Saturday, May 31, 2014

Who is Reading this blog?

I normally post this directly on Facebook.  Today, I thought it would be a little easier just to post it here.

My blog hit 20,000 page views.  So, let's see who is responsible.



People from quite a few countries view my blog.  While most of them are my students, I guess they might be a little competitive.  So here are the stats.

United States

4558                                                                                                                              
Brazil

1472                                                                                                                        
South Korea

1162                                                                                                                         
Japan

1095                                                                                                                                                        
Germany

1089                                                                                                        
Switzerland

611                                                                                                                        
Poland

389                                                   
Chile

238                                                                                       
Russia

224                                                                                               
If you want your country to be number one, get more of them to look at the blog.  I will update this when we get to 30,000 page views.  Hopefully there will be some surprises.




Friday, May 30, 2014

Lesson 208-Recommend


It seems like my students have a lot of trouble using the verb recommend.  Pay attention to the pattern in the following two sentences.

  1. I recommend David come to class on time.
  2. I recommend coming to class on time.

Notice that the preposition to is not used in this structure.  Also notice in sentence 1, we use the base form of the verb, and when we do not include a person (sentence 2) we follow recommend with a gerund.

More examples


I recommend John quit smoking.
Jin's teacher recommends coming to class on time.
Anthony recommended that Mingi attend A class.

If you want to use the noun (recommendation) you can use these model sentences.  Pay attention to the collocations.

My recommendation is the beer from Unibroue.
I would like to make a recommendation.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Lesson 207--The Many Incredible Ways to Use the Word "Line".



Because I didn't spend any time in lines today at Wonderland, I decided that the word lines was an interesting thing to talk about.  There are many ways to use this wonderful word.  I will teach you as many as I can think of.

NOUNS

lines:   physical horizontal or vertical mark on a surface (paper, walls, computer screen etc.)

e.g.      He drew neat lines on the paper using a ruler.
            The paper had 23 lines on it.

lines: a group of people waiting for something

e.g.      There was a line of about 100 people waiting to buy tickets for the concert.
            There were very long lines at the bank, so he went to the ATM.

lines: The words an actor/actress says in a movie, TV show, commercial or play.

e.g.      Manuel was a good actor, but he lost a lot of jobs because he couldn't remember his lines.
            The writer decided to change several of the lines the main actor had to say.

 a police line-up
line-up:  a group of suspects the police think might have caused a crime.

e.g.      The police asked Margaret to see a line-up of suspects and tell them which one tried to rob her.

 

VERBS

line up/get in line:  all the people have to organize themselves vertically or horizontally, one after another.

e.g.      There were so many people that Sylvia had to line up for the bathroom.
           The army sergeant told the soldiers to get in line.

stand in line: wait, wait for some service like a bank.

e.g.      They stood in line for 30 minutes before the restaurant opened.

get out of line: misbehave, don't follow the rules.

e.g.      The drunk customer got out of line.
            When Dan got out of line at school, he was suspended for a week.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Lesson 206--expressions with take


Take is a very useful word in English.  Here are two very useful and common expressions which use take.

 

take place = happen, occur

The next world cup will take place in Brazil.
The story takes place in England.
The festival will take place on a long weekend in May.
Where will the concert take place?


take into account = consider, think about

Before buying that car you should take the insurance cost into account.
I was going to charge less money before I took the materials into account.
The judge took into account the special circumstances before he sentenced him to jail.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Lesson 205--disappointment and loss of motivation


 
A good image in English can lead to lots of useful ideas and phrases.  Disappointment and loss of motivation can all be expressed with the image of losing air.

deflated

took the wind out of me

took the wind out of my sails

examples

When I heard the bad news, I was thoroughly deflated.
I was feeling good until I got my exam results.  The bad results really took the wind out of my sails.
My boss's criticisms took the wind out of me.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Lesson 204--be after (Phrasal and no Phrasal meanings)


Be after

 

She's after the top job in Ontario.
This is a confusing phrasal verb because it has a non phrasal verb meaning, and a phrasal verb meaning. 


Non phrasal verb meaning = next, following

The letter b is after the letter a.
The credits are after the movie.
First John, then Mike.  Tom is after both of them.

Phrasal verb meaning = chasing, trying to acquire

The police are after Yannick because he stole some cigarettes.
Amanda is after a new job.
Paul is always after a good deal on cars.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Lesson 203--Bar Talk (Part two)


Since it is one of my most popular posts ever (it is the most viewed) I decided to do a sequel to bar talk.  This one is mostly about bar vocabulary, but I am hoping it is just as popular.

 
 
Bouncer/Doorman:  This person is in charge of letting people in, keeping people out, and asking people to leave.  They are usually quite big and muscular.  They are hired to intimidate people.

Cover charge:  This can also be called an entrance fee.  Some bar charge this because they are featuring live music or some special guest DJ.  It is called a cover charge because they have to "cover the cost of the special entertainment."

 
 
 
 
 
Proof of age:  This is also called ID (when you are older than the minimum age).  The doorman, bartender or waiter/waitress may ask to see your ID/proof of age.




Shooters:  This are small shots, or half shots.  Often they are an interesting mix of different kinds of alcohol.  These are usually a promotional item.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Lesson 202--Hands Down the Greatest



Most of my students understand the phrase "put your hands up" even though I really don't use it very much.  I wonder, though, could they guess the meaning of "hands down"?

Hands down is used to intensify the meaning of how much better, or how much more special something is.  When it is hands down the best, that means there is no competition whatsoever.

examples

Paul is hands down the best looking boy in the school.  He makes other boys look hideous.
Martha is hands down the best swimmer on the team.  She must be part fish
This is hands down the best cake I have ever tasted.
The 1967 Mustang is hands down the most beautiful car ever made.









A Quiz for you.  Please send me your answers (on the blog, not on Facebook)

  1. ________ is hands down the best rock band in the history of music.
  2. ________ is hands down the best movie ever made.
  3. ________ is hands down the best bar in Toronto.
  4. ________ is hands down the best flavour of ice cream.
  5. ________ is hands down the most talented actor/actress ever.
  6. ________ is hands down the biggest drinker in the history of LSC/EC.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Lesson 201


According to this movie, Gentlemen prefer blondes

When you talk about your preferences (and you use words like prefer and rather) there are  couple of interesting structures you should pay attention to.

Prefer

I prefer chocolate to vanilla.
I prefer chocolate to vanilla
I prefer to eat rice with chopsticks.
I would prefer to eat rice with chopsticks.

notice what happens when the we consider my preferences for other people.

I prefer you not play your music so loud.
I would prefer you didn't play your music so loud.

 
Would Rather

The same is true with would rather

I would rather watch hockey.
I would rather you didn't watch tennis.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Lesson 200--Explaining frustration


see the idiom below to understand the connection
 
If you feel frustrated (a great English word) you are not alone.  Most of us are frustrated with or at something.  Now, at least, you'll be able to express your frustration.

Frustrated with (impersonal, used to describe frustration without focusing on the cause)

Parents are frustrated with the school administration.  They aren't getting any answers and they are losing patience.
The head of the police was frustrated with the lack of progress in the investigation.

Frustrated at (more personal, used to describe the cause of the frustration)

The teacher was frustrated at the students because they weren't paying attention.

Word Forms

Verb-- frustrate
adjective-=frustrated/frustrating
noun--frustration
adverb--frustratedly/frustratingly

Idioms

Banging my head against the wall--Used to explain a particularly strong frustration.

i.e. After arguing for hours Joe felt he was just banging his head against the wall.
      You aren't listening to me!  I'm banging my head against a wall!

Sunday, May 11, 2014

The next lesson will be Number 200!

 
 
Just wanted to give you some advance notice.  Tomorrow's lesson will be the 200th lesson.  Wow!  Let's hope I can do 200 more.

Friday, May 9, 2014

Lesson 199--English for watching sitcoms


 
Some of you might find time to watch a little television over the weekend.  If you are watching a comedy, maybe you can use some of this vocabulary

running joke/gag:  A joke, or situation that is done many times on a TV series.  On Big Bang Theory, Sheldon knocking on the door three times (and sometimes not being allowed to) is an example of a running joke/gag.

premise:  This is the main idea of a show.  In Big Bang Theory, the premise is two nerdy guys living across the hall from a beautiful woman.  Through their interaction, they all learn something.

sight gag:  A joke that is only visual.

laugh track:  This is pre-recorded laughter.  It is used to make things seem funnier.

Physical comedy:  Much like a visual joke, this type of comedy is very visual.  It usually involves someone falling or bumping into something.

Back-story:  The history of the characters and their interactions.  You may have seen it, or they may have just talked about it.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Lesson 198-- The multiple meanings of look out



Today's lesson involves three phrases using the verb look.  They are quite different, but not too difficult.  I think you will find them useful.

 
Look out! = this is used to indicate danger.  We also use watch out.

e.g.  Look out!  That car might crash into us!

Look out for something = this is used to say be careful of a danger, or pay attention because you might see it while you are doing something else.

e.g.  Look out for snakes.
       Please look out for a nice English-English dictionary when you are in the city.

Look out for someone = take care of them, be concerned about them and their safety.

e.g.  Mathew promised to look out for his younger brother while they were travelling across the country.

Monday, May 5, 2014

Lesson 197--Using the word sale


 
Everybody has to shop, so you should be ready to do it in English.  Here are some confusing words you are going to have to master.

 
Be on sale:  This means that the price is lower than normal.
e.g. The PS4 is on sale at the electronic Superstore.

Go on sale:  This means they will start selling this product.
e.g. The new iPod goes on sale Friday.

For sale: This just means you can buy it.  It is available to buy.
e.g. The beautiful house is for sale.

Selling:  This is used to describe who sells the product or which store sells the product.
e.g. The Future Shop is selling the biggest TV in Canada.
e.g. Jacob is selling his car.

Friday, May 2, 2014

Lesson 196--Hard English


 
I have a lot of sympathy for my students.  Whether they complain about it or not, English can be confusing.  Similar combinations of words often mean very different (or just a little different) things.  Here are some useful examples of that.

Working hard = the person is putting a lot of effort into something.

Maria is working hard on her essay.

Hard at work = the person is quite busy and probably should be disturbed.

Paul is hard at work and can't come to the phone.

Hardly working = the person is doing almost nothing.

Timothy is hardly working since he had the accident at work.

Hard work = this describes the work as being difficult, but not the person.

For Grace, taking care of children was hard work.  She loved it, but it was really hard work.