Lesson 339--Burst into something emotional

English has some great ways to describe things.  Today we are going to look at spontaneous emotional things.  When we want to describe this we often use the following phrases:

burst out

break out into

burst into

examples

Jonathan burst into tears when he saw the scene of the car accident.

Daniel burst into laughter when he saw his sister's bridesmaid's dress.

 

The whole stadium broke out into a huge cheer when the goal was scored.

The audience burst out shouting for an encore.

Lesson 338--Car Vocabulary: Round Things

I like cars and I am sure some of you who follow these lessons do too.  I would like to take the time to help you improve your car vocabulary.  There are several round things in cars that we need to have the right vocabulary for.  These include:

wheels

tires/tyres

wheels with tires (tyres)

I don't want to forget the most important "wheel" in the car
the steering wheel

Lesson 337--subscriptions

In this day of Netflix and Spotify, subscriptions are an important piece of vocabulary.  It is also important that we use the word correctly.

verbs: subscribe to

Jane subscribes to 10 weekly magazines.   She has barely enough time to read them.

Malcolm subscribes to Rogers most expensive cable package.

Some of you subscribe to this blog.  (Thanks)

noun (thing): subscription

Jane has a subscription to 10 weekly magazines.  She has quite a busy reading schedule.

Malcolm has a subscription to Rogers most expensive cable package.

noun (person): subscriber

Jane is a subscriber to 10 weekly magazines.  She is personally responsible for the death of many trees.

Magazines are losing paper subscribers but gaining lots of online ones.

Lesson 336

There are two really good expressions to explain that you have gotten yourself into trouble.  This can be done physically or mentally.  Both of these expressions can be used when you want to explain this.

Paint myself into a corner

Dug myself into a hole

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

examples:

I really dug myself into a hole when I told my teacher I would do my essay early.

Tim painted himself into a corner when he lied about knowing how to fix televisions.  His girlfriend expects him to come and fix her TV.

Grace told her boss that she spoke French fluently and now they are sending her to Paris to negotiate an important contract.  When she tells them she exaggerated, they might fire her.  She really dug herself into a hole.

Lesson 335--Bicycle Trick Vocabulary

As a kid, we did lots of fun stuff on bikes.  We jumped over small rivers, we raced around the streets and forests.  We  had so much fun.  Today, I want to teach you some cool phrases to describe bicycle actions.

 

pop a wheelie:  to put your front tire up in the air while the bike is still moving.  (this can also be done on a motorcycle)

 

skid:  to brake hard and leave a mark on the pavement from your tire. (this can also be done in a car or on a motorcycle)

 

 

biking with no hands:  this one is pretty easy to understand.

 

 

Lesson 334--Blaze a Trail

 

 

Blaze a Trail (verb)

trailblazer (noun)

 

This verb is used to describe an action that is being done for the first time.

This noun is used to describe the person doing this unique action.

examples

Martha blazed a trail for all women when she became Mayor of the city.

Martha was a real trailblazer.  She became the first female Mayor of the city.

By being the first person to sign up for the new program, Jimmy was considered to be a trailblazer.

Melissa was blazing trails when she became the first one in her family to go to university.

Lesson 333--Stick to Your Guns

She liked it so much she got it tattooed on herself permanently

 

This expression in English sounds a little military, but don't think it really is.  This expressions means stick with your opinion, or don't give up easily.  We often use it when we want to encourage people when they are facing a tough situation.  We want them to know we believe in them and their opinion and beliefs are correct.

examples

Don't give up!  Stick to your guns!

I know he is putting pressure on you, but stick to your guns and this will all work out in the end.

My boss wants me to work on Saturday, but I don't want to.  If I stick to my guns, I might get fired.  However, I feel strongly about this.

You've got to stick to your guns or people will walk all over you.