Well, it’s the last day of the year, so I’d like to write one last blog entry for 2011. It is the expression “goes without saying”, and it’s used when we want to assure another person about something. For example:

We’re very sorry about sending you the wrong item. We’ll send you the correct one immediately, and it goes without saying that there will be no delivery charge.

A: When we go out for my birthday, are you going to pay for dinner?

B: Oh, that goes without saying! It’s your birthday!

It goes without saying that I will do my very best at this job! Thank you for giving it to me.

As you can see from my examples, we usually put the word “it” at the beginning of this expression. However, if we use it as a response to another person, as in my second example, we use the word “that” instead.

When we say something “goes without saying”, we’re basically saying that it’s so obvious that it shouldn’t have to be said. However, we say it anyway in order to make the other feel assured about it.

English Help Online is offering people the chance to take email lessons. The format of the lessons is the same as for my blog, and I focus on business English and daily conversation. If you or anyone you know needs to improve business English writing skills or simply wants to learn more natural expressions for daily conversation, my email lessons are the most convenient and least expensive way to do that! I can send free samples to anyone who is interested!

If you’d like to learn more about this, please go to my website.  The link for that site is:

http://www.englishhelponline.net

If you choose the full package you will receive sixteen lessons a month (four lessons a week) by email, writing assignments with full corrections and a voice recording of each lesson!

I would like to thank my readers for their kind comments throughout this year! I hope everyone had a great 2011, and I wish everyone all the best in 2012!

I recently had a request by someone to explain the difference between “always” and “forever” so that’s what I’d like to do today.

The word “forever” is used when we want to say that something will last for all time. In other words, it will never end. For example:

I will love you forever.

There will forever be distrust between Bill and me.

People have been killing each other in wars forever.

As you can see from my examples, we can use this for both past and future situations.

We can also use “always” to explain these types of situations, but the word “forever” is more formal and dramatic while “always” is more for everyday conversation. For example:

I will always love you.

There will always be distrust between Bill and me.

People have always killed each other in wars.

However, we can also use “always” in other situations. It can be used when we want to say that there is a certain condition which is true every time something happens. For example:

When I get home from work, my husband is always watching TV.

I always get annoyed when I’m on a crowded train.

We can also use it to describe the state of a person or thing in general when it never changes. For example:

Sarah is always happy. I really envy her.

The traffic light on Main Street is always broken. I don’t understand why they don’t fix it.

English Help Online is now offering people the chance to take email lessons. The format of the lessons is the same as for my blog, and I focus on business English and daily conversation. If you or anyone you know needs to improve business English writing skills or simply wants to learn more natural expressions for daily conversation, my email lessons are the most convenient and least expensive way to do that! I can send free samples to anyone who is interested!

If you’d like to learn more about this, please go to my website.  The link for that site is:

http://www.englishhelponline.net

If you choose the full package you will receive sixteen lessons a month (four lessons a week) by email, writing assignments with full corrections and a voice recording of each lesson!

If anyone has any questions, please let me know.

Today, I’d like to teach the phrasal verb “nod off”. This is used when we want to talk about a person who falls asleep while they’re doing something. For example:

My brother got into a car accident because he nodded off while he was driving.

I nodded off in the theater, so I missed the end of the movie.

The meeting was so boring that I kept nodding off while the boss was speaking.

This phrasal verb is intransitive which means that it doesn’t take an object in the sentence.

English Help Online is now offering people the chance to take email lessons. The format of the lessons is the same as for my blog, and I focus on business English and daily conversation. If you or anyone you know needs to improve business English writing skills or simply wants to learn more natural expressions for daily conversation, my email lessons are the most convenient and least expensive way to do that! I can send free samples to anyone who is interested!

If you’d like to learn more about this, please go to my website.  The link for that site is:

http://www.englishhelponline.net

If you choose the full package you will receive sixteen lessons a month (four lessons a week) by email, writing assignments with full corrections and a voice recording of each lesson!

If anyone has any questions, please let me know.

Today I’d like to write about a common adjective, “slow”. This is another example of a word that has other meanings that many people don’t know about. Of course, the main meaning is for a thing or a person to take a long time to move, but I’d like to go over its other meanings today.

1. for a period of time to not be very active. For example:

I had a slow day today. I just read a book and cleaned up my apartment.

I’m worried that the years after my retirement will be really slow.

2. for a company or store to not have many customers. For example:

Business has been very slow recently. We have to find a way to attract more customers.

It’s a slow night at the bar tonight because it’s a Tuesday. It will get busier on Friday and Saturday nights.

3. for a clock or watch to be behind the real time. For example:

Is it really 4:00 now or is that clock slow?

My watch is a little slow. Can you tell me what time it is?

4. for a person to have trouble understanding something which is easier for other people. For example:

My brother is a little slow when it comes to math.

The students in this class aren’t stupid. They’re just slower than the other students in the school.

English Help Online is now offering people the chance to take email lessons. The format of the lessons is the same as for my blog, and I focus on business English and daily conversation. If you or anyone you know needs to improve business English writing skills or simply wants to learn more natural expressions for daily conversation, my email lessons are the most convenient and least expensive way to do that! I can send free samples to anyone who is interested!

If you’d like to learn more about this, please go to my website.  The link for that site is:

http://www.englishhelponline.net

If you choose the full package you will receive sixteen lessons a month (four lessons a week) by email, writing assignments with full corrections and a voice recording of each lesson!

If anyone has any questions, please let me know.

Today I have another grammatical expression for you that is often used in English: “look on the bright side”. We use this when there is a negative situation, but we want someone to focus on a positive aspect that this situation has created. For example:

A: I had to work overtime every night this week!

B: Well, look on the bright side. Your paycheck this month will be a lot higher.

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A: I lost my job, so I had to move back in with my parents.

B: Look on the bright side. At least you don’t have to cook your own meals right now.

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A: I’m sick with the flu and I can’t go to work today!

B: Well, look on the bright side. You can relax at home for a day or two.

So, as you can see from my examples, we use this expression as a response to another person’s complaint about their situation. We usually say it as a way to try to make people feel better about their negative situation.

English Help Online is now offering people the chance to take email lessons. The format of the lessons is the same as for my blog, and I focus on business English. If you or anyone you know needs to improve business English writing skills, my email lessons are the most convenient and least expensive way to do that! I can send free samples to anyone who is interested!

If you’d like to learn more about this, please go to my website.  The link for that site is:

http://www.englishhelponline.net

If you choose the full package you will receive sixteen lessons a month (four lessons a week) by email, writing assignments with full corrections and a voice recording of each lesson!

If anyone has any questions, please let me know.

Today I’d like to teach you another idiom: to “play with fire”.  We use this expression when we want to talk about a person who is doing something that could lead to a negative or dangerous result. For example:

You’re dating two girls at the same time? I think you’re playing with fire. If they find out, you’ll lose both of them.

You’re playing with fire if you go into business with Carl. He’s got a really bad reputation.

A: I take drugs sometimes, but I’m not addicted.

B: I think you’re playing with fire. If you keep taking them, you’ll get addicted.

People who buy products from ABC Company are playing with fire. That company has had so many problems with product safety.

The first two sentences are examples of a negative result and the last two are examples of a dangerous result. As you can see from all the examples, we almost always use the present continuous tense (am/is/are +ing) with this idiom.

English Help Online is now offering people the chance to take email lessons. The format of the lessons is the same as for my blog, and I focus on business English. If you or anyone you know needs to improve business English writing skills, my email lessons are the most convenient and least expensive way to do that! I can send free samples to anyone who is interested!

If you’d like to learn more about this, please go to my website.  The link for that site is:

http://www.englishhelponline.net

If you choose the full package you will receive sixteen lessons a month (four lessons a week) by email, writing assignments with full corrections and a voice recording of each lesson!

If anyone has any questions, please let me know.

This week, I’d like to teach you another phrasal verb. This time it’s the expression “go around”. In English, this has three different meanings:

1. for an illness to be passed from person to person (usually a cold or the flu). For example:

I caught a bad cold on Sunday. You’d better be careful. It’s going around these days.

A bad case of the flu is going around right now, so I’m worried that I’ll catch it.

2. for something to be circulated (often a rumor). For example:

There’s a rumor going around that you and Peter are dating. Is it true?

You shouldn’t believe every rumor that goes around this office. Most of them aren’t true.

3. to have enough of something for everyone in a group. For example:

There aren’t enough test paper to go around, so we’ll have to photocopy some more.

I don’t think there’s enough cake to go around. I should have bought a bigger one.

English Help Online is now offering people the chance to take email lessons. The format of the lessons is the same as for my blog, and I focus on business English. If you or anyone you know needs to improve business English writing skills, my email lessons are the most convenient and least expensive way to do that! I can send free samples to anyone who is interested!

If you’d like to learn more about this, please go to my website.  The link for that site is:

http://www.englishhelponline.net

If you choose the full package you will receive sixteen lessons a month (four lessons a week) by email, writing assignments with full corrections and a voice recording of each lesson!

If anyone has any questions, please let me know.

Today one of my students got mixed up between the words “aggressive” and “assertive”, so that’s what I’d like to write about this week.

If we say someone is “aggressive”, it sounds like the person is extremely forceful and could possibly be dangerous or violent. However, if we say someone is “assertive”, it means that they will say what they think strongly or will try to get what they want, but it doesn’t sound like they are violent or dangerous. Here are some examples:

I don’t like Jerry when he’s drunk because he gets really aggressive. Last time, he started a fight with another guy.

My brother is a really aggressive driver, so I hate being in the car when he’s driving.

If you want to get a raise from your boss, you should be more assertive. If I were you, I’d just ask my boss for the raise directly.

Pam is a very successful salesperson because she’s smart, charming and assertive.

In my third example sentence, I talked about “a raise”. This word means a salary increase.

So, the word “aggressive” is very negative, but the word “assertive” is positive. Please be careful not to call someone “aggressive” if you want to say something positive about them. In those cases, you should always use the word “assertive”.

English Help Online is now offering people the chance to take email lessons. The format of the lessons is the same as for my blog, and I focus on business English. If you or anyone you know needs to improve business English writing skills, my email lessons are the most convenient and least expensive way to do that! I can send free samples to anyone who is interested!

(I’m just being assertive here. I hope you don’t think I’m being aggressive. I’m not dangerous, really!)

If you’d like to learn more about this, please go to my website.  The link for that site is:

http://www.englishhelponline.net

If you choose the full package you will receive sixteen lessons a month (four lessons a week) by email, writing assignments with full corrections and a voice recording of each lesson!

If anyone has any questions, please let me know.

Today’s expression is “when pigs fly”, and it is used when we want to say that something is never going to happen or that we have no intention at all of doing something. For example:

A: When are you going to finally go out with me?

B: When pigs fly! I’m never going to be your girlfriend!

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A: I think you should vote for Bill Richards.

B: I’ll vote for him when pigs fly. I hate that guy!

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A: My husband made dinner for me last night. It was so romantic.

B: Unfortunately, my husband will do that for me when pigs fly. I wish my husband were more like yours.

This expression means “never” because pigs will never be able to fly. So if someone asks you when you will do something and you know you will never do it, this expression can be very useful. However, you should be aware that it’s a little strong when said directly to a person asking you a question. In the first example, person B is not being polite because she doesn’t like the guy who is asking her for a date and she wants him to leave her alone.

English Help Online is now offering people the chance to take email lessons. If you’d like to learn more about this, please go to my website.  The link for that site is:

http://www.englishhelponline.net

If you choose the full package you will receive sixteen lessons a month (four lessons a week) by email, writing assignments with full corrections and a voice recording of each lesson!

If anyone has any questions, please let me know.

Today I’d like to go over another common misunderstanding that many of my students have: the difference between “overwork” and “overtime”. When someone works longer than their regular scheduled hours, we say that they “work overtime”. However, when someone is working too hard or too much, we saying they are “overworking”. Therefore, the word “overtime” is a noun, and the word “overwork” is a verb. Here are some examples of how to use them in sentences.

I have to work a lot of overtime right now because my company is in the middle of a huge project.

My boss asked me to work overtime tonight, so I won’t be able to have dinner with you. I’m sorry.

Ben looks so tired these days. He’s really overworking right now. He needs to take a break.

My husband has been overworking himself trying to get his business off the ground.

The term “work overtime” is neutral in meaning, but the word “overwork” is always considered negative because it means to work too much. Whenever we use “too”, the situation is always considered bad.

Please note that in my last example I used “overworking himself”. It’s very common to use words  like “myself”, “yourself”, “himself”, “ourselves”, etc. after the verb “overwork”. In these cases, it means that it’s the person’s choice to work extremely hard, but that it’s too much.

Today’s blog entry is a typical example of the lessons I’m offering in my new business English email lessons. If you’d like to learn more about business English writing and speaking, please check out my website.  The link for that site is:

http://www.englishhelponline.net

If you choose the full package you will receive sixteen lessons a month (four lessons a week) by email, writing assignments with full corrections and a voice recording of each lesson!

If anyone has any questions, please let me know.