You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover...

Hey everyone~! Have you heard this saying before??? We use this often when talking about people but it can also be used to talk about places, books(of course) and things.

Don't judge a book by it's cover

or

You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover

means that you SHOULDN'T JUDGE people/things based on their APPEARANCE. A book might have an amazing cover but when you read it, it's as boring as dirt. Or the cover might be old and ugly but the story is incredibly interesting~! Also, a handsome man might be horrible person and ugly/scary looking people might be super kind! It's not what is on the outside that counts but what's on the inside.

For example:

A: I went on a date with Sally last night.

B: With Sally? She's not your type. How was it?

A: You know what they say "Don't judge a book by it's cover" even though she looks kind of plain we had a lot of fun! It was a terrific date!

or

A: I don't like the looks of my sisters new boyfriend.

B: You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. You haven't even met him yet!

I hope that is clear enough for everyone. If you have any questions just ask and I'll be writing more lessons next month!

See you in July,

Phil

P.S. Remember it's what's on the inside that counts!

He's a one-hit wonder~!

Ok, I am going to go to a beach soon so here's a quick vocabulary lesson. Last month, I was teaching a lesson and the term:

one-hit wonder

came up, have you heard of it? In Japanese, you would say 一発屋 (いっぱつや). We usually use it to talk about music but you could also use it to talk about any other kind of artist who has had only ONE big success or who you think will be a flash in the pan---something that looks promising or successful but then disappears.

I think Los del Rio were one-hit wonders, can you name me one of their songs?? Other than the Macarena~!

Man, that song "I'm too sexy" is a one-hit wonder! I don't even remember who sang it...

Joseph Heller was a one-hit wonder, his only hit novel was Catch-22.

Well, that's it for now. Time to get ready for the beach!

Phil

A blast from the past~!

Recently, in my classes I have been explaining these three terms:

1. a rip-off
2. worth it
3. a good deal

Do you know what they mean? I actually talked about this last year on May 16, 2009 so I decided to repost that blog as well as add a bit at the end. Enjoy~!

--------------------May 16, 2009-------------------------------------

Today, I am going to talk about VALUE. We'll look at: a rip-off(used as a verb or noun), worth it(noun only), and a good deal.

When I go shopping I want to pay a reasonable price for something of ok quality. If that happens then it is worth it. But if I pay a lot of money for something and it is bad quality then it is a rip-off-I feel like they have tricked me and stolen my money. I didn't get what I paid for...

If I feel like I paid a good price for something and got great value then, I got a good deal. Here are some example dialogues:

A: So, how was the concert yesterday? Was it worth it?
B: Yeah, it was totally worth it~! It was amazing!

So maybe, the concert was kind of expensive so B decided not to go but A went. Now, B wants to check if the high price was matched with a high value performance.

A: Wow, nice jacket~!
B: Thanks, I got a good deal on it. It was on sale. ^_^

B paid a good price for a great jacket, high value for a low cost.

A: Hey, buddy watch where you're going!
B: You got a problem, jerk?!?!
C: Dude, it's not worth it let it go.
B: Yeah, you're right let's get out of here.

In this situation, A & C are walking together down the street and B bumps into A. B is angry and maybe wants to fight A but C tells him "It's not worth it" meaning the fight will cause a big problem and won't give him anything of value...

A: How was the movie festival?
B: What a rip-off! Tickets were 5000 yen and it was super crowded and noisy!
A: Really? Man that sucks.
B: Yeah, you shouldn't go- it's not worth it at all.

So he paid a lot of money but only got something of very low value so it's a rip-off.

A: What's wrong?
B: That guy ripped me off~! He sold me a ticket to yesterday's concert!

B paid a lot of money for a concert that is already finished, he was ripped off.

Alright, I hope that helps everyone talk about restaurants, tourist attractions, movies, shows etc. If you want to know if something is good even though it is expensive just ask:

Is it worth it?

------------------June 18th, 2010-------------------------------

So, do you understand these three expressions now? This year I cam up with a really simple way to quickly grasp the differences and meanings of these words:

a good deal: value > price

worth it: value = price

a rip-off: value < price

Well I hope this helps you use these useful expressions, have a good weekend,

Phil

I've been meaning to...

Have you ever heard this before? This comes from the verb:

to mean to do

which means to intend to do. So it means to PLAN ON doing something. Because of this it is most often used in the PAST TENSE when you planned to do something but then didn't.

Teacher, I meant to do my homework but I forgot.

meaning

I planned on doing my homework, I intended to do it but I forgot.

Now when we use it with the present perfect progressive you get a structure you can use to talk about something you are planning to do but haven't had the time to do yet. Maybe you've been too busy, you forgot, or you have to do it but don't want to do it---basically, it is on your to do list BUT it's not crossed off(done) yet.

A: Ouch~!

B: Oops, sorry. I've been meaning to fix that.

A: You should!!! It's freaking dangerous, I almost broke my neck!!

B: Ok, ok I get it. I'll fix it tomorrow.

In this example, B is PROCRASTINATING. That means he is putting off doing something. Someone who always says they will do it later is a procrastinator~! In Japanese it would be 延び延び (のびのび) or 先延ばしにする (さきのばしにする).

So this structure "I've been meaning to ___________" is really useful.

I've been meaning to post on my blog more often but I don't have enough time.

Have a good week,

Phil

What's the catch?

This is the last in what has turned into a 3 part series about proverbs & sayings talking about money. When someone offers you something that sounds too good to be true most western people become skeptical(start to become suspicious and not believe it) and then ask:

What's the catch?

The catch is the hidden negative point. People are wondering why is this deal so good? There must be something wrong~!

Which is why people might then ask something like:

What's in it for you?

So if someone is offering you something great maybe they will get some kind of benefit. In Cuba, some people will offer to show you a nice guesthouse... BUT they get a kickback~! The owner of the guesthouse then has to pay the guy who brought you there a fee for each night you stay--so your hotel will cost you more money~!!!

Here's an example dialogue:

A: Hey do you want my tickets to tomorrow's concert?

B: What's the catch??? I thought you loved that band!

A: No catch. I can give you them at cost.

B: Huh? Seriously, what's in it for you?

A: Well, actually I got some better seats so if you take these tickets off my hands you'll be doing me a HUGE favor.

B: Ah ok then, wanna meet up for drinks after the show?

A: Sounds good~! I'll text you.

I hope that helps, enjoy this rainy Sunday!

Phil

There's no such thing as a free lunch!

The other day when I talked about the saying "You get what you pay for" I was reminded of another common proverb about money:

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Have you ever heard this before? You can see thefreedictionary entry HERE. This simply means that even when someone gives you something for "free" eventually you have to pay for it in SOME way. For example:

-you get a free lunch BUT you have to sit through a talk about a time-share

-you get a free sample BUT you have to answer a survey

-your friend invites you out for dinner BUT then asks you to help him move!

So as you can see, everything costs something, nothing is free--you will always have to give or do something in return.

We use this saying when something you THOUGHT was free turns out to require some kind of payment-either money or you have to do something for it.

A: Man, I was offered a free trip to Las Vegas but then I got stuck listening to a 7 hour time-share sales seminar!!! It really, sucked! What a waste of my time...

B: Well, you know there's no such thing as a free lunch.

A: Yeah, I know. I should've known there'd be strings attached!

Do you know that last idiom? It comes from the expression "with no strings attached" meaning there are NO CONDITIONs or obligations involved. Actually, it goes against the saying "There's no such thing as a free lunch" which means there are ALWAYS strings attached! You always have to do/pay something to get something!

Have a good week,

Phil

You get what you pay for.

Here's a quick lesson before I got to work. Do you know the saying/proverb:

You get what you pay for.

It means that if you buy something cheap or get something free you shouldn't be surprised when it turns out the quality is low. Or in other words:

If it's free/cheap it must be of low quality.

You'll often hear someone say this when you buy something REALLY cheap and then an hour later it breaks.

(B is playing with his new toy he got at the 100 yen shop)



A: Oh no! My toy broke!!!

B: Well, you get what you pay for.

In Japanese it is:

安物買いの銭失い (やすものがいのぜにうしない)

Ok that's it for now, have a nice day~!

Phil

How are you?

Hi everyone, so for the first lesson of the month I will answer a question from my comments box "How are you? ---I'm fine. I'm OK. I'm good. I'm not bad. Could you tell me what you feel about each answer.And which answer is normal?".

Well, first off the question "How are you?" is pretty formal. I would usually use it with people I have NEVER met before or in polite/business situations. Before I came to Japan I hadn't used that question in years! With my friends I would usually ask "How's it going?" pronounced "How-zit goin?".

Now, as for the answers all of them are normal but let's look at them in a bit more detail:

I'm great.

This wasn't part of the question but when you are really happy and feel amazing you can say: "I'm great". Even stronger than this you could say: "I'm on top of the world!" ,which I think was in the movie Titanic, if you say this you are feeling terrific! You could also say: "I'm feeling like a million bucks!"

I'm fine.

This is the standard answer in all the textbooks that EVERYONE learns in Japan. It's a bit old fashioned but still commonly used. My big problem with "I'm fine" is that Japanese English speakers could be in a horrible car accident and you'd ask them "How are you doing? Are you ok?" and they would answer: "I'm fine"! I think for many teachers here we get tired of this answer, it is rote learning not communicating--I sometimes do an exercise where students practice answering the question "How are you?" and no one can give the same answer twice!

I'm ok.

This is the answer I usually give, and all the Japanese staff think it's funny I'm always ok. It's weaker than I'm fine and simply means you're feeling the same as usual-today is nothing special. Personally, I find it weird when people give a huge fake answer like "I'm great!" when really they're just fine or ok.

I'm good.

This is technically incorrect or bad grammar, when you say "I'm good" it usually means you are an expert or good at something like the word jouzu (上手) in Japanese. When you say "I'm good" it sounds arrogant so, people usually use good to talk about OTHER PEOPLE. Like, "He's good at golf."

Or, as I said in a recent lesson, it can mean "I don't need anything right now" when answering an offer like "Would you like something to drink?". However, recently in casual English many people will give this answer when someone asks them:

A: "How's it going?"

B: "Me? Eh, I'm good"

meaning they are fine, nothing special is going on with them, everything is alright.

I'm not bad.

This is similar to "I'm ok" you don't feel fine but you don't feel terrible either so you're "not bad". After this you get things like:

"I'm terrible"

"I'm awful"

"I'm horrible"

"I'm sad"

etc.

These kinds of negative answers are fine to give people you know but you shouldn't say them to strangers it is what we call TOO MUCH INFORMATION. You are telling people more than they really want to know. Also if you say something negative, you should probably give a bit more detail---to your friends.

A: How are you?

B: I'm sad, my goldfish died.

A: Aww, that's too bad. How can I cheer you up?

Wow, this took much longer than I thought! That it for now, time to go to bed! Have a nice weekend everyone,

Phil