Archive for July, 2014

grammatical expression: in no time

{ July 30, 2014 @ 8:37 pm } · { grammatical expression }
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Mutemath-In-No-Time-Pierce-Fulton-Remix

Today, I’d like to write about the short expression “in no time”. We use it when we want to say that something will happen very quickly. Let me give you some ways to use it in sentences.

If we take the bullet train, we’ll get to Osaka in no time.

I just bought some new kitchen machines. Now I can prepare dinner in no time.

If you study French at this school, you’ll be fluent in no time.

This car repair shop is great. They fixed my car’s engine in no time at all.

We only use this expression in grammatically positive sentences.

Sometimes, we add “at all” to the end of this expression. This is done to emphasize it and make it stronger. This is the case of my fourth example.

This is an example of exaggeration in English because, obviously, any action will take at least a little time to be accomplished.

Please note that we always use the word “no” in this expression instead of “not”. Generally, we use “no” in front of a noun, and we use “not” in front of a verb or adjective.

This expression can be used in both casual business situations and daily conversations.

grammatical expression: on the other hand

{ July 21, 2014 @ 9:09 am } · { grammatical expression }
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cropped-on-the-other-hand-letter-head1

Today, I’d like to write about the term “on the other hand”. We use it when we want to talk about something which goes against something that has already been said. Let me give you some ways to use it in sentences.

Peter is very talented. On the other hand, he’s also very lazy.

A: Rebecca said you were late today.
B: I was only two minutes late. She, on the other hand, has been ten minutes late three times this week.

This house is quite expensive for me now. On the other hand, it would be a good investment for the future.

I don’t like American movies so much. American TV shows, on the other hand, are very interesting.

We can use this term in grammatically positive and negative sentences, but it’s not used in questions.

As you can see from my examples, “on the other hand” is used in a second sentence and is used to contradict something in the first sentence.

It can be placed at the beginning of the second sentence or in the middle. It it’s in the middle, there must be commas around it.

This term can be used in both business situations and daily conversations.

grammatical word: eyesore

{ July 2, 2014 @ 4:25 pm } · { grammatical word }
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Temporary_Eyesore_04

Today I’m going to write about the noun “eyesore”. We use this when we want to talk about something that is on display that we think is very ugly. Here are some ways to use it in sentences.

I hate the statue in front of my apartment building! It’s such an eyesore!

My neighbors put a big windmill on their front lawn to generate electricity. It’s a good idea, but the thing is a real eyesore.

I want to put a home gym in my apartment, but my wife won’t let me. She says it’ll be an eyesore.

I can’t believe the museum paid $1,000,000 for that eyesore of a painting! What a waste of money!

In all of these cases, the thing (the statue, the windmill, the home gym, the painting) is considered very ugly by the person. However, that is just their opinion; another person might disagree.

When we talk about an “eyesore”, it can be about something on display either in a private home, in a public building or outside.