Oh! You startled me!

As it is Halloween I decided to look at an expression that is commonly used when describing what happens when watching a horror movie. Today we'll look at the verbs: to startle (someone) or to be startled.

These verbs are talking about when someone is suddenly surprised and they jump & say Oh! or aargh!

To startle (someone)

In Japanese, this would be ケツ毛を抜く. 

(turns on the light)
Aargh! You startled me! What are you doing sitting in the dark?

When the murderer suddenly showed up in the third scene, it really startled me! I jumped in my theater seat!

To be startled

In Japanese, it would be　ギョッとする.

When she smiled and I saw her crooked yellow teeth I was really startled!

When the alarm suddenly went off, everyone in the office was startled.

Here are some examples:




Happy Halloween~!

Phil

On TV vs On a TV

Here's a quick lesson on the importance of properly using a.

If you say:

I was on TV.

This means that you appeared on TV. You were on a TV show.

http://www.goodenoughmother.com/2013/08/good-enough-mother-tv-alert-rene-on-today-and-the-bill-cunningham-show/

My mother is on TV all the time, she works for a news show.


I am on A TV.

This means that you are standing on top of a TV~! Of course now that we have flatscreen TVs it is harder to do...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brennapercyphotos/4176678287/

Hey get down~! Standing on a TV is dangerous!

Of course, usually we talk about the TV set in our own homes so in that case we usually use THE TV. Because we are talking about one specific TV.

The cat is sleeping on top of the TV again.

Don't put heaving things on the TV.

Grant: Where's the remote?

Ned: I think it's next to the TV.

Any questions?

Phil

Can I ask you a question?

Hey everyone, today we're going to have a quick lesson about cultural miscommunications. These often occur when you use a sentence in a language that has an added meaning or connotation.

A few weeks ago I asked a class of students, "Does anyone have any questions?" and one of my students said "Can I ask you a question?". Now this sent up a red warning flag! Another sentence that does this is "We need to talk".

She didn't need to ask this question, I had just offered to answer any questions so she should have simply gone directly to her question.

For native English speakers when someone asks you "Can I ask you a question?" we take it as a WARNING that the next question will be something personal or it will be an uncomfortable question.

Usually we simply ask the question directly or we will see if the person has time to answer our question by saying "Do you have a minute?".

A: Does anyone have any questions?

B: Can I ask you a question?

A: Uh... yeah... ok, shoot.

B: What halloween party should I go to?

A: Umm...?

In this case A is confused because he offered to answer questions, so by asking "Can I ask you a question?" he expected a more serious question to be asked. She should have said:

A: Does anyone have any questions?

B: Can I ask you a question unrelated to English?

A: Sure.

B: What halloween party should I go to?

A: Umm... how about the one at Tadg's?

In this case, A is curious about the topic but it doesn't sound so serious. If you want to ask a question about a different topic than what is being discussed ask "Can I ask you an unrelated question?".

Here's the kind of usage we expect from "Can I ask you a question?":

Al: So how's it going?

Betty: Not bad, can I ask you a question?

Al: Uhm, ok. 

Betty: What would you do if I was pregnant?

Al: What!? You're pregnant?!?!

Betty: No, not yet but what would you do if I got pregnant?

Al: Uhh... well, I don't know... I guess I'd...

Have a nice cloudy day,

Phil

hit, hat, hot, hut...

Today, we'll have a quick little pronunciation lesson. Let's look at the difference between these four words.

hit

This means that one thing knocks into something else. It has a flat mid-tone intonation - hit.

hat

This is a piece of clothing people wear on their head. It has a rising intonation // hat.

hot

This means that the temperature is high. It has a flat high-intonation ─ hot.

hut

This is a sort of simple house, often found on tropical islands made out of reeds. It has a low flat intonation hut.

Now let's practice~~!

He hid his hat in the hot hut.
--------------//----------──___

So the intonation is constant for "He hid his" then it rises on "hat" then is a flat high tone for "hot" before being a low flat tone for "hut".

Have a nice night,

Phil

We go way back...

This weekend one of my ex-students & good friends came into town for a visit so I thought I'd introduce a few expressions you can use in casual English to say that you've known someone for a long time.

We go way back.

You often use this when introducing an old friend or someone you've known for a very long time.

Alice: Kay,I had no idea you knew Jerry.

Kay: Yeah, we go way back but I haven't seen him in years. We kind of lost touch.

To lose touch with someone is when you lose contact with them & don't know what they are doing anymore...

Another way of saying the same thing:

We go back a long way.

Fred: How long have you been friends with Jack.

Jim: Jack? Oh, we go back a long way... maybe 15-20 years.

Fred: Wow, that's a long time!

Have a great week,

Phil