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

Go to home??? huh?

Hey everyone, a few years ago I posted on the difference between go and go to. You can find that link here. Today, I am going to talk about a when you should use:

go to + place

and

go + place

Usually, we use go to + SPECIFIC place, for example:

I want to go to Tokyo.

He went to Isetan.

Her parents are going to Mongolia next week.

Tom went to the post office.

I have to go to the bank today.

SOMETIMES, we just use go + place. We use this structure when the place ISN'T specific.

A: Have you been to Disney Sea?

B: Yeah, I went there 3 years ago.

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

Harry: Ted's never gone abroad.

Alice: What? Really? He seems so cosmopolitan.

Harry: Yeah, he's well-read. He's gonna go abroad this winter.

Alice: Good for him!

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

Mom: Kids, go outside and play.

later

Neighbour: What's that racket? Oh, it's just some kids playing outside.

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

Wow, it's late. Time to go home.

So when the place isn't specific like with there, outside, abroad, or home we DON'T use go to!

I am aiming for about 6 lessons this month. Have a nice week!

Phil

Do you wanna go out for a drink?

Today we are going to have an easy mini-lesson ^_^ I hope you enjoy it~!

What's the difference between:

Let's go out for a drink tonight!

and

Let's go out for drinks tonight!

Well, the easy answer is that the A before drink and the S added to drink are the differences between the two. That's correct but what is the difference in MEANING?

In my mind, if a friend says "Do you wanna go out for a drink?"(a drink = 1-2 drinks) it usually means we will go out for one or two drinks, that's it. It isn't going to be a big night of drinking.

I prefer beer so, I usually say "Do you wanna grab a beer after work?" meaning "Do you feel like drinking a beer with me after work?". With a beer meaning one or two beers... this is why many bars have Happy Hour on weekdays to encourage people to grab a drink after work. Happy Hour is a set time (for example 5-7pm, M-F) when bars offer drink specials and even free food!

"Do you wanna go out for drinks?" (drinkS = 2+) has a slightly different meaning. When you use the plural drinkS you are talking about many drinks so, 2 or more! If someone invites you to go out for drinks it is possible you will be out drinking for many hours... ^_- which can be fun from time to time! hahaha

There's one other expression I'd like to teach you today which is:

"Do you wanna go drinking tonight?"

This isn't used all that much by adults because it makes you sound like an alcoholic~! BUT when I was a college student I would often ask my friends this question. It means "Do you want to go out and drink LOTS of alcohol until we are drunk tonight?". Basically, when you talk about going drinking, you are talking about drinking ALOT and maybe even ALL NIGHT.

You might go bar hopping (where you have a few drinks at a bar, then go to another bar for a drink or two and then another bar and another, etc.) or you might sit in one bar with your friends drinking all night...

Hmm, I think that is enough for this lesson, have a good week!

Phil

Go & get...

Ok, today we will talk about the difference between go and get...

GO

This means LEAVE for somewhere. The focus is on departing a place.

work -----> home

What time do you go home?

I go home at 7pm.

Meaning I leave work at 7pm to start on my way home.

GET

This means to ARRIVE somewhere. The focus is on arriving.

work -----> home

What time do you get home?

I get home at 7:45pm.

Meaning I arrive at home at 7:45, so it takes me 45 minutes to travel from my office to my home.

I hope that helped explained the difference between the two~!

Have a nice day everyone and good luck in your studies,

Phil

go to and go...

OK this is a very common problem for Japanese English speakers, you say "go to shopping" instead of "go shopping". I even know a teacher who said it was one her student's biggest problems.

The basic rule here is:

go + ing verb = go do an action

go + to + PLACE = go somewhere

So for example:

I'm going to Sapporo.
I'm going to Gion.
I'm going to Book Off.

Be careful here going to is NOT used to talk about the future so DON'T use gonna!
All of these examples say I am going to a SPECIFIC PLACE. If you want to be a bit more general add "the" when the listener knows which one you are talking about.

I'm going to the bookstore.
I'm going to the supermarket.

If you are not sure which shop you are going you can use"a":

I'm going to a cafe. (I don't know which one)

Some places NEED "the" because people used to live in small towns and so there was only one, or everyone would go to the same place.

I'm going to the bank.
I'm going to the post office.
I'm going to the beach.
I'm going to the lake.

Now when talking about ACTIONS you use "go ~ing". For example:

I go dancing every weekend.
I like to go drinking with my friends.

The important thing to remember here is:

NEVER use go + to + ing verb!

It is virtually ALWAYS wrong.

I go to shopping. NO! I go shopping. YES ^_^

See you next time!

Phil