On my mother's side...

Hey everyone, do you know the above expression? Today's mini-lesson will explain it and I think it will be my last lesson this year as I am off to India in a few more days and need to start packing...



On my mother's side...



and



On my father's side...



are used when talking about your extended family. Your immediate family is one step from you: your parents, your kids, your brothers or sisters. Your extended family is everyone beyond that: your grandparents, your uncles, your aunts, your cousins, etc.

We use these expressions to specify WHICH grandmother we are talking about, your father's mother(father's side) or your mother's mother(mother's side).

Baba is my grandmother on my father's side.

I have 5 cousins on my mother's side.

Well everyone have a

Merry Christmas and a

Happy New Year~!

Phil

Things you need to do...

Today, we will talk about our NEEDS. In Japanese, you say 要る (いる) as a verb and 必要 (ひつよう) as a noun/adjective. In English, we can use 4 different expressions:

MUST

This is the most formal and possibly the strongest.

You must study for tomorrow's test.

NEED TO

This is a bit less formal and weaker than must.

You need to study for tomorrow's test.

HAVE TO

This is more casual and often used in North American English, in conversation it is often pronounced HAFTA~!

You have to(hafta) study for tomorrow's test.

GOT TO

This is a bit more casual than have to and I feel it sounds a bit younger to me. I feel it is often used by kids/teenagers... in conversation it is pronounced GODDA...

You got to (godda) study for tomorrow's test.

Hmm, it is time for dinner guys so:

I godda go~!

Phil

There's no use beating a dead horse...

The other day, after I posted my blog I remembered this similar sounding expression:

There's no use beating a dead horse.

You might also hear someone say flogging a dead horse... have you heard this saying before? While it sounds similar to "There's no use crying over spilled milk" it has a pretty different meaning!

It means it is time to give up, if you are riding a horse and you flog it to make it run faster... once it has died from exhaustion hitting it again will not make it move~!

It comes from the idiom: to beat a dead horse. It means that something is a waste of time since the result has already been decided. If I continue doing it, it will have no result so what's the point?

A: I don't mean to beat a dead horse but you really should see Avatar.
B: I TOLD you, I hate sci-fi movies. Drop it~! You're getting on my nerves...

So do you guys understand? When you beat a dead horse you're doing something pointless, it will have no result!

Have a good week,

Phil

P.S. check out these links for more info

GoEnglish - Beat a Dead horse

Wikipedia - Flogging a dead horse

There's no use crying over spilled milk...

Have you guys heard this idiom before? It's a really common saying we use when someone is complaining or whining about something. It means that you can't change the past so there is no use crying about it. Crying about the past will not change anything...

Another way of saying it is:

What's done is done.

Meaning it happened we can't change it so we need to move on. Anyways, the reason I brought these expressions up is that I'm sorry I didn't post more often on my blog last month but I was too busy planning some trips, studying for my test(which I think went fine) and getting ready for my move... so I'm sorry but:

There's no use crying over spilled milk~!

Phil

P.S. More lessons coming soon, I'm aiming for 4-6 posts this month, wish me luck!

Nautical Idioms, idioms from the sea...

Hey everyone, I haven't posted in awhile. Sorry about that but I am crazy busy and a bit stressed these days as I deal with travel plans for the winter holidays, a planned move and my test on December 5Th! I just have too much on my plate(to do) so I haven't had time to post...

Anyways, this is a short post based on an article from The Art of Manliness about Nautical slang. You can see the whole article here: http://artofmanliness.com/2010/11/09/three-sheets-to-the-wind-nautical-slang-in-common-usage/

Here's a quick look at the idioms they covered:

to turn a blind eye

This means to refuse to see or recognize something.

Too many people turn a blind eye to domestic violence.

as the crow flies

This means the shortest distance between two points. The actual distance in a straight line, not the one following the roads.

A: How far is the drugstore?

B: About 2 miles as the crow flies.

over a barrel

This means in a helpless, weak or awkward position, unable to act.

My boss has me over the barrel.

know the ropes

To understand this details of how a business or something works.

Do you know the ropes yet? No, ok I'll show you the ropes.

to the bitter end

To continue something to the end even if it is unpleasant.

I'm staying in my marriage to the bitter end.

a slush fund

This is Money set aside by a business for corrupt activities or to use for fun or entertainment.

Most political parties have slush funds.

three sheets to the wind

This means to be drunk.

Man that guy is three sheets to the wind~! He can't even stand...

jury rigged

To improvise, to build or make something for temporary or emergency use.

I jury rigged a solution to the problem.

to start over with a clean slate

This means to start over fresh.

We need to start with a clean slate.

first rate

The best, top rank, most important, best quality.

You did a first rate job!

Ok there are a few more on The Art of Manliness and you can read about the history of these idioms there which is pretty interesting. Have a good weekend,

Phil

You did that on purpose~!!!

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't posted yet this month. I was up in Tokyo last week and I've been really busy studying for my test... which is in just 1 month~!! Unfortunately, this means that I won't be able to post so much this month. I will try and post 4-5 times, wish me luck!

Today, I was teaching a lesson and I said that it looks like they did it on purpose... but my student didn't understand. Do you?

On purpose

This means that you do something as a plan, it is NOT an accident. In Japanese, you would say: わざと (態と). A similar expression is to mean to do something.

A: Ouch! Watch where you're going!

B: Sorry.

A: You don't sound sorry... did you do that on purpose?
------------------
Mom, Tim broke my toy on purpose!
------------------
Sorry, I didn't mean to step on your foot. I didn't do it on purpose.

Now the opposite of on purpose is by accident.

Oops! I knocked over the plate by accident and it broke. I'm sorry...

I did it by accident... it wasn't planned... it wasn't intentional...

Hmm, is that clear enough? I hope so, have a nice weekend ^_^

Phil

Happy Halloween~! Also see/watch/look...

Hey everyone, Happy Halloween~!

Here in Kyoto, it is a pretty dreary rainy evening but I want to post at least 5 blogs this month so I am taking the time from my studies to write up a mini-lesson about watch/see/look.

Look is often used to called attention to something, you want someone to focus on something. Usually, just for a short time...

Look at that~! It's a UFO.

UFO stands for Unidentified Flying Object.

I feel like that painting is looking/watching at me.

See is simply the physical action, something happens in front of you and you see it... BUT you may not be paying attention. It isn't always all that important what you saw...

I saw a black cat on my way to work today.

Did you see the chair move by itself??? Watch the chair to see if it happens again~!

Watch is where you focus your attention on something for a longer period of time than look.

I feel like someone is watching/looking me. But no one is here, maybe it's a ghost...

Can you watch my bag? (meaning look AFTER, keep an eye on)

So as you can see look and watch are pretty close in meaning. BUT be careful we never say look TV~! It's always watch TV.

We often use see to emphasize GOING somewhere to see something(ex: a play, a movie, etc.)

I saw a movie.

Probably means he saw a movie at a theater, and:

I watched a movie.

Probably means he watched a movie at home. This is just general usage, it isn't a rule so sometimes people say watched a movie at the theater or saw a movie on my new flatscreen TV.

For more on see/watch/look check out these past posts:

http://phils-english.blogspot.com/2008/07/see-look-watch-and-stare-part.html

http://phils-english.blogspot.com/2008/07/see-look-watch-and-stare-part-b.html

http://phils-english.blogspot.com/2010/07/look-vs-look-like.html

Have a good weekend,

Phi