Lesson 349--talking about schedules

 

English has lots of ways to say that we are late.  My two favourite are behind schedule and playing catch-up.  Both of these expressions can be used when we are not on schedule.

examples

I was late for work this morning and have been playing catch-up all day.

Greg was two weeks behind schedule and his boss was very unhappy.

The product launch was way behind schedule and there was a lot of tension in the office.

Because Marion was always playing catch-up with her projects, she was fired.

Lesson 343--working out the kinks

 

work out the kinks (after running into some kinks)***

 

Another great English phrase is "work out the kinks."

This can mean, straighten something like a chain, or your spine.

examples

The chain was tangled and took Andrew almost an hour to work out all the kinks.

Debbie went to a massage specialist to work out all the kinks in her neck.

This can also mean to fix the problems in a plan or process.

examples

 

While planning their vacation Mary and Scott ran into a few kinks.  Fortunately, they were able to work them out before the departure date.

Everything was set for Jim and Dorothy's second honeymoon when they ran into a few kinks.  Their flight was cancelled unexpectedly and the hotel they had booked went bankrupt.  They couldn't work out the kinks and had to postpone the whole thing.

***I have heard people say iron out the kinks.

Lesson 330--Another way to use Even

Even Spock cried once.

One similar use of even comes with the same idea of surprised behaviour is when we include someone else in the group.

examples

Even Jimmy likes her and he hates everyone.

All of the students got the answer right--Even Kevin!

Even the weakest person can complete the task.

Even the slowest runner could finish the course in the time allotted.

Lesson 311--Insulting someone in English

An interesting choice

 

In English there a lots of ways to say someone is not smart or unintelligent.  While I don't want you to insult people, you should know them because they are often used on television and I want you to understand what you are watching.  This list is just a small sample of the words we use.  Please use them carefully.

nit wit

dimwit

half wit

moron

dunce

dolt

numbskull

The light is on, but nobody is home.

Lesson 265--bail out

There are many reasons why learning English is difficult.  The one that really seems to frustrate my students is when a word or phrase has more than one meaning.  This is especially difficult when an English word or phrase has two meanings which are almost the opposite.  In this lesson, I will feature such a phrase.

Bail out/Bale out

 

1  to quit, escape, jump out of

examples

We had a plan, but Philip bailed out at the last second.

The boat was sinking, so everyone bailed out.

Maria and her friends wanted to take a trip to Paris, but once they figured out the cost, half of them bailed out.

 

 

 

2  to help someone (this comes from the idea of someone providing money so you can stay out of jail)

examples

Martha's mother bailed her out when she couldn't find anyone to look after her children.

After being stuck at the airport for more than 3 hours, John's friends picked him up.  He thanked them for bailing him out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3  to scoop water out of a boat so it doesn't sink.

examples

In the storm, everyone had to bail out water so that the boat wouldn't sink.

 

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 215--Work Out and Workout

The phrase "work out" has more than one meaning.  Both of them are useful, and both of them are worth learning.

She's working out

work out = exercise

Brian worked out for three hours yesterday.

Martha works out every day before work.

It can be used as a noun (workout)

Amanda's workout wasn't so hard.

Preparing for the triathlon was a very hard workout.

Can you work this one out?

work out = figure out/solve

Matthew couldn't work out the solution to the problem.

Tracy and Peter were fighting, but everyone knew they would work things out.

There is no noun in this usage.