English On Line

Quick English - Bystander

2010-05-18T06:41:00.000-07:00

A bystander is someone who, by chance, is present at some event, and sees what happened.

"After the crash, the police asked the bystanders what they saw"

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The First Conditional

2010-05-11T02:32:00.000-07:00

As you know there are four conditionals in English, the zero, the first, the second and the third, in this lesson I would like to look at first conditional.

Lets start this lesson by considering the following:

If you study this lesson you will learn how to use the first conditional, if you learn the first conditional, your English will be better, if your English is better, you will be a student of SmartLanguageSolutions.com!

The above sentences are examples of the first conditional and as you can from the sentences the first conditional is used to express a possible condition and its possible result.

Like all conditionals the first conditional has two parts, the condition and its result.

The condition is formed by If + present simple, for example:

"If it rains..."
"If you study this lesson..."
and "If I see John..."

The result is formed by Will + the base of the verb:

"...I will stay at home"
"...you will learn how to use the first conditional"
"...I will tell him"

To complete the conditional sentences:

"If it rains, I will stay at home"
"If you study this lesson, you will learn how to use the first conditional"
"It I see John, I will tell him"

It is possible to use "shall", "can" or "may" instead of "will".

"If it rains, I shall stay at home"
"It I see John, I can tell him"
"If you leave now you may catch the bus"

When we use "may" in the result we are expressing a possibility while when we use "will" we are expressing a certainty.

Remember the first conditional is used to express a possible conditional and its possible result.

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Teaching the Planet
SmartLanguageSolutions.com

Zero Conditional

2010-04-20T08:53:00.000-07:00

In this mini lesson I want to explain the zero conditional. As you know there are a total of four conditionals used in English, and they are the zero, the first, the second, and the third conditional.
Each conditional describes a situation, either real or imagined called the condition which is followed by a result of that condition.
Each of the four conditional are defined by separate grammar rules.

In this mini lesson I want to explain the easiest of all the conditionals, and the one that is not taught in most books, this lesson is about the zero conditional.

The offices of SmartLanguageSolutions.com are near to Heathrow airport in south west London, this means sometimes planes fly over the office.
If a plane flies over the SmartLanguageSolutions.com office, we hear the noise from its engines.

In this sentence we used the zero condition to explain a fact that is always true, and this is the main use of the zero conditional.

For example:
If you heat water, it boils
or
If you run 10 kilometres every day, you will get fit.

Grammatically the zero conditional is constructed with:

If + a condition in the present simple, + a result in the present simple

Remember the zero conditional is used to express something that is always true.

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Preparing for the TOEFL essay.

2010-04-15T08:44:00.000-07:00

The essay section of the TOEFL is sometimes considered to be the hardest part of the test.
However here at SmartLanguageSolutons.com we feel that with an understanding on the structure of the written exam you will find sitting the written exam a little less daunting.

For your essay you will be given a statement or situation and will be asked to take an opinion based upon the information supplied and then to write out your opinion.

It is recommended that you aim for a five paragraph essay.

Paragraph One:

In this paragraph, called your thesis statement, you state your opinion on the question provided.
You should then give three reasons in the form of headlines explaining why you have reached that opinion.

For example, the question is:

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
Parents are the best teachers.

The answer could take the following form:

Yes, I agree that parents are the best teachers.
Its my opinion that being a parent makes you a natural educator, the fact that you have had a child gives a vested interest in improving your child's knowledge, and being that child's parent you have a deeper understanding of what motivates the child more than anyone else.

In the above example we can see that the author agrees with the statement and then gives three reasons why they agree.

The next step is to create three new paragraphs, which are called topic paragraphs.
Each topic paragraph should be an expansion of each reason given in your thesis statement.

Paragraph two:

You take the first of your reasons and expand on it. It is recommended that you only use one argument for your each reason.

For example:

It is my opinion all parents are natural educators. Once a parent sees their child for the first time, something basic is triggered in that parents genetic make up that unlocks a lifetime passive knowledge that the parent simply wants to impart to their child....

Paragraph three:

The same as above bur for your second reason.

Paragraph four:

The same as above but for your third reason.

Paragraph Five:

This is your concluding statement.
In this you will restate your thesis statement and clearly summarize what you have stated in your three topic sentences.

For example:
I wish to end this essay by restating that it is my opinion that parents are natural educators for the reasons set out above.
Parents simply have no choice in being an educator...

Sounds simple!
Well it is, but you should take help from a tutor to learn how to construct and interlink your ideas, because a simple list of ideas is not sufficient to pass the exam.

The good news is that you can find a full list of TOEFL essay topics on the study material page on our website!

We would recommend that long before you take the TOEFL exam you read all the essay topics and perhaps prepare an essay for each one.

However you should also take some TOEFL essay lessons with one of our native speaking professional English teachers who will help change your lists to fully essays!

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

2010-04-08T06:14:00.001-07:00

In this mini English lesson I want to explain the English Idiom "put your money where your mouth is".

The first thing to note is that this idiom is not offensive and is safe to use.

The origin of this idiom is not very clear, however there are two theories and both of them are related to gambling.

The first theory states the phrase has its origin in the pubs of Ireland where people used to play gambling games while they drank, and the second theory says that the phrase has its origin in the world of poker playing.

However, in modern parlance the phrase is used in many different situations to tell someone that if they truly believe in what they are saying, then they should do more than just talk about it.

For example:
Speaker 1: "I am so upset at the plight of all the poor people living in the city"
Speaker 2: "You have been saying that for so long, why don't you put your money where your mouth is, and go and work for a charity"

In this exchange, the first speaker expresses their opinion that they are upset about the bad conditions in which some poor people the city are living.
The second speaker suggests that the first speaker has been talking about this situation for such a long time that the first speaker should really take some action rather than just taking.

To put your money where your mouth is, an English idiomatic expression used to encourage people to do more than just talk about a problem.

Learn English online with native speaking professional teachers at SmartLanguageSolutions.Com

A Cougar is not only a cat!

2010-03-23T07:35:00.000-07:00

In this mini English lesson I would like to talk about the phrase Cougar.

A few days ago I was driving through London and I noticed billboard for a new American TV show.
The name of the show is Cougar Town, and I thought it might be a good idea explain what is the meaning of Cougar in this context.

If you look up the standard dictionary you will find that Cougar is a wild American Mountain Lion.

However in the urban dictionary and in the title of show Cougar, is used to describe a woman who is over 40 years old who likes to date younger men, normally a man who is 32 years old or younger.

In return a man who dates a Cougar can be called either a cub or a toy boy.

The urban dictionary also tells us that an older man who dates a younger woman is normally called a Sugar Daddy, while a younger woman who dates an older man could be called either a sugar baby or a Chihuahua.

We at Smart Language Solutions, would not recommend you use any of these terms in your writing or speaking as they may be considered offensive, however we would ask you to be aware of the them so you can recognise them when you see or hear them used by others.

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Urban Slang - muppet

2010-03-19T06:42:00.000-07:00

In the late 1950's puppet master Jim Henson created some puppet characters and called them the Muppets.
Since the 1950's the Muppets have been entertaining children and adults alike with their silly antics.

However in Brittan, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, the word muppet has become a mild term of abuse.

When using muppet as a mild term of abuse the first thing to notice is the difference in spelling, the puppets created by Jim Henson and now owed by the Disney Corporation are spelt with a capital "M", as in The Muppets, and when we call someone a muppet we spell it with a lowercase "m".

When you call someone a muppet (lower case) you are suggesting that they stupid or silly.

For example: "John its six o'clock, you were supposed to be here an hour ago, you muppet!"

Calling someone a muppet should not cause them offensive, and has even been used in street advertising, however as a learner of English, remember if you are going to call someone a muppet, be sure that they have a good sense of humour.

Learn English correctly @ the online language school, SmartLanguageSolutions.com

Business English - Churn Rate

2010-03-19T06:41:00.000-07:00

In business English there are many phrases that you simple just don't find in normal everyday English.
In this lesson I would like to explain the phrase, churn rate.

As more an more people work in the service sector, the higher the chance that they will come across the phrase, churn rate.

This phrase is used to describe situations related to customers and employees.

When we use churn rate in connection to customers, we are describing the percentage of contracted customers who leave a company over a given period of time.

For example: "I work in the call centre of a mobile phone company and the churn rate of our customers is really big"

In this example the speaker is telling us that the mobile phone company they work for has a large percentage of customers leaving the company at the end of their contract.

When we use churn rate in connection to employees, then we are describing the high turnover rate of employees in a company.

For example: "When I worked in the fast food restaurant, there was a high rate of employee churn"

In this example the speaker is describing their time working in a fast food restaurant, and how they noticed that most employees did not stay long in the job.

Learn English correctly @ the online language school, SmartLanguageSolutions.com

To make a horlicks.

2010-03-19T06:39:00.000-07:00

The health care company GalxoSmithKiine, make a malt milk drink called Horlicks, which is marketed in the UK, New Zealand, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan and Jamaica.

Traditionally in the UK Horlicks is taken at night just before going to sleep, in the same way as British people take coco or hot chocolate.

However in the English language Horlicks can also be used to describe a minor disaster or shambles, it is normally combined with the verb "To Make"

For example, "Oh my, did you see the football game last night, our team made a horlicks of the defence!"

In this example the speaker is suggesting that the team the speaker supports had a disastrous game, especially in defence.

Using horlicks in this manner is not considered offensive, and was in fact used in 2003 by the UK's then Foreign Minister, Jack Straw, to describe the way a document for public release had been badly prepared.

Learn English correctly @ the online language school, SmartLanguageSolutions.com

If you pay peanuts.

2010-03-17T05:10:00.000-07:00

In this blog I would like to explain the phrase

"If you pay peanuts you get monkeys."

The phrase is attributed to the Anglo French businessman James Goldsmith, and it is used to describe the quality of service offered by people in business.

It is a negative phrase and is used to describe the situation where the speaker feels that if an employer pays low wages then the staff working for them will be bad.

For example:

Speaker A: "Every time I call that company I can't get the service I want"

Speaker B: "Well if you pay peanuts you get monkeys"

In this example the first speaker is describing a situation where they feel that the service they are getting from the company is very bad, the second speakers is expressing their feeling that because the company pays their staff so little money, this is the reason for the bad service.

The phrase can also used to describe the situation where a person who pays too little for a service should not expect the quality of the service
to be any good.

For Example:

Speaker A: "Juan is trying to learn English online and pays only $1 for an hour's one to one lesson, but I have to say his English is getting worse"

Speaker B: ""Well maybe someone should teach Juan the expression, if you pay peanuts you get monkeys"

In this example the first speaker is saying that they are shocked at how bad Juan's English is.

The second speaker, suggests that because Juan pays so little money for his lessons, his teacher is not a professional.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog.
Remember you can learn online from professional native speaking English teachers
@
SmartLanguageSolutions.Com

To call time

2010-03-03T08:33:00.000-08:00

The other day I was teaching a class and while reading an article we came across the following phrase:

"To call time"

It was a phrase that no student had hear of before, so I felt it would be a good idea to explain it to you here in this blog.

The phrase "to call time" has its history in English and Irish bars/pub.
By law English and Irish bars/pubs must close by a certain time in the evening. When the closing time comes the bar person must shout "TIME" so that everyone in the bar knows it is time to close the bar.
The act of shouting "TIME" to tell everyone that it is now time to close the bar is know as, "to call time".

However the phrase, to call time, is now used in English to describe the moment when someone decides that something has come to an end.

For example:

"John Smith, the footballer, has called time on his career"

This means that John Smith has decided to finish playing football.

Or

"Ladies and gentlemen, I must call time on this meeting"

This means that the speaker, perhaps the chairman of the meeting, has decided that it is time to finish the meeting.

To call time = to end or to finish.

Learn more English online with Smart Language Solutions, find out more at www.SmartLanguageSolutions.com

Packed in like Sardines

2010-03-03T08:32:00.000-08:00

The other night I was teaching a client in Moscow and he asked me to explain the phrase, "packed in like sardines" which he had heard was a good way to describe rush hour on the Moscow Metro, however he was a little unsure if it was an offensive phrase or not.

The phrase is not offensive and in fact comes from the business of food processing.
Sardines, as you know are a type of fish, and we normally buy our sardines in small tins. When we open a tin of sardines, its normal that there are a lot fish in the tin and there no free space.

Therefore the phrase packed in like sardines is used to describe a situation where people are in an area or space with little room to move.

So it is not offensive and in fact a very good way to describe the Moscow Metro during rush hour.

"Every morning I take the Metro to work, it is always full and there is no room to move because everyone is packed in like sardines."

Packed in Like sardines = No space to move

Learn more English online- SmartLanguageSolutions.com

Using Will to express a future decision

2010-03-02T02:05:00.000-08:00

In this mini English blog, I want to discuss one of the uses of Will to express the future.

As we previously discussed in other blogs there are a number of different ways of expressing the future.

Using Will is one ways to express the future and Will has a number of different uses, however in this blog I want to focus only on Will as used to express decisions.

When we are speaking about an action in the future, and we make decision about this future action while we are speaking we must use will.

For example:

"I don't know if I should go to the cinema or not...hhmm...OK I will go with you."

In this sentence the speaker is unsure about a future trip to the cinema, however while they are speaking they make up their mind to go to the cinema, so they must use Will to express this decision, because will is used to express a decision made at the moment of speaking.

Will is used to express a decision made at the moment of speaking.

There you have it another use of will for expressing the future!

If you want to learn more English go to our website www.SmartLanguageSolutions.com and book a free trial lesson.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.

English Lesson - Bailout or Bail Out

2010-02-26T06:44:00.000-08:00

In this mini English lesson I want to look at the phrase bailout, which when used as a noun is one word and when used as an intransitive verb is two words.

Bailout - noun

and

Bail Out - intransitive verb

If you have been following the business news in English over the last few months you will have heard the phrase bailout used as a noun.

Bailout - used as a noun

For example:

" The bank happily took the bailout given to them by the government, but they still are paying themselves big bonuses."

In business English we use the phrase bailout to describe the act of giving money to a bank or company who is danger of financial failure.

When we spit bail out into two different words we are using it as an intransitive verb.

Bail Out - when used as an intransitive verb, has three distinct:

1) To describe the act of parachuting from an aircraft

"I bailed out of the plane with my parachute at 20,000 feet and it took me 4 minutes to land"

2) To describe the act of leaving a harmful or difficult situation

"We bailed out of the bar when the two men started fighting"

In American English when we use bail out to describe the act of leaving a harmful or difficult situation bail out can be shortened to balled.

"I bailed on maths class because I didn't have me homework done."

And 3) to describe the act of removing water from a boat

"It was a nice day so we rented a row boat to go out on the lake, unfortunately the boat was leaking and we had to use our shoes to bail out the water"

So there you have it Bailout or Bail Out, now you know!

If you would like to learn more English go to our website www.SmartLanguageSolutions.com

Using Will to express the future

2010-02-25T06:26:00.000-08:00

When talking about the future we can use the verbs will, going to and the present continuous used with a future time point.

In this mini English lesson from www.SmartLanguageSolutions.com I am going to talk about using will to express the future.

Will has three different and distinct future uses in English, however in this mini lesson I will focus only one of the three uses.

In English Will is used to express promises and offers.

To use will as a promise:
"If you let watch TV now, I promise I will do the washing up tomorrow."

To use will as an offer:
"Oh sit down I will do the washing up for you."

As mentioned will has two other uses in English and you will find those uses explained in other blogs from www.SmartLanguageSolutions.com

Of course learning English is a two way interactive process, and the best place to learn online with live interactive English teachers is at www.SmartLanguageSolutions.com

Phrasal verb Bring About

2010-02-24T04:25:00.000-08:00

In this mini English Lesson I want to explain the phrasal verb, "bring about", which can also be expressed as "bring around", or "bring round".

When you hear a native speaker using the phrasal verb bring about, they are usually using the phrase to express a situation where someone or something caused someone or something to adopt an opinion or take a certain course of action.

For example:

"The merger of the two companies brought about many changes."

In this sentence the speaker is saying that when the two companies joined together, the result was that there were many changes to the running of the companies.

Or

"The amount of customer complaints brought the airline around to a new business model."

In this sentence the speaker is expressing the change in the company after listening to customer complaints.

To learn more English online, log onto www.SmartLanguageSolutions.com

The English Idiomatic Expression: "Clear the Air"

2010-02-23T01:24:00.000-08:00

In this English lesson from www.SmartLanguageSolutions.com I am going to look at the idiomatic expression "Clear the Air".

In English when you hear someone using the expression Clear the Air, it means to ensure certainty, or in other words to remove doubt or confusion.

"I read the contract, but I didn't understand it, however after speaking to my friend he was able to clear the air regarding some the big words and strange legal terms in the contract."

In this sentence, I am saying that when I first read the contract there were so many big words and legal terms in it, I did not understand the contract and found it confusing.
However a friend was able to explain the big words and legal terms and this cleared the air for me.

Clear the air, means free from doubt or confusion.

Learn more English online at www.SmartLanguageSolutions.com

Birrr Cold Feet

2010-02-12T01:15:00.000-08:00

As you know in English we love to use idioms, and one strange idiom that is used very often is "cold feet".

Obviously there are two meanings to the expression "cold feet", one meaning, is the literal meaning, which is to describe the fact that a person actually has cold feet.
"I have been standing in the snow in my sandals, I have really cold feet"

However this is not the idiomatic meaning, idiomatically when someone says they have "cold feet" they are using it to describe fear or strong doubt.

"I wanted to ride the roller coaster, but when I got to the line I got cold feet so I didn't ride it"

This means that speaker wanted to go on a roller coaster, but became afraid and didn't ride it.

Remember, don't get cold feet when speaking English, just ask your online English teacher to help you.

Learn more English online at www.smartlanguagesolutions.com

That's a Killer

2010-02-11T08:51:00.000-08:00

From time to time you may hear English speakers use the word killer in a sense that has nothing to do with killing something!

Killer can be used as an adjective to describe something that is very good, excellent or even hard.

"That was a killer game of football" = It was a very good game of football.

"That was a killer exam" = It was a very hard exam.

Killer can be used as a noun, in the form of a greeting that suggests the person being greeted in a very cool person.

"Hey Killer, how are you today?"

Remember unless you are 100% sure of English and English slang, we recommend you don't use it as if used wrongly it may cause great offence.
However we do recommend that you learn slang so that when you hear it, you understand it.

Learn more English online at www.smartlanguagesolutions.com/

One use of the Present Simple Tense

2010-02-10T08:21:00.000-08:00

In English grammar it is generally accepted that there are 3 uses of the present simple tense.

In this blog I only want to focus on one of them.

We use the present simple to describe our habits.
A habit is something we do regularly, something that is part of our everyday life.

They eat dinner every day at 5PM.
He drinks too much beer every Saturday.

Remember the construction of the present simple

I, we, you, they + infinitive of verb + object.
I drink coffee every day.

He, she, it + infinitive + s + object
She runs 5KM every day.

In another post I have explained the other uses of Present Simple.

Remember keep the Present Simple, simple!

For more information on learning English go to our website www.smartlanguagesolutions.com

Have to

2010-02-09T02:18:00.000-08:00

In English when we want to express an obligation, we combine "have" and "to" with an infinitive (first from of the verb).
For example, "I have to be in work at 9AM"

Here you can see the construction "Have" + "to"+ "be"

Remember an obligation is something that comes from "outside" such as a rule or a law we obey.

"You have to drive at 30KM in the city centre"

"Do you have to wear a uniform?"

The past tense of "have to" is "had to" + infinitive.
When we use the past tense we express and obligation that we no longer do.
"When I was a child I had to make my bed in the morning"

The future of "have to" is "will + have + to" + infinitive.
We use the future tense to express a future obligation that we don't have at the moment.
"When I get to the airport tonight I will have to show my passport"

We hope this helps you.

If you have any questions please let us know.

Why not have a free interactive lesson with us! Go to www.smartlanguagesolutions.com and book a free trial lesson with us.

A Pigs Ear!

2010-02-08T02:16:00.000-08:00

This English lesson focus on the use of the phrase "A Pigs Ear".
This phrase has its roots in cockney rhyming slang, but is mostly used in Ireland.

When someone says they or someone else makes a pigs ear of something it means that have made a mistake, mess or a muddle of something.

"I made a pigs ear of dinner", means the dinner I made was really bad.

"He made a pigs ear of his exam", means that he made a mistake in his exam and got low marks.

We recommend that you take care when using idioms, as when used incorrectly they don't make any sense. We would also recommend you don't use either idioms or slang unless you are an advanced user of English, BUT you should learn their meanings so when you hear someone else using them you understand what they are saying.

To learn English (EFL) online from the comfort of your home or office we recommend Smart Language Solutions, the internets most professional and friendly online language school.

Book a FREE lesson at:

learn@smartlangaugesolutions.com

www.smartlangaugesolutions.com

English Idiom – Packed in Like Sardines

2009-09-16T04:02:00.000-07:00

This idiom is used across the English speaking world.
Packed in like sardines, is used to describe the situation when a place is very crowded.

“The night club was so full everyone was packed in like sardines.”

The idiom is sometimes spoken as “packed like sardines”

“The night club was so full everyone was packed like sardines”

Learn more English online and interactive with our professional teachers at www.SmartLanguageSolutions.com we look forward to meeting you soon.

Idiom of the day - Jam Tomorrow

2009-08-25T05:56:00.000-07:00

This idiom is used to describe the situation when people promise good things for the future that will never come.

- “Don't worry everything will be fine because we are going to win the lottery tomorrow”
- “Be seriously will you, you always promised jam tomorrow”

Be very careful when using this idiom as it is specific to the north of England! While it might be known in all parts of England it is not widely known in other English-speaking countries.

It is very important when learning English to use the assistance of a professional native speaking English teacher, the kind of teacher you can find at the online English school www.SmartLanguageSolutions.com

Idiom of the day – Paddle your own canoe

2009-08-24T04:29:00.001-07:00

To paddle your own canoe is used to describe when someone does something without the help of others.

“John, if you want to open your own business you are going to have to paddle your own canoe, I don’t think anyone will help you.”

The idiom “paddle your own canoe” is an American English idiom, English speakers in the UK, Ireland, Australia, & New Zealand don’t use this idiom as part of their language! In fact some people may not fully understand its meaning!

This is why it is so important to learn English from a professional native speaking teacher, the kind of teacher you find at www.SmartLanguageSolutions.com

Slang of the week – Sloth Cloth

2009-08-21T04:34:00.000-07:00

A sloth cloth is a slang word used to an old tee-shirt worn while hanging around your home.
It is also a tongue twister! Try saying repeatedly and fast.

“I knocked on my friends door and when he answered it I was shocked to see him wearing a food stained sloth cloth”

Be careful when studding English slang, using slang incorrectly can cause a lot of problems, always check slang with your native speaking professional English teacher at www.SmartLanguageSolutions.com

IELTS – Speaking Module

2009-08-19T02:37:00.000-07:00

The IELTS speaking test is about 10 to 15 minutes long, and has three parts.

The test is a one to one interview, just you and the examiner.

Part one
The examiner will ask you about something familiar such you, your family, country and so on.
We recommend that you use this part of the test to relax and get over any nerves you may have.
Listen to the examiner, and only answer the questions that you are asked.

Part two
You will have to talk for about 2 to 4 minutes. The examiner will give you a topic and one minute to prepare a small talk. The topic the examiner will give you will be based on your personal experience.
We suggest that you don’t just list off the words in the question that that examiner has given you.

Part three
This section is a two way discussion, not a question and answer. The examiner will ask you questions broadly linked to the topic you spoke about. You should give long coherent answers. Give reasons for your answers!

There are many self teach books for the IELTS which are very good. However you will need the input of a professional native speaking English teacher who can help you with your speaking and listening.
Smart Language Solutions (www.smartlanguesolutions.com) is the online language school who can help you.

Word – Ahead

2009-08-18T07:26:00.000-07:00

Ahead is an adverb, and has a number of meanings.

In English we use ahead to describe the position of being in the front:
John is ahead in the race at the moment (John is leading the race)

Move something to a different time in the future:
We need to move the start time ahead by a day from Monday to Tuesday.

To move in a forward direction:
The queue moved ahead slowly

When learning a new word it’s important to check all the meanings of the word. Above are just a few of the meanings of “ahead”!
Learning English is fun, but it is best to learn with professional native English speaking teachers.
You can learn English online at www.smartlanguagesolutions.com

Phrasal Verb – Make Up

2009-08-17T02:13:00.000-07:00

Make Up is used in English to describe the situation when people reconcile.

John and Mary have been friends for a long time, but they had a row last week, I really think they should make up.

Of course the phrasal verb Make Up has more than one meaning and you should be careful when using it, in fact it best to learn English from a professional native speaking English teacher, which you can do at Smart Language Solutions.

www.smartlanguagesolutions.com

Some Mispronounced words

2009-08-14T05:32:00.000-07:00

Some Mispronounced words

In English we do not have a system of accenting our vowels. This can lead to problems when pronouncing words.

Here are some words that are commonly mispronounced:

Utmost – mispronounced as – Upmost

Wasn’t – mispronounced as – wadn’t

Yolk – mispronounced as – yoke

Suite – mispronounced as – suit

Nuclear – mispronounced as – nuclar

Close – mispronounced as – clothes

Be careful when learning new words! Its good to learn English with a professional native speaking teacher. You can do that with Smart Language Solutions

Learn English on line at www.SmartLanguageSolutions.com

Slang Word – Dohment

2009-08-13T02:06:00.000-07:00

Dohment is the moment you realise you did something stupid in the past.
“Oh my, I just realised I booked my flight for the wrong day, I will have to rebook”

In standard English a dohment, can also be called the moment when something “dawns on you” or when “the penny drops”.

Dohment is a combination of the words Doh and moment.
Doh is the phrase used by the cartoon character “Homer Simpson” when he makes a mistake.

Be careful when using slang, if you are not sure, don’t use it.
Take lessons with professional native English speaking teachers at Smart Language Solutions.

www.SmartLanguageSolutions.com

Phrasal Verb – Name After

2009-08-12T03:37:00.001-07:00

This phrasal verb describes when a child is given the same name of someone in their family or some other famous person, even songs!

“My name is George, I was named after my father who is also called George.”

“My name is Nikita, I was named after that Elton John song from the 80’s, I’m a girl and my parents didn’t know Nikita was a boys name!”

Its very important to learn English correctly! The best way is with a professional native English speaker.
Learn English online with Smart Language Solutions.

www.SmartLanguageSolutions.com

Question Tags

2009-08-11T02:27:00.000-07:00

In English when we want to continue a conversation we can put a question tag at the end of a sentence.
The purpose of the question tag is to invite the person who we are talking to reply to us.
“You agree with me, don’t you?”

Question tags are easy to construct, if the base sentence is positive, then the question tag is negative and if the base sentence is negative then the question tag is positive.

We construct the question tag using the auxiliary verb from the base sentence and invert it:

It isn’t a nice day, is it?
You have my pen, haven’t you?

If there is no auxiliary verb in the base sentence then use do/does/did:
The school closes at 5PM, doesn’t it?
You eat meat, don’t you?

Remember when learning English, it’s very important to take lessons with a professional native speaker teacher.
Join us online to learn English in small groups or one to one with Smart Language Solutions.

www.SmartLanguageSolutions.com

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

2009-08-10T07:03:00.000-07:00

In English we class our nouns into countable and uncountable.

Countable nouns are nouns we can physically count:
5 Apples
2 People
7 Books

Uncountable Nouns are nouns we can’t physically count:
Water
Electricity
Rice

Money is an uncountable noun!

Some and Any

We use some in positive sentences with uncountable and plural nouns:
There is some water in the pool
There are some apples in the kitchen

We also use some when we ask for and offer things:
Can I have some rice please?
Would you like some books to take home?

We use any in questions and negative sentences with uncountable and plural nouns:
Is there any electricity in the house?
There aren’t any people at the party.

How much/many

We use how much with uncountable nouns:
How much rice is in the pot?

We use how many with countable nouns:
How many people were at the party?

Learn more English as a foreign language at smart language solutions
www.smartlanguagesolutions.com

IELTS Listening section

2009-08-07T05:25:00.000-07:00

If you are taking the IELTS, the first task of the day is the 30 minute listening test.

There are four parts to the listening test.

Part One: this will be a conversation between two people, the theme of the conversation will either be a social or semi official format.

Part Two: this will be a talk by a single speaker and it will be a non academic situation.

Part Three: this will be a conversation between a number of people, the theme will be academic or course related.

Part Four: this will be a university type lecture.

Before the recordings you will have a chance to see the ten questions for each recording, each recording is then played one time only.

So the key to passing the listening test is:

Read the questions and understand them.
As you listen to the recording make notes on the answer sheet about each question.
Then take the full ten minutes after the listening to transfer your notes onto the answer sheet!

As practice try listening to UK, US, and Irish talk radio online, these are great sources to “tune” your ear to native speakers.

Here are some stations:

BBC: http://bit.ly/jyJte
RTE: http://bit.ly/hjEQN
Newstalk: http://bit.ly/GaMAt
Air America: http://bit.ly/2WIK2
KUDO: http://bit.ly/hDX48

Of course its very important to work with a professional English teacher who will support you in your learning.
That’s why we suggest you contact us at www.smartlanguagesolutions.com and we will support you in your learning.

Pronouncing Regular Past Tense Verbs

2009-08-06T05:23:00.001-07:00

To review, we all know that to form the written regular past tense we must do the following.

If the verb ends in “e” add “d”
Live = Lived

If the verb ends in a consonant + “y” change the “y” to “i” and then add “ed”
Cry = Cried

If the verbs ends in a vowel and a consonant (except) “w” or “y”) then double the consonant and add “ed”
Stop = Stopped

For all other ending add “ed”
Fill = Filled

However, the sound made when we pronounce the regular past tense is not just “d”.
A lot of English learners don’t realise that there are three distinct sounds used in English for regular past tense verbs, and they are “d”, “id” and “t”.

Listened has the “d” sound at the end

Boasted has the “id” sound at the end

Laughed has the “t” sound at the end

To find out which regular past tense verbs have which sound at the end is best done by learning English with a professional native speaker English teacher!

Learn more English for free at www.smartlanguagesolutions.com and click free stuff!

Tip of the weekend: “Using slang”

2009-06-20T00:33:00.001-07:00

As a non native speaker, it is not a good idea to use slang.
There are so many different slang words used in different parts of the English speaking world, that even for native speakers it is hard to keep up to date with the latest slang.
Slang used incorrectly sounds really bad, so unless your 150% sure of how to use the slang phrase, don’t!

Dave @ SLS

Phrasal Verb of the weekend: “Jack up”

2009-06-20T00:32:00.000-07:00

To raise prices, very quickly and to a very high level.

“After the team won the championship they jacked up the ticket prices for next year”

Dave @ SLS

Idiom of the weekend: “Back seat driver”

2009-06-20T00:31:00.002-07:00

A back seat driver is a person who criticize from the sidelines. It originates from the situation where someone gives unwanted advice from the back seat of a vehicle to the driver. The idiom can be used in other circumstances other than someone giving advice from the back seat of the car.

“John is such a back seat driver, he is always shouting at the team coach from the sideline”

Dave @ SLS

Word of the weekend: “Understeer”

2009-06-20T00:31:00.001-07:00

Understeer as a noun:
This is when a car or other vehicle is unable to turn sharply and the front wheels move to the outside of turn.
“This car suffers from a lot of Understeer”

Understeer as a verb:
To describe the act of Understeer.
“I was driving home when the car understeered”

Dave @ SLS

Tip of the day: “Indefinite Articles”

2009-06-20T00:29:00.002-07:00

There are two indefinite article, “a” or “an”, we put them before noun. “A” is used before a noun that begins with a consonant sound, and “an” is used before a noun that begins with a vowel sound.

A car
An umbrella

Dave @ SLS

Phrasal verb of the day: “Nod Off”

2009-06-20T00:29:00.001-07:00

This means to fall asleep, usually unintentionally.
“The race was so boring I nodded off halfway through”

Dave @ SLS

Idiom of the day: “A Slap on the Wrist”

2009-06-20T00:27:00.000-07:00

Idiom of the day: “A Slap on the Wrist”
A slap on the wrist describes a very mild punishment, however it does not mean a physical punishment.
“John has been late to work everyday this month, the boss told him off, I think he got away with a slap on the wrist”

Dave @ SLS

Word of the day: Pain

2009-06-20T00:24:00.000-07:00

Pain is a noun.

Pain describes the feeling of physical suffering or distress, it can be caused by injury, or illness.
“After I cut my hand the pain was really terrible”

Dave @ SLS

Writing tip of the day: Capitalize that

2009-06-18T00:00:00.000-07:00

We use capital letters in English when we write a name

His name is John

If a person has a title we capitalize the title too!

His name is King John.

However if we write about a title in general we don’t capitalize it.

Do you know the name of that king?

Click here to read more.

Dave @ SLS

Phrasal verb of the day: Hang Around

2009-06-17T23:56:00.000-07:00

This phrasal verb describes when we stay somewhere for fun.

“The kids are always hanging around in the park”

Click here for more information about this phrasal verb

Dave @ SLS

Idiom of the day: “He lost his head

2009-06-17T23:51:00.000-07:00

This idiom means to be angry and overcome by emotions.

“John lost his head when I told him that he was not allowed to go”

Click here for more information on this idiom.

Dave @ SLS

Word of the day: Café

2009-06-17T23:44:00.000-07:00

Café is a noun.

A café is a small and informal place selling refreshments.

“Lets meet for a coffee at the café and catch up”

Click here to see more information about this word.

Dave @ SLS

Word: Suspend

2009-06-16T23:14:00.000-07:00

This is a regular verb.

Suspend, has a number of meaning, however in this post I want to look at two of its most popular uses.

To temporarily remove someone from their position or stop a service.
John was suspended from school for a week.
I was late this morning when the train service was suspended.

To hang an object over an open space.
The artist suspended the sculpture between the two buildings.

Dave @ SLS

Idiom: “To add Fuel To The Fire

2009-06-16T23:13:00.000-07:00

This idiom is used to describe when we make an already bad situation worse.

“John, stop arguing you are only adding fuel to the fire!”

Dave @ SLS

Phrasal verb: “Make Up with”

2009-06-16T23:12:00.000-07:00

"To make up with someone" means to re-establish a relationship with someone.

“John and Mary had a big argument last night, but they made up with each other this morning”.

Dave @ SLS

Writing tip: Yours Faithfully or Yours Sincerely.

2009-06-16T23:07:00.000-07:00

When writing a business letter, there are a number of different endings that you can use. However we suggest that you use either "Yours Faithfully" or "Yours Sincerely".

When you know the name of the person you are writing to then use "Yours Sincerely".
When you don’t know the name of the person you are writing to the you use "Yours Faithfully".

Dear Mr. Smith,
Please find attached …..
Yours Sincerely

Dear Sirs,
Please find attached ….
Yours Faithfully

Yours Faithfully

Dave @ SLS

Grammar tip: Zero Conditional

2009-06-16T08:04:00.000-07:00

The zero conditional is used to describe the result of something that is always true.

“If you heat ice it melts.”

Dave English - Teaching English online

Phrasal verb: “to pan out”

2009-06-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

“To pan out” it means to be successful at something or for something to turn out well.

“At the start of the game it looked like we would loose, but in the end it all panned out well for us”.

Dave English - Online English teacher

Idiom: “ A Chip On Your Shoulder

2009-06-16T07:58:00.000-07:00

This is idiom means to be upset about something that happened in the past.

“John has a chip on his shoulder because Mary was promoted over him”

Dave English

Click here to learn English online

Word: Entrepreneur

2009-06-16T07:53:00.000-07:00

Entrepreneur is a noun.

An Entrepreneur is a person who starts, organizes and manages a business with considerable initiative and risk.

Richard Branson is a well known British Entrepreneur.

Dave

www.smartlanguagesolutions.com

Word: Lid

2009-06-16T00:58:00.000-07:00

Lid is a noun.

It is a removable top or cover for the opening of a jar or pot. “Can you put the lid on the pot, it will boil quicker”

It is also used to describe the maximum money that someone is willing to spend. “The spending lid on this project is £20,000”

In slang lid is a hat or helmet. “If your riding your motorbike, you must wear your lid”

Dave English
www.smartlanguagesolutions.com

Idiom: “Put a lid on it

2009-06-16T00:54:00.000-07:00

This idiom is used to when we want to express a way to stop spending from increasing.

“This project is too expensive we need to put a lid on the spending”

It can also be used to tell someone to stop complaining.

“John, put a lid on it, we know you are not happy”

Dave English
www.smartlanguagesolutions.com

Phrasal verb: “to luck out”

2009-06-16T00:52:00.000-07:00

To luck out is an phrasal verb used mostly in in America English. It is used to describe when someone is unexpectedly lucky.

“I got up late today but I lucked out when get to the office before my boss”

Dave English
www.smartlanguagesolutions.com

Grammar tip of the day: Present Continuous as future

2009-06-16T00:48:00.000-07:00

We all know that present continuous is used to describe an action happening now or around now, however it can also be used to express a plan in the near future.

“I am meeting John at home tonight”

We use the present continuous construction with a future time point.

Dave English
www.smartlanguagesolutions.com

Half Mast v Half Staff

2009-06-16T00:45:00.000-07:00

Half Mast is an expression used in British English, Half Staff is an expression used in American English.

The expression describes the situation when a flag is flying halfway up a flagpole. It is done in most countries as a symbol of mourning.

UK: “They flew the flag at half mast at Buckingham Place when Princess Diana died.”

US: “They flew the flag at half staff at the White House when President Kennedy was killed.”

Learn More English online at www.smartlanguagesolutons.com

Brainstorming

2007-12-20T08:16:00.000-08:00

In this post I want to look at how to use the phrase brainstorming correctly, for my YouTube video lesson on the subject click here.

For more lessons click here to go to my website.

Brainstorming is used, usually in business situations, to describe when a group of people come together to solve a problem.

Normally a problem is identified and then a group of people come together and think about the problem and express their ideas to fix the problem. How good or how bad the ideas are, is not important. A list is made of all the ideas and then best ideas are the ones chosen one to be used to solve the problem.

BECAREFUL some people think that the phrase brainstorming is offensive to people who suffer from epilepsy, however in a 2005 UK survey of epilepsy sufferers 95% said they did not find the word offensive.

Click here to go to my website for more:
www.smartlanguagesolutions.com

Question Tags

2007-12-18T01:02:00.000-08:00

Question Tags.

In this post I want to talk about using question tags. To see my YouTube video on the subject, click here or click here to check out my website.

In English we use question tags as a way of moving a conversation on (i.e. keeping it going).

To use a question tag, we make a statement then we put a two word tag at the end of the statement, which we hope will make the other person or people in conversation with us continue the conversation.

For example:

Statement:
“It’s a beautiful day”

Question tag:
“Isn’t it?”

Answer:
“Yes it is. (or no it’s not)”

Q: “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?”
A: “Yes it is”

Statement:
You’ve been to Spain

Question tag:
Haven’t you?

Answer:
Yes I have. (or no I haven’t)

Q: “You’ve been to Spain, haven’t you?”
A: Yes I have.

How to make a question tag.

The first part of the any sentence using question tags is a statement, and it is the statement that is the key to the question tag.
In our example statement, “It’s a beautiful day”, we can see that the first part of the statement are the words “It is”.
To make the question tag, we use these two words and do two actions to them!

The first action is to reverse the word order:
“It is” = “is it”

The second action is to change the verb from positive to negative, if the verb is positive, or from negative to positive if the verb is negative.
In this example the verb is positive so we change it to negative.
“Is” = “isn’t”

This then gives us the question tag; “isn’t it?”

“It’s a nice day, isn’t it?”

In our second example, the statement is:
“You’ve been to Spain”

So to make the question tag we take the first two words in the statement; “You have”, reverse the order, “have you” and make the verb negative “haven’t” which makes the question tag “haven’t you”

“You’ve been to Spain, haven’t you?”

If the sentence is negative, the same rule applies:

Example:
“You don’t like wet weather, do you?”

The first two words in the sentence are “You don’t”.
Applying the rule we reverse the order, “You don’t” = “don’t you”, now we make the negative verb positive, “don’t = do”, this gives us the question tag “do you”

Remember English is Easy, especially if your teacher is good!

If you would like to know more then click here to check out my website:
www.smartlanguagesolutions.com

How to use So and Neither

2007-12-12T10:14:00.000-08:00

In this post I would like to look how to use “so” and “neither” to express agreement with someone.
If you want to see my YouTube video on the subject, click here.

For more lessons click here to go to my website

When someone makes a statement, you might want to agree or disagree with them. If the statement is a positive statement, and you want to agree with the statement then you use so, if the statement is negative, and you want to agree with it then you neither.

The positive statement:
I’ve got a new car.

You agree with it:
So have I

The negative statement:
I don’t have a TV

You agree with it:
Neither do I.

When we use so and neither, our answer must use a positive auxiliary verb.

So have I NOT So haven’t I
Neither do I NOT Neither don’t I

If we want to disagree with a statement then we use the opposite auxiliary verb from the original statement:

The positive statement:
I’ve got a new car

You don’t agree with it:
I haven’t

The negative statement:
I don’t have a TV

You don’t agree
I have

If you want to more lessons click here to go to my website:
www.smartlangaugesolutions.com

Using future will

2007-11-23T10:39:00.000-08:00

In English we have five different future tenses;
Future will,
Future going to,
Present continuous used as future,
Future prefect simple and
Future perfect continuous
However the subject of today’s post is future will. Click here to see my mini lesson on Youtube about the subject.

First lets consider the construction of future will.

When we construct will in the future tense we use will + the infinitive, without “to”.

For example:
I think the team will win the game.

In this example you can see will + the infinitive of win, used without “to”

It is wrong to say:
I think the team will to win

There are three possible ways of expressing will in the future tense.

1) When we want to express a prediction

Example:
I think the team will win the game.

This means I am not 100% sure the team will win, but I am confident that they can win the game.

2) When we make a decision at the moment of speaking

Example:
I ask you, “Would you like to come to the cinema with me tonight?”

This is the first time you have heard me ask you this question and you decide your answer as I finish my question, so you answer

“Yes I will” or “No I won’t”

3) When we make a promise

Example
“I promise when I am elected I will lower the taxes”

As you can see will is used to express three different situations in English.

If you would like to learn more then click here to go to my website http://www.smartlanguagesolutions.com

The Phone!

2007-11-23T06:14:00.000-08:00

My latest post on Youtube is about the phone, click here to see it.

I have two phones, one is in my house, it is my landline, the other is in my pocket.
The phone I keep in my pocket I take everywhere with me. Because I live in the UK I call this phone my mobile phone. If I wanted the phone number of the phone a British person takes everywhere with them I would ask them for their mobile phone number.

However when I go America I don’t call it my mobile phone anymore, I call it my cell phone. So if I wanted to ask an American person for the number of the phone they take everywhere with them I would ask them for their cell phone number!

If you would like to learn more, click here to go to my website www.smartlanguagesolutuions.com

Part of the car!

2007-11-22T07:37:00.000-08:00

In this post I would like to look at six words that are used to describe the same three parts of a car depending on whether you are speaking British English or American English.
Click here and you can see the mini lesson I posted on YouTube.

The reason I decided to write about this subject is due to the amount of American and British movies and TV shows that are seen around the world and how ubiquitous the car is in movies & TV shows.

The first part of the car I want to look at is the space at the back, where we might put our shopping or bags (or where in the movies or on TV the “bad guy” or mafia hit man might put a body!)
In British English this space is called the BOOT, so a British person would say, “I put the bags in the boot”
While in American English this space is called the trunk, so an American would say, “I put the bags in the trunk”

The second part of the car I want to discuss is the front end, where the engine is. The piece of metal that covers the engine has, like the space at the back, two different words describing it depending on where you come from.
In British English this piece of metal is called the BONNET, so a British person would say, “The engine is under the bonnet”.
While in American English this piece of metal is called the HOOD, so an America would say, “the engine is under the hood”.

Finally for now, I want to discuss the matter of speed. When an English person wants you to go faster they would say “I want you to accelerate”.
However if an American wants you to go faster they would say “I want you to give gas”.

If you want more then click here to check out our website www.smartlanguagesolutions.com

Vocabulary:
Ubiquitous – To be seen to be everywhere at the same time
Shopping – Items bought in a shop and stored together for transport by an individual
Bad Guy – In a movie, TV show, book, play etc. the person who is the evil character.

2007-11-19T05:01:00.000-08:00

In this post I would like to talk about the idiomatic expression, “Part of the Furniture”.
The other day while teaching an online lesson at Smart Language Solutions I was asked by a student, why, in English the expression “part of the furniture” is used to talk about people and not about the furniture. I have a short video lesson on the subject on YouTube and you can find it by clicking here.

At first glance it would seem that the expression “part of the furniture” would refer only to a piece of the furniture, and this would be the case when we are directly talking about the furniture. However in English when describing a piece of furniture we would normally name that piece of furniture

For example we went to a furniture store and bought a new sofa. When we got home and put the sofa home together we saw some screws on the ground and we realised that the screws were part of the sofa. As you can see here we say part of the sofa, and not part of the furniture!

So when we use the expression “Part of the furniture” we are not talking about furniture at all! In fact we use the expression, “part of the furniture” to describe a person.

When we say someone is “part of the furniture” it means that the person in question has been in a position in any organisation such as job or voluntary group for a long, long time.

So for example, you are in your job and there is one person who has worked in the company for a long time then we can that person is part of the furniture.
In other words, “John has worked in this company for 20 years, in fact John is here so long he is part of the furniture”
If you want more on this or any other English matter click here to visit my website, www.smartlanguagesolutions.com

2007-11-16T10:06:00.000-08:00

In this post I want to address the use of “used to”. Click here for my YouTube mini lesson on the subject.

Before we talk about "used to" we need to quickly consider the uses of the present simple tense.
In English we use the present simple to express something that is a habit, or something that happens regularly.

For example: “She drinks a lot of coffee”

The present simple is also used to express something that is true.

For example: “The hotel is over there”

Once you are comfortable with the present simple it is possible to look at “used to”.

In English “used to” is used to express two types of past situations.

1) An action that happen in the past, that was a habit or happened again and again, but no longer happens.

Example: “She used to drink a lot of coffee, but now she doesn’t”

2) When something was true in the past but no longer is.

Example: “There used to be a hotel over there, but now it is an apartment block”.

Don’t confuse “used to” with “get used to doing something” which is used to express when some action becomes normal for us.
Also don’t confuse “used to” with “to be used to doing something” which is used to express when something is normal for the speaker.

For more on learning English click here to go to my website www.smartlanguagesolutions.com

2007-11-16T01:32:00.000-08:00

Recently I was listening to the radio and there was a discussion on what had happened on the stock market that day. The people involved in the conversation started to use some stock market slang, slang that is frequently used on radio and TV broadcasts and in the print media and I realised that it might be interesting to look at some of these terms, you can get more information from my YouTube mini lesson by clicking here.

The short list of stock market slang terms I am about to share with you is just that, a short list, it is not complete but it is a start.

When you go to the Wall St. district of New York you will see a big brass statue of a bull. Traditionally the terms bull is used to describe one market situation and the term bear describes a different market situations, these two words are the most commonly used stock market slang terms.

A bull or bullish market is when stock prices go up

A bear or bearish market is when stock prices go.

Another typical term used in the market is, crash.
In fact you might hear the term or read the phrase “today the market crashed”.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that the market lost all of the value of its shares, rather it means that the market value dropped by 10% or more in one days trading.

Another interesting slang term is V Rally, this happens when stock traders, usually on the floor of the stock market, sell a large amount of stock. What should happen at this point is a drop in the price of shares, the market should become bearish. However rather than falling all the way the market becomes bullish, i.e. goes up again. This bull trend normally occurs because of online trading.
So the term V Rally comes from the V shape that happens on a graph when the market goes down and then back up again.

Finally for now, let’s look at the market slang “All the boats rise”. This happens when the market is bullish and as a result the majority of stocks rise in value regardless of their true market worth. The phrase “all the boats rise” comes from the world of the sea.
If you have every been to a harbour and the tide is out all the boats will be low down by the harbour wall, however as the tide comes back in all the boats, regardless of size will come up to the top of the harbour wall again, and this is where the phrase “all the boats rise” comes from.

For more click here to check out thewebsite, www.smartlangaugesolutions.com

2007-11-14T06:21:00.000-08:00

In this post I want to talk a little about one of my favour subjects, the difference between US (American) English and UK (British) English.
Check out Youtube (click here) to see what I am talking about.

I want to talk about the world of university education. People who are studding for a degree in university in both countries are called undergraduates, or either undergrads or grads for short. If you complete your degree and continue to the next level of university education you are called a postgraduate student.
The purpose of this post is to look at how undergraduates are called through the years of study.

In British English when you are in your first year of university you are called a:
1st Year undergraduate
While in US English you are called a:
Freshman (for both male and females)

In British English when you are in your second year of university you are called a:
2nd year undergraduate
While in US English you are called a:
Sophomore

In British English when you are in your third year of study at university you are called a:
3rd year undergraduate
While in US English you are called a:
Junior

In British English when you are in your fourth year at university you are called a:
4th year undergraduate
While in US English you are called a:
Senior

Before I finish for this post a let me give you a tip on an import difference between British English and US English, one that could save you hours in lifts in tall buildings.
What in American English is called the first floor, is in British English the ground floor!
So in American buildings and Lifts you will see, first floor, second floor, third floor and so on.
While in UK buildings and lifts you will see ground floor, first floor second floor and so on.

Hope this helps, for more information click here to check out my website, www.smartlanguagesolutions.com

The Present Perfect

2007-11-13T21:31:00.000-08:00

Today I posted a short video on Youtube (which you can see here) explaining the uses of the present perfect tense.

Present Perfect is used to express three different situations in English, but before I address the uses of the Present Perfect, lets look at the construction of the present perfect.

The important thing to remember when constructing the present perfect is that we must use the past participle (third form of the verb) so we have to make sure we know all our irregular verbs, and they are something I can’t teach you!

Construction positive sentences in the present perfect:

I you we they + have + past participle + the rest of the sentence
I have been to see Michael

He she it + has + past participle + the rest of the sentence
Mary has been to America

Construction of a negative sentence in the present perfect:

I you we they + haven’t (have not) + past participle + the rest of the sentence
I haven’t seen Michael

He she it + hasn’t (has not) + past participle + the rest of the sentence
She hasn’t been to America

Construction of a question in present perfect:

Have + I you we they + past participle + the rest of the question
Have you seen Michael?

Has + he she it + past participle + the rest of the question
Has she been to America?

Using the present perfect

There are three standard (and easy to understand) uses of the present perfect in English

The present perfect is used to express an action that started in the past and continues until now.

For example: you have been reading this blog for a few minutes.
This sentence tells us that your action (reading the bolg) started in the past, and continues to now.

We can also use this construction to talk about an action that started in the past and goes on to now, but is not happening at this moment.

For example: I have been teaching English for twenty years.
This sentence tells us that twenty years ago I started teaching English and I am still teaching. But what it also shows is that the action teaching English is not something I do all the time, but rather it is something I do sometimes, but also something I HAVE DONE for twenty years

The present perfect is also used to talk about an action in the past that is finished, but we are not interested in when the action happened.

For example:
I have been to America.

This sentence tells us that I have been to America, but it does not tell us when. It is not important when.
If we wanted to say when we went to America, we would use the past simple
I was in America last year.
You can see from the past simple sentence we use a time point (last year).

The last use of the present perfect is to express an experience

For example:
I have eaten snails!

This sentence tells us about an experience in the past. If I wanted to tell you when I eat the snails I would have to use past simple.

Tom: I have eaten snails

Mary: Oh really, when was that

Tom: A few years ago in France

There you have the basic rules and uses for present perfect tense. For more information click here to go to my website www.smartlanguagesolutuons.com

Using Like

2007-11-12T05:24:00.000-08:00

Today I put up a video on YouTube (which you can see here) giving a short outline of uses of the word like.

Like is a word that can be a verb or a preposition. The good news is that it is not too difficult to figure out when we are using like as a verb or when we are using like as a preposition.

Using like as a verb:
When we use like as a verb it always has a subject.
Like as a verb can be followed by “another verb + ing” or by “to + verb”, and has two different meanings.

Examples:
Like + verb + ing

I like writing early in the morning.

In this sentence we have the subject “I” followed by the verb like followed by another verb write + ing.

This construction is used to express when the subject of the sentence enjoys (or does not enjoy something)

Mary doesn’t like listening to the news.
This sentence shows us that the subject of the sentence (Mary) does not like listening to the news

They like swimming at weekends.
This sentence shows us that the subject (they) like swimming

Like + to + verb

I like to read books

In this sentence we have the subject “I” followed by “to” followed by the verb.
This construction is used to express when the subject of the sentence wants to tell about their habits or preferences.

Mary likes to drink coffee
This sentence shows us that the subject of the sentence (Mary) has a habit of drinking coffee.

We like to go to the cinema on Saturdays.
This construction shows us that the subject of the sentence (we) have a preference for going to the cinema on Saturdays.

Using like as a preposition

When we use like as a preposition it always has an object after it.

The weather today is like yesterdays

This sentence shows us that the weather today is the same as the weather from yesterday.

The sentence construction is; the weather “the subject” followed by “like” followed by the “object”.
All sentences using like as a preposition follow this construction.

Your car does not sound ok, just before mine broke down it sounded like that.

Jane is wearing a dress like Kate’s

Using like in a question

When we use like in a question we are asking for a description, impression or a comparison.

When we use like to ask for a description or an impression we cannot use like in the answer!

Q: What is the weather like?
A: Its sunny and warm

Q: What are the exchange rates like today?
A: The dollar dropped on overnight trading so its no too good for our trip to the US.

When we use like to ask for a comparison we can use like in the answer!

Q What is John like?
A He is like Richard but has darker hair

Q What is Hamburg?
A Its like most North German cities but has a big lake in the city centre.

BE CAREFUL: The word liking is a noun and is used to describe a feeling of attraction or love or fondness.
Don’t confuse it with like as a verb or preposition!

For more information click here to go my website www.smartlanguagesolutions.com

British English, Irish English, American English and more!

2007-11-10T06:02:00.000-08:00

I have a dictionary, yes a whole dictionary full of the differences between certain words and phrases used in British English and American English!

Some of the more amusing ones for me are:

UK English Tap = where the water comes from
US English Tap = where the beer comes from

UK Trunk = what you put your clothes in before we had suitcases
US Trunk = the space at the back of the car for shopping

Of course as well as differences between standard British English and standard American English there are differences between the English spoken in different parts of the UK!

I had a friend of mine come up to me the other day here in London and asked me to buy something from him for a “score”
I looked at him and said “what’s a score?” he said “a score is £20”

In future I will do some small posts showing the differences between the various different forms of English!

By the way, I would not recommend using the word “score” when your in England and want to talk about “£20” just say “£20”, but if someone offers to sell you something for a “score” well now you know!

For more information check out my website just click here

Phrasal Verbs - Break Down

2007-11-09T10:22:00.000-08:00

Today I posted a video on Youtube (which you can see here) explaining a little about phrasal verbs.

A phrasal verb is when we take a verb and either an adverb or a preposition and combine them to make a new combination that is slightly different in meaning from the original verb meaning. In fact depending on the context of the sentence the phrasal verb may well have more than one meaning!

I looked at the verb BREAK and the adverb DOWN and gave two examples;

1) The accountant took the companies figures and broke them down.
In this example we see that the phrasal verb combination of break and down refer to a specific noun (in this case the figures) and as a result the meaning, is to separate something into its component parts

To break something down = To separate something into its component parts.

2) I was driving to work when my car broke down.
In this example we see that the same phrasal verb combination refer again to a specific noun (the car) and how it is no longer working.

To break down = To no longer work correctly.

As you can see from these from these examples phrasal verbs can be very difficult.
It is almost impossible to learn phrasal verbs by using a formula in the way you would if you were learning a grammar tense.
The most important thing to remember it that phrasal verbs can only be formed by combining a verb with an adverb or a verb with a preposition.
There are some great free lists of phrasal verbs which explain their combination and their meanings and you can find some on my website by clicking here.
But the bottom line is you will have to sit down and learn them, just like you did when you were learning your irregular verbs!

My top two learning tips are:

1) Start with sector specific learning, what area do you work in? What area are you studding in? Learn these verbs first, then move to the general phrasal verbs

2) When you come across a new phrasal verb, pay attention, the context it is used in will help you figure out the meaning. Then remember it!

I will do some more phrasal verbs here soon. In the mean time click here to visit my website http://www.smartlanguagesolutions.com/ for some online English learning.

Present Simple

2007-11-08T13:00:00.001-08:00

Today I posted a new video on YouTube you can see it here. Today I gave a very basic outline of using the present simple tense.

In the video I explained that in English we use the present simple to describe three different situations:

1) To say when something (an action) happens again and again, or is a habit.
For example, “Mary gets up at 6 every morning”
This tells us that Mary gets out of bed at 6, this is something she does every day, again and again. However it does not matter how far apart the action is in time, as long as it happens again and again.
So it is also ok to say, “John goes to Spain every year”.
This tells us that once a year John goes to Spain, but it also tells us that John does the action again and again, and this why we use the present simple

2) To say when something is true at this moment.
For example, “That dog is big”, this tells us that the dog is a big dog!

3) To say when something is true for a long time
For example, “They don’t eat meat”, this tells us that at this moment it is true that they don’t eat meat, but it also suggests that a long time ago they did!

When we construct the present simple we have to remember to use the letter “s” or the ending “es” when we use either, he, she or it.

Positive Construction:

I, you, we, they + verb + rest of your sentence.
You read the newspaper everyday.

He, She it + verb + s + rest of your sentence.
She reads the newspaper everyday

Negative Construction:

I, you, we, they + don’t + verb + rest of your sentence
I don’t drink wine

He, she, it + doesn’t + verb + rest of your sentence
The car doesn’t run on diesel

Question Construction

Question word + do + I, we, you, they + rest of your sentence + ?
When do they leave the office?

Question word + does + he, she, it + rest of your sentence + ?
Why does Mary have John’s car?

Don’t worry about too much about adding “s” “es” or ”ies” because the rules are very easy:

Put “s” at the end of most verbs
Thinks, eats, speaks

Put “es” at the end of verbs that end in “ss” “ch”, “x” and “o”
Kisses, Washes, Does

Put “ies” at the end of verbs that a consonant + y
Carries, Worries

We use adverbs of frequency in present simple too!
Never Sometimes Always

I hope this gives some extra information to the short video clip on Youtube.

For more information check out my website by clicking here, or going to http://www.smartlanguagesolutions.com/