Well, technically speaking...

Today we'll look at the expression "technically" this is used in modern English when we want to say that while something is true on paper but it may not be true in actuality.

A: You're married?!?!?

B: Well, technically I'm still married but we've been separated for 2 years and are in the middle of getting a divorce.

So this is used to express that based on precise facts or a specific definition X is true BUT in reality it may not be all that true.

Technically most Japanese people are Buddhists. If you ask them "What religion do you follow?" they'll answer "I'm Buddhist". Actually though, most Japanese people don't read about Buddha or go to temples all that often or pray to Buddha so really they're not all that Buddhist. It's like in Europe where most Europeans are technically Christian but don't really go to Church anymore.

As you can see it is used to contrast two levels of truth, an objective & subjective truth.

A: Do you still work at Panasonic?

B: Yeah, technically I still work there but I quit last month and have been using my vacation days. Even though I no longer go to the office, my last official work day will be in 2 weeks.

You can find a nice discussion about the usage of technically here. Any questions?

Phil

It's gonna be a long hard slog.

Have you guys heard this before? 

A slog is a long hard exhausting walk. 

The image in your head should be of soldiers marching along a muddy road where their boots get stuck in the mud & pop out with sucking "slog" type sound.

So when someone says:

It'll be a hard slog but we can do it.

They mean it will be a long tough job but we can do it!

For example:

Alice: I heard you finished your diet?

Betty: Yeah, I'm so happy! It was a long hard slog dieting for 6 months but I lost 20 pounds and am ready for swimsuit season!

Have a nice day,

Phil

It feels cramped.

Hey guys, do you know what this means? This adjective comes from the noun cramp. This has a few meanings:

1. I have a cramp in my leg. (leg spasm & pain) 
2. She's on her period so is taking medicine for stomach cramps. (spasm & pain women feel when menstruating)
3. I have a cramp in my arm. 

Number 3 is when your muscle isn't responding, you have a temporary paralysis. Usually, because your arm or leg was in a tight space which reduced circulation and it fell asleep. This gives us the adjective cramped which means that something feels too small, too tight, the space is restricted & uncomfortable.

I don't like this hotel room it feels cramped. There's too much furniture for such a small space.

He lives in a cramped apartment.

She has cramped handwriting. All her letters and words are too close together. It's really hard to read.

There is also an idiom: to cramp one's style. I think this isn't used that much these days, it was popular in the 1970s-80s. It means that someone is too close, getting in the way and stopping you from acting as freely as you'd like. The image that comes to mind is two guys go out to a bar to meet women but one guy is getting in the way of the ladies man.

Matt: So which girls should we talk to?

Mike: There's no rush man, I'll let you know when I see some cute girls.

Matt: What should I say? How about her, she's cute!

Mike: Dude, you're cramping my style, just chill out.

Matt: Sorry man.

Have a good weekend!

Phil

What's your ETA?

Hi everyone, ETA is an acronym that stands for Estimated Time of Arrival. You pronounce it E - T - A. It comes from the military and so is most often used by men. You might hear an airline pilot use it.

Good morning passengers, this is Flight 2304 to Munich our ETA is 2:30PM local time.

It is a useful acronym for text messages or online chats.

My ETA's 10 minutes from now.

Our ETA's around 4PM.

Any questions?

Phil

Since when've you been working there? vs. How long've you been working there?

Hey guys, here's a quick lesson looking at two very similar grammar structures that have slightly different meanings & usages.

How long've you had a dog?

This question has a NEUTRAL tone you're simply asking for the length of time someone has had a dog.

(small talk)
Al: I see your smartphone's home screen is a dog. Are you a dog person?

Bell: Yeah, I love dogs. Actually, that's a photo of my dog.

Al: What's your dog's name?

Bell: Terrence.

Al: How long've you had a dog?

Bell: I've had dogs since I was a kid, but I've had Terrence for 2 years.

One thing to note is that have is often contracted into 've which is pronounced like of. In casual North American English, the of or ou sound is often replaced with a. So you might hear this:

How long-a ya been married?

Now let's look at the structure that starts with since:

Since when've you had a dog?

This expression is asking the same thing, the length of time you've had a dog BUT it is expressing SURPRISE. The speaker thought you didn't have a dog so is surprised to see you with a dog.

(walking in the park Ken sees Mark)
Ken: Hey Mark, since when've you had a dog?

Mark: He's not mine, I borrowed him from a friend. Terrence here's a real chick magnet.

Ken: Really? He's kind of ugly.

Mark: Naw, he's a cute kind of ugly women really like him.

Ken: So meet any cute girls today with Terrence?

Mark: Yeah, I got 2 phone numbers already!

You could also use it if you visit your friend's house and they suddenly have a dog there. You want to ask them where did this dog come from? I didn't think you had a dog...

(barking sounds through the door)
Hal: Come in.

Glen: What? Since when've you had a dog Hal???

Hal: I don't, I'm just dogsitting for my sister.

Have a good week,

Phil

At Christmas? On Christmas? For Christmas? During Christmas? Over Christmas?

Hey everyone, the holiday season is coming up so I thought I'd revisit prepositions and their slight variations in meaning. 

during Christmas

This isn't used so often in North American English but the expression is talking about during Christmas vacation or during the Christmas holidays/season. Actually, it is rare to hear during Christmas being used on it's own it will usually be followed by another word such as season/holidays/vacation and is usually preceeded by THE.

I love the all the decorations during the Christmas season.

Where did you go during (the) Christmas vacation?

He's always in a good mood during the Christmas holidays.

A similar expression is over Christmas which is used with holidays or vacation.

What did you do over the Christmas holidays?

I stayed home & relaxed over (the) Christmas vacation?

for Christmas

For is used to indicate a PURPOSE, GOAL or REASON. It's not used to talk about time.

This is for you.

I got this for my birthday.

So for Christmas is talking about the reason you did something.

Dan: What are you doing for Christmas?

Alice: Well, I have to work so we'll have a special dinner on December 22nd. How about you?

Dan: For Christmas I'm putting up a ton of decorations & lights before going skiing in Switzerland!

On Christmas

On is used to indicate a specific DAY so if someone says "on Christmas" they're talking about December 25th only.

On Christmas, I always eat a big dinner.

I loved opening presents on Christmas morning when I was a kid.

At Christmas

At is used to indicate a specific time(noon, midnight, 1PM, etc.), in this case it is a time of year. It has a similar meaning to during the Christmas season.

People tend to tip more at Christmas.

I love it when it's snowy at Christmas.

At Christmas time, I always try & drink Christmas beer or eggnog!

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas!

Phil

A few vs few What's the difference?

Way back in 2009 I did a lesson about countable & uncountable nouns today we're gonna look into the difference between a few & few. Both of these are used with countable nouns. HOWEVER, they have a different emphasis.

a few

This is POSITIVE you are stressing that you don't have a lot but you're happy you have a small amount of something.

I'm happy I have a few good friends like you guys.

Do you have a few minutes? I'd like to ask you a question.

On Thanksgiving, when I went to the supermarkets they had a few cans of cranberries left! I got lucky!

Pick up a few beers on your way home.

few

This is NEGATIVE, you're stressing that you're unhappy with how little you have of something.

I have few friends in Kyoto, it sucks.

Few people came to my birthday party, it was a real disappointment.

I got few presents last Christmas.

It's important to note that this usage sounds a bit old fashioned. Nowadays, people are more like to just use a negative sentence.

I don't have many friends in Kyoto, it sucks.

Not many people came to my birthday party, it was really disappointing.

I didn't get many presents last Christmas.

Now if you want to make similar sentences for UNCOUNTABLE nouns use a little and little.

a little

Yeah, I have a little time right now so we can talk if you like.

I had a little extra money left over at the end of the month so I was happy.

Can I have a little water?

little

Hurry up! There's little time left before the dealine.

After finishing our Christmas shopping we had little money left.

A beach with little sand isn't so nice.

Again just like few, little also sounds old fashioned. Any questions?

Phil