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Everyone’s favorite part of English vocabulary: all those little mini-expressions that seem to be made up of the most common words in the language, but with one slight change, end up meaning something completely and totally different. Yes, phrasal verbs seem to be extremely difficult to learn, as there seems to be no rhyme or […]

Vocabulary: Penny = £0.01 or $0.01 Nickel = $0.05 Dime = $0.10 Quarter = $0.25 Dollar = $1.00 Pound = £1.00, (or 0.454kg) This expression is used to justify continuing on since the first step has already been taken.  Basically, it’s saying, we’ve already come this far, why not a bit further?  It’s also used […]

Can you put the word in (parenthesis) in the correct place in these sentences? Go! Paul reads before going to sleep         (always) I went to Paris                                      (on Thursday) Bruce hasn’t seen that movie             (yet) Do you know where the library?        (is) When does the movie?                        (start) Answers: Paul always reads before […]

A good reminder, not only to carpenters and other craftsmen, but to everyone who’s working on a project: make sure you’ve designed everything well and taken all factors into consideration before moving forward, or else you might find out you misjudged something and it’s too late to fix it. -How long is it? -About 4 […]

Can you find and correct the typical error in these sentences?’ Error correction How you are going to celebrate Thanksgiving? We went to Madrid the Friday. I enjoy reading a lot of. In which house do you live? Chocolate likes me. Answers: How are you going to celebrate… …Madrid on I enjoy reading a lot. […]

  When a topic of conversation is uncomfortable, or we have to ask a really big favor of someone, oftentimes we’ll approach the situation very indirectly, trying to “build up” to actually saying what needs to be said.  This delaying tactic is called “beating around the bush”; i.e., talking about everything related to the main […]

  This great expression is used when we finally admit we have to do something we really didn’t want to do. After failing my exam, I had to bite the bullet and study hard to pass the make-up. My house was a mess!  I finally bit the bullet and cleaned it top to bottom. Jenny […]

This excellent expression reminds us that, especially when we’re in a hurry, we need to slow down and do things correctly, rather than rush through them and do them poorly, only to have to lose more time later on doing it well.  Spaniards often quote Napoleon in this context, “Dress me slowly, for I am […]

Now, we all know we can’t use a double negative in English; just as in math, two negatives become a positive.  In order to avoid that double negative, we often employ “any” or its derivatives. I don’t want anything. I haven’t made any decisions yet. I wasn’t doing anything special. I don’t know anyone who […]

This common expression is used to remind us that what we do has consequences, and our negative actions can come back to hurt us, and our positive actions can benefit us later on. Jeffrey stole some candy from the shop this morning, but some bullies stole it from him that afternoon.  I told him what […]