Lesson 182--Using Wish to complain

 

When we can't change a situation and want to complain we can use the following pattern

wish + would + base form

examples

I wish my neighbour wouldn't make so much noise.

I wish that loud person would shut up.

Maria wishes it would stop snowing.

Henry wishes his YouTube video would load faster.

Lesson 181--Some and Any Questions

When making questions there is an interesting difference between some and any.  Consider the following questions

1:  Do you have any money?

2:  Do you have some money?

In question 1, the person asking probably thinks that you don't have money.  However, the person asking in question 2 probably thinks that you do.

Consider the following two questions

3:  Do you have some problems?

4:  Do you have any problems?

In question 3, the person asking really believes that you have some problems.  In question 4, this is more of a genuine inquiry.

Lesson 180--Describing Life

 

 

It is important to be able to describe life, both positively and negatively.  Here are some expressions which can help you do that.

In a rut (negative)

When life is boring and not changing.

i.e.  After he retired his life fell into a rut.

In a groove (positive)

When life or actions happen easily and automatically.

i.e.  He was in a real groove all afternoon and didn't miss a shot.

       Great athletes find the groove easily.

In a funk (negative)

When an odd and negative feeling makes everything you do negative

i.e.  He was in a funk and could not win a game.

Lesson 179--In a jam.

Sometimes it seems like you have no options whatsoever.  In these times, we might need a few English phrases to help you explain this tough spot.  Here are some useful expressions to describe those moments.

In a jam.

In a pickle.

In a bind.

In between a rock and a hard place.

examples

After scheduling two appointments at the same time, Mathew found himself in a real jam.

Lesson 178--There are no stupid questions

I have heard students tell me that they have a "stupid" question.  The truth is, there are no stupid questions.  There are basic questions, but they are still important questions.  If there is a gap in your knowledge, I will try my best to bridge it.

 

A student asked:  What's the difference between Sam and I, and Sam and me?

 

Sam and I is for subjects (usually before the verb)

examples:        Sam and I went to the movies.

                        Sam and I are playing tennis on Tuesday.

                        Sam and I are going to win our match.

 

Sam and me is for objects (usually after the verb)

examples:        Greg bought cars for Sam and me.

                        Jeannie is going to pick up Sam and me.

                        Mom is making dinner for Sam and me.

Lesson 177--English is funny

English is funny.  I probably don't have to tell you that, but I had a lot of time to think over the weekend about how funny it is.  I just wanted to share some examples with you.

 

resign vs. re-sign

resign /ri:ˈzaɪn/ means to quit your job or your team.

i.e.  Matthew resigned from Apple because he didn't like the iPhone5S.

       Because she found the company unethical, April resigned.

note the noun is resignation...please note the change in pronunciation.  /ˌrezɪɡˈneɪʃ(ə)n/

 

re-sign /ri:saɪˈn/ means to sign again.

I know this isn't Messi, but I don't know any soccer players

i.e.  Messi was re-signed by his soccer team for billions of Euro.

       Ferrari is going to re-sign both of their drivers for next year.

note the noun is re-signing.

Lesson 176--Mental Health Day

 

 

Sometimes we need a day to catch up on stuff we haven't done yet.  Sometimes we need a day to rest and relax.  Sometimes we need a day to do something fun.  Oddly enough, in English, we have a good expression for that.

Taking a mental health day.

examples

A: Why didn't you come to work yesterday?

B:  I just took a mental health day.

C: You look terrible.

D: I don't feel sick.  I'm just bored.

C: Why don't you take a mental health day.

D: That's a great idea.  Maybe I'll go and play a round of golf.

Joseph felt a little depressed.  He decided to take a mental health day.  He stayed home, read a good book and cooked a good meal.  He felt it was like a mini vacation.

GOOD LUCK

I just wanted to wish the students in my FCE class good luck on the oral test tomorrow and the written test on Friday.  You were a great class and all of you should be proud of yourselves.  You can do it.

Lesson 175--Making sure someone understands you...

In conversation, it is nice to check and see if someone understands what you are telling them.  It is also nice to see if they believe what you are telling them.  "Do you understand?" is a good phrase, but it only covers half of what it should.  Here are some phrases which cover both.

 

Do you see what I mean?

See what I mean?

Do you understand where I am coming from?

Understand where I'm coming from?

Do you get what I'm saying?

Get what I'm saying?

Do you get what I mean?

Get what I mean?

examples

I don't like people touching my car.  Do you get where I'm coming from?

My parents never bother my sister the way they bother me.  I can't do anything without them asking me a million questions.  Do you get where I'm coming from?

Lesson 174--Concert Vocabulary

I capped off (finished) an awesome weekend by attending a Billy Joel concert at the Air Canada Centre (ACC).  I noticed that there were lots of advertisements for concerts that hold no interest for me, but that a lot of my students would love.  Because of this, I thought it would be a good idea to give you some useful concert vocabulary.

vendor:

These are people who sell souvenir items at a concert.  They could be t-shirt vendors, programme vendors, even hot dog vendors. 

knockoff/bootleg vendors:

These are people who sell things that are not officially connected to the concert.  Usually they sell artwork or t-shirts to people as they are leaving the concert.  They are called knockoffs or bootlegs because they are not official merchandise.

scalpers

These are people who sell concert (or sport) tickets for a higher price than they paid for them.  In Toronto this can be quite high for concerts or hockey games.  You will know them by the way they pester you for tickets outside the stadium or arena.  They usually shout "Who needs tickets?" in a loud and often annoying voice.  Although this is illegal, they never seem to get arrested.

The verb is "scalp"

examples:        He scalped his tickets for 100 dollars each.

                        He bought tickets from a scalper for 200 dollars each.

Lesson 173--Bar talk

 

Phrases for ordering beer

A large number of students have told me that they speak better when they are drinking.  I don't want to doubt them but my experience say that this isn't really true.  However, since these students go to bars, they should have some language to help them.

Some of these phrases will also work for juice or soft drinks, but we should practice the language you really want to speak for a place you really want to speak it.

 

Ordering

I'll have a beer.

I'd like a beer.

One beer please.

Beer sounds good.

I'm in the mood for a beer.

I'll take a beer.

(Just say the name of a beer)

Asking questions

What's on tap?  (asking for what selection of draught beer they have)
What do you have on tap? (same as above)

What do you recommend?

What's your best deal in beer? (surprisingly, they might have a sale on one of their beers)

What's on special? (They may or may not have something on special.)

***please also see my blog post on asking where the toilet is.

Lesson 172--Getting Even

 

One of my favourite expressions with get is the interesting phrase

get even

It has the same meaning as another get phrase

get revenge

If someone has done something bad, you might want to get even with them.

examples

After his sister stole his chocolate bar, Paul promised to get even.

To get even with Marcia, Jimmy stole her Barbie doll.

Don't get mad.  Get even!

Pamela scratched her ex-boyfriend's car to get even with him.

Lesson 171--Jumping to Conclusions

 

Jump to conclusions

 

We use this phrase when you make a quick judgement about something without taking time to consider all the facts.  If you make a mistake people will criticize and tell you not to jump to any conclusions.

examples

When Philip saw Maria walking with another man, he jumped to conclusions and assumed they were having an affair.  He felt stupid when he found out that was her brother.

Paul's father always criticized him for jumping to conclusions before he had all the facts.