2 Minute Lessons

Both of these expressions are used when someone has done far, far more than was required of them. Have a look at the following examples:    – Sergeant McCrosky received a medal for Service Above and Beyond the Call of Duty for saving that drowning girl last week.    – Melanie in customer service really […]

Remember, these phrasal verbs are not “make + particle” but rather units, so learn them as such! Put these verbs in the correct sentence, conjugated as necessary.  You may want to look these words up in a dictionary, as they may have secondary meanings! (Just like in that sentence: “look up” isn’t just “turn your […]

Fix the mistake in each of the sentences: I can’t choose among the red one or the blue one. Jimmy wakes up at 5:30 all mornings–I don’t know how he does it! Believe me, that new Adam Sandler movie is not worth to watch. I don’t like chocolate.  That’s because I always get flan for […]

Remember, these phrasal verbs are not “set + particle” but rather units, so learn them as such! Put these verbs in the correct sentence, conjugated as necessary.  You may want to look these words up in a dictionary, as they may have secondary meanings! (Just like in that sentence: “look up” isn’t just “turn your […]

Un-mix the words to create real sentences.

don’t his I is know name what .

always at Cathy goes Mike night where wonders .

asked Beth cinnamon Debbie had me put the where .

– Imagine you have to give a presentation on a topic you’re fairly familiar with, but still haven’t prepared for. If you have to go in right now, without your notes or PowerPoint slides, and give it, we would say that you have to wing it. This means to just jump in and do what needs to be done even if you haven’t prepared for it.

“In case” may seem familiar to Spanish speakers, but it’s not what it seems at first glance. In fact, we need to look at more of the phrase to be sure we know what we’re talking about.

By this, I mean we need to see if there’s an “of”, i.e., “in case of”. This phrase can be translated into Spanish, no problem.

In case of fire, break glass.

The barbeque will be outside. In case of rain, the auditorium can be used as a back-up location.

But, without that “of”, “in case” means “if something should happen”:

You shouldn’t light that match, in case you start a fire.

We’ve prepared the auditorium in case it rains during the barbeque.

A: “What are you saying 1)___me, that I should apologize 2)___ him! But I have nothing to apologize for! If anything, he owes an apology 3)___ me, 4)___being so late!”

B: “I understand what you’re saying, but let me explain something 5)___ you.

This very interesting suffix can be found attached to many relative pronouns, but those words are a bit difficult to translate into Spanish.

The best way to think of them is as a marker for the subjunctive.

For example, the sentence I’ll give you whatever you want could be translated as

Put the correct particle into the blanks below. There’s one extra.
Go!