Lesson 341--Fussy



a fussy eater

 

One of my favourite English words is fussy.

It means to be particular or demanding about something.  Often these demands are very detail oriented.  People who are fussy are hard to please.

While it is negative, it isn't extremely negative.

Examples

He is very fussy about his kitchen.  He cleans it three times a day.

Mary is very fussy about her salads.  If she finds even the wrong lettuce, she gets angry.

Daniel is a fussy eater.  He doesn't eat any red or yellow vegetables.

I am very fussy about my beer.  It has to come from glass bottles and it must be cold!  Don't even try and serve me beer from a can!

Lesson 319--Urge

 

To urge someone to do something is to strongly recommend it.  There is a strong emotional part of this word that makes it a little closer to begging.

examples

I urge you to reconsider.

Thomas urged his brother to give up smoking.

Greg's wife constantly urges him to lose weight.

adjective (urgent) = it must be done right away.

Lesson 309--Prepare to be Startled

something startled them!

to startle someone

We use this verb when we explain that we scared someone unintentionally.  Usually approaching them from behind.   Of course, some shocking news can also startle someone.

examples

Ken startle Maria by tapping her on the shoulder in the subway.

A noise outside startled Bob.

If you want to approach the cat, do not startle it or it might scratch you.

A "startling book" for some.

Tammy was startled by the sound of gunfire.

The news of his father's death startled Dominic.

The book "50 Shades of Grey" startled some parents.

 

 

 

The adjectives for this word are startled and startling.  The follow the same general patter for all --ing vs. --ed adjectives.

examples

I was quite startled.

The information in the document was startling.

The explosion was startling.

Greg was startled by the explosion.

 

Lesson 301--More Rhyming Phrases

Since rhyming phrases were so popular I thought I would give you some more of them.

 

roly-poly = used to describe a heavy person.

He's so roly-poly I think we could roll him down the street.

 

 

 

 

*        *        *

wishy-washy = used to describe someone who changes their mind all the time, is indecisive and weak.

Stop being so wish-washy and make up your mind.  The movie starts soon and I don't want to miss it.

Lesson 300--rhyming adjectives

In Canada (and other English speaking parts of the world) we have some interesting rhyming words that we use to describe things.

plain Jane = not particularly glamorous or gorgeous, or just plane.

examples

I don't like that actress.  She so plain Jane.

Bobby wants a couple of those plain Jane donuts.

artsy-fartsy = artistic, but somewhat negative in meaning.

examples

I don't like going to artsy-fartsy events.

The crowd was too artsy-fartsy for Helena's taste.

humdrum = boring, uninteresting

examples

It was a rather humdrum evening.

The movie was so humdrum that he fell asleep before it ended.

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 246--Making Nouns from Adjectives

I always tell my students that learning word forms is important.  If you learn the noun of an adjective, the meanings of the two words are closely related.  So, today, I am going to start doing my best to help.

Below you will find 20 adjectives and their nouns.  In this case, all of the nouns end with the same suffix --ness.  It should be easy to remember them.  Good luck (because you never know when there will be a test).  If there are words that you do not know, I suggest looking in the dictionary.

Adjective	Noun
dark	darkness
restless	restlessness
inventive	inventiveness
quick	quickness
inquisitive	inquisitiveness
hopeless	hopelessness
destructive	destructiveness
helpless	helplessness
frank	frankness
cheap	cheapness
awesome	awesomeness
awkward	awkwardness
foolish	foolishness
hideous	hideousness
nervous	nervousness
ruthless	ruthlessness
kind	kindness
neat	neatness
shy	shyness
lonely	loneliness

 

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!

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 149--Using the word stay

Stay + adjectives

 

 

to use stay this way means to maintain/keep that same feeling or attitude

 

List

stay calm

stay awake

stay still

stay happy

stay alive

stay hungry

stay below

 examples

 

The temperature is expected to stay below zero degrees.
Jimmy stayed awake all night waiting for his friend.
The Colonel told him to stay still and not move.
It was a tense moment, but Jennifer stayed calm.

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 87--Bored

 

Though I do not want my student to use these words when they talk about my classes, they will probably need these expressions at some point in their lives.

These expressions all mean the same thing.

I am bored to tears.

I am bored to death.

I am bored out of my skull.

This bores the heck out of me.*

* There are some more colourful expressions that can be made with this one.  I leave it up to your creativity..... if you've got a good idea, leave a comment.

NOTE:  the noun for bored is boredom.

Lesson 32 Anxious

1)         anxious for = eager, wanting to have

e.g.      I am anxious for summer to begin.

            I am anxious for the new Adele CD.

            I am anxious for the release of the Blackberry.

2)         anxious about = worried, nervous

e.g.      I am anxious about the mid term test.

            I am anxious about my medical check-up.

note: when we use the noun form, anxiety, we talking about this definition.

Lesson 30--hangover, and hung-over

As the weather is getting warmer, and some of my students will take advantage of the weather to enjoy a few cold drinks on the patio, I need to impart some key words.

hangover vs. hung-over

hangover (noun)

e.g.      I have a hangover.

            Those drinks gave me a terrible hangover.

hung-over (adjective)

e.g.      I am really hung-over.

            I am so hung-over that I can't study today.

Good luck, and please try to use them correctly.