while.

Lesson 124--run of the mill

 

 

There are some idiomatic expressions in English that crop up from time to time.  They appear in movies, television, books, magazines and newspapers.  Knowing them could improve your comprehension in all of these activities.  Here are some expressions which are related.

run of the mill

This expression means usual, not special, average, common, typical.

It just your typical run of the mill sports bar.  If you've seen one, you've seen them all.

Bob is a run of the mill office worker.  He probably won't ever be a manager.

It was a run of the mill family restaurant. 

 

humdrum (this one includes the meaning of boring)

It was a humdrum day.  Nothing exciting happened.

nothing special

Mary is nothing special.  She's just like all her friends.

Lesson 123--Verbs that take adjectives

Verbs followed by adjectives

 

Most of you are quite good at following the "be" verb with adjectives.

ex The weather is nice.

There are other verbs that can be followed by adjectives.  When this happens they are describing the subject of the sentence.  These include:

seem

appear

become

get

grow

turn

feel

look

smell

taste'

sound

examples

He sounds strange.  Something is wrong with him.

He grew old very quickly.

Maria seems tired.

Jimmy is getting weirder and weirder every day.

This coffee tastes delicious.

Lesson 122--Beer Slang!!

Besides knowing the English names for different kinds of beer (ale, lager, stout....etc.) you should know the slang names for beer.  While the following are good for Canada, I cannot guarantee you can use them in all English speaking countries

 

Alternate words for Beer

brew

brewski

wobbly pop

barley sandwich

can/bottle of courage

Lesson 121--Where's the washroom? (part three)

 

In my rush to get you all the useful vocabulary, I forgot to give you some example of questions you could ask when looking for the washroom.  Here are some examples.  These are not all of them, of course, but they should provide you with enough variation to get through your day.  They are roughly in order of most polite to less polite, though none of these sentences would be considered rude.

Examples (I have used washroom, but you could use most of the words from the polite section of  lesson 119)

Could you tell me where the washroom is?

Could you point me to/towards the washroom?

I'm wondering where the washroom is?

Do you have any idea where the washroom is?

I'm trying to find the washroom.....

I'm looking for the washroom....

Where would the washroom be?

I can't seem to find the washroom.

Where's the washroom?

Washroom? (Having a slightly stunned face will improve this question)

Lesson 120--Where's the washroom? (part two)

 

As I explained before, in my experience westerners try to be more indirect or polite when referring to body functions.  Saying "I have to pee." is not something I would recommend.  Here are some useful expressions, though there are a lot more.  Also, the people you hang around with might use more direct phrases, so all I can say is that these are more polite, but you might hear even more polite ones, and you certainly will hear less polite ones.

 

Things both men and women might say

I need to visit the men's room/little boy's room/restroom.

I need to visit the ladies room/little girls room/restroom.

Things women might say

I have to powder my nose.

I have to touch up my makeup.

Things men might say

I have to see a man about a horse

(I heard this on a sitcom, so I don't know if this was more for a joke, or if people really say this.  I have only used it to be ironic.)

 

Things my students have told me that they say (translated from their language)

I have to send a fax.

Invitation to my readers

The last one is creative.  I invite all of my students to translate and post (you can post anonymously) expressions from their countries here.

Lesson 119--Where's the washroom?

 

 

A subject that has come up several times with my students is how to refer to the washroom.  As some of them found out on a trip to New York, this seems to be a Canadian word, and not commonly understood in the US.  Though I cannot be completely sure of this, I do know that there are a lot of names for that place.

In Public

The washroom (only in Canada)

the restroom

the powder room (used by women)

the Men's Room, the Ladies' Room

the boys' room, the girls' room

The little boys' room, the little girls' room

 

Having spent time in Europe, some other words come to mind

the WC (wash closet, or water closet)

the gents', the ladies'

the lavatory

the loo

 

in the military/navy

the latrine

the head (on a ship, in the navy)

I have also heard it called

the privy

the outhouse (though this was once a structure built outside, I have heard people use it for the room inside their house...though not frequently)

Surprisingly

It is sometimes called the john or the can.  No, I am not kidding.

 

My advice is to try them all and see which ones give you the best reaction.  If you know any others, do not hesitate to add them to the comments box... and don't worry if you want to comment anonymously.

 

 

Whatever you call it, these days toilet usually refers to the important piece of furniture in that room, and isn't usually referred to in public, but can be used among friends.