It's time to stock up...

...Happy Valentine's Everyone!

So at this time of year chocolate is on sale and it is a good chance to stock up.

The word stock means inventory, 在庫 (ざいこ). So when something is sold-out it is, out of stock = 売り切れ (うりきれ). Around Valentine's is a good time to stock up on chocolate.

Stock up means that you build up a lot of inventory-you buy many so that you can use them in the future. So whenever I see snacks on sale at a good price I often stock up so that I can enjoy them later ^_^

Ok that is all for today but here is a link to a website where you can study more Valentine's English:

http://cambridgeenglishonline.com/valentines_english/

It's called the Valentine's English Zone, enjoy!

Phil

It's a family heirloom.

Hey everyone, do you know what heirloom means?

In Japanese you'd say, 家宝 (かほう). So like the kanji say it is a family treasure that is passed down from parents to their children as is often kept in the family as long as possible. It could be a watch, a painting, a bracelet, furniture, a book, etc.

Now when you have an heirloom you would often say:

Oh that painting? It's a family heirloom, we've had it for ages.

or

A: Where'd you get that watch? It's really nice.

B: Oh this? I have no idea, it's been in my family for ages. I guess it's kind of like a family heirloom.

For ages means for a really long time. An age is like; an Ice Age, the Stone Age, the Computer age, etc. In Japanese, I guess it is like 時代 (じだい). So for ages means for many ages! I guess it has passed from your great-grandparents(or before) down to you.

I've had this car for ages, I thinks it's time I get a new one.

Now if you want to use a weaker expression you can say for years. This also means for a long time but LESS than for ages.

A: Hey nice tie!

B: Oh this old thing? I've had it for years.

or

We've been coming to this restaurant for years and you STILL don't know our names??

Alright that's it for today, have a nice weekend!

Phil

What's the matter? What's wrong?

Hey everyone, here's another lesson about English usage. Do you know the difference in feeling between:

What's the matter?

and

What's wrong?

They are both really close in meaning. When you see someone who looks a bit angry, sad, crying, etc. you'd probably ask them:

What's wrong? is used when there is something obviously wrong with someone. They are showing signs of a big emotional problem, like crying, screaming, shouting, punching, kicking, etc.

A: waaah, sniff , sniff, waah (crying sounds)

B:Oh, what's wrong little girl?

A: I can't find my Mommy.

B: Do you know your phone number? You can call home on my cell.

As you can see in this example, the girl is crying so "What's wrong?" sounds more natural. "What's the matter?" would be more polite but he's talking to a child so it isn't really necessary.

Don: Damn! Stupid piece of crap!!! (hits his keyboard)

Paul: Hey Don, calm down. What's wrong?

Don: My stupid computer froze AGAIN. I hate windows!!

There's an obvious problem and Don and Paul are friends so, "What's wrong?" sounds better.

"What's the matter?" is more flexible and also more polite. You can use it when someone is crying, screaming, angry, etc. AND when they are simply quiet or don't seem like themselves.

A: You're quiet today. What's the matter?

B: I just got dumped~!

A: Oh, your boyfriend broke up with you? He's a jerk!

So, there was no obvious sign of anything wrong she was just quieter than usual. In the case, it's more natural to me to say "What's the matter?".

I think "What's the matter?" because it is more polite and less direct makes it softer and so more flexible, maybe even kinder. "What's wrong?" is a bit too direct to use with strangers.

A: waah waah sniff sniff waaaah (crying)

B: What's the matter?

A: I lost my cat.

B: It's ok, I'm sure it will come back. Do you want me to help you find it?

A and B don't really seem to know each so "What's the matter?" sounds a bit better.

I hope you enjoyed this lesson, have a good week,

Phil

Bacteria vs. germs

Hey everyone, here's a quick little lesson to start off the month. Do you know what the difference is between bacteria and germs? I am not talking about a detailed difference in the biological sense but about the difference in meaning in casual everyday spoken English...

...GERMS is NEGATIVE, it is used to talk about bad micro-organisms. In Japanese, you might say: 病菌 (びょうきん) or 黴菌 (ばいきん).

I hate germs~! They make us sick.

Oh, if you don't know, organism means a living thing like 有機体 (ゆうきたい) or 生き物 (いきもの). Probably it is closer in meaning to "yuukitai". A micro-organism is simply a very very small living thing.

BACTERIA on the other hand is more neutral, it could be bad or good.

I eat a special yogurt to give my stomach some good bacteria to help with my digestion.

I always use anti-bacterial cleaning products, I hate bacteria like salmonella!

Bacteria in Japanese is of course, バクテリア.

I hope you enjoyed this lesson, I will try and post a new one soon!

Phil

Cat got your tongue?

Hey everyone, for the last lesson of the month I will talk about a few idioms related to the word tongue (舌 - した). The first we'll look at is:

Cat got your tongue?

This is a question meaning "Why aren't you saying anything?" or "Why are you so quiet?" according to thefreedictionary.com it is most often used by adults towards children.

A: Hi Timmy what'd you do today?

B: ...

A: Cat got your tongue Timmy?

B: No, but I was playing baseball and broke a window...

-------

John: Hey Sam, how's it going?

Sam: ...

John: Hello, Earth to Sam... what's the matter? Cat got your tongue?

Sam: Oh, sorry, I was daydreaming and didn't hear you.

So you can use this question anyone is not talking to you or answering your questions. It has a friendly, casual feel.

Ok the second idiom we'll look at is:

It's on the tip of my tongue.

We use this when we are trying to remember something and we feel we are close to remembering it. It's usually used with NAMES...

A: Oh who's that guy that painted the Mona Lisa again?

B:Oh, I know that! It's -

A: No wait! I got it, it's on the tip of my tongue...

B: Yeah, it's Leo-

A: Yeah, yeah I got it! It's Leonardo Da Vinci!

-----

C: Who was that?

D: I forget her name... hmm, it's on the tip of my tongue...

D:...now I remember, she's Kara we went to university together.

Well that's it for this month, see you in February~!

Phil

Do you get it?

Hey everyone, time for a quick mini-lesson about the phrasal verb:

Get it

Which is pronounced: geddit.

Do you get it?

Means

Do you understand it?

It is most often used when talking about JOKES~!

A: Do you get it?

B: No, I don't get it. Do you?

C: Me neither. Why's he laughing so much?

A: Well, if none of us gets it, it can't be that funny...

It might also be used to simply say you don't understand something like a book or a piece of art, a song, etc... in which case we use don't get X.

I don't get why Britney Spears is so popular.

I don't get this book, it's gibberish.

Gibberish means 珍糞漢 (ちんぷんかん) or 痴れ言 (しれごと).

I don't get this painting...do you?

OK that's it for now. If you like click on the tag for get on the left side of the screen for more lessons about this useful verb!

Have a good week,

Phil

Don't choke~!

The other day I was with my girlfriend watching a TV show and a character said:

"I don't wanna choke"

She asked me "What does choke mean?" So today I will teach you all about a few of the meanings of the verb:

Choke

The main meaning is that you can't breathe well, even to the point of death. But from this meaning you get many variations:

He choked Bill to death.
(squeezed his neck)

My collar is too tight, it's choking me a bit...
(too tight so you can't breathe)

What's with all the smoke? Open the window before we all choke!
(can't breathe)

As Elvis said: "I'm all choked up."
(full of emotion so that you can't speak.)

The meaning from the TV show was to fail to perform adequately due to tension or agitation(from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/choke). In other words, you are trying to win or do something but you just can't because of a mental block.

I'm gonna talk to her today. I swear I won't choke.

I can't believe he choked on the penalty kick!

Don't choke! You can do it!

So do you all understand the verb choke? Next time you see a foreigner or go abroad and try to speak English, relax take it easy and just enjoy it. That way you won't choke ^_^

Have a good week,

Phil