Lesson 260--Phrasal Verbs

 

It is time to learn some more phrasal verbs.  Today, we look at entertainment.

come out = released to the public

The new iPhone 6 came out last week.

John likes to see movies the day they come out.

Does anyone know when the next Twilight book comes out?

The Toronto Star comes out every day.

The latest Marvel movie has already come out.

slang for music releases = drop

Katy Perry's new CD drops on Tuesday.

Lesson 259--The Future Using the Present Simple

 

 

Yes, in some cases, we can use present simple when we are talking about the future--that means there are quite a few ways to talk about the future (including "going to" and "will", but also some others.)

When we talk about things that are scheduled, like buses, trains and planes, we can use the present simple.  Other scheduled things include movies. concerts, and plays.

examples

My flight leaves at 9:00 and arrives at 4:30.

The bus departs around 2:45.

I have to be at the airport at 4:00 because the planes takes off just after 6:00.

The movie starts at 9:00, but there will probably be a lot of trailers.

The curtain goes up on the play around 8:45.

School at EC now starts at 8:30 for some students.

 

Lesson 258: More about "the"

There seems to be lots of confusion about the definite article: The

As a result, we have another round of when to use "The".  Today I will focus on some when to use the and not use the for similar things.

seas, oceans, and rivers: article

lakes: no article

 

The Atlantic Ocean

The Amazon

The Black Sea

 

Lake Ontario

Lake Biwa

 

continued

mountain:  Usually no article (there are some exceptions)

groups of mountains: article

 

The Matterhorn (exception)

Mount Everest

Mountain Logan

 

The Alps

The Andes

The Laurentian Mountains

Countries are a special case.  When the countries name contains words like republic, union, state...often including the preposition of:  article

When a country's common name is used: no article

The United States of America.

The Republic of Korea

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The United States of Mexico

 

Canada

South Korea

Spain

Finland

Hopefully these examples will help you.  If you have any questions, leave them in the comment box below and check back often to see if I have answered your questions.

Lesson 257--Drag:useful vocabulary

 

The word drag has several interesting and useful meanings

 

drag (verb):  when something is too heavy to carry, you pull it across the floor or ground.

 

Gwen was not strong enough to lift the box, so she dragged it into her room.

The man wouldn't move, so the police dragged him away.

 

drag (verb):  to inhale on a cigarette.

Even though he had quit, Evan took an occasional drag from Tim's cigarettes.

Can I have a drag of your cigarette.

 

drag (noun):  unfun, boring, uninteresting, dull, tedious thing; a hassle.

The party was such a drag that everyone left.

Everyone though Nick had become such a drag.

Getting homework on a Friday is such a drag.

 

drag (verb): to seem to take a long time.

The class started to drag and the students became restless.

The summer classes seem to drag more than the winter classes.

There are some other useful words with drag.  I encourage you to look them up

drag race

drag queen

drag the object (computers)

 

Lesson 256--house vs. home

a traditional house

 

 

Many students have asked me about this, so it seems like a good topic for today's lesson.

a very modern house

house:  a building where people live.  Not an apartment or condominium.

home:  a place where people live, and where they belong.  This includes a house, an apartment, a condominium, a city, a town, a country, a favourite restaurant or bar.

As you can see, home is more of a feeling.  This affects the grammar as well.

Using "to"

I am going to my house.

I am going to Mary's house.

I am going home. (no preposition)

I am going to my home. (This definitely means where I live and requires a preposition)

Welcome home!

Welcome to my house.

 

Using "at"

I will meet you at my house.

I will meet you at home.

Lesson 255--Using THE

 

 

There seems to be confusion about when to use the

I cannot possibly write down everything, but I will give you some useful information to start with.

We use the for words that relate to our environment.  These include:

the sunshine

the future

the weather

the fog

the night

the rain

the wind

the universe

the mountains

the country

the town

the sea

the seaside

the earth

the stars

the sun

the moon

the world

the planets

Lesson 254: Run it by Someone

 

 

Today's lesson is a very useful phrasal verb

to run something by someone

meanings:       

1. to give someone some information so they can offer positive or negative feedback.
2. to propose something to someone so they might accept or refuse it.

examples:

1. Dennis wanted to run his proposal by his boss.
2. Before making a decision, Selena wanted to run her ideas by her whole family.
3. Dan liked the trip plans, so he decided to run them by everyone for final approval.

Lesson 253--Using the incredible word kid

 

 

Yes, the word kid means child, but it has so many other uses.

When people make a joke, to explain that they have been joking, they often use this expression.

You're ugly.  I'm just kidding.  You're beautiful.

Did you think I was serious?  I was just kidding.

 

When we ask if something is serious, we can also use this word.  It is also used when we don't believe something.  We don't believe it is true, or we don't believe that could really happen.

Are you kidding?

Are you kidding me?

You're kidding, right?

You're kidding me, right?

 

We also use the phrase when we are lying to ourselves, or not being honest with ourselves.

David was only kidding himself when he thought Michelle liked him.  He knew it wasn't true, but he didn't want to admit it.

Everyone thought Eva was kidding herself when she said she could quit smoking easily.  They thought it would be quite hard, if not impossible, for her.

 

When we tease someone, we also explain our behaviour by using this word

Stop crying, I am only kidding you.

I'm just kidding around.

Jonathan loved to kid his little sister, but she hated it.

Lesson 252--Two more Idioms with "hit".

 

Hit a Wall

definition:  To encounter an obstacle that stops you completely.  It can be physical, or mental.  Often in sports it means you have completely exhausted yourself.

examples

After setting a really good pace in the race, Alexander hit a wall at the 39 kilometre mark.

Denise was studying hard but hit a wall just before dinner.

Due to intense training, Daniel knew he would hit a wall soon.

 

Hit a Homerun

definition:  This is a sports idiom (baseball) which when used outside of baseball, means to be successful, really successful at something.

examples

The boss told Jim that he really hit a homerun with his latest idea.

Tanya hit a homerun, when she made her presentation to the senior managers.

The company looked at the sales figures are knew they had hit a homerun with their latest line of products.

Lesson 251--two idioms using "hit".

Hit the Books

definition:  To study

examples

Terry had a big test, so he hit the books.

If you want to succeed in school, you should hit the books.

 

Hit the Hay

 

definition:  To sleep

examples

Maria had had a bad day, so she hit the hay early.

Thinking it was time to hit the hay, Jonathon said goodnight to everyone.

Doug always hits the hay around 10:30.

Lesson 250--Idiom Friday.....Charge

Idiom Friday

 

Today's idioms use the word charge.  I will give you some traditional definitions, then explain some idioms

charge

definition:       To run at (He charged ahead)

                        To add power to a battery

                        To pay by credit card

To be in charge

definition:       To be the boss

                        To be in control

                        To run a department or business

examples

Claudia is in charge of the finance department.

Philip wants to be in charge of the whole company.

Grace asked who was in charge.

At the party, Mathew was in charge of the music and Amy was in charge of the snacks.

 

To be put in charge

definition:       To be given the control

                        To be promoted to boss

examples

The board of directors put Adam in charge of the company.

The soccer team decided to put somebody new in charge so they fired Ken.

Take charge

definition:       To take control

 

examples

In the middle of the crisis, Caroline took charge.

Nobody wants to take charge of the meeting.

Lesson 249--Using Time as an adjective

 

 

Time is something special in English.  We have so many expressions and idioms that involve time. We also express time in so many ways.  Today's lesson focuses on using time to describe things.

When we normal talk about time, or duration we use plural nouns.

examples

It takes three hours to get there.

My vacation will last for about four weeks.

Jim's personal best marathon time is 3 hours, 24minutes and 17 seconds.

However, when we describe things using time (like all adjectives) we only use the singular form.

It was a three-hour trip.

Maria is taking a 6 week course at the university.

It is a 2 hour and 14 minute journey from my house to work every day.

 

The best part is that we can use either form.

Daniel is six years old.

Daniel is a six-year-old boy.

Maria works 40 hours a week.

Maria has a 40 hour work week.

Lesson 248: Labour

 

 

Today is a vacation day, and none of my current students has to go to class.  Today's holiday is called "Labour Day" which is the first Monday of September.  In honour of the day, perhaps we should learn how to use the word labour.

definition:  (verb) to work hard, to exert oneself

                   (noun) hard work, a task, people who do the physical jobs (not management)

examples:

 

He laboured hard everyday to earn money.

Manuel worked in construction.  His job was considered hard labour.

The train laboured to get up the steep hill.

Jeffery worked as  day labourer in the mines.

 

idioms:  a labour of love

a task which is hard or long, but because you enjoy it, or really want to do it.  You do it for satisfaction rather than payment.