Lesson 289--Dealing with salesclerks

 

One experience everyone has in English is dealing with a salesclerk.  They always appear in front of you (or behind you) and ask "Can I help you?" or "May I help you?"  Sometimes they modify that with, "Can I help you find something?" I would like to give you some expressions to deal with them.  I have put them in two categories:  expressions for when you don't want any help and expressions for when you would like some help.

When you don't want help.

No thanks.  I'm just looking.

I'm good right now, thanks.

Not right now, thank you.

I'm okay right now.  I'll call you if I need anything.

Not at this moment, thank you.

I'm okay for now.

When you want help.

Yes, I'm looking for a PS4.

Do you have the iPhone6S?

Have you got an electronic dictionary?

I was wondering if you have the Galaxy Note?

Could you show me some digital cameras?

I want a nice outfit for a party.

I'm interested in a new car.

Lesson 288--to conk out

She conked out while eating

Learning useful idioms is an important thing for all of my students.  Today we will look at the idiom to conk out.  It is special because it has a different meaning for people and machines.

The car conked out...obviously

for machines: to stop working

for people: to fall asleep

examples

The car seemed to be working well, but conked out while Peter was driving.

Mary hated her motorcycle because it conked out whenever it rained.

The city had to send a repair crew when all the traffic lights downtown conked out.

Jim was so tired that he conked out while watching TV.

Alana wanted to stay awake, but she conked out anyway.

Philip drank seven cups of coffee so he wouldn't conk out while working the night shift.

Thank You

 

The blog has hit 30,000 page views.  Thanks everyone for taking a look at it.  I hope it is helping you learn English and giving you confidence when dealing with English speakers.

Here are the statistics that blogger has compiled.

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Thanks again everyone for your support.  See you again when we reach 50,000 (hopefully tomorrow)

Lesson 287--Pull Your Socks Up

The English language is full of interesting idioms.  This is one of my favourites.  I think it is because my parents and teachers often used this phrase when urging me to study more or do more homework.

meaning

To put more effort into doing something.  Usually this meant studying or doing your work.  If you are a teacher or a boss (or a parent) you should be able to use this one a lot.

examples

Jim's grades were slipping.  His teacher told him to pull up his socks.

If he pulls his socks up, maybe they can win.

If she wanted to graduate early, Martina would really need to pull up her socks.

With the deadline approaching, Theresa and her team pulled their socks up and got the job done.

Lesson 286--New Words with the Prefix "less"

 

Most students get exposed to words like worthless and priceless, but there are other words that end in  "less" that are not as well known, but are equally useful.  I would like to introduce a handful of them.

speechless--it is used to describe someone who cannot speak, usually through shock, or the presence of beauty.

When Dan saw his wife in her new dress he was speechless.

After watching his son make a fantastic play, Carl was completely speechless.

timeless--it is used to describe something that is a classic.  Things like designs, music and movies can be described this way.

 

The movie Miracle on 34th Street is timeless. 

ageless--it is often used to describe people who do not seem to age.

Dick Clark has hardly changed in fifty years.  He appears ageless.

painless--it is used to describe something without pain.

The doctor assured Kelly that the procedure would be painless.

Lesson 285--some more eating related vocabulary

 

When thinking about food, I would like to teach people some useful vocabulary

eating out:  going out to eat in a restaurant.  This includes fast food as well as elegant dining.

eating in:  staying home and eating.

takeout: this describes food bought at a restaurant and taken home, or taken some other place to eat.

takeout menu: some restaurants have a different menu for takeout items than they do for sit down menus.  Sometimes this includes specials, or discount meals meant for more than one person.

refills: some restaurants offer free drink refills, meaning you can drink as much or as many of the drinks you ordered.  This does not usually include alcohol.

Lesson 284--Idioms about co-ordination

 

English has some great idioms.  Today, I want to teach you some that describe people as uncoordinated or clumsy.

two left feet

If a person cannot dance well, or has trouble running or doing set motions with their feet we use this idiom.

examples

Johnny wanted to learn to tango, but everyone said he had two left feet and he should give up this dream.

Pablo gave up trying to teach Isabella how to dance.  He didn't want to insult her, but he had to tell her that she had two left feet.

all thumbs

If a person doesn't use their hands well, drops things, or just has trouble coordinating their hand movements we use this idiom.

examples

Daniel tried to assemble the game, but he was all thumbs.

Everyone could paint well except for Marvin, who was all thumbs.