idiom: to be (still) up in the air

{ February 6, 2011 @ 2:08 am } · { idioms }
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Today is Sunday, so that means it’s time for another idiom. The one I’ve chosen for today is it’s “up in the air”. Often, with this expression, we use the word “still” before the word “up”. We use it when we want to say that something is still not decided and that we are still waiting to receive someone’s decision about a situation or that we’re waiting for more information that will allow us to make a decision about something. For example:

I don’t know how much my salary will be at my new job. It’s up in the air right now because we’re still negotiating my contract.

A: When will the office Christmas party be held this year?

B: It’s still up in the air. The boss is still trying to decide on a date.

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A: How many people will be attending the conference?

B: I haven’t heard back from everyone yet, so it’s still up in the air.

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A: Which university will you be going to in the fall?

B: It’s still up in the air. I haven’t heard back from all of the schools yet.

We don’t use this expression when we have the power to make the decision ourselves. Therefore, for example, if it’s up to us to choose a school to attend in the fall and we haven’t chosen one yet, we would NOT say “it’s still up in the air.” Instead, we would say “I haven’t decided yet.” or “I haven’t made up my mind yet.” By using “It’s still up in the air” we are saying that we have to wait for more information or for another person’s decision.

separable phrasal verb: butter up

{ February 4, 2011 @ 2:40 am } · { phrasal verbs }
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Today I have another interesting and surprising phrasal verb for you. It’s “butter up”, and we use it when we want to talk about flattering someone in order to get something from them. For example:

A: You look so beautiful today, and I think you’re really smart too.

B: Why are you buttering me up? What do you want from me?

Ken was really buttering up his boss yesterday because he wants to take the day off on Friday.

If you want anything from Kate, you have to butter her up first.

I wanted to borrow my brother’s car. I tried buttering him up, but he wouldn’t lend it to me.

I think the best way to remember this expression is to think of someone buttering a piece of toast. When people butter toast, it makes it softer. So instead of butter, people use words of flattery in order to make another person softer and more likely to give them what they want.

By the way, I remembered another meaning for yesterday’s blog entry “The thing is…”, so I will add the extra meaning and give more examples. Please check it out.

grammatical expression: the thing is…

{ February 3, 2011 @ 2:46 am } · { grammatical expression }
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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.

adjectives: decisive/indecisive

{ February 2, 2011 @ 12:57 am } · { adjectives }
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We can use the adjectives for today to describe a person’s character. The first word is “decisive”, and the other is its opposite “indecisive”. We use “decisive” when we want to say someone has the ability to make decisions firmly and easily. We use “indecisive” when we want to say someone cannot make decisions easily. For example:

My father is a very decisive man. He never has any problems making up his mind.

Bill is decisive, but he can be very stubborn. Once he makes a decision, he usually refuses to change his mind.

I think the prime minister isn’t doing a bad job, but I wish he were more decisive.

I hate my boss because he’s lazy and indecisive! The company loses money because he wastes time making decisions.

I don’t know what to order from the menu. I’m sorry for being so indecisive today.

I used to be a lot more indecisive when I was younger. Now I can make up my mind much more easily.

So, the word “decisive” is positive and the word “indecisive” is negative. Be careful about the pronunciation of these words. We DON’T say /dee SEE siv/. Instead the word is pronounced /dee SAI siv/. And when we say the word “indecisive” we have to stress the “in”, so it’s /IN dee SAI siv/. If you want to hear a clear pronunciation of these words, I recommend using The Free Dictionary. The link for that site is on my blog.

grammatical word: leeway

{ February 1, 2011 @ 2:03 am } · { grammatical word }
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Last week, I used a certain word in a conversation, and I thought it would be a good blog entry for today. The word is the noun “leeway”. It is used when we want to talk about a person giving or receiving more freedom in which to do something. For example:

My boss is very strict about what he wants this ad to look like, and he’s not willing to give us much leeway.

If you increase the budget for the party by only 10%, that will give us more leeway about the types of food we can buy.

A: Gerald said we had to buy eight new chairs for the office, and we couldn’t spend more than $1000.

B: That doesn’t give us much leeway.

I’m very lucky because my boss will usually give me a bit of leeway when it comes to deadlines. If I need a day or two extra to finish something, he usually gives it to me.

So, in the first example, the boss is not willing to be flexible about the look of the ad, so they have to do it exactly as he wants; in the second example, if they receive more money in the party budget, they will have more choices about food; in the third example, they are being very restricted about the choice of chairs because they only have $1000 to spend; in the last example, the boss is willing to give him more time to finish his projects.

In all of these examples, the word “leeway” refers to the amount of freedom the person has in which to do something. This freedom can come in the form of money, time or emotional space.

the difference between words: yes and sure

{ January 31, 2011 @ 2:34 am } · { the difference between words }
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yes

Today I’d like to go over something which seems very simple but can be quite confusing: when to use “yes” and when to use “sure” as a response.

We use “yes” as a response to a question about factual information. For example:

A: Are you coming to the party tomorrow night?

B: Yes. I’ll be there at about 7:00.

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A: Do you like Mexican food?

B: Yes. I like it very much.

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A: Have you ever been to Korea?

B: Yes. I’ve been there many times.

We use “sure” as a response to someone’s request. For example:

A: Can you help me with my project?

B: Sure. What do you need my help with?

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A: Could you turn down the music please? It’s a little loud.

B: Sure. I’ll do that right now.

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A: Would you pick up some milk at the supermarket before you come home tonight?

B: Sure, no problem.

The word “sure” is quite casual, so we don’t use it in formal business situations. In those situations, it’s better to use “certainly” or “of course”.

Sometimes in casual conversations people use “sure” or “of course” to respond to questions about factual information but, in these cases, it sounds stronger than simply saying “yes”. For example:

A: You’re coming to the party, aren’t you?

B: Of course! I wouldn’t miss it!

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A: Do you like Mexican food?

B: Sure! I think it’s amazing!

idiom: to be in someone’s good/bad books

{ January 30, 2011 @ 1:49 am } · { idioms }
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It’s time for another idiom. This week I’ve decided to write about the expression: to be in someone’s “good books”. We use it when we want to say that a person is in someone else’s favor at the moment because they did something good. The other person is usually someone of higher status. For example:

I’m in my manager’s good books right now because I agreed to work this weekend.

My sister is in our parents’ good books because she did really well on her final exams. They’re really proud of her.

I was a little late for my meeting with my boss. I hope I’m still in his good books.

We can also use this expression in the negative. For example:

I’m not in my teacher’s good books right now because I didn’t do my homework.

My brother is never in our parents’ good books. He’s always getting into trouble.

It’s also possible to use this expression with the word “bad”. For example:

I’m in my manager’s bad books right now because I made a big mistake at the office, and our client is really angry.

My father is in my mother’s bad books now because he forgot her birthday!

When we use “bad books”, it sounds much stronger than “not in someone’s good books”. So being in someone’s “bad books” indicates the higher level person is angry.

intransitive/inseparable phrasal verb: chicken out (of)

{ January 28, 2011 @ 1:58 am } · { phrasal verbs }
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This week I have a really fun phrasal verb to teach you: “chicken out”. Normally we don’t use the word “chicken” as a verb, but we can use it in this phrasal verb. We use this expression when we want to talk about a person who is planning to do something, then becomes too scared to do it and changes their mind. For example:

Jimmy was planning to ask the boss for a raise, but then he chickened out.

I was going to ask Susan for a date but, in the end, I chickened out. I’m too worried that she’ll say no.

My daughter chickened out of going on the rollercoaster yesterday at Disneyland. She’s still too young for that I guess.

My friend chickened out of going bungee jumping with me. Would you like to go with me instead?

This phrasal verb is inseparable if we add “of” to it and follow it with an object. My last two sentences are examples of this. It can also be intransitive if we don’t add “of”. My first two sentences are examples of this. Once again, as a reminder, intransitive means that the sentence has no object.

This phrasal verb is a little bit casual, but it’s not offensive. Generally, we use this in casual conversations with friends and people we are close to.

grammatical expression: like there’s no tomorrow

{ January 27, 2011 @ 1:15 am } · { grammatical expression }
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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.

adjective: opinionated

{ January 26, 2011 @ 2:45 am } · { adjectives }
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This week’s adjective is “opinionated”, and it can be used to describe people who have very strong opinions about many things and who usually share those opinions with other people all the time. For example:

My boss is a nice guy, but he’s very opinionated especially when it comes to business.

I don’t like Charlie very much. He’s much too opinionated for me. In fact, he never shuts up about his opinions!

My mother seems to be a very quiet person, but she can be quite opinionated once you get to know her.

I certainly have opinions about certain things, but I don’t consider myself to be an opinionated person.

This word is generally neutral in tone, but it has the feeling of being a little negative. If you want it to have the meaning of being extremely negative, you can say someone is “too opinionated”, as in the second example, and that is much more negative. Generally speaking, when we add “too” to an adjective which is neutral, it makes it negative.

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