Archive for April, 2010

the difference between words: bored and boring, confused and confusing, etc

{ April 7, 2010 @ 3:06 pm } · { the difference between words }
{ Comments (1) }

ng

Today I’d like to go over a problem that many people have: the difference between -ed and -ing words as “bored” and “boring”. In English, we use -ed words to talk about a person’s feeling about a situation, and we use -ing words to talk about the situation itself. For example:

I was bored when I watched that movie.

I thought the movie was boring.

I was really confused by the teacher’s lecture.

I don’t know much about chemistry, so the teacher’s lecture was really confusing for me.

I was so shocked when I heard the news about my uncle’s death.

My aunt told me some shocking news! My uncle died yesterday.

I’m so tired because I had many meetings today.

I had many meetings today and it was very tiring.

If you’re still not sure how to use these words, try to remember a simple rule: we use -ed when PEOPLE are the subject of the sentence, and we use -ing when SITUATIONS are the subject of the sentence. However, there is an exception to that. We can use -ing words when a person is the subject IF the person is causing the speaker to have that certain feeling. For example:

My math teacher is so boring. I hate going to his classes.

My friend Paul is a very interesting guy.

People who talk loudly on the train are so annoying!

adjective: feasible

{ April 6, 2010 @ 1:33 pm } · { adjectives }
{ Leave a Comment }

feasible-png

Today I have another adjective for you: “feasible”. This is used to talk about something which possible to do under certain circumstances. For example:

We don’t have much money in the budget, so I don’t think doing such a big project is feasible right now.

I need to get the office redecorated in less than a week. Do you think it’s feasible to do that?

You want to put four desks in this small room? It might be feasible to put in three desks but not four.

I like your plan to bring in new business. I think it’s very feasible, but let’s see what the boss thinks.

So, as you can see from the examples, we often use this adjective in business situations. We could use the word “possible” in these situations, but the word “feasible” sounds much more business-like. You can use “possible” in situations which are more casual.

grammatical expression: when it comes to

{ April 5, 2010 @ 1:57 pm } · { grammatical expression }
{ Leave a Comment }

car-talk-why-you-should-never-listen-to-your-father-when-it-comes-to-cars

Today, in one of my lessons, I had to teach an expression that we often use in natural English but which I’ve never seen taught in any textbook: “when it comes to”.  This has the general meaning of  “about”, but it’s not exactly the same thing. It is more complex than “about”. It basically means “about this aspect of life”. I know this is difficult to understand, but I think reading some examples will make it clearer. For example:

I’m very hard-working when it comes to my job, but I’m very lazy when it comes to housework.

My brother didn’t get good grades in school but, when it comes to cars, he’s a genius. He knows everything about them.

My mother isn’t a very confident person except when it comes to cooking. She’s very confident about that.

When it comes to food, I think sushi is the best.

As I mentioned before, this is a very useful expression but I’ve never heard any of my students use it. If you want to use it properly, I recommend the technique I talked about in my first blog entry – memorize the example sentences and then change the small details in order to create a new sentence. Good luck!  🙂

transitive phrasal verb: pull off

{ April 4, 2010 @ 4:16 am } · { phrasal verbs }
{ Leave a Comment }

hifive

Today, I have another phrasal verb for you: “pull off”. This means for a person to succeed at something even though there were problems or doubts that the person could do it. For example:

I didn’t think you’d be able to get this contract, but you really pulled it off. Congratulations!

I can’t believe Francine was able to organize the party so quickly. How did she pull it off?

Edward is a good actor, but he really didn’t pull off this role. It was too difficult a part.

You want us to redecorate the entire house in four days?! That’s impossible! Nobody would be able to pull that off!

This phrasal verb is usually used with very ambitious projects. So the contract in the first example would be considered to be a very difficult one to get and the party in the second example would be a very big one that  required a lot of organization. If the situation is not considered challenging, we don’t use this phrasal verb.

idioms: to beat someone to the punch / to beat someone to it

{ April 2, 2010 @ 2:58 pm } · { idioms }
{ Leave a Comment }

2012-08-22_13-18-04_727_edit0

Today’s idiom is “to beat someone to the punch”.  Another version of it is “to beat someone to it”. These are used when someone does something before another person gets the chance to do it. For example:

I was going to order a pizza, but my girlfriend beat me to the punch. It should be here soon.

I was planning to write a book about a boy wizard, but J.K. Rowling beat me to the punch.

I was going to eat the last piece of pie, but my sister beat me to it.

A: Hey, I wanted to sit in that chair!

B: Sorry, but I beat you to it. You’ll have to be faster next time!

There is almost no difference between these two idioms, but we usually say “to beat someone to it” with smaller situations such as being the first person to get something such as a chair or a piece of pie. Therefore, in these situations when we say someone beat us to “it”, the “it” refers to a physical object rather than an action.

In the idiom “to beat someone to the punch”, the “punch” refers to an action such as ordering something or writing a book because the word “punch” is an action word. (It means to hit someone or something).

adjective: efficient

{ April 1, 2010 @ 12:33 pm } · { adjectives }
{ Leave a Comment }

efficient-man-on-phone

Today, I’d like to write about another adjective: “efficient”. This is used to talk about people who are able to work quickly and not waste time. It can also be used when talking about a system. For example:

Tim is the most efficient member of our staff. He can do any job twice as quickly as anyone else.

Monica is much more efficient than she used to be. When she first started working here it took her a long time to get any job done.

I’ve heard that Germans are the most efficient people in the world. Is that true?

I’m very happy with your work. You always get it done very efficiently.

I like your new filing system. It’s much more efficient than your old one.

Our old accounting system was just as efficient as this new one. I don’t know why we changed it.

So these are some examples of how to use this adjective. As you can see, it’s very often used in business or office situations.

Next entries »