Do you guys get along?

Hey everyone, just a quick lesson on this rainy Sunday before I go make dinner ^_-

Do you usually get along with your classmates?

Get along is a phrasal verb that simply means two(or more) people have a good relationship with each other. They don't fight or dislike each other.

When we were kids my brother and I didn't get along... we fought like cats and dogs~!

Ugh, I don't get along with that guy. He's a total jerk.

Since we shared an apartment, we don't get along anymore. I can't stand him, he's an idiot and a slob.

My girlfriend and I get along great! We hardly ever argue or fight ^_^

Here's a bonus phrasal verb:

get by

This means:

-to survive

I'm just getting by since I lost my job.
The money I have is just enough for me to live and survive.

She gets by on her looks.
She survives/lives based on her appearance.

-to pass someone/something

Excuse me, could you move so I can get by?
Excuse me, can you move so I can pass you?

or

A few mistakes got by my editor into the book.
A couple of mistakes got passed my editor into the book.

-to achieve the minimum necessary

In high school, he just got by.
He had passing grades only.

OK that is all for now!

Phil

I'm feeling lethargic...

Do you understand this sentence? Recently, Kyoto has been really hot and humid and it is making me feel lethargic.

Now, the medical definition of lethargic is that someone is in an almost coma-like state, they can't speak, move, etc. But when people use lethargic in casual conversation they usually just mean they feel tired and don't want to do ANYTHING-not even move! So lethargic is stronger than lazy.

Lazy is when you don't want to work, you want to do nothing.

Lethargic is when you don't feel like doing anything. Maybe you want to do something but you just can't find the energy to do it.

Sluggish is similar to lethargic but, to me, when I hear sluggish I think of moving SLOWLY and not thinking clearly. Whereas, lethargic people don't want to move at all.

If I feel sluggish, maybe I still want to do something but because of a hangover or something I am moving slowly and can't think as quickly as usual.

The opposite of lethargic is energetic. In Japanese, lethargic is:

不活発; 不活溌 (ふかっぱつ)

Lethargic is an adjective, the noun is lethargy.

He suffers from lethargy. (n)

He is lethargic. (adj)

Hmmm, maybe it is natsubate that is making me feel lethargic~! hahaha

Have a nice week,

Phil

P.S. this page has many sample sentences using lethargic

Speak vs. Talk

In response to Akiko's question, I decided to explain a bit about the difference between these two verbs. Generally speaking, there isn't such a big difference between them.

A) I talked to my friend
B) I spoke to my friend.

Both of these are correct but B) spoke sounds more formal/serious and if you say "I spoke with my friend", it sounds like you are angry about something.

So, talk is most often used for informal and casual speech whereas speak is used for formal situations.

Be careful~! Talk is a noun AND a verb BUT speak is ONLY a verb, the noun form is speech.

I gave a talk at work.
An informal presentation.

I gave a speech at work.
A formal presentation, this sounds like a much bigger deal.

The president gave a speech.
A formal presentation.

I had a talk with him about it.
A casual chat.

So let's recap:

Talk - more casual, not so serious, communication between two people or a group, exchanging or sharing information.

Speak - more formal/serious, it usually places emphasis on ONE person communicating, it isn't so much two way communication.

That being said there are many cases where speak or talk are more appropriate based on common usage.

I speak Spanish.
Speak is used for LANGUAGES.

I was talking on the phone.
Talk is usually used with PHONE. Using speak makes it sound formal/angry/serious.

Here are some links with more explanations:

English Spark

SpeakSpeak

Washington Faculty Say/Speak/Tell/Talk

Using English's online quiz

I hope that helped a bit Akiko, have a good weekend!

Phil

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