Lesson 61--Get on with something

Phrasal Verb

Get on with something = to start doing something you should do.

i.e.       I have to get on with my homework.

            After dinner, I got on with my project.

 

Get on with something = after taking a break, to do what you were previously doing.

i.e.       After getting the new software, I got on with the design project.

            I got on with work after studying for nine weeks.

similar to get back to

i.e.       I got back to work after studying for nine weeks.

Lesson 60--Talk into/out of

 

 

Phrasal Verbs

To talk someone into something.    =   Convince someone to do something.

e.g.      I talked my brother into driving me to the airport.

            The salesman talked me into buying a more expensive computer.

            I couldn't talk him into coming with us.

            She's so convincing (and beautiful) that she could talk me into anything.

 

This phrase if quite common and should be useful.  The opposite is just as useful, and should be easy to remember.

To talk someone out of something  =    Convince someone not to do something.

e.g.      I talked him out of jumping off the bridge.

            I wasn't able to talk her out of leaving.

            She talked me out of buying a motorcycle.

            Don't try and talk me out of this!  I'm doing it!

Lesson 59--GO FASTER!

Go Faster!!

 

 

Here are some expressions you can use to tell people to go faster.  I used exclamation marks to put even more emphasis on it.

Hurry up!

Speed up!

Pick up the pace!

Get the lead out!

Stop dragging your feet!

Put it in overdrive!

Hop to it!

Chop chop!* (this one isn't so common these days)

Lesson 58--Unusual Plurals

English loves to bring in words from other countries.  We have adapted many into English.  This can be a problem for foreign learners because they might be too similar, or too different.  Here is a short list (this is not all of them) of words that have unusual plural forms because they come from another language.  Today's examples are either Latin or Greek.


Singular                               Plural

oasis                                                             oases
crisis                                                            crises
phenomenon                                                phenomena                                                     
cactus                                                           cacti
bacterium                                                     bacteria
criterion                                                       criteria
formula                                                        formulae
nucleus                                                         nuclei
fungus                                                          fungi
appendix                                                      appendices

Please take a moment to look up these words (and their pronunciation) in the dictionary--there is an online dictionary that will pronounce the words if you want to hear them (howjsay.com)

Lesson 57: Rich and Poor

 

I thought it might be a good idea to review some vocabulary for rich and poor.  These are all phrases that you are likely to hear on TV.

Rich

filthy rich

stinking rich

wealthy

loaded

moneybags

well-off

well-to-do

 

Poor

dirt poor

penniless

indigent

destitute

broke

financially challenged (used more as a joke)

Lesson 56--Run out of

Run out of  =  reduction of something until there is nothing left.

  i.e. I am running out of money.  (I have some, but soon it will be gone.)
        I ran out of money.  (I have no more money.)

Things you can run out of:  time, money, patience, energy, gas, luck.....

examples

I ran out of time before I could finish the exam.
I ran out of patience and gave up on the crossword puzzle.
Everything was fine on the trip to Montreal, until we ran out of gas.

Other Forms

Interestingly, there is another way to organize this expression.

My money ran out.
Time has run out.

Please experiment and enjoy.

Lesson 55--A chance for you to participate

 

 

After 54 lessons, I want to turn the blog over to you for a day.  I want you to participate in teaching something.

Do you have a favourite expression?  Is there something you have learned that you want to share with other people?  I am inviting you to type your ideas and send them in to the comments box below.  This is a chance for you to teach each other.  I am looking forward to your ideas.