idiom: no strings attached

{ August 15, 2010 @ 1:41 am } · { idioms }
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No-Strings-Attached-poster

I have another good idiom for you today: “no strings attached”. It is used when we want to say we will do something for another person without expecting to receive anything in return. For example:

My friend lent me his car last weekend with no strings attached. He’s such a nice guy!

A: I can help you move this weekend if you’d like me to.

B: Really? What do you want in return?

A: Nothing. No strings attached. I just want to do something nice for you.

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A: The boss just gave me the day off tomorrow. No strings attached!

B: Really? That’s amazing! Why did he do that?

A: He said it was because I’ve been working really hard lately.

In the case of this expressions, the “strings” represent the conditions under which someone will do something for you. So, if there are “strings” in the first example, the friend might expect to borrow something else from the person in exchange for the use of their car. In the last example, the boss might expect the employee to work on another day when they aren’t supposed to work. However, in these cases, there are “no strings”, so nothing is expected.

inseparable phrasal verb: go by

{ August 13, 2010 @ 1:16 am } · { phrasal verbs }
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The phrasal verb for this week is “go by”. It is inseparable which means that the object (either a noun or a pronoun) will come after the word “by”.  It has three meanings in English.

1. to use as a name (usually a shorter form of someone’s real name). For example:

My name is Michael, but usually I just go by Mike.

My friend Takahiro goes by the name Taka with his foreign friends.

2. for someone to believe something that someone else tells them (often used in the negative). For example:

I never go by what a salesperson in a store tells me. They’ll say anything to make a sale.

If I were you, I wouldn’t go by anything Ian tells you. He tells a lot of lies.

3. to let a chance pass. For example:

My father let his chance for success go by, and now he’s very unhappy.

I have a great opportunity to make some money, and I can’t let it go by.

In the case of the last definition, “go by” is intransitive which means that there is no object in the sentence.

grammatical expression: for good

{ August 12, 2010 @ 12:19 am } · { grammatical expression }
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I have a short and simple entry for you today about another common expression: “for good”. This basically has the same meaning as the word “forever”. For example:

Next year, I plan to move back to my hometown for good.

I have a part-time job on Sundays for the moment, but I’m not planning to keep it for good. I want to quit it in about a year.

When I get married, I want to stay married for good. Too many of my friends are divorced.

A: Is your brother going to stay in Australia for good?

B: I think so. He just married an Australian woman and says he wants to settle down there.

The expression “for good” is more casual than “forever” and is used to describe personal situations. The word “forever” sounds more formal and is usually used in less personal situations. For example:

The dinosaurs died out thousands of years ago, and now they are gone forever.

We could say “They are gone for good.”, but it sounds too casual for this situation.

adjective: skeptical

{ August 11, 2010 @ 1:42 am } · { adjectives }
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Skeptical Baby Temp

Today I’d like to write about the adjective “skeptical”. It is used to talk about a person having a doubt about someone or something. For example:

I’m very skeptical that the prime minister will lower taxes like he said he would.

Jack said he would help me move this weekend, but I’m pretty skeptical that he’ll actually do it. He usually breaks his promises.

Some people are skeptical about global warming, but I think it’s true.

A: I don’t think Henry will do a good job on this project.

B: Don’t be so skeptical. I have faith in him.

As I mentioned before, “skeptical” is used about people having a doubt, so we say a person is skeptical about someone or something. We DON’T say the situation is skeptical, so we CANNOT say that “Global warming is skeptical.”; we must say, “I’m skeptical about global warming.”

By the way, for the record, I’m NOT skeptical about global warming. I think it’s true.

grammatical word: even

{ August 10, 2010 @ 2:01 am } · { grammatical word }
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Groupe_Even

The word “even” is used very often in English, but most students don’t use it. I think that is because they are unsure of how to use it properly, so they avoid it. In today’s blog entry, I will explain it.

There are two basic ways to use this word as an adverb. The first one is used with comparative adjectives such as “better”, “worse”, “louder”, “more interesting”, etc. In these cases the word “even” means that the thing or person you are describing has become more intense than before, or something that is more intense than something else. For example:

My mom’s lasagna was always very good, but last week she added mushrooms to the recipe, and now it’s even better.

Your grades in high school were bad, but mine were even worse.

My old neighbors were very loud at night, but my new neighbors are even louder than the old ones. I’m going to make a complaint.

I loved the first season of that TV show. In the second season, the producers made some changes, and now it’s even more interesting than ever.

The second way we use “even” is when we are giving an example of an extreme situation and explaining that something that most people consider simple or normal is not a factor in that situation. For example:

My friend doesn’t know how to cook at all. She can’t even fry an egg.

Victor doesn’t like alcohol. He says even one sip of beer makes him feel sick.

I’m sorry, but we’re sold out of wine. There’s not even one bottle left.

My father hates travelling. He won’t even travel to his hometown one hour away.

So, in the first example, many people can’t cook, but most of them can still fry an egg. We use “even” to show that my friend is an extreme example of a person who can’t cook. In the second example, many people don’t like alcohol, but most of them won’t get sick after one sip of beer, so Victor is an extreme example of a person who doesn’t like alcohol. In the third example, we’re emphasizing that there are no bottles of wine left by saying that there’s “not even one bottle left”. In the fourth example, many people hate travelling especially long distances but most of them are willing to drive one hour. However, my father is example of a person that won’t do that simple thing, so we use “even” to emphasize this fact.

the difference between words: will and would

{ August 9, 2010 @ 2:12 am } · { the difference between words }
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evrich.jpg

Recently one of my readers sent me an email asking about the difference between “will” and “would”, so that’s what I’d like to write about today. When we use “will”, it indicates an intention to do something in a situation that is really possible or likely to happen. However, when we use “would”, it indicates an intention to do something in a situation that is only in our imagination or that is very unlikely to happen. For example:

If the weather is nice tomorrow, I will go to the beach.

If it wasn’t raining right now, I would go to the beach.

If I win some money at the casino, I will buy a new stereo.

If I won the lottery, I would buy a new car.

If I get sick this winter, I will go see a doctor.

If I were sick now, I would go see a doctor.

If I get a car this year, I will drive to my hometown.

If I had a car, I would drive to my hometown.

So, as you can see, the pattern with “will” is:

if + present tense verb + will

And the pattern with “would” is:

if + past tense verb + would

It’s important to note that when we use the past tense with “would”, we are NOT talking about the past. We use the past tense only because the grammar demands it.

idiom: to not hold one’s breath

{ August 8, 2010 @ 2:41 am } · { idioms }
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dont_hold_your_breath_bumper_stickers-r86d8a8c659f24da6b0ec33d7cb51845e_v9wht_8byvr_512

The idiom for this week is “to not hold one’s breath”. It is used when we want to say that someone should not wait for something to happen when we know that it will never happen. For example:

The prime minister promised he would lower taxes this year, but I won’t hold my breath. Politicians always say things like that just to get elected.

A: Do you think the boss will give me a raise this year?

B: Don’t hold your breath! He never gives anyone a raise.

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A: Ned said he’d help me move this weekend.

B: If I were you, I wouldn’t hold my breath. He always says he’ll help people, but he never does it.

So, we often use this expression in the future tense (I won’t hold my breath.) or in the conditional tense (If I were you, I wouldn’t hold my breath.) However, the most common way of using it is in the imperative tense (Don’t hold your breath!) When it is used this way, it’s a little strong, but it’s not rude.

intransitive phrasal verb: chill out

{ August 6, 2010 @ 1:22 am } · { phrasal verbs }
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The phrasal verb “chill out” is a casual expression that means to relax. It’s generally neutral in tone, but it can sound a bit negative sometimes. For example:

A: What are you doing?

B: Nothing. I’m just chilling out in my apartment.

I don’t want to go out tonight. I’m tired, so I just want to chill out at home.

Stop worrying about the new job. It’ll be fine. You really need to learn to chill out.

A: I don’t want to eat Chinese food tonight!

B: Ok. Just chill out! We can order something else.

So, when using “chill out” to talk about ourselves, as in the first two examples, the tone is neutral. However, when using it directly to another person, as in the last two examples, it’s quite strong and not very polite. Therefore, please be careful when using this expression. If you use it directly to someone else, they could get angry with you.

grammatical expression: let alone

{ August 5, 2010 @ 2:20 am } · { grammatical expression }
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quote-i-m-the-kind-of-guy-who-can-t-keep-a-plant-alive-for-a-week-let-alone-a-relationship-jerry-o-connell-137439

Today I’d like to write about another very commonly used expression which I’ve never seen any textbook teach: “let alone”. This expression is used when we are talking about two negative facts. First, we talk about one negative fact, and then we use “let alone” to emphasize that the second negative fact is stronger than the first one. I know this is confusing, so let me give you some examples:

A: Can you drive a bus?

B: Are you kidding? I can’t drive a car, let alone a bus.

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A: I need to borrow $1000.

B: I’m sorry, but I don’t have even $100, let alone $1000.

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A: Is your sister married?

B: No, she doesn’t have much luck with men. She can’t find a boyfriend, let alone a husband.

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A: Does your boyfriend want to go to London with us this summer?

B: No way! He doesn’t like travelling within the country, let alone overseas.

So, when using this expression, the sentences are always in the negative. As you can see, we don’t repeat the entire sentence after “let alone”. So, it’s not common to say, “I can’t drive a car, let alone drive a bus.” In English, generally speaking we don’t like to repeat words within one sentence unless it’s to emphasize something. Therefore, most people will say, “I can’t drive a car, let alone a bus.” without repeating the verb “drive”.

adjective: thoughtful

{ August 4, 2010 @ 1:02 am } · { adjectives }
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The adjective for this week is one which is often misunderstood. Many people think that the word “thoughtful” means that someone thinks a lot about various things, but this is not the accurate meaning. This word is actually used to talk about a person who thinks about another person’s feelings and does something nice for them in order to be kind. For example:

My aunt is such a thoughtful person. She often sends me things that she thinks I will like.

A: I brought you a blanket because I thought you might be cold.

B: Thank you! That’s so thoughtful of you!

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A: Is Mr. Parker a thoughtful boss?

B: Well, not always but, last week, he let me go home early because I had a headache. That was very thoughtful of him.

It’s important to note that when a person is being thoughtful, they do the nice thing voluntarily; they don’t do it because someone asked them to do it. Therefore, in the first example, the person did NOT ask the aunt to send her anything; in the second example, the person did NOT ask for a blanket; and in the third example, the person did NOT ask the boss to go home early.

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