Lesson 170--Talking about Money

 

 

Let's face it, we all spend money.  Sometimes we spend too much money....okay, we probably always spend too much money.....Okay, some of us spend too much money, and some of you don't.  Did I cover everyone?  Whatever you do, you probably need some English expressions for this.

To blow money = to waste money, to spend money and regret it.

examples         I blew 100 dollars at the bar yesterday.

                        James blew all his money on lottery tickets.

                        Every week Melanie blows hundreds of dollars on spa treatments.

To go through money/To burn through money = spend it quickly

examples         Patricia goes through money faster than anyone I know.

                        Daniel burns through about $3000 a week gambling.

To sock away money = to save money at home or in the bank.

examples         After working all summer, Henry managed to sock away $6000.

                        Gina socks away all her money for her part time job.  She is buying a car.

Make a down payment = the first payment in a series of payments, usually to buy something expensive like a house/condominium or car.

examples         To buy a house in Canada, you need a 5% down payment.

                        Greg wanted to buy a car, but didn't have enough for a down payment.

 

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 168--phrases meaning complete

 

In English there are lots of ways to say that we have completed something.  Here are a couple of useful ones.

wrap up (separable phrasal verb)

Though this also means cover with paper or cloth (like a present) it can also mean finish or end.

example:          We wrapped up the project two days early.

                        Maria's boss asked her to wrap the meeting up quickly.

                        Although I worked hard, I couldn't wrap everything up today.

 

polish off (separable phrasal verb)

We usually use this for finishing the last of the food.

example:          Daniel polished off the cake before anyone got home.

                        Although she was hungry, Melanie couldn't polish off the spaghetti.

                        There is only a little coffee left, why don't you polish it off.

Lesson 167--skipping class

 

 

 

Several of my students did not show up for class today.  This got me thinking about expressions we can use in this situation.

to play hooky

to cut class

Both of these expressions are old, and not very common today.  However, you might hear them in older television shows or movies.

 

The more modern/up to date expression is:  skip class

example:          I skipped class yesterday to got to a concert.

                        Bobs wants to skip class on Friday to have a long weekend.

 

For those of you who don't go to school, but want a similar expression you can use on your job, the following phrase will be useful.

call in sick

example:          I called in sick so I could go to the concert.

                        The boss was angry because people always called in sick on Friday.

Lesson 166--Expressions with "take" part two

 

 

There are lots of expressions using "take:" in English--maybe enough to write a book about them (I will call it "Take That").  While I won't argue with my students about these expression, I will do my best to teach a few of them.

take offense

This means to be insulted by what someone has said or done.

example:          George took offense when Mary didn't listen to his concerns.

                        Martha always takes offense when people don't compliment her cooking.

take heart

This means to take comfort, or something positive from a situation.

example:          I take heart in the fact that this blog is helping people.

                        At least I can take heart in the efforts my students are making.

Lesson 165--Expressions with "take" part one

My students often tell me that there are too many expressions with "take" in English.  While I can't agree that there are too many, I certainly must admit that there are a lot of them.  However, they are fun to teach, so here are two good ones for today's lesson (and two more for Wednesday)

take stock (of a situation)

This means to reflect on, consider, or at least think about a situation.

example:         After the monthly sales and expenditures were calculated, the President and the Vice President sat down to take stock of the situation.

                        After taking stock of the situation, Mary knew exactly what to do.

take charge

This means to assume control, to become the leader.

example:         When the boss went on Vacation, Patricia took charg

                        Everyone panicked, except Bob.  He took charge.

Lesson 164--Pain and Other Similar Words

 

 

Their seems to be some confusion about words relating to pain.  The first thing to keep in mind is that there is more of grammatical difference than a meaning difference.  Some are verbs and some are adjectives.  I think you will find this quite useful.

 

sore (adjective)

My foot is sore.

I have a sore throat.

 

soreness (noun)

There is some soreness in my knees.

 

ache (verb, noun)

My foot aches.

My feet ache.

I have an ache in my back.

I have a toothache.

hurts (verb)

My tooth hurts.

My hands hurt.

 

pain (noun)

There is a pain in my knee.

 

painful (adjective)

That is a painful injury.