grammatical expression: about to

{ May 25, 2010 @ 3:34 am } · { grammatical expression }
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bf

Today I have another common expression that I almost never hear my students use. However, it’s a very useful expression: “about to”. It is used when we want to say something is going to happen in the very near future. For example:

I’m about to go home now. Is there anything you need from me before I leave?

We have to hurry! The movie is just about to start!

I was just about to order a pizza on the phone, but my roommate beat me to it.

A: Hello.

B: Hi Jim. This is Sandy.

A: Sandy! Hi! I was just about to call you.

As you can see, we often use the word “just” in front of it. Also, we can use this expression with either the present tense or the past tense. If we use it with the present tense, as in the first two examples, it means that the event will happen very soon, probably within five minutes. If we use it in the past tense, as in the last two examples, it means that the person was planning to do something very soon (probably within five minutes), but another person beat them to it. The idiom “to beat someone to it” means someone did an action before another person could do it. If you don’t remember this idiom well, please review my blog from April 2nd.

Sometimes, “about to” can mean something will happen in the future at a time which is more than a few minutes. For example:

I’m about to go on vacation to Spain! I’m so excited!

The new project is about to start! I’m really looking forward to it!

In these cases, the time period is probably between one day and one week, but it would probably not be used if the vacation or project will start at a time which is more than one week away.

separable phrasal verb: hike up

{ May 24, 2010 @ 6:08 am } · { phrasal verbs }
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diesel-price-hike

Today’s phrasal verb is “hike up”, and it means to raise something, usually a piece of clothing or the price of something. For example:

My sister always hikes up her skirt after she leaves for school because she wants the boys to notice her legs.

That store keeps hiking up their prices, so I don’t want to shop there anymore.

The prices in that store have been hiked up again. (passive voice)

The airlines always hike up the airfares during the summer. It’s really annoying.

In English, the word “hike” is always connected to the idea of going up. In the Japanese language (and maybe in other languages too), when people say they will “go hiking”, it is on a flat surface. However, in English we would say “walking” for this. If we are walking up a mountain or a hill, then we say “hiking” because we are physically going up.

the difference between words: anyway, by the way, speaking of, and at any rate

{ May 23, 2010 @ 8:25 am } · { the difference between words }
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anyway

Today I’d like to write about something that is confusing for many people: the difference between “anyway” and “by the way”. I’d also like to go over two other expressions which have similar functions, but which are a little different.

So, “anyway” is used when we want to change the subject completely, or when we want to bring back the original subject after being interrupted. For example:

A: …so that’s why I didn’t like that movie.

B: Oh I see. I won’t go see it then. Anyway, where do you think we should have dinner tonight?

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A: I really don’t think this is a good time to…

B: Excuse me. Could you tell me where the bathroom is?

A: It’s at the end of the hall. Anyway, as I was saying, I don’t think this is a good time to invest in gold.

The expression “by the way” is used when we suddenly remember something that we want to say to someone. For example:

I’m going to the supermarket after work today. Oh, by the way, Harry wants to know if you’re coming over for dinner this weekend.

I watched a really good show on TV last night. Oh, by the way, here’s the DVD you lent me last month. Thanks for letting me borrow it.

The expression “speaking of” is also used when we remember something we want to tell someone, but it is directly linked to something that someone has said before which reminds us of it. For example:

A: I’m really excited about seeing Mark’s new play.

B: Yes, I am too. Speaking of Mark, did you hear that he’s going to get married soon?

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A: Mary just moved into a new apartment!

B: Really? That’s fantastic! Speaking of new apartments, I’m also thinking about finding a new place. I’m tired of my old apartment.

The expression “at any rate” is used to give more details about something that we have mentioned already. For example:

A: I really want to go to Europe this summer.

B: But it’s really expensive. Can you afford it?

A: I’ve been saving my money. I don’t think it’ll be so bad. At any rate, I really want to go, and this will be my last chance before I start my new job.

So this is how we use these expressions. A few people have asked me to explain this, so I hope it is clear to everyone.

idiom: to do the trick

{ May 21, 2010 @ 2:41 am } · { idioms }
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that should do the trick

I hope everyone has been having a good week. It’s Friday now in Tokyo, so the weekend is almost here! Anyway, the idiom for today is “to do the trick”. It is used when we do an action that is enough to accomplish something. For example:

My computer wasn’t working properly. My friend suggested I reboot it, and that did the trick. It worked fine after that.

The soup I made isn’t spicy enough. I’ll put in a little bit of chili pepper, and that should do the trick.

This screwdriver is too small to do the trick. I need to get a bigger one.

My sister wanted to get Billy’s attention at school. I told her to wear a shorter skirt, and that really did the trick. Billy asked her out on a date.

This expression is often used when we’re trying to fix something as in the first two examples. However, it can also be used when trying to accomplish a personal goal as in the last example.

adjective: subtle

{ May 20, 2010 @ 2:03 am } · { adjectives }
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SUBTLE_badge-1-

Today, I have another adjective for you: “subtle”. It is used to talk about something that is so slight that it is difficult to detect. For example:

There is the subtle taste of garlic in this stew.

There are a few differences between these two pictures, but they’re very subtle.

A: I’ll find out if Nancy has a boyfriend for you.

B: Ok, but don’t ask her directly.

A: Don’t worry. I’ll be subtle when I talk to her.

In the first example, the taste of garlic is not strong at all. The person knows it’s there, but the taste is quite weak. In the second example, the two pictures look the same, but there are very small differences so the person has to look at them carefully in order to see them. In the third example, the person means that he’ll find out the information in an indirect way.

It’s important to know the pronunciation of this word. Even though it is spelled with a “b”, it is pronounced like a “d”. Therefore, the pronunciation is /SUD dul/.

grammatical expression: manage to (do something)

{ May 18, 2010 @ 3:21 pm } · { grammatical expression }
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iStock_000009381744Small

Today I have another expression which many of my students misunderstand: “manage to”. This is used when talking about something we are able to do successfully, but that was not easy to do. For example:

I woke up late this morning, but I managed to get to work on time.

My team had to work overtime, but we managed to meet our deadline.

That novel was over 1000 pages, but I managed to read the whole thing in two weeks.

So in all of these examples, the person is successful, but when they say “manage to”, they are stressing the fact that it was difficult to accomplish.

We can also use this expression as a question. For example:

Do you think you can manage to write this report without making any mistakes?

In this case, the speaker is NOT being polite. It sounds like the person is angry about a previous report that contained many mistakes. I don’t recommend using this expression as a question because people won’t like you if you do. However, unfortunately, sometimes you might hear another person say this. I hope that no one speaks to you in this way though.

separable phrasal verb: shoot down

{ May 17, 2010 @ 2:08 pm } · { phrasal verbs }
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she

Today’s expression is “shoot down”, and it has two meanings.

1. to make an airplane fall by shooting it. For example:

My grandfather was in World War Two as a pilot. The Germans shot his plane down during the war, but he survived.

My grandfather’s plane was shot down by the Germans in World War Two. (passive voice)

2. to reject an idea or a person. For example:

We presented our proposal to the boss, but he shot it down. Now we have to think of  a new idea.

Our proposal was shot down by the boss. (passive voice)

I have a great idea for improving business, but it will cost a little bit of money to implement. I hope the boss doesn’t shoot it down.

I suggested to my friends that we see a horror movie, but everyone shot it down.

I asked Erika for a date, but she shot me down.

My sister told Jerry that she wanted to be his girlfriend, but he shot her down. She’s really upset right now.

The first meaning “shoot down” is almost always used in war situations. We don’t use it when talking about birds.

When it comes to the second meaning, when we are talking about rejecting a person, it’s always used for dating situations, not with friendships.

the difference between words: ago and before

{ May 16, 2010 @ 1:45 pm } · { the difference between words }
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ago

A few days ago, I wrote about the difference between “in” and “later”, so today I’d like to write about the difference between “ago” and “before”. As I explained in the previous blog, “in” is used when talking about future times from the present moment and “later” is used when talking about future times from a time which is NOT the present moment.

In the same way, “ago” is used when talking about past times from the present moment and “before” is used when talking about past times from a time which is NOT the present moment. For example:

I’m late for the meeting. It started about ten minutes ago.

I went to Paris for my honeymoon about fifteen years ago. My wife and I would like to go back there again.

A few weeks ago I broke my leg, but it’s starting to get better now.

I went to a Korean restaurant on Thursday even though I had eaten Korean food three days before.

I couldn’t buy the video game I wanted. I got to the store at 6:30, and the clerk told me he had sold the last copy of the game a few minutes before.

Many people I know work at my company. I was hired by them in 2005, and my friend got a job there two years before.

As you can see with the word “before”, it is often used with the past perfect tense (had + pp). You can see this with examples 4 and 5. However, it can also be used with the simple past tense as in example 6. We use the past perfect tense when there is a direct connection between the two ideas, but we use the simple past tense when one event simply follows another event.

idioms: search me, beats me, beats the hell out of me

{ May 14, 2010 @ 12:32 pm } · { idioms }
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beats-me-68099941886

Today I have three idioms that mean the same thing: “search me”, “beats me” and “beats the hell out of me”. They all mean, “I don’t know”. For example:

A: What is the capital of Finland?

B: Search me. Why don’t you look it up on the Internet?

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A: Do you know where the Carlton Bookstore is?

B: Beats me. I’m just a tourist in this city.

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A: Where did Trevor go?

B: Beats the hell out of me. He never tells me anything.

All three expressions are used in casual situations. However, the expression “beats me” sounds a little more casual than “search me”, and “beats the hell out of me” is the most casual. It would usually only be used with friends. The word “hell” makes it a bit rude, but it’s not extremely offensive.

adjective: mediocre

{ May 13, 2010 @ 3:05 pm } · { adjectives }
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vc

Today’s adjective is “mediocre”.  It is used to talk about something which is very average in terms of its quality. However, if we say something is “average” rather than “mediocre”, it sounds more positive. So the word “mediocre” has a very negative feeling to it. For example:

I’ve heard the quality of education at that school is very mediocre, so I want my son to go to a different school.

Frankly, your work on this project was mediocre. What’s the matter? You usually do much better work.

I was really looking forward to eating at the new Italian restaurant downtown, but the food was really mediocre. I was so disappointed!

That singer’s latest album is very mediocre compared to her earlier albums.

So this is how we use this word. It’s usually used when talking about situations that have to do with other people, but we don’t usually use it about ourselves.

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