Saturday, 29 February 2020
Video News #35 - Free English Gifts of the Month - March 2020
source https://www.englishclass101.com/lesson/video-news-35-free-english-gifts-of-the-month-march-2020/
Friday, 28 February 2020
Thursday, 27 February 2020
What Are You Excited About Learning?
Hi everyone! Today, let’s start the program with a question: What is your city famous for making? I’ll tell you my answer. New York is famous for making great pizza. Here’s another question that follows the same structure: What are you excited about learning? I hope your answer is “how to make sentences that use adjectives followed by prepositions and gerunds.” That is the topic of today’s Everyday Grammar program! What’s the structure again? Without even realizing it, you may already know several adjectives that use this sentence structure. Let’s look at three of them today: interested, excited and bored. Now, listen to two sentences that use the adjective “bored” and think about which sounds more natural: Noemie was bored of doing the same job. Noemie was bored to do the same job. Hopefully, the first sentence sounds more natural to you. If so, your ears are probably accustomed to hearing the structure we are exploring today: BE + adjective + preposition + gerund In the sentence, “was” is the verb of being; “bored” is the adjective; “of” is the preposition; and “doing” is the gerund. You may remember that a gerund is a verb form that ends in -ing and acts as a noun. If the second example sounds more natural to you, you are likely in the habit of making the common mistake of using an infinitive after some adjectives. You may remember that the infinitive form of a verb is “to” plus its simplest form, as in “to do.” But think of the adjective-plus-preposition structure as a signal that some kind of noun will follow, such as a gerund or noun phrase, not an infinitive verb. Which prepositions? Okay, so I mentioned the adjectives “interested,” “excited,” and “bored.” Now let’s look at the prepositions that usually come after them. Listen for the word that follows “interested” in the next example: He is interested in studying abroad. The word “in” is the only preposition that can come after the adjective “interested.” I cannot say, for example, “I am interested about studying abroad.” The good news is that, even though the grammar is not correct, the listener would probably still understand my meaning. Now listen for the preposition in this example: I am excited about learning to play the guitar. I hope you noted the preposition “about.” It almost always follows the adjective “excited.” Finally, listen for the preposition in this example: They were bored of staying inside all day. That’s right – “bored of” usually goes together. As you can see, in English specific prepositions follow specific adjectives. Using the negative Before we go, let’s briefly hear what today’s examples sound like in the negative form. Here are the three examples: He is not interested in studying abroad. He plans to travel after he finishes school. Noemie was not bored of doing the same job. She learned something new every day. I am not excited about learning to play the guitar. My father is making me do it. Can you see how to form the negative? Simply add the word “not” between the BE verb and the adjective. But keep in mind that most native English speakers use contractions, so in real life the sentences would probably sound more like, “He’s not interested in studying abroad” and “Noemie wasn’t bored of doing the same job.” Practice, practice, practice So what can you do to practice the grammar we talked about today? Here’s one idea: Try to familiarize yourself with a list of about 20 of the most common adjectives that are followed by prepositions. Then, listen and look for those adjectives whenever you hear and read English. Ask yourself if the speaker or writer is using the sentence structure from today’s lesson. You can also practice writing your own sentences and then use them when you speak or write English to friends or practice partners. While today’s topic is fresh in your mind, here’s a great way to practice right now. Answer one, two or all of these questions: What is your city famous for making? What are you excited about learning? What are you not bored of doing? I am very, very interested in reading your answers. I’m Alice Bryant. And I'm Jill Robbins. Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story bored – adj. feeling weary because you lack interest in your current activity accustomed – adj. familiar with something so that it seems normal or usual habit – n. something that a person does often in a regular and repeated way phrase – n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence mention – v. to talk about, write about, or refer to something or someone in a brief way specific – adj. precise or exact negative – adj. expressing denial or refusal contraction – n. a short form of a word or word group that is made by leaving out a sound or letter practice – v. to do something again and again in order to become better at it familiarize – v. to give someone knowledge about something ______________________________________________________________ Reference The following is a list of common adjectives that are followed by prepositions. addicted to afraid of ashamed of angry about bored of concerned about disappointed in / about excited about famous for good at guilty of happy about interested in known for mad about nervous about proud of scared of sick of tired of worried about
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/what-are-you-excited-about-learning-/5306861.html
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/what-are-you-excited-about-learning-/5306861.html
Eating pond scum
Could microalgae be the answer to feeding the world in a sustainable way?
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p084zlqf
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p084zlqf
Wednesday, 26 February 2020
Tuesday, 25 February 2020
Offence archaeology
New Entry: 'Offence archaeology' has just been added to the Slang area of UsingEnglish.com. This entry is only available in our members' area.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/members/idioms/view.php?entry_id=27396
Prepositions of Time- Pairwork Guessing Game
New Entry: 'Prepositions of Time- Pairwork Guessing Game' has just been added to the Lesson Plans area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/teachers/lesson-plans/view-prepositions-of-time-pairwork-guessing-game/
Monday, 24 February 2020
Sunday, 23 February 2020
Thursday, 20 February 2020
Is Grammar Cool?
In the American film Pulp Fiction, actor Samuel L. Jackson challenges two criminals. They are trying to take money from all of the people in a restaurant. Jackson plays the part of a former criminal who used to carry out targeted killings. He wants to change his life and does not want to hurt people anymore. But he does not want to give his money to criminals either. Jackson asks one of the criminals to use an adjective. He asks her to describe Fonzie, a character from the old American television show Happy Days. “Nobody’s gonna hurt anybody. We’re all gonna be like three little Fonzies here. And what’s Fonzie like? Come on, Yalonda, what’s Fonzie like? “Cool.” “What?” “Cool.” “Correctamundo! And that is what we are going to be – we’re gonna be cool.” Today, we will explore the term that Jackson wanted to hear: cool, a word that has both formal and casual uses. The casual, everyday uses of cool will be our topic of discussion. But first, we begin with a little history. History Cool has its roots in the Old English term “col,” meaning “not warm,” notes the Online Etymology Dictionary. Google Ngram has evidence of cool being used as far back as the 16th century. In other words, cool has a long history. The writer William Shakespeare even used the term in many of his plays, including Othello and Much Ado About Nothing. But cool’s meanings have changed over time. By the 20th century, among its other meanings, cool eventually came to suggest a kind of effortlessness. Fonzie, the character you heard about at the beginning of this report, gives you one example of the idea. He does humorous, wonderful things without seeming to try very hard. Yet Fonzie did not invent cool. Some people claim this effortless, stylish way of acting is a product of African-American art. Joel Dinerstein wrote a book called The Origins of Cool in Postwar America. He says cool came from an artistic movement led primarily by black musicians. Lester Young, a saxophone player, is said to have made the term popular in jazz music circles in the 1930s and 1940s. “To be cool,” Dinerstein noted, “meant you carried personal authority through a stylish mask of stoicism.” In other words, cool meant you endured hardship, but did not express it outwardly. Modern uses – adjective and adverb Over time, cool lost its connection with artistic movements and became more common in everyday speech. It still carries many meanings – as a verb, noun, adjective and adverb. However, in casual situations, Americans often use cool as an adjective or as an adverb. Adjective As an adjective, cool generally has three meanings. It can describe something as appealing in a way that people like – especially young people. For example, Americans often say things like “cool sunglasses” or “cool clothes.” Cool can show approval in a very general way. Imagine you introduce one of your friends to your father. After the meeting, your friend might say, “Your dad is so cool.” Cool also can show acceptance, agreement, or understanding. Consider this situation. You are running late to a meeting with a friend. You send a text message to apologize for your delay. Your friend might respond with the following message: “That's cool – no worries.” The Amazon television show Patriot used cool in this way. The main character, a spy named John Lakeman, often gets terrible news. He shows acceptance by saying “cool.” "Cool... that’s cool." Adverb As an adverb, cool generally means in a calm manner. Two of the most common uses might be in the terms “act cool” and “play it cool.” Imagine two children were playing around and accidentally broke something. Perhaps they broke a lamp or a dish in the house. Then, they hear one of their parents opening the door of their house. One child might say to the other: “When dad walks in, just act cool – don’t say anything!” or “When mom comes in, we have to play it cool, or she will start to suspect something!” A word of caution Finally, a word of warning. Americans generally describe other people with the adjective cool. They do not use it to describe themselves. This is where culture and grammar meet. An American would consider a statement such as “I am cool” to be strange - even if it is grammatically correct. So, when speaking with friends, feel free to use the term cool. Although informal, it has a good, positive meaning. But you should think of cool as a gift you can give to others. If you give that gift to yourself, well, that’s just not cool. I’m Jill Robbins. And I’m John Russell. John Russell wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story challenge – v. to invite someone to take part in a competition; to compete against an opponent character – n. a person in a play, movie or television show formal – adj. done in an official way; relating to an important or ceremonial event casual – adj. unofficial; done without much thought topic – n. subject etymology – n. an explanation of where a word came from : the history of a word stoicism – n. the quality or behavior of a person who accepts what happens without protesting or showing emotion introduce – v. to bring into use or operation; to make someone known to another person grammar – n. the system and structure of a language dad – n. someone’s father We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/is-grammar-cool-/5296783.html
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/is-grammar-cool-/5296783.html
Could you give up fast fashion?
Is fast fashion harming the planet? We discuss this topic and teach you vocabulary.
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0842011
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0842011
Tuesday, 18 February 2020
A Common Form: Be + Adjective + Infinitive
On a recent Everyday Grammar program, we talked about the phrase “be willing to.” For example, you might say, “She was willing to travel during the rainy season.” The adjective “willing” belongs to a group of more than 30 adjectives that are followed by infinitive verbs. You probably remember that the infinitive form of a verb is “to” plus its simplest form. In the sentence about the woman, the infinitive verb is “to travel.” Adjectives followed by infinitives are the subject of today’s Everyday Grammar program. Generally, the adjectives in this group describe a person or people, not a thing. Many of them describe a person’s attitude toward or feeling about something. Listen to two sentences and decide which sounds better: I am happy to see you. I am happy seeing you. If the first sounds more natural, it is probably because you have heard infinitive verbs after the adjective “happy” many times in English. In the example, the infinitive is “to see.” If the second sentence – “I am happy seeing you” – sounds strange, it is because we don’t use gerunds after “happy.” A gerund is a verb that ends in –ing, such as “seeing.” The grammar of “I am happy seeing you” is incorrect, but the listener might still understand your meaning. “Happy” follows the structure be + adjective + infinitive. Other adjectives in this group include: easy, hard, careful, prepared, good, relieved and difficult. A short exercise Next, I have Jill Robbins joining me to demonstrate the grammar with a short exercise. Jill, I’ll ask you a question and you answer it using an adjective followed by an infinitive verb. Are you ready? Yes, I’m ready. Here’s the first one: Alice: Crossing busy streets in D.C. can be dangerous. What are you careful to do before you cross the street? Jill: I am careful to put away my phone before I cross the street. I am also careful to check whether the sign says “walk” or “don’t walk.” Good job! You used the adjective “careful” plus the infinitive verbs “to put away” and “to check” in your answer. I noticed you used the adverb “also” in your second sentence. That’s great! Adding an adverb is common in be + adjective + infinitive phrases since we often use them to express attitudes and feelings. Let’s do another: Alice: I noticed that you worked long hours yesterday. When you got home last night, what were you relieved to do? Jill: I was relieved to take off my shoes. I was also relieved to sit down for dinner. Later, I was ready to sleep. Very good! You used the adjective “relieved” followed by the infinitives “to take off” and “to sit down.” And I used the adjective “ready,” which also belongs to the group of adjectives we’re discussing today. I followed it with the infinitive “to sleep.” Yes! And you used the past tense of “be,” which is “was.” Let’s do one more: Alice: Some things in life are easy to do and some are hard to do. What is something that is hard to do? Jill: It is really hard to change a habit. You’re right about that! It is hard to change habits. Jill used the adjective “hard” followed by the infinitive verb “to change.” Notice that she started this sentence with the pronoun “It.” When we use “it” in this way, the pronoun is not the true subject of the sentence. The true subject starts with the infinitive verb, but we do not speak this way. Consider these two examples. Which sounds more natural? It is hard to change a habit. To change a habit is hard. The sentence “It is hard to change a habit” sounds more natural, even though the true subject is “to change a habit." In English, we rarely begin sentences with infinitive verbs, except in some kinds of writing, such as poetry and other forms of literature. But for today’s lesson, what’s important is knowing you will see and hear sentences with be + adjective + infinitive everywhere. And they sometimes begin with the pronoun “It.” What can you do? So, what can you do to practice? Here’s one idea: Try to become familiar with the 30+ adjectives that are followed by infinitives, without trying to memorize them. I will provide the list on our website. Then, the next time you hear those adjectives in real life, in a song, on television or in a movie, listen for the structure we talked about today. Try to make note of the example in your phone or a notebook. You can also practice writing your own sentences and using them when you speak English to friends or practice partners. With time and practice, you will be delighted to use the structure whenever you speak or write English. I’m Alice Bryant. And I'm Jill Robbins. Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Reference Below is a list of the most common adjectives followed by infinitives. amazed angry awkward careless clever crazy delighted difficult disappointed easy funny generous glad happy hard horrified impossible lucky kind nice odd proud relieved ridiculous rude sad selfish silly sorry strange stupid surprised wise __________________________________________________________ Words in This Story phrase – n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence attitude – n. the way you think and feel about someone or something relieved – adj. feeling relaxed and happy because something difficult or unpleasant has been stopped habit – n. a repeated behavior, especially one that is hard to give up practice – v. the do something again and again in order to get better at it familiar – adj. frequently seen, heard, or experienced delighted – adj. full of great pleasure or satisfaction
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/a-common-form-be-adjective-infinitive-/5284365.html
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/a-common-form-be-adjective-infinitive-/5284365.html
A Common Form: Be + Adjective + Infinitive
On a recent Everyday Grammar program, we talked about the phrase “be willing to.” For example, you might say, “She was willing to travel during the rainy season.” The adjective “willing” belongs to a group of more than 30 adjectives that are followed by infinitive verbs. You probably remember that the infinitive form of a verb is “to” plus its simplest form. In the sentence about the woman, the infinitive verb is “to travel.” Adjectives followed by infinitives are the subject of today’s Everyday Grammar program. Generally, the adjectives in this group describe a person or people, not a thing. Many of them describe a person’s attitude toward or feeling about something. Listen to two sentences and decide which sounds better: I am happy to see you. I am happy seeing you. If the first sounds more natural, it is probably because you have heard infinitive verbs after the adjective “happy” many times in English. In the example, the infinitive is “to see.” If the second sentence – “I am happy seeing you” – sounds strange, it is because we don’t use gerunds after “happy.” A gerund is a verb that ends in –ing, such as “seeing.” The grammar of “I am happy seeing you” is incorrect, but the listener might still understand your meaning. “Happy” follows the structure be + adjective + infinitive. Other adjectives in this group include: easy, hard, careful, prepared, good, relieved and difficult. A short exercise Next, I have Jill Robbins joining me to demonstrate the grammar with a short exercise. Jill, I’ll ask you a question and you answer it using an adjective followed by an infinitive verb. Are you ready? Yes, I’m ready. Here’s the first one: Alice: Crossing busy streets in D.C. can be dangerous. What are you careful to do before you cross the street? Jill: I am careful to put away my phone before I cross the street. I am also careful to check whether the sign says “walk” or “don’t walk.” Good job! You used the adjective “careful” plus the infinitive verbs “to put away” and “to check” in your answer. I noticed you used the adverb “also” in your second sentence. That’s great! Adding an adverb is common in be + adjective + infinitive phrases since we often use them to express attitudes and feelings. Let’s do another: Alice: I noticed that you worked long hours yesterday. When you got home last night, what were you relieved to do? Jill: I was relieved to take off my shoes. I was also relieved to sit down for dinner. Later, I was ready to sleep. Very good! You used the adjective “relieved” followed by the infinitives “to take off” and “to sit down.” And I used the adjective “ready,” which also belongs to the group of adjectives we’re discussing today. I followed it with the infinitive “to sleep.” Yes! And you used the past tense of “be,” which is “was.” Let’s do one more: Alice: Some things in life are easy to do and some are hard to do. What is something that is hard to do? Jill: It is really hard to change a habit. You’re right about that! It is hard to change habits. Jill used the adjective “hard” followed by the infinitive verb “to change.” Notice that she started this sentence with the pronoun “It.” When we use “it” in this way, the pronoun is not the true subject of the sentence. The true subject starts with the infinitive verb, but we do not speak this way. Consider these two examples. Which sounds more natural? It is hard to change a habit. To change a habit is hard. The sentence “It is hard to change a habit” sounds more natural, even though the true subject is “to change a habit." In English, we rarely begin sentences with infinitive verbs, except in some kinds of writing, such as poetry and other forms of literature. But for today’s lesson, what’s important is knowing you will see and hear sentences with be + adjective + infinitive everywhere. And they sometimes begin with the pronoun “It.” What can you do? So, what can you do to practice? Here’s one idea: Try to become familiar with the 30+ adjectives that are followed by infinitives, without trying to memorize them. I will provide the list on our website. Then, the next time you hear those adjectives in real life, in a song, on television or in a movie, listen for the structure we talked about today. Try to make note of the example in your phone or a notebook. You can also practice writing your own sentences and using them when you speak English to friends or practice partners. With time and practice, you will be delighted to use the structure whenever you speak or write English. I’m Alice Bryant. And I'm Jill Robbins Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Reference Below is a list of the most common adjectives followed by infinitives. amazed angry awkward careless clever crazy delighted difficult disappointed easy funny generous glad happy hard horrified impossible lucky kind nice odd proud relieved ridiculous rude sad selfish silly sorry strange stupid surprised wise __________________________________________________________ Words in This Story phrase – n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence attitude – n. the way you think and feel about someone or something relieved – adj. feeling relaxed and happy because something difficult or unpleasant has been stopped habit – n. a repeated behavior, especially one that is hard to give up practice – v. the do something again and again in order to get better at it familiar – adj. frequently seen, heard, or experienced delighted – adj. full of great pleasure or satisfaction
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/a-common-form-be-adjective-infinitive-/5284365.html
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/a-common-form-be-adjective-infinitive-/5284365.html
Nomophobia
Got a fear of not using your mobile phone? Here's how to describe your condition.
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p083sccr
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p083sccr
Monday, 17 February 2020
Cancel culture
New Entry: 'Cancel culture' has just been added to the Slang area of UsingEnglish.com. This entry is only available in our members' area.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/members/idioms/view.php?entry_id=27395
Wokesmear
New Entry: 'Wokesmear' has just been added to the Slang area of UsingEnglish.com. This entry is only available in our members' area.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/members/idioms/view.php?entry_id=27394
Sunday, 16 February 2020
How Often- Small Talk
New Entry: 'How Often- Small Talk' has just been added to the Lesson Plans area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/teachers/lesson-plans/view-how-often-small-talk/
Saturday, 15 February 2020
Small Talk with How Often
New Entry: 'Small Talk with How Often' has just been added to the Lesson Plans area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/teachers/lesson-plans/view-small-talk-with-%27how-often%27/
Friday, 14 February 2020
Jobstopper
New Entry: 'Jobstopper' has just been added to the Slang area of UsingEnglish.com. This entry is only available in our members' area.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/members/idioms/view.php?entry_id=27393
How Questions- Card Games
New Entry: 'How Questions- Card Games' has just been added to the Lesson Plans area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/teachers/lesson-plans/view-how-questions-card-games/
Small Talk with 'How Often'
New Entry: 'Small Talk with 'How Often'' has just been added to the Lesson Plans area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/teachers/lesson-plans/view-small-talk-with-%27how-often%27/
Thursday, 13 February 2020
A Common Form: Be + Adjective + Infinitive
On a recent Everyday Grammar program, we talked about the phrase “be willing to.” For example, you might say, “She was willing to travel during the rainy season.” The adjective “willing” belongs to a group of more than 30 adjectives that are followed by infinitive verbs. You probably remember that the infinitive form of a verb is “to” plus its simplest form. In the sentence about the woman, the infinitive verb is “to travel.” Adjectives followed by infinitives are the subject of today’s Everyday Grammar program. Generally, the adjectives in this group describe a person or people, not a thing. Many of them describe a person’s attitude toward or feeling about something. Listen to two sentences and decide which sounds better: I am happy to see you. I am happy seeing you. If the first sounds more natural, it is probably because you have heard infinitive verbs after the adjective “happy” many times in English. In the example, the infinitive is “to see.” If the second sentence – “I am happy seeing you” – sounds strange, it is because we don’t use gerunds after “happy.” A gerund is a verb that ends in –ing, such as “seeing.” The grammar of “I am happy seeing you” is incorrect, but the listener might still understand your meaning. “Happy” follows the structure be + adjective + infinitive. Other adjectives in this group include: easy, hard, careful, prepared, good, relieved and difficult. A short exercise Next, I have Jill Robbins joining me to demonstrate the grammar with a short exercise. Jill, I’ll ask you a question and you answer it using an adjective followed by an infinitive verb. Are you ready? Yes, I’m ready. Here’s the first one: Alice: Crossing busy streets in D.C. can be dangerous. What are you careful to do before you cross the street? Jill: I am careful to put away my phone before I cross the street. I am also careful to check whether the sign says “walk” or “don’t walk.” Good job! You used the adjective “careful” plus the infinitive verbs “to put away” and “to check” in your answer. I noticed you used the adverb “also” in your second sentence. That’s great! Adding an adverb is common in be + adjective + infinitive phrases since we often use them to express attitudes and feelings. Let’s do another: Alice: I noticed that you worked long hours yesterday. When you got home last night, what were you relieved to do? Jill: I was relieved to take off my shoes. I was also relieved to sit down for dinner. Later, I was ready to sleep. Very good! You used the adjective “relieved” followed by the infinitives “to take off” and “to sit down.” And I used the adjective “ready,” which also belongs to the group of adjectives we’re discussing today. I followed it with the infinitive “to sleep.” Yes! And you used the past tense of “be,” which is “was.” Let’s do one more: Alice: Some things in life are easy to do and some are hard to do. What is something that is hard to do? Jill: It is really hard to change a habit. You’re right about that! It is hard to change habits. Jill used the adjective “hard” followed by the infinitive verb “to change.” Notice that she started this sentence with the pronoun “It.” When we use “it” in this way, the pronoun is not the true subject of the sentence. The true subject is the infinitive verb, but we do not speak this way. Consider these two examples. Which sounds more natural? It is hard to change a habit. To change a habit is hard. The sentence “It is hard to change a habit” sounds more natural, even though the true subject is “to change.” In English, we rarely begin sentences with infinitive verbs, except in some kinds of writing, such as poetry and other forms of literature. By the way, if we wanted to write the sentence another way, we could replace the infinitive subject “to change” with the gerund “changing.” Then the sentence becomes: “Changing a habit is hard,” and “changing” is the subject of the sentence. But for today’s lesson, what’s important is knowing you will see and hear sentences with be + adjective + infinitive everywhere. And they sometimes begin with the pronoun “It.” What can you do? So, what can you do to practice? Here’s one idea: Try to become familiar with the 30+ adjectives that are followed by infinitives, without trying to memorize them. I will provide the list on our website. Then, the next time you hear those adjectives in real life, in a song, on television or in a movie, listen for the structure we talked about today. Try to make note of the example in your phone or a notebook. You can also practice writing your own sentences and using them when you speak English to friends or practice partners. With time and practice, you will be delighted to use the structure whenever you speak or write English. I’m Alice Bryant. And I'm Jill Robbins Alice Bryant wrote this story for Learning English. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Reference Below is a list of the most common adjectives followed by infinitives. amazed angry awkward careless clever crazy delighted difficult disappointed easy funny generous glad happy hard horrified impossible lucky kind nice odd proud relieved ridiculous rude sad selfish silly sorry strange stupid surprised wise __________________________________________________________ Words in This Story phrase – n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence attitude – n. the way you think and feel about someone or something relieved – adj. feeling relaxed and happy because something difficult or unpleasant has been stopped habit – n. a repeated behavior, especially one that is hard to give up practice – v. the do something again and again in order to get better at it familiar – adj. frequently seen, heard, or experienced delighted – adj. full of great pleasure or satisfaction
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/a-common-form-be-adjective-infinitive-/5284365.html
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/a-common-form-be-adjective-infinitive-/5284365.html
How resilient are you?
Rob and Georgina discuss resilience and teach you related vocabulary.
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0836tyb
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0836tyb
Tuesday, 11 February 2020
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- Rocket Spanish received 4 out of 5 Stars at the PC Mag Editor’s Choice Awards.
Still not sure? Here is what our members say:
I’ve used every language-learning product on the market, and Rocket is by far the biggest bang for my buck. The amount you can learn and internalize in a given amount of time is really quite astounding. You can spend years with some programs and never get up to the intermediate level. Rocket respects my time and delivers the language knowledge I need efficiently and effectively. – Ryan Bilkie, United States
I have tried Rosetta Stone in the past as well as Duolingo and Babbel. I feel that Rocket Languages has been the most beneficial out of all of the ones that I named previously. I really like the amount of content as well as the reinforcement that you get from previous lessons as you go forward. Another great feature is the ability to download the conversations. I have also noticed that as your progress the speed at which they speak increases. This is really nice because it gives you a chance to attune your ears to the language when it is being spoken at a faster speed. I definitely liked the price point of this program compared to Rosetta Stone. You definitely get more bang for your buck with this program. The amount that I have picked up on in just a couple of weeks has been awesome. Would highly recommend this product! – Erich Hart, United States
Read over 2,300 more five star reviews here.
Rocket Spanish Discount Code The 4-day Valentine’s Day sale:
| With this sale, you can get any level of Rocket Spanish for 60% off the list price. Normally $149.95, you save a huge $89.97 by getting any level for just $59.98!
What’s the catch? The catch is that you must act now. This deal will automatically expire at midnight on Friday, February 14th PST, or when 1,000 courses have been sold. It’s that simple. Use code VDAY60 at checkout to secure your course now. You have no risk with our 60-day money back guarantee – no questions asked! |
Best of luck with your Spanish learning.
Adiós,
Mauricio Evlampieff
Your Rocket Spanish Host.
P.S. As a trial user, I hope that you are using Rocket Spanish regularly. If not, then why not log back in and have another look?
P.P.S. Got friends and family who want to learn another language? These great discounts apply to all Rocket Languages courses. They can access these discounts by going to our home page before the sale finishes!
The post Rocket Spanish Discount Coupon with Valentine’s Day Sale appeared first on Learn Spanish Speaking.
source https://learnspeakingspanish.com/rocket-spanish-discount-coupon
Peacocking
Rob and Feifei explain the true meaning of this animal-related phrase.
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p082yy86
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p082yy86
Monday, 10 February 2020
How to teach Social English
New Entry: 'How to teach Social English' has just been added to the Articles area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/articles/how-to-teach-social-english.html
Sunday, 9 February 2020
Friday, 7 February 2020
Business Acronyms and Abbreviations Presentation
New Entry: 'Business Acronyms and Abbreviations Presentation' has just been added to the Lesson Plans area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/teachers/lesson-plans/view-business-acronyms-and-abbreviations-presentation/
Thursday, 6 February 2020
What are Intensifiers?
The Fast and the Furious films, a series of car-racing movies, often describe a product called NOS, short for nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide is a fuel that racers use to give more power to their cars. Racers push the NOS button on the controls, and their cars suddenly go much faster. Today on Everyday Grammar, we will explore the world of intensifiers -- words that increase the power of other words. You might say intensifiers are like the nitrous oxide of the English language. And just like NOS can be useful in a race, understanding intensifiers can help you when you are reading or listening to something in English. Let us begin with a few definitions. Definitions Intensifiers are words that make adjectives and adverbs stronger. Let me give you an example. Imagine a person uses the adjective cool to describe a car, as in: “That car is cool.” That same person might strengthen or enforce the meaning of cool by using an intensifier, as in: “That car is so cool.” Common English intensifiers are words such as very, really and so. Very is probably the most formal, while the word so is probably the least formal. The least formal intensifier, so, will be our subject of discussion today. History The word so has an unusual history. The Online Etymology Dictionary notes that so comes from the Old English term swa. The Google Ngrams search engine shows so appearing as far back as the year 1500, the first year in Google’s book records. So has had many meanings over time. We cannot explore all of these today. But as an intensifier, so appears to have been used in the early 1900s - and perhaps even earlier. Then, it fell out of everyday usage. A little over 25 or 30 years ago, so, as an intensifier, started to make a comeback. Language experts in England, Canada and the United States noted and studied its rise in popularity. Studies about so Sali Tagliamonte and Chris Roberts looked at the rise of so by using transcripts of the American television show Friends. They found that the usage of so in Friends was similar to other studies of how English speakers used the term. In other words, the language in the TV show was close to the language of real life. What Tagliamonte and Roberts found was that so was fast becoming one of the most common intensifiers in everyday speech throughout North America. It was replacing the word really as the top intensifier. In a separate study, Tagliamonte found that so was by far the most common intensifier in new kinds of written communication – often in text messages. One possible explanation is that so is much faster to type on a computer or other electronic device. It also takes up less space in a message where space is so important. Why so (and other intensifiers) can help you You might be wondering why intensifiers are important. Intensifiers are important because they often provide useful information about other words. As we said earlier, intensifiers go with adjectives and adverbs. If you see a sentence with difficult words, you can use your knowledge of intensifiers to predict the meaning of unknown words. Here are two examples. Can you provide the missing words? “That engine is so ___________.” “The car race was so ________ to watch!” In both sentences, one word is missing. But you know that because both statements have intensifiers, the missing words are probably adjectives or adverbs. And since both statements appear to offer a description, you can probably predict that the missing words are adjectives. The context of the sentences before and after the statements can tell you if the adjective is either positive or negative in meaning. Imagine one of our example statements went on, as in: “The car race was so ________ to watch! I loved it!” You can tell from the sentence “I loved it!” that the missing adjective is probably positive in meaning. Perhaps the adjective means fun? Closing thoughts The next time you are reading books written in English or listening to English speakers, try to find examples of intensifiers. Keep a record of them and try to use them in your own writing and speaking. But try not to use them too much. Like NOS in the Fast and the Furious movies, intensifiers are best used at certain times and for certain reasons. And that’s Everyday Grammar. I’m Jill Robbins. And I’m John Russell. John Russell wrote this story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story button – n. part on an electronic equipment that is to be pushed etymology – n. an explanation of where a word came from; the history of a word dictionary – n. a book that lists and defines the words of a language transcript – n. a written, printed, or typed copy of words that have been spoken type – v. to write something on a word processor, computer or other electronic device context – n. conditions that form the setting for an idea or event positive – adj. agreeable; having good qualities negative – adj. disagreeable; lacking good qualities certain – adj. chosen or given; some We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/what-are-intensifiers-/5276666.html
source https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/what-are-intensifiers-/5276666.html
Is it good to disagree?
Sam and Rob wonder if the art of persuasion is lost and teach you related vocabulary.
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p082gz3p
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p082gz3p
Tuesday, 4 February 2020
Time Expressions with the Present Simple
New Entry: 'Time Expressions with the Present Simple' has just been added to the Lesson Plans area of UsingEnglish.com.
source https://www.usingenglish.com/teachers/lesson-plans/view-time-expressions-with-the-present-simple/
Kick into the long grass
If you want to delay doing something, where do you kick it?! We have the answer here.
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0825v32
source http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0825v32
Monday, 3 February 2020
Sunday, 2 February 2020
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