On my mother's side...

Hey everyone, do you know the above expression? Today's mini-lesson will explain it and I think it will be my last lesson this year as I am off to India in a few more days and need to start packing...



On my mother's side...



and



On my father's side...



are used when talking about your extended family. Your immediate family is one step from you: your parents, your kids, your brothers or sisters. Your extended family is everyone beyond that: your grandparents, your uncles, your aunts, your cousins, etc.

We use these expressions to specify WHICH grandmother we are talking about, your father's mother(father's side) or your mother's mother(mother's side).

Baba is my grandmother on my father's side.

I have 5 cousins on my mother's side.

Well everyone have a

Merry Christmas and a

Happy New Year~!

Phil

Things you need to do...

Today, we will talk about our NEEDS. In Japanese, you say 要る (いる) as a verb and 必要 (ひつよう) as a noun/adjective. In English, we can use 4 different expressions:

MUST

This is the most formal and possibly the strongest.

You must study for tomorrow's test.

NEED TO

This is a bit less formal and weaker than must.

You need to study for tomorrow's test.

HAVE TO

This is more casual and often used in North American English, in conversation it is often pronounced HAFTA~!

You have to(hafta) study for tomorrow's test.

GOT TO

This is a bit more casual than have to and I feel it sounds a bit younger to me. I feel it is often used by kids/teenagers... in conversation it is pronounced GODDA...

You got to (godda) study for tomorrow's test.

Hmm, it is time for dinner guys so:

I godda go~!

Phil

There's no use beating a dead horse...

The other day, after I posted my blog I remembered this similar sounding expression:

There's no use beating a dead horse.

You might also hear someone say flogging a dead horse... have you heard this saying before? While it sounds similar to "There's no use crying over spilled milk" it has a pretty different meaning!

It means it is time to give up, if you are riding a horse and you flog it to make it run faster... once it has died from exhaustion hitting it again will not make it move~!

It comes from the idiom: to beat a dead horse. It means that something is a waste of time since the result has already been decided. If I continue doing it, it will have no result so what's the point?

A: I don't mean to beat a dead horse but you really should see Avatar.
B: I TOLD you, I hate sci-fi movies. Drop it~! You're getting on my nerves...

So do you guys understand? When you beat a dead horse you're doing something pointless, it will have no result!

Have a good week,

Phil

P.S. check out these links for more info

GoEnglish - Beat a Dead horse

Wikipedia - Flogging a dead horse

There's no use crying over spilled milk...

Have you guys heard this idiom before? It's a really common saying we use when someone is complaining or whining about something. It means that you can't change the past so there is no use crying about it. Crying about the past will not change anything...

Another way of saying it is:

What's done is done.

Meaning it happened we can't change it so we need to move on. Anyways, the reason I brought these expressions up is that I'm sorry I didn't post more often on my blog last month but I was too busy planning some trips, studying for my test(which I think went fine) and getting ready for my move... so I'm sorry but:

There's no use crying over spilled milk~!

Phil

P.S. More lessons coming soon, I'm aiming for 4-6 posts this month, wish me luck!

Nautical Idioms, idioms from the sea...

Hey everyone, I haven't posted in awhile. Sorry about that but I am crazy busy and a bit stressed these days as I deal with travel plans for the winter holidays, a planned move and my test on December 5Th! I just have too much on my plate(to do) so I haven't had time to post...

Anyways, this is a short post based on an article from The Art of Manliness about Nautical slang. You can see the whole article here: http://artofmanliness.com/2010/11/09/three-sheets-to-the-wind-nautical-slang-in-common-usage/

Here's a quick look at the idioms they covered:

to turn a blind eye

This means to refuse to see or recognize something.

Too many people turn a blind eye to domestic violence.

as the crow flies

This means the shortest distance between two points. The actual distance in a straight line, not the one following the roads.

A: How far is the drugstore?

B: About 2 miles as the crow flies.

over a barrel

This means in a helpless, weak or awkward position, unable to act.

My boss has me over the barrel.

know the ropes

To understand this details of how a business or something works.

Do you know the ropes yet? No, ok I'll show you the ropes.

to the bitter end

To continue something to the end even if it is unpleasant.

I'm staying in my marriage to the bitter end.

a slush fund

This is Money set aside by a business for corrupt activities or to use for fun or entertainment.

Most political parties have slush funds.

three sheets to the wind

This means to be drunk.

Man that guy is three sheets to the wind~! He can't even stand...

jury rigged

To improvise, to build or make something for temporary or emergency use.

I jury rigged a solution to the problem.

to start over with a clean slate

This means to start over fresh.

We need to start with a clean slate.

first rate

The best, top rank, most important, best quality.

You did a first rate job!

Ok there are a few more on The Art of Manliness and you can read about the history of these idioms there which is pretty interesting. Have a good weekend,

Phil

You did that on purpose~!!!

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't posted yet this month. I was up in Tokyo last week and I've been really busy studying for my test... which is in just 1 month~!! Unfortunately, this means that I won't be able to post so much this month. I will try and post 4-5 times, wish me luck!

Today, I was teaching a lesson and I said that it looks like they did it on purpose... but my student didn't understand. Do you?

On purpose

This means that you do something as a plan, it is NOT an accident. In Japanese, you would say: わざと (態と). A similar expression is to mean to do something.

A: Ouch! Watch where you're going!

B: Sorry.

A: You don't sound sorry... did you do that on purpose?
------------------
Mom, Tim broke my toy on purpose!
------------------
Sorry, I didn't mean to step on your foot. I didn't do it on purpose.

Now the opposite of on purpose is by accident.

Oops! I knocked over the plate by accident and it broke. I'm sorry...

I did it by accident... it wasn't planned... it wasn't intentional...

Hmm, is that clear enough? I hope so, have a nice weekend ^_^

Phil

Happy Halloween~! Also see/watch/look...

Hey everyone, Happy Halloween~!

Here in Kyoto, it is a pretty dreary rainy evening but I want to post at least 5 blogs this month so I am taking the time from my studies to write up a mini-lesson about watch/see/look.

Look is often used to called attention to something, you want someone to focus on something. Usually, just for a short time...

Look at that~! It's a UFO.

UFO stands for Unidentified Flying Object.

I feel like that painting is looking/watching at me.

See is simply the physical action, something happens in front of you and you see it... BUT you may not be paying attention. It isn't always all that important what you saw...

I saw a black cat on my way to work today.

Did you see the chair move by itself??? Watch the chair to see if it happens again~!

Watch is where you focus your attention on something for a longer period of time than look.

I feel like someone is watching/looking me. But no one is here, maybe it's a ghost...

Can you watch my bag? (meaning look AFTER, keep an eye on)

So as you can see look and watch are pretty close in meaning. BUT be careful we never say look TV~! It's always watch TV.

We often use see to emphasize GOING somewhere to see something(ex: a play, a movie, etc.)

I saw a movie.

Probably means he saw a movie at a theater, and:

I watched a movie.

Probably means he watched a movie at home. This is just general usage, it isn't a rule so sometimes people say watched a movie at the theater or saw a movie on my new flatscreen TV.

For more on see/watch/look check out these past posts:

http://phils-english.blogspot.com/2008/07/see-look-watch-and-stare-part.html

http://phils-english.blogspot.com/2008/07/see-look-watch-and-stare-part-b.html

http://phils-english.blogspot.com/2010/07/look-vs-look-like.html

Have a good weekend,

Phi

Kind of, sort of...

Hey everyone, today I am just writing a quick lesson while taking a break from studying Japanese. In all the textbooks I've taught, they always teach:

KIND OF

which is a very useful expression. It has two main meanings:

- a type of thing

- a little bit, somewhat

That store sells many types of furniture.

means

That stores sells many kinds of furniture.

When you use type of it sounds a bit more formal/educated/business like and kind of sounds more casual/friendly. Also, the pronunciation of kind of changes pretty easily:

kind of ------> kindov ---->kinda

When you want to specify more than one kind of use kinds of. Which is pronunced:

kinds of -----> kinzov ----> kinza

Kinda and kinza are pronunced with a bit of a rising intonation on the a.

The second meaning of kind of is somewhat or a little bit, it is similar to め in Japanese:

柔らかい　－－－－＞　柔らかめ

Yawarakai (soft) becomes Yawarakame(kind of soft).

Now, most textbooks don't teach the even more casual form which has the exact SAME MEANING as kind of which is SORT OF.

The pronunciation of sort of is:

sort of -----> sordov -----> sorda

Again with a rising intonation on the a.

I'm somewhat hungry.

I'm a bit hungry.

I'm kind of hungry.

I'm sort of hungry.

So somewhat is the MOST formal and sort of is the LEAST formal. Remember, by saying sorda or kinda you will make it even more casual~! But all of these sentences have the same general meaning. ^_^

Have a good day,

Phil

I'm getting (a) cold.

Hey everyone, just a quick lesson for the weekend.

What is the difference between these two sentences?

1- I'm getting cold.

2- I'm getting a cold.

Do you know the difference? Number 2 has an A and that makes a BIG DIFFERENCE~!

In sentence Number 1, cold is an adjective and the person is saying that they are starting to FEEL COLD.

In sentence Number 2, cold is a noun meaning sick(in Japanese 風邪 - かぜ) so the person is saying they are starting to FEEL SICK.

Sometimes very small differences can have HUGE differences in meaning. Have fun speaking English BUT be careful~!

^_-

Phil

Many, much and a lot of

OK so here's my last lesson on this topic. Last time we looked at using many/much in questions, today we will look at using them in sentences.

MANY

It is usually used in NEGATIVE sentences (-)

It is used with COUNTABLE NOUNS.

I don't have many friends.

They don't have many rooms in this hotel.

You don't like to read do you? You don't seem to have many books on your shelves...

It is sometimes used in positive sentences (+) BUT it sounds formal and old fashioned, so while it is good grammar it isn't natural sounding English.

My son is very intelligent, he has received many job offers. (formal)

I am delighted that all my many friends could join me for my birthday party. (formal/old fashioned)

He has many girlfriends. (good grammar, BUT it sounds odd)

MUCH

It is used in NEGATIVE SENTENCES (-).

It is used with UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS.

I don't have much money... because payday is next week.

Can you hurry up? I don't have much time.

I don't have much use for a car. I live downtown.

Now if you want to make a POSITIVE SENTENCE you should use A LOT OF!


A LOT OF

It is used in POSITIVE SENTENCES (+) OR NEGATIVE SENTENCES.

It is used by COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS.

It sounds casual and natural.

I have a lot of friends.

I have a lot of money.

This hotel is HUGE, it has a lot of rooms.

He has a lot of girlfriends.(sounds much more natural)

I don't have a lot of time today, I'm really busy.

She doesn't have a lot of clothes.

In casual English, a lot of is pronounced ALODDA.


So if you aren't sure what to use, please use a lot of - it's the most flexible!!


Have a good week~!


Phil

How many/much...?

Hey everyone, today I am going to teach a similar topic as the anywhere/everywhere lesson from last week. To start off we will look at the questions:

How many...?

How much...?

Do you when to use these? Well if you continue this lesson you will~! hahaha

Anyways, it is pretty simple:

How much + uncountable nouns

and

How many + countable nouns

So for example:

A: How much money do you have?

B: On me? (meaning with me) Um, 10 bucks.

---------------------------------------------

A: How many cars does your family have?

B: We have none. = We don't have any.

---------------------------------------------

A: How much time is left?

B: Before the movie ends? About 10 minutes.

---------------------------------------------

A: How many countries have you been to?

B: About 35 I guess...

Well that's it for today, there'll be another lesson in this series this week.

Stay tuned!

Phil

Anywhere vs. everywhere

OK, the first lesson of the month is a quick grammar lesson explaining the difference between anywhere and everywhere. Anywhere means any place even one(or in a negative sentence-NOT even one place), everywhere means all places(usually it's an exaggeration). So, they have a similar meaning but their USAGE is very different.

Anywhere is used in negative sentences and questions.

A: Did you go anywhere?

B: Nah, I didn't go anywhere. I just stayed home.

I've never been anywhere in Shikoku.

Everywhere is used in positive sentences.

I've been everywhere in Kyoto! There are no more new places for me to visit.

Where's my jacket? I've looked everywhere!

Hope you enjoyed this quick lesson have a nice week,

Phil

Katakana English...

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't posted more lessons this month but I've decided to take the JLPT(Japanese Language Proficiency Test) in December so alot of my free time is now being taken up with studying... wish me luck~! So this month I will post 6 lessons instead of my usual 8 and I think that will be about how many I will post in the next few months till my test.

Today's lesson is about some Katakana English words that have different meanings from the original English meaning.

リップスティック　= chapstick or lip balm

but

口紅（くちべに）= lipstick

We use chapstick often in Canada to protect our lips from the cold but lipstick(kuchibeni) is used as make up by women. So Japanese people SAY lipstick BUT they MEAN chapstick~ in English!

Next we also have this pair:

エアリング　= clip-on earrings

but

ピアス = normal earrings

So when Japanese people say earrings they mean clip-on earrings you can wear without pierced ears. But when they want to say normal earrings for someone with pierced ears they say pierce(ピアス )!

Ok that is it for this month, I will try and post something this weekend, enjoy this rainy Thursday,

Phil

Rinse vs. wash

Hey everyone, I just realized I haven't posted in awhile so I looked through my notes for lesson ideas and found this one about the difference between rinse and wash.

Do you know the difference?

Rinse

It means to wash lightly with water and NO SOAP. It also means to REMOVE SOAP by washing something lightly in water. In Japanese, it's 濯ぐ (すすぐ).

After swimming in the ocean, I always take a quick shower to rinse off the salt.

Shampoo bottle instructions:
1- Wet your hair.
2- Put the shampoo on your hair and massage your scalp(skin on your head).
3- Rinse
4- Repeat as needed.

Oh, one more thing! Remember, in Japanese Conditioner = Rinse in English and what we call Rinse, Japanese people say Conditioner! It is the opposite! So if you go abroad and want リンス ask for conditioner ^_-

Wash

This means to clean something USING SOAP or some other cleaning product like shampoo, laundry detergent, etc. In Japanese, it's 洗う (あらう).

Always wash your hands after using the restroom.

A: Where is your brother?
B: He's washing the car.

I wash my laundry once or twice a week.

If you don't stop using such bad words, I'll wash your mouth with soap!

Any questions? Enjoy your Monday off!

Phil

Let's agree to disagree...

Have you heard this saying before? Today, I am gonna teach a short lesson explaining this expression and telling you when and how to use it ^_-

Let's agree to disagree.

This means that you both have different opinions BUT you can't convince the other person to change their mind. SO, you agree to disagree. You have your opinion, I have my opinion-they are different BUT let's stop arguing about it.

You use this expression when you are arguing with someone, you have different opinions and the argument continues for a long time. Finally, you want to drop the subject (stop talking about it) and talk about something else.

A: Obama is a great president.
B: Are you crazy? He's a terrible president. George W. Bush was a much better president.
A: WHAT??? You like George W. Bush? He was a total idiot and a liar!
B: No way, he kept our country safe!
A: Huh? He stole an election! Ok, Ok, let's just agree to disagree.
B: Ok... so where do you wanna go for dinner?

So you can see the two friends are arguing, they can't agree about who is the better president. Finally, they just want to talk about something else and they agree to disagree.

Have a nice day,

Phil

I'm gonna go mingle...

The other day I was at a party at work and told some students "I'm gonna go mingle" nobody knew what I was talking about so, here's a quick lesson about the verb:

to mingle

Have you heard this verb before? It is similar in meaning to mix but the most common usage these days is at parties or events when we want to say we will go around the room and talk to various people.

So the main meaning here is to move around and mix with a group of people. So it is a really useful word at parties.

Oh no, everyone is staying with their friends, no one is mingling~! This party is a disaster...

At business events, it is important to mingle to make new business contacts.

There's also a slightly different meaning with the phrasal verb:

to mingle in = to join a group and fit in

Bob's not really mingling in.

Meaning Bob is not fitting in with our group.

She mingled in to the department quickly!

Meaning she fit in quickly when she joined our department.

I hope you enjoyed this quick lesson, have a good weekend,

Phil

We grew apart...

Hi everyone, today I will teach you some useful vocabulary you can use when talking about your family or friends.

Are you close?

Do you understand this question? The verb to be close, means something is near.

A: Where's the post office?

B: It's pretty close, just walk straight for 5 minutes.

It ALSO means that you are emotionally close to someone. So it is most often used when describing relationships with family and friends. The question "Are you close?" means "Do you have a close relationship?".

A: Are you and your parents close?

B: Yeah, I tell them everything and we talk on the phone once a week.

Now, the second expression we are looking at is to grow apart. The original meaning was used for things, most often plants.

The trees I planted in my backyard grew apart.

The image here are two trees which planted next to each other growing apart to make a V shape. Or one tree which splits into two, like this:

Nowadays, it is most often used to talk about relationships. We use it to say, we used to be close but now we are not. Often, the change is gradual(little by little).

I'm worried about my marriage, I think me and my husband are growing apart

When we were kids we were best friends but we grew apart in high school. He joined the football team and I joined the glee club(singing club).

Any questions? Have a good week,

Phil

Shut up!!! You're driving me crazy!

Hey everyone, I hope you are having a good week. Today's lesson is about the word:

CRAZY

In Japanese, you would say:気が狂う (きがくるう) . A higher level word that means the same thing as crazy is INSANE but crazy is more casual...

In casual English, there are many many ways to say crazy:

nuts

Man, that guy is totally nuts~!

cuckoo

I broke up with her because she was cuckoo!

mental

I saw a guy punching a cop! That was mental...

round the bend

My Uncle Willy went round the bend so we had to put him in a nursing home.

When we use the word crazy we often use it to say someone/something is driving someone crazy.

My neighbor is driving me nuts! He does his laundry at 7am every morning!

My Mom is driving my sister round the bend nagging her about getting married.

His girlfriend was driving him crazy with her constant nagging...

When people chew gum in class it drives my teacher insane!

Any questions?

Have a good week,

Phil

Do you have a hangover?

Hey everyone, just a last quick lesson for the month of August. Actually, I thought I had covered this before but looking back through my old blog posts it looks like I never did~!

Anyways, the first word we are looking at today is:

hangover

Which in Japanese is, 二日酔い (ふつかよい). It is when you drink too much and the next day you wake up with a headache, stomachache and feel really dehydrated (your body doesn't have enough water). Basically, you feel terrible!

I got so wasted yesterday~! So, I have a horrible hangover today.

I hate getting hangovers, it sucks...

For more one hangovers check it out on wikipedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangover

The word hangover is a noun BUT there is also the adjective HUNGOVER:

I was really hungover this morning.

He looks hungover.

Watch out!

Hangover is a noun which is used with get or have:

I got/have a hangover.

Hungover is an adjective used with the to be:

I'm hungover.

Hair of the dog

This idiom means that when you are hungover you decide to start drinking again to cure your hangover. It is a short form of the idiom "the hair of the dog that bit you" which is an old cure for rabies where you would put some hair from the dog that bit you under your tongue~! Wow, I had no idea about that.

It has been a common English idiom since Shakespeare's time to talk about starting to drink again to cure a hangover. To read more about it check out this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_of_the_dog

In Japanese, you would say: 迎え酒 (むかえざけ).

After a hard night drinking, the only thing that cures my hangover is hair of the dog.

Hmm, all this talk about beer is making me thirsty~! Time to grab a beer, see you next month,

Phil

It has sentimental value...

Hey everyone, I am back from my summer vacation and I had a great time! I am now much more relaxed and refreshed. I hope you all enjoyed your holidays as well.

Do you know the expression sentimental value?

It is pretty useful, we use it when we want to talk about something being valuable for sentimental reasons.

For example, you have a necklace made of wood and beads-it isn't really valuable BUT your best friend gave it to you in high school and you've had it for a long time... ...so it has sentimental value.

Hey be careful with that vase, it has sentimental value~!

A: Man your blanket is falling apart.

B: Yeah, I should throw it away but it has sentimental value. My grandmother made it for me.

Ok, I will try and post once more this month. Have a good week,

Phil

School House Rocks, Electricity

This is the last School House Rocks video I am going to post during Obon Vacation. It is about electricity, I will be back in Japan in a few more days so expect new English lessons next week!

Hope you all had a great vacation,

Phil

School House Rocks, the founding of the US

Here's a School House Rocks video about the founding of the USA. I think I will post one more about science and after that I will be back in Japan posting lessons as usual~!

Enjoy,

Phil

School House Rocks, adverbs...

Today's video is about adverbs, enjoy!

Phil

School House rock, interjections

Ok while I am abroad during summer vacation I think I will publish a few of the School House Rocks videos, maybe a few on English and one or two about the US.

Here's a video on interjections like:

Doh! (Homer Simpson's favorite^_-)

ouch!





More videos later this week!

Phil

Do you like to cuddle?

OK here's one last quick lesson before I go on vacation. The other day I was teaching quite advanced students and they didn't know these verbs:

-to snuggle

-to cuddle

Do you know them? These are both warm, positive verbs often used when talking about getting comfortable or about being close to someone you love.

To snuggle means to lie or press closely together. It can also mean to curl up closely or comfortably. The second (weaker) meaning is one of hugging and holding someone closely to comfort them or to show your affection.

To cuddle, is very positive and is an expression full of love & affection. It has a strong meaning of hugging and holding in your arms. The second (weaker) meaning is to curl up closely or comfortably.

So as you can see these two verbs are really close and can pretty much be used interchangeably.

1- I like to cuddle up with a good book.

2- I like to snuggle up with a good book.

3- I like to curl up with a good book.

For me #1 and #3 sound the most natural, I wouldn't say #2 it sounds too cute so I guess women might be more likely to say it or people speaking a slightly different English dialect would use it.

My girlfriend likes to cuddle in bed, it keeps me from sleeping!

It was so cold yesterday, I snuggled into my blanket and didn't wanna get out of bed.

Alright that is it for now, I will post some videos from youtube over the break and try and post a few more lessons at the end of the month~!

Have a great summer vacation,

Phil

You have a terrible poker face.

Do you know this idiom? Today, we'll just have a quick idioms lesson. Enjoy!

A poker face is when someone's face doesn't show ANY emotion. It is used when someone lies to trick someone. In poker this is called BLUFFING. It is when you lie to trick people into thinking you have good cards and they decide to quit playing--which means you win~!

Jim has a terrible poker face, I always know when he's lying.

So the verb to bluff means to deceive someone, to trick them by using false confidence. You aren't good but you PRETEND to be good to get your opponent to quit.

A: If you don't stop, I'm gonna tell Mom!
B: You're bluffing! If you tell Mom you'll get in trouble too.
A: Try me! I swear I'm gonna tell Mom.
B: OK, OK, I'll stop.

Alright, that is it for now. I'll try to post one more lesson before I go on vacation, have a good weekend!

Phil

forgetful vs. forgettable

Hey everyone, I hope you had a good weekend but now it's time for us all to get back to work before our summer vacation arrives~!

Today, I will be talking about the difference between:

forgetful

and

forgettable

Have you heard these words before?

Forgetful means you forget things easily, it is usually used to describe a person. In Japanese you would say: 忘れん坊 (わすれんぼう)

My father is getting old, he's been quite forgetful recently.

Forgettable means that something is easy to forget.

Movie characters' names are really forgettable. I never remember them~!

That TV show is easily forgettable, there's nothing special about it.

Actually, forgettable isn't used very often but its opposite is! The opposite word is:

unforgettable

which means it is impossible to forget!

My day yesterday was unforgettable, it was amazing!

There's even a song called Unforgettable, here's a clip from youtube:





Have a good week,

Phil

Window shopping

This Sunday I decided to post a quick vocabulary lesson about the expression:

window shopping

Have you heard this before? A long time ago, shops closed at 5-6pm so you couldn't go shopping in the evenings BUT most shops had huge display windows where they would make interesting displays and feature some products.

This meant couples on dates or people who were bored (before the internet, TV, even radio) would have fun by walking through town looking at the display windows... which is how we got the term window shopping!

Nowadays, the meaning has changed. We use the term window shopping when we talk about going to stores and JUST LOOKING at stuff-we aren't planning on buying anything.

After class, I'm gonna go window shopping.

Window shopping is fun and free~!

A: What did you do yesterday?

B: I went window shopping in Ginza.

Watch out! We don't usually use window shopping when we are doing it~!

Staff: Can I help you?

Customer: No, I'm just window shopping. X

This sounds really strange what you should say is this:

Staff: Can I help you?

Customer: No, I'm just browsing(or looking). O

Have a great Sunday window shopping!

Phil

Look vs. Look like...

Do you guys know the difference in when to use these two expressions?

It's actually pretty simple:

look like + noun

This cookie looks like a hamburger~!


That dog looks like a cat, weird.


He looks like an idiot.



look + adjective


You look hungry.

That cake looks delicious.

He looks stupid.


There are a few things you need to be careful about. Some nouns are ALSO adjectives so both structures are grammatically correct.

That looks like fun.

That looks fun.

Fun is both a noun AND an adjective so you can often hear it used with look or look like. The other thing is that the meaning of these two is a bit different, in my mind look is like ~sou (oishisou-look delicious, ureshisou-looks happy) but look like is like ~mitai (kodomomitai-looks like a child, bakamitai-looks like an idiot).

I hope that helps, have a good weekend!

Phil

Pronunciation, will

Hi everyone, I hope you all had a nice weekend. Today, I am going to talk about the verb:

WILL

This verb is often contracted in everyday English, most textbooks teach the basic contractions such as

I will ---------> I'll (AYul)

You will ---------> You'll (Yul)

He will ----------> He'll (Hill)

and so on. BUT there are many other times when will is contracted. They are used in casual English to speak faster and more smoothly so they will help you sound more natural to native speakers.

When will --------> When'll (whennul)

When'll he be ready?

What will ---------> What'll (whaddul)

What'll you do tomorrow?

Where will --------> Where'll (wherrul)

Where'll we meet?

Who will ----------> Who'll (whoul)

Who'll you go to the party with?

Why will ----------> Why'll (whyul, sounds like while)

Why'll you do that?

How will ----------> How'll (howul)

How'll you get there?

Actually, will can be contracted and joined to almost any word--it usually sounds like UL.

How long'll it take?

How longul it take?

Philip'll call you back later.

Philippul call you back later.

Don't worry, your dog'll come back.

Don't worry, your dogul come back.

Ok that is all for now, have a nice week!

Phil

School house rocks, verbs

Hey everyone, here is a quick Saturday lesson of an educational video I used to watch on Saturday mornings as a kid. They teach all kinds of things about English as well as about US history, culture and legal system.

Anyways here is the video about VERBS, I think I will post some more of these during August when I am on vacation...



That is all for now, there will be a new lesson this Monday!

Phil