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Spanish uses the word to refer to the whole collection, from where the logs and fire are to where the smoke goes out of. English, however, only uses this word to refer to how the smoke leaves the house. Where the fire and logs are is called the “fireplace”. I started a nice, warm […]
Can you put the words in order to form a correct sentence in English? Go! beach by cold far go It’s the to to today too . answer by miles My off was . a by Peter failed hair. a by head horse lost My race the . I my son told , “passed […]
Place the word in (parenthesis) the correct space. I read that book by that British author (very quickly) Vance was careful to be silent (extremely) Peter didn’t drive fast to arrive on time (enough) Nadine didn’t have sugar to make her cake (enough) Zack has wanted to go abroad (never) Answers: I read that book […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]