Lesson 170--Talking about Money

 

 

Let's face it, we all spend money.  Sometimes we spend too much money....okay, we probably always spend too much money.....Okay, some of us spend too much money, and some of you don't.  Did I cover everyone?  Whatever you do, you probably need some English expressions for this.

To blow money = to waste money, to spend money and regret it.

examples         I blew 100 dollars at the bar yesterday.

                        James blew all his money on lottery tickets.

                        Every week Melanie blows hundreds of dollars on spa treatments.

To go through money/To burn through money = spend it quickly

examples         Patricia goes through money faster than anyone I know.

                        Daniel burns through about $3000 a week gambling.

To sock away money = to save money at home or in the bank.

examples         After working all summer, Henry managed to sock away $6000.

                        Gina socks away all her money for her part time job.  She is buying a car.

Make a down payment = the first payment in a series of payments, usually to buy something expensive like a house/condominium or car.

examples         To buy a house in Canada, you need a 5% down payment.

                        Greg wanted to buy a car, but didn't have enough for a down payment.

 

Lesson 169--I fell asleep

Last night before I had a chance to type out today's blog/lesson I fell asleep on the couch.  I hadn't been feeling well, so I wasn't really surprised.  It got me to thinking that I should probably give everyone some useful expressions for sleep and things related to sleep.  Sorry about being so late with today's post.

Adjectives

tired-a useful word that describes an average feeling.

worn out-this means you are quite tired, probably from doing some hard work.

exhausted-really, really tired.

drowsy-describing a sleepy feeling, you want to sleep, or are almost falling asleep.

examples

I slept for nine hours, but I was still tired.

After studying hard all day, I was completely worn out.

I was so exhausted that I wanted to sleep for a whole day.

Verbs

sleep/fall asleep

crash/crash out-a slang expression for sleep.

doze off-fall asleep without really planning to.

examples

I crashed at my friend's house because I was too drunk to go home.

I dozed off while I was watching darts.

Lesson 168--phrases meaning complete

 

In English there are lots of ways to say that we have completed something.  Here are a couple of useful ones.

wrap up (separable phrasal verb)

Though this also means cover with paper or cloth (like a present) it can also mean finish or end.

example:          We wrapped up the project two days early.

                        Maria's boss asked her to wrap the meeting up quickly.

                        Although I worked hard, I couldn't wrap everything up today.

 

polish off (separable phrasal verb)

We usually use this for finishing the last of the food.

example:          Daniel polished off the cake before anyone got home.

                        Although she was hungry, Melanie couldn't polish off the spaghetti.

                        There is only a little coffee left, why don't you polish it off.

Lesson 167--skipping class

 

 

 

Several of my students did not show up for class today.  This got me thinking about expressions we can use in this situation.

to play hooky

to cut class

Both of these expressions are old, and not very common today.  However, you might hear them in older television shows or movies.

 

The more modern/up to date expression is:  skip class

example:          I skipped class yesterday to got to a concert.

                        Bobs wants to skip class on Friday to have a long weekend.

 

For those of you who don't go to school, but want a similar expression you can use on your job, the following phrase will be useful.

call in sick

example:          I called in sick so I could go to the concert.

                        The boss was angry because people always called in sick on Friday.

Lesson 166--Expressions with "take" part two

 

 

There are lots of expressions using "take:" in English--maybe enough to write a book about them (I will call it "Take That").  While I won't argue with my students about these expression, I will do my best to teach a few of them.

take offense

This means to be insulted by what someone has said or done.

example:          George took offense when Mary didn't listen to his concerns.

                        Martha always takes offense when people don't compliment her cooking.

take heart

This means to take comfort, or something positive from a situation.

example:          I take heart in the fact that this blog is helping people.

                        At least I can take heart in the efforts my students are making.

Lesson 165--Expressions with "take" part one

My students often tell me that there are too many expressions with "take" in English.  While I can't agree that there are too many, I certainly must admit that there are a lot of them.  However, they are fun to teach, so here are two good ones for today's lesson (and two more for Wednesday)

take stock (of a situation)

This means to reflect on, consider, or at least think about a situation.

example:         After the monthly sales and expenditures were calculated, the President and the Vice President sat down to take stock of the situation.

                        After taking stock of the situation, Mary knew exactly what to do.

take charge

This means to assume control, to become the leader.

example:         When the boss went on Vacation, Patricia took charg

                        Everyone panicked, except Bob.  He took charge.

Lesson 164--Pain and Other Similar Words

 

 

Their seems to be some confusion about words relating to pain.  The first thing to keep in mind is that there is more of grammatical difference than a meaning difference.  Some are verbs and some are adjectives.  I think you will find this quite useful.

 

sore (adjective)

My foot is sore.

I have a sore throat.

 

soreness (noun)

There is some soreness in my knees.

 

ache (verb, noun)

My foot aches.

My feet ache.

I have an ache in my back.

I have a toothache.

hurts (verb)

My tooth hurts.

My hands hurt.

 

pain (noun)

There is a pain in my knee.

 

painful (adjective)

That is a painful injury.

 

Lesson 163--Point (part two)

 

There's no point.

There's no point in doing that.

I don't see any point in that.

It is pointless.

This is used when the situation is futile or useless, or when any action you take will have no effect.

To point out something.

To point something out.

This means to indicate something the person might not have seen, or that you would like them to focus on.  This can be visual, or can be an idea.

Examples: I would like to point out that there are 163 lessons in this blog so far.

                  Jane pointed out that it was too late for lunch, but too early for supper.

                  Bob's hobby was pointing out mistakes in movies.

Lesson 162--Point (part one)

If you have read my hobby blog (jackofallhobby.blogspot.ca) you will know that I have become addicted to the game of darts.  Darts are sharp.  Darts are pointy.  That's where I got the idea for the next couple of lessons.  Point in such an interesting word with so many different uses and meanings.

 

You've got a point. (You've got a good point.

You make a good point. (You make a good point)

This is used when you agree with a person, or at the very least, want to tell them they have explained something well, or that their idea has some merit.

 

I see your point.

I get your point.

This is used when you want to tell someone that you understand what they are saying.

 

I don't see your point.

I don't get your point.

I don't see what point you're trying to make.

What's your point?

What point are you trying to make?

This is used when you do not understand what someone is telling you, or when you refuse to listen to their point.  (note...this will make them frustrated, maybe very frustrated)

Thank You

The blog hit a milestone today.  I have had 15000 page views (I don't know how they count that, but it is fantastic. FANTASTIC!  Thank you everyone for reading the blog.  You make it worth my time and effort.  I will continue publishing blogs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Obviously, Canada has a lot of viewers because my present and recent students are heavily encourage by me to read the blog.  Blogger only lists the top ten, so maybe your country is just below these.  If you want your country to climb the list, you've got to get your friends to check out the blog.  Maybe by 20,000 things will be different.

Canada	4554
United States	3326
Brazil	1012
Germany	807
South Korea	791
Japan	748
Switzerland	359
Poland	352
Russia	239
Chile	215

Lesson 161--more useful expressions

My students wanted to know what you call a person who always tells the boss that they are great so that they can get a promotion.  Here are some phrases that mean that exactly.  None of these phrases is positive, so be very careful when you use them because you might offend someone.

 

Nouns

• Ass kisser
• Brownnoser
• Sycophant
• Suck-up
• Apple polisher*

*Though this one appears in my students' dictionaries, it is not common.  I have never used it.

e.g.      Billy is such an ass kisser.

            The boss loves Molly because she is such a brown noser.

Verbs

• Kiss ass
• suck up

 e.g.     Billy is always kissing ass.

            The boss loves Molly because she is always sucking up to her.

 

lesson 160--Word Options including slang

 

 

Because some words in English aren't polite to use (though this changes over time) we have to be creative.  This is especially true when we think of body parts.  The word ass is one of those words we considered to be not so polite, so I thought today I would give you some alternatives to this word.  Not surprisingly, there are quite a few of them.  There are probably more.....because even I don't know them all.

 

• ass
• butt
• arse
• bum
• behind
• backside
• bottom
• buns
• fanny
• rear
• rump
• can
• tush
• tushy
• caboose
• booty
• moneymaker (as in shake your money maker)
• gluteus maximus (Latin name)

 

 

Lesson 159--Brave the elements

Because we seem to be in the middle of a rather harsh winter, we should learn some vocabulary to compliment it.  Here is one expression you might see in movies and on TV when someone has to go out in bad weather.

 

To brave the elements

meaning: to go outside when the weather is bad.  This can be wind, rain, snow or pretty much anything else.  This is usually said because that person does not want to go outside or the person has just come from the outside and is happy to be inside.

examples

 

To get to the boxing day sale he had to brave the elements for three blocks from the bus stop to the store.

Maria braved the elements to meet her boyfriend at a coffee shop.