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I have another very common and useful expression for you today. It is “you’d think…but…” It is used when we want to talk about when we have a certain expectation of a situation, but then it isn’t true in reality. For example:

This restaurant is very expensive. You’d think that it would be good, but it’s not.

Frank studies Spanish all the time. You’d think that his Spanish would improve, but it doesn’t.

I threw a surprise birthday party for my girlfriend. You’d think that she would have been happy about it, but she wasn’t.

People in Africa are very poor. You’d think that they would be very unhappy, but many people are not.

So, as you can see from the examples, we usually have a sentence at the beginning which introduces the subject, and then we use the expression to talk about how our expectation turned out to be wrong.

Also, please note that the word “you’d” is the contracted form of “you would”, NOT “you had”.

Today’s grammatical expression is “in your face” and it is used when we want to talk about someone or something which is intended to be very strong and clear with a certain message. For example:

My friend is very in your face with his opinions.

The moral at the end of the story was too in your face for my taste.

A successful advertising campaign should be very in your face.

Pauline is not subtle when she wants something. She’s very in your face about it.

Grammatically, this expression is used like an adjective, so the verb “be” comes in front of it.

Also, when we use this expression, we always use the word “your”; we don’t use “my”, “his”, “our”, etc. It doesn’t matter what the subject of the sentence is.

Today’s grammatical expression can be used when talking to a person who is being hypocritical. That means that the person says one thing but then does the opposite thing, or if a person criticizes another person for something that is also true of them. The expression is “look who’s talking”. It is used as a way to point out to the person who is being hypocritical that they are not doing what they say others should do. For example:

A: You’ve certainly gotten heavy recently. You should go on a diet.

B: You think I’m fat!? Look who’s talking! You must be at least 100 kg!

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A: I think you should stop smoking so much.

B: Look who’s talking! You smoke a lot more than I do!

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A: It would be good for you to exercise more.

B: Oh really? Look who’s talking! You never exercise!

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A: I think you’re too negative!

B: Are you kidding me!? Look who’s talking! You’re the most negative person I know!

So, as you can see, we use this expression as a response to another person’s comment about us when they are being a hypocrite. Generally, we only use this expression with people we know well and are close to. It’s a little too strong to use this with people we don’t know well.

A while ago a friend of mine asked me to explain today’s grammatical expression: “can’t be bothered”, so I will pass that information on to you today.

We use this expression when we want to talk about something that we should do but which we don’t have enough physical or emotional energy to do. For example:

My apartment is so messy right now because I just had a party, but I can’t be bothered to clean up tonight. I’ll do it tomorrow when I’m not so tired.

I can’t be bothered to explain the meaning of this philosophy book to Greg because he’ll never understand it.

My wife and I couldn’t be bothered to make dinner last night because we both had to work overtime. We just ordered a pizza instead.

We can also use this expression to talk about being annoyed or angry with another person for their inconsiderate behavior. For example:

My husband can be so inconsiderate! I often make nice dinners for him, but he can’t be bothered to thank me!

I’m so annoyed at my friend Mary right now! It was my birthday yesterday, but she couldn’t be bothered to call me or send a card!

I’m really angry at my neighbor’s kids now! They broke my window with their baseball, but they couldn’t be bothered to apologize to me!

When we use “can’t be bothered” as in the first meaning, “I” or “we” is the subject of the sentence. When we use this expression as in the second meaning, “he”, “she” or “they” is the subject of the sentences. Please note that the word “can’t” can be changed to “couldn’t” if we are talking about a past situation.

The other day, someone asked me to explain “for the time being”, so I want to write about that today. This expression is used when we want to talk about what we will do while we’re waiting for something to happen in the future. For example:

I want a new winter coat, but I don’t have enough money for one now. For the time being, I’ll have to wear my old one.

I can’t get a permanent job right now so, for the time being, I’ll have to get a job as a temp worker.

I don’t have anywhere to live right now. Is it ok if I stay with you for the time being?

I know you don’t have your own computer so, for the time being, you can use mine.

When we use “for the time being”, the amount of time we will have to wait is usually unknown. In my examples, the people don’t know how long it will be until they can get a new winter coat, get a permanent job, find their own apartment or get their own computer.

Wow! I can’t believe it!!! Today is my one year anniversary of starting the English Help Online blog! I started writing it on February 10, 2010 and have written exactly 300 blog entries so far! Today will be my 301st entry!

For today’s entry, I would like to write about another natural and useful expression: to have something “in common” with another person. This expression is related to yesterday’s topic, the word “mutual”. It is used when we want to talk about two people who have the same interest or situation in their lives. We can also use it in the negative and say that two people don’t have anything “in common”. This means they don’t have mutual interests or situations in their lives. For example:

My friend Steven and I have a lot in common; we both like comic books, race car driving, hiking and action movies.

I don’t have a very good relationship with my brother because we don’t have much in common.

A: I don’t understand why you’re dating Tyler. You’re so different from each other. What can you possibly have in common?

B: Well, one thing we have in common is that we both hate being told we’re so different from each other.

I find it’s difficult to work with Betty. We have nothing in common, so it’s hard to talk to her.

So, this expression is related to “mutual” because if two people have a mutual interest, we can say they have that thing “in common”. This is a very natural and often-used expression. I think “in common” is a little more casual than “mutual”.

I would sincerely like to thank all my readers for your questions and kind comments about my blog over the last year! I hope I’ve been able to be of some help to you in learning this crazy language we call English. I hope we’ll have another great year together! Thank you!!!

Today’s grammatical expression is “the thing is…”, and it’s very commonly used in daily conversations. We use it when we want to give an excuse for something. For example:

I’m sorry that you saw me in my underwear in the living room when you came home. The thing is, I was really drunk.

Many people get angry at Rafael because he’s often late. The thing is, in his home country being late is normal.

I’m sorry, but I’ve forgotten your name. I hope you’re not upset with me. The thing is, I forget most people’s names.

I really want to come to your party, but the thing is, my boss wants me to work overtime that night. I’m sorry.

A: Can you come help me set up my computer?

B: I’d really like to help you. The thing is, I’m really busy right now.

So we use “the thing is” as an introductory phrase before we say the excuse. The excuse can be a reason for some bad behavior which people don’t like, as in the first three examples. It can also be an excuse for why we can’t do something that is being requested of us, as in the last two examples.

We can also use this expression when we want to explain something. For example:

Even though the new apartment is bigger, I don’t want to move there. The thing is, my current place is really convenient and close to where I work.

I really want to stay in room 415 at the hotel. The thing is, that’s the room where I stayed with my wife on our honeymoon.

My sister really doesn’t like cats. The thing is, a cat jumped on her when she was very young.

So, in these examples, “the thing is” is used to explain the reason why someone wants something or has a certain feeling about something.

I often find myself using the grammatical expression for this week: “like there’s no tomorrow”. It is used when we want to say someone does something very intensely. For example:

My friend always drinks like there’s no tomorrow. I’m really worried about her.

You shouldn’t spend money like there’s no tomorrow. You have to think about the future!

Jill must have been so hungry last night at the party. She was eating like there was no tomorrow.

Did you see Fred in the race? He was running like there was no tomorrow. I’ve never seen him run so fast before.

So the idea with this expression is that the person does this thing so intensely as if they were going to die the next day and that would be their last chance to do it.

As you can see, it’s possible to use “was” in the expression if you’re using it to talk about a past situation. My last two sentences are examples of that.

I have a nice, short entry for you today for this week’s grammatical expression: “not on your life”. This is used as a response to a question, and it is used to mean that we or someone else would never agree to do something. For example:

A: Do you think Eric will come dancing with us tonight?

B: Not on your life. He hates dancing!

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A: Do you think your father will let us borrow his car?

B: Not on your life! He never lets me borrow it!

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A: Would you like to try bungee jumping?

B: Not on your life! I would be way too scared to do that!

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A: How about having Korean food this weekend?

B: Not on your life! I can’t stand spicy food!

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A: I want you to come with me to see the new Nicolas Parker movie.

B: Not on your life! I really don’t like him as an actor!

So, with this expression, we use it to talk about future events, and we say “not on your life” to indicate our or someone else’s unwillingness to do something in the future. It’s quite a strong expression, so you should only use it with close friends but not with someone of higher status.

I have an interesting expression today which seems very religious in nature, but actually it’s not. The expression is “God forbid…” We use it when we want to criticize someone else’s attitude about something. For example:

My husband really wants me to stay at home with him in the evenings. God forbid I should go out with a friend of mine!

My mother is always telling me to wear a long skirt. God forbid anyone should see my legs!

In the first sentence, the speaker is criticizing the attitude of the husband for not wanting her to go out in the evenings with any of her friends. In the second sentence, the speaker is criticizing the attitude of her mother for always wanting her to cover her legs.

We can also use this when another person doesn’t do something we think they should have done. For example:

We didn’t know how long we would have to wait in line. God forbid someone should come and tell us!

My family expects me to do all the cleaning in our house. God forbid they should help me!

In the first sentence, the speaker is criticizing the staff at the restaurant for not telling them how long they would have to wait. In the second sentence, the speaker is criticizing her family for not helping her clean the house.

Please note that with this expression we always use the word “should” in the sentence.

As I mentioned before, this expression seems very religious because of the use of the word “God”. However, most English speakers use it even if they are not Christian or Jewish. It has simply become a common expression and people usually no longer think about it as being religious.