need to vs need

I was teaching a lesson the other day and a student said:

I need help my Mom. 

What they meant to say was:

I need to help my Mom.

So today let's look at the difference between need & need to. 

Need

This means that you require something. In Japanese, いる (要る). 

I need more free time.

Do you need a ride?

Do you need any help?

Need to

This is a bit different, need to means that you must do something. 

My Mom said I need to help my brother with his homework.

What do you need to do today?

I need to go to work.

Another more casual way of saying need to is have to:

I have to go to work today.

I have to catch my train = I need to catch my train.

Have a great weekend,

Phil

Supposedly vs. Apparently

Today we'll be looking at two very similar words that have slightly different usages: 

supposedly & apparently.

Supposedly

This is used when you want to express doubt. 

Supposedly, he'll be here at 6PM. (I don't think he will)

She'll supposedly finish work on time. (I doubt it)

Albert: Did Abe cancel the tax increase?

Taka: Supposedly...

Albert: What do you mean?

Taka: Well, supposedly the tax increase isn't going to happen but I think he'll try to push it through eventually.

Apparently

This is a bit more neutral than supposedly. It's used to quote or repeat something you've heard. As such, it's also often going to express elements of doubt, surprise or uncertainty: I don't know for sure but I've heard...

Apparently, a new bar's going to open in Kyoto soon.

She's apparently not going to do that movie as she hates the director.

Dan: Do you know what happened between Mark & Mindy?

Felicia: Apparently, Mindy caught Mark cheating on her!

Dan: What? No way, Mark's not that kind of guy.

Felicia: It's true, Tammy told me Mindy saw him with another woman.


These days they're both terms are usually used at the start of sentences. It sounds much more natural.

Any questions? If so, please comment.

Have a nice week,

Phil

So much for that idea~!

So much for X

Today we're looking at a set phrase that we use to declare that we tried something or we were going to do something but now we've given up, usually due to circumstances beyond our control.

Fred: Did you hear it's going to rain this weekend?

Henry: So much for going camping. 

(due to the rain we need to give up on our plan to go camping)

Fred: Yeah, that sucks. Why don't we go see a movie instead?

-----------

Peter: Ok, turn it on and let's see if it works.

(pow! the computer sparks and gives off smoke)

John: Ouch! Turn it off, so much for that idea. We'll have to try something else.

So as you can see when something can't happen or doesn't work you can announce that you are giving up on X and ready to move on to a new option.

Sara: How're things with Paula?

Gareth: We broke up, she was cheating on me. So much for that relationship.

Sara: I'm sorry to hear that. I think Jenny likes you though.

Gareth: Really? She's cute, can I have her number?

Have a nice week,

Phil

How do you like being a dentist?

Hi everyone, today's post will look at a useful phrase you can use when talking about someone's job.

How do you like being X?

This is a question you can use when discussing someone's current state such as their job, being a father/mother/grandfather/uncle, in a band, etc.

When you answer you usually use one of two structures: one for positive feelings and one for negative ones.

It's negative adjective. I have to (do something unpleasant).

or

It's positive adjective. I get to (do something pleasant).

In the negative structure, you are forced to do something and so you don't enjoy your situation.

In the positive structure, you are permitted to do something and so you like your situation.

Let's look at some examples:

A: How do you like being married?

B: It's great. I get to be with the love of my life.

-------


A: How do you like being a factory worker?

B: It's so boring. I have to do the same thing all day everyday.

-------

A: How do you like being a doctor.

B: It's tough but rewarding. I get to save lives.

------

A: How do you like being on the basketball team?

B: It's fun. I get to spend a lot of time with my friends.

------

A: How do you like being a freelancer?

B: It's hard. I always have to look for new clients.


Any questions? Have a nice weekend,

Phil

He's not a team player

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted a new English Tip. Sorry about that, I'll try to post more regularly.

Today I'll look at 3 idioms:

To Be a Team Player

This means that you support your team and help them, you do your fair share of the work and work well as part of the group.

Bill's a real team player, he's always helping out people in the office.

If you're a team player, you'll do great as part of our company.

A glory hog

This is someone who selfishly wants to keep all the glory to themselves. 

I think LeBron James is a glory hog he always acts like he was the only person responsible for his team winning.

When I was in college, I was a glory hog who always had to be in the spotlight.

A show off

This is someone who likes to display his/her things or his/her skills to demonstrate that they are better than others. It can also be used as a phrasal verb.

Stop being such a show off, I know you're great at skateboarding but if you're not careful you'll hurt yourself.

Terry's always showing off his new Rolex these days.

Any questions? Here's a little dialogue using all three:


Al: Why'd David get fired?

Tom: He wasn't a team player. He was a glory hog always trying to steal the credit for other people's work

Al: Really? What a jerk! I knew he was a show off who liked to brag about all his expensive things but I didn't realize he was that bad.

Money is no object~!

Continuing the money theme from my last post I thought of this expression while in class today:

Money is no object!

Now unfortunately, I've never been in a position to say this but I've heard it in movies & TV shows often enough. It simply means that "I don't care about the cost" or "I will pay whatever price you like" or "Spare no expense". Basically, it's used to tell a shopkeeper that you want the best and don't care about the price. You can find thefreedictionary.com's definition here.

I just won the lottery, give me your best bottle of champagne! Money is no object.

After my uncle got promoted he started spending like money was no object, eventually he went bankrupt!

Here's a great video of a talk where Alan Watts a British philosopher asks the question:

What would you do if money was no object?




Have a great weekend!

Phil

Put your money where your mouth is~!

Today we'll look at a few idioms linked to gambling. If you are very sure about something you could say:

I'd put money on it.

This means that you believe it so much that you are willing to bet money that you're right. It is generally used in the following grammar structure:

X would put money on Y

And since you are telling people about your high degree of certainty X is usually I.

I'd put money on it raining tomorrow.

I'd put money on Tom getting the promotion.

You might talk about other people but this isn't so common:

She'd put money on him proposing on their anniversary next week.

In this case it is a form of reported speech, you are telling someone that she told you he is sure he will propose on their anniversary.

Another, more dramatic way, to express a high degree of certainty that something is true/will happen is to say:

I'd stake my life on it

You often hear this in casual English and it is in a ton of movies where gangsters catch someone and want them to talk:

Gangster: Where's the money?

John: I don't know~!

Gangster: (breaks a finger) Where's the MONEY?

John: Tom might have it...

Gangster: MIGHT? (pushes on the broken finger)

John: He has it, he has it. I'd stake my life on it.

Gangster: You just did.

In this case you are literally saying "I'd bet my life on it" so if you are wrong they'll kill you!

The last idiom we'll look at is one where two people are arguing and someone says"

Put your money where your mouth is!

This means that you talk tough like you are right or can do something but prove it - make a bet and show me I'm wrong.

Al: I can sink 3 basketballs in 1 minute from half-court.

Bill: What? No way!

Al: I can, I do it all the time.

Bill: Put your money where your mouth is, 20$ says you can't.

Al: You're on, let's go to the basketball court and I'll show you how it's done.

So Al said he could do something, Bill didn't believe him and bet him 20$ he can't. They made a bet and now they will go find out who is right.

Have a nice weekend guys,

Phil

A kind of handsome vs. kind of handsome

Sorry for not posting in awhile but I have been busy with other things, awhile back a student of mine said:

My friend is a kind of handsome.

Now in English when you add a the meaning can change quite significantly:

I ate a pizza yesterday (a whole pizza!)

I ate pizza yesterday (some pizza, we don't know how much)

In this case by using "a kind of" it means a type of or a variety of. This tells someone that your friend is not the normal style of handsome but rather that he is an unusual variety of handsome.

Pork is a kind of meat.

meaning 

Pork is one variety of meat.

So a kind of is used to define something or put it into a category.

My friend is kind of handsome.

In this case, kind of is a modifier where you can soften the following word. So it means that her friend is a bit handsome.

It's kind of far.

meaning

It's a little bit far.

So as you can guess in conversation people are much more likely to use kind of than a kind of!

Any questions?

Phil

be used to vs. used to

Now back in 2010 I wrote a blog post about the meaning and the way to use the expression used to. Today I will be looking at the difference between be+used to and used to.

BE + USED TO

This is what we say when people have adjusted to a change in their lives.

It was tough when I started my new job at first but I am used to it now.

Are you used to living in Japan yet?

In many cases, be will be replaced with get:

Oh you think it's noisy here? You'll get used to it.
(You will adapt to it.)

I couldn't get used to the smell of stinky tofu when I was in Taiwan.(I couldn't adjust and accept the smell)

USED TO + verb

This simply means that before X was true and now it isn't

I used to play tennis. (now I don't)

She used to work at Panasonic. (now she doesn't)

My company used to make a pomegranate jam. (now it doesn't - it was discontinued)

Be very careful not to mix these two up!

Any questions?

Phil

Clever, Smart, Intelligent Revisited

Sorry for not having posted lately but I've been busy with my other hobby beer and my page/blog Kansai Beer Lovers. 

Anyways, way back in 2008 I wrote a post looking at the difference between clever, smart and intelligent. It was a good post and quite informative. Today I just want to quickly review what I said.

Clever

While popular among Japanese English speakers among native English speakers it often has more of a NEGATIVE connotation. It's somewhat condescending, like you are talking down to someone. It kind of emphasizes someone is good at solving problems or playing tricks. It's often used to talk about animals & kids.

A really clever crow keeps getting into my garbage can.

My dog's so clever he knows many tricks.

My kid gave a clever answer when I asked him why the sky is blue.

Intelligent

This has the same meaning as smart but is more formal and typically seen in written more than spoken North American English.

That company made an intelligent decision when they hired him.

My professor is a very intelligent man.

Smart

This is the word you'll most often hear in casual conversation and the one Japanese English speakers should be using instead of clever.

My son's really smart, he always gets good grades.

She's incredibly smart, funny and attractive. You should ask her out.

That wasn't a smart choice...

Have a good week,

Phil

What about you? How about you? And you?

Hey guys, I haven't written in awhile but last week I was teaching a student and he asked a good question:

What's the difference between  "What about you?" and "How about you?" ?

I had a hard time answering him at first as they're both kind of used like a mirror to shoot the question back at someone but after some thought I realized that they work slightly differently.

1- How about you?

A -----> B -----> A

2- What about you?

A -----> B -----> C

So with #1 it is generally going back to the person that asked you the question.

Helen : Do you have any kids?

Craig: No, I don't. How about you?

Helen: Me neither.

With #2 it may be used to go back to the questioner but is more often used to ask the question of SOMEONE ELSE, a third person in your group. To continue the previous conversation:

Helen: What about you Tom?

Tom: Actually, I have two kids: a boy & a girl.

We then briefly talked about the difference between those two  questions and "And you?".

Again this differs slightly in usage, this is usually used after a statement rather than after answering a question like #1 & #2.

Jerry: Oh wow, fresh strawberries! I love strawberries. And you?

Kelly: Strawberries are ok but I prefer raspberries.

Have a great Golden Week,

Phil

to milk X

This expression comes from farming and milking a cow. Yes in English milk can be used as a verb!

The original meaning is simply: to milk a cow. 



From this verb we got the expression to milk something for all it's worth. 

Hal: Did you hear that Tomo won an award?

Bill: Yeah, he's milking it for all it's worth! He's been telling everyone he meets about it.

This was eventually shortened to milk X. So this usage of milk means to exploit something as much as possible, to take of advantage of something as much as you can.

Husband: Oh, I'm so tired from yesterday's marathon. Can you do the dishes?

Wife: Stop milking that! Yes you ran a marathon but you haven't done any work since then!

Fred: He's really milking the sympathy card from his breakup.

Jeb: Yep, he's had a whole string of new ladies recently.

Fred: Well wouldn't you do the same thing?

Jeb: Yeah, probably. hahaha

Have a nice weekend,

Phil

Typical.

Hey everyone, today we'll look at a casual usage of the word typical. This is an adjective that means regular, usual, standard, average, etc. It basically means that something matches a particular group or type.

A: What do you do on a typical day at work?

B: I prepare lessons, talk to students and teach classes.

It can be used as the adverb typically.

Typically Japanese houses are rebuilt every 30 years.

Now the usage of typical I want to look at today is casual English. It acts as a kind of negative さすが. It's used when someone does something wrong or bad but that person often does that kind of thing. So it's their typical behavior.

She cancelled your date at the last minute again? Typical.

Student: I forgot to do my homework.

Teacher: Typical. You'll have to stay after school today.

You're husband was out late with co-workers, that's so typical of him!

As you can see it is regularly, or typically, used as a one wonder answer when someone shares information.

Kenta: The JR Tokaido line is delayed again today.

Yuko: Typical.


Gerry: My boss was in a bad mood again today.

Sam: Typical.

Gerry: Yeah, I think his wife yelled at him again for coming home so late.

You can find the Japanese definition on weblio here. The examples we've been looking at are under 2b:

【叙述的用法の形容詞】 〔+of+(代)名〕〔…の〕特徴を示して.

用例

It's typical of him to forget to bring a present. プレゼントを持ってくるのを忘れるとはいかにも彼らしい.

But as I said, when used in this way it is generally, or typically, used to describe a NEGATIVE behavior.

Have a nice week,

Phil

Well, technically speaking...

Today we'll look at the expression "technically" this is used in modern English when we want to say that while something is true on paper but it may not be true in actuality.

A: You're married?!?!?

B: Well, technically I'm still married but we've been separated for 2 years and are in the middle of getting a divorce.

So this is used to express that based on precise facts or a specific definition X is true BUT in reality it may not be all that true.

Technically most Japanese people are Buddhists. If you ask them "What religion do you follow?" they'll answer "I'm Buddhist". Actually though, most Japanese people don't read about Buddha or go to temples all that often or pray to Buddha so really they're not all that Buddhist. It's like in Europe where most Europeans are technically Christian but don't really go to Church anymore.

As you can see it is used to contrast two levels of truth, an objective & subjective truth.

A: Do you still work at Panasonic?

B: Yeah, technically I still work there but I quit last month and have been using my vacation days. Even though I no longer go to the office, my last official work day will be in 2 weeks.

You can find a nice discussion about the usage of technically here. Any questions?

Phil

It's gonna be a long hard slog.

Have you guys heard this before? 

A slog is a long hard exhausting walk. 

The image in your head should be of soldiers marching along a muddy road where their boots get stuck in the mud & pop out with sucking "slog" type sound.

So when someone says:

It'll be a hard slog but we can do it.

They mean it will be a long tough job but we can do it!

For example:

Alice: I heard you finished your diet?

Betty: Yeah, I'm so happy! It was a long hard slog dieting for 6 months but I lost 20 pounds and am ready for swimsuit season!

Have a nice day,

Phil

It feels cramped.

Hey guys, do you know what this means? This adjective comes from the noun cramp. This has a few meanings:

1. I have a cramp in my leg. (leg spasm & pain) 
2. She's on her period so is taking medicine for stomach cramps. (spasm & pain women feel when menstruating)
3. I have a cramp in my arm. 

Number 3 is when your muscle isn't responding, you have a temporary paralysis. Usually, because your arm or leg was in a tight space which reduced circulation and it fell asleep. This gives us the adjective cramped which means that something feels too small, too tight, the space is restricted & uncomfortable.

I don't like this hotel room it feels cramped. There's too much furniture for such a small space.

He lives in a cramped apartment.

She has cramped handwriting. All her letters and words are too close together. It's really hard to read.

There is also an idiom: to cramp one's style. I think this isn't used that much these days, it was popular in the 1970s-80s. It means that someone is too close, getting in the way and stopping you from acting as freely as you'd like. The image that comes to mind is two guys go out to a bar to meet women but one guy is getting in the way of the ladies man.

Matt: So which girls should we talk to?

Mike: There's no rush man, I'll let you know when I see some cute girls.

Matt: What should I say? How about her, she's cute!

Mike: Dude, you're cramping my style, just chill out.

Matt: Sorry man.

Have a good weekend!

Phil

What's your ETA?

Hi everyone, ETA is an acronym that stands for Estimated Time of Arrival. You pronounce it E - T - A. It comes from the military and so is most often used by men. You might hear an airline pilot use it.

Good morning passengers, this is Flight 2304 to Munich our ETA is 2:30PM local time.

It is a useful acronym for text messages or online chats.

My ETA's 10 minutes from now.

Our ETA's around 4PM.

Any questions?

Phil

Since when've you been working there? vs. How long've you been working there?

Hey guys, here's a quick lesson looking at two very similar grammar structures that have slightly different meanings & usages.

How long've you had a dog?

This question has a NEUTRAL tone you're simply asking for the length of time someone has had a dog.

(small talk)
Al: I see your smartphone's home screen is a dog. Are you a dog person?

Bell: Yeah, I love dogs. Actually, that's a photo of my dog.

Al: What's your dog's name?

Bell: Terrence.

Al: How long've you had a dog?

Bell: I've had dogs since I was a kid, but I've had Terrence for 2 years.

One thing to note is that have is often contracted into 've which is pronounced like of. In casual North American English, the of or ou sound is often replaced with a. So you might hear this:

How long-a ya been married?

Now let's look at the structure that starts with since:

Since when've you had a dog?

This expression is asking the same thing, the length of time you've had a dog BUT it is expressing SURPRISE. The speaker thought you didn't have a dog so is surprised to see you with a dog.

(walking in the park Ken sees Mark)
Ken: Hey Mark, since when've you had a dog?

Mark: He's not mine, I borrowed him from a friend. Terrence here's a real chick magnet.

Ken: Really? He's kind of ugly.

Mark: Naw, he's a cute kind of ugly women really like him.

Ken: So meet any cute girls today with Terrence?

Mark: Yeah, I got 2 phone numbers already!

You could also use it if you visit your friend's house and they suddenly have a dog there. You want to ask them where did this dog come from? I didn't think you had a dog...

(barking sounds through the door)
Hal: Come in.

Glen: What? Since when've you had a dog Hal???

Hal: I don't, I'm just dogsitting for my sister.

Have a good week,

Phil

At Christmas? On Christmas? For Christmas? During Christmas? Over Christmas?

Hey everyone, the holiday season is coming up so I thought I'd revisit prepositions and their slight variations in meaning. 

during Christmas

This isn't used so often in North American English but the expression is talking about during Christmas vacation or during the Christmas holidays/season. Actually, it is rare to hear during Christmas being used on it's own it will usually be followed by another word such as season/holidays/vacation and is usually preceeded by THE.

I love the all the decorations during the Christmas season.

Where did you go during (the) Christmas vacation?

He's always in a good mood during the Christmas holidays.

A similar expression is over Christmas which is used with holidays or vacation.

What did you do over the Christmas holidays?

I stayed home & relaxed over (the) Christmas vacation?

for Christmas

For is used to indicate a PURPOSE, GOAL or REASON. It's not used to talk about time.

This is for you.

I got this for my birthday.

So for Christmas is talking about the reason you did something.

Dan: What are you doing for Christmas?

Alice: Well, I have to work so we'll have a special dinner on December 22nd. How about you?

Dan: For Christmas I'm putting up a ton of decorations & lights before going skiing in Switzerland!

On Christmas

On is used to indicate a specific DAY so if someone says "on Christmas" they're talking about December 25th only.

On Christmas, I always eat a big dinner.

I loved opening presents on Christmas morning when I was a kid.

At Christmas

At is used to indicate a specific time(noon, midnight, 1PM, etc.), in this case it is a time of year. It has a similar meaning to during the Christmas season.

People tend to tip more at Christmas.

I love it when it's snowy at Christmas.

At Christmas time, I always try & drink Christmas beer or eggnog!

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas!

Phil

A few vs few What's the difference?

Way back in 2009 I did a lesson about countable & uncountable nouns today we're gonna look into the difference between a few & few. Both of these are used with countable nouns. HOWEVER, they have a different emphasis.

a few

This is POSITIVE you are stressing that you don't have a lot but you're happy you have a small amount of something.

I'm happy I have a few good friends like you guys.

Do you have a few minutes? I'd like to ask you a question.

On Thanksgiving, when I went to the supermarkets they had a few cans of cranberries left! I got lucky!

Pick up a few beers on your way home.

few

This is NEGATIVE, you're stressing that you're unhappy with how little you have of something.

I have few friends in Kyoto, it sucks.

Few people came to my birthday party, it was a real disappointment.

I got few presents last Christmas.

It's important to note that this usage sounds a bit old fashioned. Nowadays, people are more like to just use a negative sentence.

I don't have many friends in Kyoto, it sucks.

Not many people came to my birthday party, it was really disappointing.

I didn't get many presents last Christmas.

Now if you want to make similar sentences for UNCOUNTABLE nouns use a little and little.

a little

Yeah, I have a little time right now so we can talk if you like.

I had a little extra money left over at the end of the month so I was happy.

Can I have a little water?

little

Hurry up! There's little time left before the dealine.

After finishing our Christmas shopping we had little money left.

A beach with little sand isn't so nice.

Again just like few, little also sounds old fashioned. Any questions?

Phil