To call time

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.

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English Lesson - Bailout or Bail Out

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!

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IELTS – Speaking Module

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.

Phrasal Verb – Name After

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.

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