butter, batter, better, bitter tongue twister~!

Hey everyone, I was teaching the definition of batter today and it reminded me of a famous nursery rhyme called Betty Botter. You can find information about it here. 

Here is the tongue twister:

Betty Botter bought some butter,

"But," she said, "this butter's bitter;

If I put it in my batter,

It will make my batter bitter;

But a bit of better butter,

Better than the bitter butter

Will but make my bitter batter better."

So she bought a bit of better butter,

Better than the bitter butter,

and made her bitter batter better.

Betty Botter bought a bit of butter.

The butter Betty Botter bought was a bit bitter

And made her batter bitter.

But a bit of better butter

Makes better batter.

So Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter,

Making Betty Botter's bitter batter better.

 

 

Here is a video from youtube, unfortunately I couldn't find a version I liked in North American English.

 

 

Have a nice weekend,

Phil

This is a stick up~!

Today, we are looking at phrasal verbs and expressions using the verb "to stick". The first one we are looking at is:

a stick up

This is a robbery. Someone comes into a bank or shop and yells "This is a stick up" and all the people there stick their hands up in the air.

to stick with ( X )

This means that you will stay on the same team as someone. You won't leave them.

I tried Coke but I think I'll stick with Pepsi.

Meaning, I am a Pepsi drinker and I tried coca-cola but I won't change brands. I will continue to drink Pepsi.

We have to split up. Tom you stick with me. Jed go with Paul.

to stick up for ( X )

This means that you will stand up for someone. You will take their side and defend them.

When I was young I always stuck up for my brother.

You should stick up for yourself. You shouldn't let people push you around.

to stick around

This means that you will stay in the same place. You won't leave.

Al: Ted you should stick around till Jill shows up. You'll like her.

Ted: I can't stick around anymore or I'm gonna miss my train.

Al: Don't leave yet. Stick around just a bit more.

Ted: OK, I'll stick around for 10 more minutes.


 Have a good week,

Phil

Have you had enough?

OK, I posted about this topic way back in 2009! you can see the original entry here. Today, I will keep it very simple.

When using the word enough it comes BEFORE nouns but AFTER adjectives.

I was glad I brought enough money shopping. I almost ran out (of money).

I didn't eat enough food this morning.

She is pretty enough but kind of boring to talk to.

I am not tall enough so the coach said I can't be on the basketball team.

I can't get enough of this delicious steak! It's addictive!

A: Have you had enough pizza? Would you like some more?

B: No thanks, I'm fine.

Enough means that you are satisfied and don't need anymore. Of course in NEGATIVE sentences it means you aren't satisfied and want more~! To run out of something means to have none left.

Have a nice weekend,

Phil

Fight or argue?

Hey guys, do you know the difference between these two words?

ARGUE is VERBAL you are just using words. You might shout, scream or yell or even just talk in an excited way. You are basically having a disagreement using words.

in a car...

Anne: I think Stacy is the cutest!

Betty: No, it's Heidi.

Anne: Stacy, she has dimples!

Betty: Heidi has round eyes!

Anne: Stacy!

Betty: Heidi~!

Mom: Stop arguing!!!

FIGHT can be verbal or PHYSICAL or even BOTH. Many times things start off verbally and then progress into a physical fight...

...later.

Betty: Heidi is cuter! Stacy is an ugly cow!

Anne: Take that back! 

Betty: No~! Heidi is the best!

Anne: POW~ ! (hits Betty)

Betty: Owww.... Mom, Anne hit me~!

Mom: I told you to stop fighting~~! That's it we're going home, no concert for you bad girls!

Girls: Mooooo~m~!

So fight is a bit more general, you aren't sure exactly what happened but you know that two people or groups disagreed and are enemies or opponents. Argue is a bit more narrowly focused, you know that people just yelled or raised their voices. Argue is therefore a bit weaker than fight.

I saw a woman arguing with her friend on the train, they were so loud!

I had a fight with my wife so I had to sleep on the couch.

When I was a kid, I always used to fight with my brother.

Try not to start any arguments! You don't wanna get into any fights~!

Phil 

P.S. Be careful, fight is a noun and verb but argue is only a verb! The noun form is argument.

You don't have to rub it in!!!

Hey guys sorry for not posting more but I am on vacation and not really in the mood to blog about English which is my job!

Do you understand this lesson's title? It comes from an expression: rubbing salt into an open wound. This actually disinfects the wound but is EXTREMELY painful. The expression has been shortened to "to rub (something) in" it means that someone repeats many times something negative to make themselves feel good and you feel bad.

John: I hear Tara broke up with you.

Ben: Yeah, it sucks.

John: I told you she would, she was no good for you.

Ben: Yeah, you warned me.

John: Yup, she wasn't the girl for you. I heard she's dating Ted now.

Ben: Ok, ok, quit rubbing it in!

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

Ben: John's a real jerk sometimes.

Sara: Why do you say that?

Ben: Whenever he's right, he likes to gloat. He always rubs it in.

Sara: Yeah, that's true.

To gloat means to express or feel a great sense of pleasure or satisfaction usually because you won or you are right. It has a negative meaning!

Winners who gloat are jerks.

That guy is always gloating whenever he's right. He loves rubbing it in!

So you can see that the usage of "rub (something) in" is when someone is bothering you by telling something true but that you don't want to hear or be reminded of. Usually we say "Stop rubbing it in!" the it referring to what the other person said or did.

A: We won! In your face suckahs!

B: Good game...

A: You guys SUCK!

B: Um, yeah, you beat us.

A: Hahaha we're number 1, we're number 1!!!

B: Ever heard of sportsmanship??? It's not nice to rub it in...


Any questions?

Phil

I'm dead tired...

Hey guys, I am now back in my hometown after a grueling trip that took over a day! Grueling means physically or mentally demanding to the point of exhaustion. The trip was fine and I even got upgraded to business class but traveling internationally these days is such a hassle with all the lines (security, immigration customs), paperwork and flight delays.

Anyways, right now I am feeling jet lagged (jisa boke in Japanese) and exhausted from my trip but happy to be back. So, today we will look at the casual English expression:

to be dead tired

It simply means that you are super tired, you are exhausted, you don't have any energy left to do anything.

Tracy: Sam ya wanna go out dancing?

Sam: Nah, I'm dead tired. I was helping out at my Uncle's farm all day.

Tracy: Wow, sounds exhausting. How about we go to a day spa and relax?

Sam: That sounds nice, but... how about tomorrow? I think if I go today, I'll fall asleep in the hot tub!

Tracy: OK, get some rest and see you tomorrow!

Any questions?

Phil

summer weather...

Hey guys, summer vacation is just around the corner... and things are getting way too hot in Japan~! So here's a quick lesson of useful vocabulary to talk about this kind of weather.

muggy

This means it is hot and  very humid, it is similar to 油照り (あぶらでり) or 蒸し暑い（むしあつい）. This kind of weather makes you sweat a lot and your clothes stick to your skin.

It's been really muggy lately, by the time I get to work my shirt is soaked with sweat! Gross!

sweltering

This means it is excessively hot and humid. It's too hot and humid and it makes you sweat like crazy. It is stronger than muggy, so muggy that you don't even want to move.

Let's go to the Japan Alps to escape the sweltering summer heat in the city.

boiling

This literally means 100C when water boils but it is used in casual English to say that it is REALLY hot. The opposite is freezing.

It's boiling. Let's go somewhere with air conditioning.

scorching hot

This means it is VERY VERY hot. It is hot and dry enough to burn.

It was scorching hot yesterday! I went to the beach and burned my feet when I stepped onto the sand!

stuffy

This means that the air is old and stale, it isn't fresh. We often use it to describe a house or room. In the summer, when you go away on vacation then come home your place is usually stuffy.

Hey open the windows, this room is too stuffy.

This month is vacation time so I am not sure how often I will be posting on my blog. I will aim for about 6 times. Wish me luck!


Phil