15 Great English Phrases For Valentine's Day

Hello everyone!

It's actually been a few months since my last post on this site, but I do have a good excuse. I've been trying to move Sitzman ABC to a different internet domain, but it's taken a lot more time than I imagined. When that is finished, I'll tell you, but I wanted to let everyone know I'm still alive by writing this post today.

Today is Valentine's Day. Love it or hate it, it's a very well-known holiday in many parts of the world. So I decided to talk about 5 good phrases that you can use today, even if you're not romantic.

1. to flirt

The verb "flirt" means to talk romantically to a person that you're interested in. It could be to start a relationship, or it could just be for fun. Sometimes this action is also called "hitting on." Note that "to hit on" is very different from "to hit"! For example, you can say:

"Tony got in trouble with his girlfriend Jenny last night. Jenny saw him talking to Sally, and Jenny thought he was flirting with her."

OR

"Maria doesn't like to go to bars because guys always try to hit on her, even when she's not interested in them."

2. to date, to go out, to ask out

The verb "date" indicates that two people are in a relationship. It usually indicates a longer period of time:

"Tommy and Gina have been dating (each other) for about a year."

"Date" can also be a noun, as in: 

"Tommy and Gina are going on a date tonight."

A very similar phrase is "to go out," as in: 

"Tommy and Gina are going out."

Finally, "to ask (out)" means that one person asks another to go on a romantic date, or to an event like a dance:

"Tommy met Gina at the gym. She was flirting with him, so he asked her out on a date."

3. to be in love

This phrase is usually used when two people love each other. For example:

"Romeo and Juliet just met each other last week, but they both already say they're in love."

If you start to love a person, you "fall in love." Fall is an irregular verb, conjugated fall-fell-fallen. If people fall in love immediately, it's called "love at first sight":

"Romeo and Juliet fell in love immediately. It was love at first sight."

OR 

"I don't really believe in love at first sight. I think people need to spend time together before falling in love."

If the romantic relationship is very short, not very serious, or immature for some reason, it's sometimes called "puppy love" (a puppy is a baby dog). For example, you can say:

"Romeo and Juliet say they're in love, but I think it's just puppy love. Both of them fall in love with new people all the time, so I don't think it's serious."

4. to break up, to dump

Sometimes love doesn't last forever. When that happens, here are some phrases to use when a relationship ends. If both people decide to stop the relationship, you can say that they "broke up" ("broke" is the past form of "break"):

"Did you hear the news? Melissa and her boyfriend John broke up last week."

However, if only one person makes the decision, you can say that he or she "dumped" the other person. With this phrase, one person dumps, the other person gets dumped. Note: "dump" is also a verb used with trash, so be careful using this phrase around a person with a broken heart! 

"Did you hear the news? John got dumped last week! Melissa said she saw him hitting on a girl in the park, so she dumped him!"

Well, that's a lot of vocabulary to remember, so let's list the words one more time just to review.

Can you explain what each of these phrases means and give an example of how to use them?

-love it or hate it

-to flirt (with someone)

-to hit on (someone)

-to be interested in (someone)

-to date, to be dating

-to go on a date

-to go out

-to ask (someone) out

-to be in love (with)

-to fall in love

-love at first sight

-puppy love

-to break up

-to dump

-to get/be dumped

That's all for today. If you're in a relationship, then have a happy Valentine's Day. If not, then you may enjoy this Queen song (turn the volume all the way up before starting the video):

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Thanksgiving

A slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream. I made this last Thanksgiving.

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States. It's possibly my favorite holiday (read more about holidays in general here), but most people here in Costa Rica don't know anything about it. So today let's explore what the holiday is about! Many of these words --especially about foods-- may be new or strange for you, so I'll include definitions or explanations for the bold words at the end of the post.

First of all, Thanksgiving is an old holiday. The history of Thanksgiving is a bit complicated, though, and there are different ideas about the "first Thanksgiving." You can watch this video or any of the others on History.com if you want more general information about the holiday's history. For today I just want to focus on the modern celebration.

Thanksgiving is celebrated in the US on the fourth Thursday of every November. Most people generally have Thursday and Friday off from work or school, so generally people try to get together with friends and family for a big meal (sometimes called "Thanksgiving dinner" or a "feast"). Different people eat different foods for Thanksgiving, but the most common food is definitely turkey. As sides, people often eat cranberry sauce together with the meat --it may sound weird, but it's delicious! Additionally, people often eat mashed potatoes with gravy, bread or rolls, stuffing, and save the most delicious thing for dessert: pumpkin pie! 

It's a special time of year, and I think one of the best things about the holiday is that it's not commercial, and that it's just about spending time with loved ones and being thankful for the good things in your life. Many times people take turns saying what they're thankful for in their lives.

At the old school where I used to teach, the students wrote what they were thankful for on a paper leaf. What are you thankful for in your life?

Let's go over some of the vocabulary for today. Before you read the definitions, though, can you explain what each of the words means?

Thanksgiving

holiday

have ____ off

get together (with)

meal

dinner

feast

cranberry (sauce)

mashed 

gravy

rolls

stuffing

pumpkin pie

spend time

loved ones

be thankful for

take turns

Now, let's look at some definitions or explanations for each of the vocabulary words:

Thanksgiving - a holiday at the end of November in the US
holiday - a special day; normally people don't have to work on holidays (see here)
have ____ off - if you have a day off, it means you don't have to work or go to school
get together (with) - to meet with someone
meal - a time when people eat food; the three meals are normally breakfast, lunch, and dinner
dinner - the name for the main meal at Thanksgiving (sometimes it's at lunch time, though)
feast - a very large, special, or elaborate meal
cranberry (sauce) - a cranberry is a tart fruit (see here)
mashed - "mash" is very similar to "smash" or "crush"
gravy - a thick sauce made from meat juices; often served with meat and/or potatoes
rolls - small, individual pieces of bread
stuffing - a mixture of bread cubes, celery, and other ingredients; often cooked inside the turkey
pumpkin pie - a dessert made from pumpkin, a type of gourd
spend time - we normally use the verb "spend" for time (not "pass")
loved ones - people who are important or special to us
be thankful for - to appreciate someone or something
take turns - when different people do something in order, one person at a time

So, what about you? What are you thankful for? I'm thankful for you, for reading this blog! If you have any comments or questions, please leave a comment. Thanks again for reading, and Happy Thanksgiving!

What Time Is It?

If you've been my student recently, you've probably noticed that the question I usually ask right before class is: "What time is it?" There's always one correct answer, no matter what the clock says. If you don't know the correct answer, it's hidden in the picture below--can you find it?

So, what time is it? That's right, it's ENGLISH TIME! 

I took this picture when I was in Istanbul, Turkey on a recent trip. I thought it was a funny and interesting coincidence, so I decided to share it here.

Thanks for reading, and I hope that English Time is your favorite time! 

Ticonderoga Premium Unsharpened #2 Pencils, Black, 24/pk (Google Affiliate Ad)

Common Error: "Earn," "Win," and "Beat"

Good afternoon, and welcome again to Mistake Monday! I've been busy traveling the last few months, but I'm back in Costa Rica now, so I'll try to update the blog more frequently again. Today I want to look at another Common Error. If you're not sure what kinds of errors I'm talking about, look here for a list of previous errors we've looked at on the blog.

Monopoly (or "Monopolio," as it's called here in Costa Rica) is one of my favorite board games. I don't always win, but I often am able to beat my opponents by buying as many properties as possible. (Photo by Ryan Sitzman)

Today's error is found often when talking about sports or other types of contests. It's also confusing for Spanish speakers because one Spanish word (ganar) can mean all three of the English words. Let's have a closer look:

Common Error: Earn, Win, and Beat
DON’T say this:	"She wins a lot of money in her job." "Saprissa won La Liga in last night's soccer game."
WHY?	-Earn refers to the money a person receives for doing work or a job. For example, you can say: "Pablo earns 5,000 Colones per hour working for the phone company." "I'd like a job where I can earn enough money to support my family." In most cases, you can also use the word make instead of earn. ("Pablo makes 5,000 Colones..."). -Win (past tense: won) means that one person or team defeats or conquers another person or team. The opposite is lose (past tense: lost). When you use these words, you usually mention the competition or contest, but not the opponent: "Jenny was the winner of the poker tournament. She won $50,000!" "Spain won the World Cup in 2010." The team with the highest score is the winner, and the team with the lowest score is the loser. Also, you can win a contest or competition unexpectedly (like the lottery or a raffle, for example): "I hope I win a free car in the supermarket raffle!" -Beat: Finally, beat is similar to win, but it's used a little differently in a sentence. You have to indicate both the winner and the loser (opponent) when you use the word beat: "Terry beat Tommy in the video game, but Tommy beat Terry playing soccer."
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"She earns a lot of money in her job." -"Saprissa beat La Liga in last night's soccer game." OR -"Saprissa won last night's soccer game."

Hopefully you understand. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment or contact me. Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Are We All "Americans"?

Hello! It's been a while since I've written on this blog, but I've been on a long trip. I finally have a little time to blog again, so I'd like to talk today about the use of the word "American." 

Two flags, but are they two American flags? Photo by Ryan Sitzman.

Who or what can be considered "American," at least in English? This is one of the most common questions/complaints I get in my English classes. As you probably know if you have friends from the USA, we often refer to ourselves as "Americans." I was recently listening to a Grammar Girl podcast that talked about this very issue. You can see the transcript or listen to the podcast here. The episode is great listening practice, of course, but some of the English is a bit advanced, just so you know.

In the USA, as well as much of Canada, Europe, and other regions, we learn that there are 7 continents, and that North America and South America are two different continents. However, in Latin America, schools teach that North and South America are combined, and that the continent is called "America."  As a result, in Spanish you can refer to anyone or anything from Alaska to Argentina as (an) "americano/a." This is a small difference in names, but it can cause bigger problems in cultural communication. 

If I refer to myself as an American in a class in Costa Rica, some of my students complain and say something like, "We are Americans, too." Sure, that's true. But they're also Costa Ricans. Or in South America, they're also Argentinians, Venezuelans, Peruvians, etc. The USA is at a bit of a disadvantage because there's not a word that can describe the people from the country, at least not in English (estadounidense works OK in Spanish, but there's not an equivalent in English).

Another issue that comes up in classes is the use of the word "North American." In Costa Rican Spanish, "norteamericano" is often used to refer to Americans and Canadians, but only sometimes Mexicans. It's a confusing term, especially if you're talking to a person who learned that Central America is part of the North American continent. I tell my students that according to geographers in the USA, Costa Ricans are also "North Americans"! Even if you eliminate the "norte," it doesn't necessarily make things less confusing or controversial. Just try calling a Canadian or a Mexican an "americano" and you'll see what I mean.

Basically, this is my message to my Costa Rican students and other readers in Latin America: If a person from the United States of America calls himself or herself an "American" when speaking in English, please don't take offense. They're not saying that you aren't Americans, too, but there's just not an English word that lets us describe our nationality in another way. If both English and Spanish speakers keep this in mind, it can help us avoid some cultural and linguistic misunderstandings.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

False Friend: Groserías vs. Groceries

Good evening, and welcome to Word Wednesday! Today we'll look at another False Friend. If you're not sure what a False Friend is, check out this post (and go here for a list of the False Friends we've already talked about). Today we'll look at the difference between groserías in Spanish and groceries in English. 

This is our refrigerator right now. I'd say it's about time we bought some groceries!

False Friend: groserías vs. groceries
This SPANISH word...	Looks like this ENGLISH word...	...but they are DIFFERENT because...
groserías	groceries	In Spanish, groserías are bad words: "No me digas groserías!" ("Don't say bad words to me!") In English, groceries is a word that refers to all the food you buy at a store or supermarket: "We're almost out of milk, and we need to buy more pasta, also. Let's go to the store to buy some groceries." Notice also that the "c" in "groceries" is pronounced like an "sh," like in the word "she," at least in American English.

This is pretty easy to remember, and it's not that commonly confused --but when it is, it's pretty funny! Now that I think about it, I'll have to do a series on bad words in English and Spanish, since there are some that are very similar, but they're less serious or offensive in one language or the other. So stay tuned for that!

In the meantime, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for other False Friends or Common Errors, please tell me.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

A Really Good English Blog

Peter Bruegel's painting Tower of Babel. (Image)

I recently came across a blog called Separated by a Common Language. The author is a woman who goes by the name Lynneguist. The blog mostly focuses on differences and similarities between American and British English and indeed, the blog's name comes from a quote by George Bernard Shaw that says:

England and America are two countries separated by a common language.

It's a pretty funny quote, since in my job as an English teacher I constantly notice little differences between American and British English, but I really like how Lynneguist investigates and explains them more.

For example, in this post from a day ago she talked about how British people seem to be more likely to say "please" when making a request, especially in restaurants, and then explains why that may be. 

In short, I'd definitely recommend the site if you're an upper-intermediate or advanced English learner, or if you're a native speaker that just likes to learn more about our language's idiosyncrasies.

That's it for tonight. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend! 

False Friend: Colegio vs. College

A hallway at a colegio (high school) in San José, Costa Rica.
(Picture by Ryan Sitzman)

Hello! It's been a long time since we had a False Friend, so let's look at another one today. If you're not sure what a False Friend is, check out this post. Today we'll look at the difference between colegio in Spanish and college in English. 

False Friend: colegio vs. college
This SPANISH word...	Looks like this ENGLISH word...	...but they are DIFFERENT because...
colegio	college	In Spanish, a colegio is like a high school in English: "Ella va a un colegio bilingüe." ("She goes to a bilingual high school.") In English, college is basically the same thing as a university (apparently there's a difference in Britain and Canada, but in my experience in the US, the two were  essentially the same): "Most people in Costa Rica graduate from high school when they're between the ages of 17 and 19. After graduation, some of them go to college, and others get jobs right away."

So, it's pretty easy to tell the difference between these two words, right? Just remember, college=university. For our next False Friend I think we'll talk about the differences between a bachelor, a Bachelor's degree, and a bachillerato in Spanish. 

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for other False Friends or Common Errors, please tell me.

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Senses: Final Review

When I drink coffee, it activates all five of my senses (and sometimes even my sixth sense: the ability to find more coffee). If coffee doesn't do the same thing for you, you're probably doing it wrong. (Picture by Ryan Sitzman)

Good evening! Last Friday we finished our last post related to the five senses. It's taken a few months, though, since it was a pretty complicated topic to talk about. So, I decided that for today's post, I'd just give a complete overview of all the other posts, so that you can have them all in one place and you can check any you might have missed.

The Five Senses

Introduction

This post introduced the topic, and also included a video that briefly explained how to use the sense words.

Sight

Sight Post 1:  Common Error. This post talked about how to use the words look at, see, and watch.

Sight Post 2: Vision Vocabulary. This talked about all sorts of words related to sight and vision.

Sight Post 3: Video. A video of Johnny Nash's song "I Can See Clearly Now."

Hearing

Hearing Post 1: Mistake Monday. This post examined the difference between the words listen and hear.

Hearing Post 2: Hearing Vocabulary. All sorts of vocabulary related to hearing and ears.

Hearing Post 3: Podcasts. A list of my top 5 favorite podcasts to practice listening skills.

Hearing Post 4: Common Error. Another common error post, this time about hear and sound.

Smell

Smell Post 1: Vocabulary. Words related to smelling and smells.

Smell Post 2: Videos. Two videos related to "smells."

Taste

Taste Post 1: Common Error. A post explaining the difference between taste, try, test, and prove.

Taste Post 2: Vocabulary. All sorts of vocabulary related to taste.

Touch

Touch Post 1: Common Error. The difference between touch and feel.

Touch Post 2: "Good" Touch Vocabulary

Touch Post 3: "Neutral" Touch Vocabuarly

Touch Post 4: "Bad" Touch Vocabulary

So, that's a lot of posts and a lot of information! If you've been following the series you obviously don't need to read all of these again, but it could be good to review some time in the future if you ever have any questions or problems related to the senses. 

And as usual, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to tell me.

As always, thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Sense Vocabulary: "Bad Touch" Words

Good evening! Tonight we'll look at our last three words related to the sense of touch. In our last post we talked about "neutral" touch, and today we'll talk about "bad" touch, which are words that are generally used in a negative way.

What is this woman doing? If you don't know, read on to find out!
(Image by Jonathan Pankau, used under a Creative Commons license)

Today's words are generally used when talking about touching humans, not objects. The words are:

Slap, Punch, and Molest: "Neutral" Touching

Slap

Technically, a high five is a kind of slap, since you need to have an open hand to do it. I know a high five is usually "good" touching, but I had trouble finding a picture of someone slapping another person in the face. (Image by Ingorr, used under a Creative Commons license)

"Slap" is to use your open hand to hit a person. Many times this is used to describe a hit to the face:

"Mark often says offensive things to women, so women often slap his face."

A synonym of slap in this case can often be "smack." The main thing to remember is that with this action, your hand is open, not closed.

Punch

If you're good at boxing, you can make a lot of money by using your fists to punch other people! (Image) 

"Punch" is another type of hitting (and that's why it's generally "bad" touching). It's different from slapping because if you punch someone, you hit them with a closed hand. In fact, there's a special name for a closed hand: a fist:

"The two drunk men at the bar used their fists to hit each other like boxers. They punched each other in the head and stomach until they got kicked out of the bar."

Molest

Be very careful with this word! In Spanish, molestar means "bother" or "annoy" in English. But in English (especially American English), "molest" generally means to touch someone in a sexually inappropriate way! Unfortunately, it's often used with children, but not always (and you can understand why I didn't include a picture for this word!)

"The criminal was put in jail for abusing and molesting a child."

So, that's it for now. I hope you rarely have to use these words, but they're still important to learn to increase your vocabulary. If you have any questions ideas, please feel free to leave a comment! Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!


(Answer from Monday's post: The problem is the word the. It's not necessary before "Istanbul," but it is necessary before "The United States." Thanks for checking it out!)

Mistake Monday: Find Two Errors

Hi! I was going to complete the series of posts on "touch" words, but today has been a long and tiring day, and I need to get up tomorrow morning for my Chinese class. So today, I'm just going to do a short post, and we'll finish the "touch" words on Wednesday.

Look at the picture below, taken from Turkish Airlines' website. Does anything look strange? I can find two mistakes, can you?*

We'll be back on Wednesday with the answer, as well as the final post in our "senses" series. 

Thanks for reading, and have a great night!

*By the way, I'm referring to language mistakes, not geography. But now that I think about it, there doesn't seem to be much order in the way they're listing cities or prices, either!

Sense Vocabulary: "Neutral Touch" Words

The two people in this picture are holding hands.
(Image by Elizabeth Ann Colette, used through a Creative Commons license)

Hello! Tonight we'll be looking at four more words related to the sense of touch. In our last post we talked about "good" touch, and today we'll talk about "neutral" touch, which are words that can be positive or negative, depending on the context and circumstances.

Today's words can be used for humans, but you may notice that they're also frequently used to talk about touching objects. The words are:

Touch, Poke, Hold and Grab: "Neutral" Touching

Touch

"Touch" is the most obvious of these words, and I'm only listing it here to mention that it can be positive, negative, or neutral, depending on how you use it. It's general, basically. It can also mean to make an emotional connection:

"I was touched by the thoughtful gift you gave to me, especially since I didn't expect it."

Poke

The children in this picture are using a stick to poke into the sand, possibly to find something. (Image by Jconnell22, used under a Creative Commons license)

"Poke" means to use your index finger (or any other single finger, or a long object like a stick or a pole) to touch something. People often poke things to test if they are dangerous, to feel their texture, or to check if they are alive:

"Jane drank a lot of wine and now she's apparently 'sleeping' on the couch. Someone should poke her to wake her up and make sure she's OK."

Hold

This animal is called a Hedgehog. The person is holding the hedgehog in his hand. (Image by Hundehalter, used under a Creative Commons license)

"Hold" is a word that indicates you continually have something in your hand for a period of time. It's often used in sentences like:

"Can you please hold this bag of groceries while I find my keys and open the door?"

Also, if two people have their hands together for a long period of time, they are holding hands (like in the first picture above). This is common in romantic couples.

Grab

The bars on the sides of this toilet are called grab bars. If a person has difficulties sitting or standing up, he or she can grab the bars to help keep their balance. (Image by Shoyuramen, used under a Creative Commons license)

"Grab" is very similar to hold or take, but it indicates taking something quickly or informally. For example, if you leave your house and realize you forgot something, you can say:

"Oh! I forgot my book. I'll go back inside to grab it."

Another way to use "grab" can be to use it like "get," as in:

"After we finish work, a few of us are going to a restaurant to grab some dinner. Do you want to come?"

So, that's it for today. On Monday we'll finish our trio of posts with three more "bad touch" words. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to join the conversation! Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

Senses: Touch and Feel

Hello, and welcome again to Mistake Monday! It's been a few weeks since we looked at a Common Error. Today's is actually not very common, but I still wanted to mention it briefly.

I've never seen this game before, but somehow it still reminds me of my childhood.
Image by Axel Tregoning, used through Creative Commons license.

Remember that we were talking about the Five Senses, and that we still had one more to talk about: touch. When we experience this action, we also often use the word feel. This can get complicated, so we'll look at more vocabulary words related to these topics on Wednesday. For today, let's see quickly how to use these words:

Not-Very-Common Error: Touch and Feel
DON’T say this:	"She feels herself bad." "I want to learn to touch the guitar."
WHY?	Hey, I admitted that the errors weren't that common. Anyhow, here are a few tips: -Touch usually means to use your hands or fingers to make physical contact with an object or other person: The crazy man on the bus screamed, "Don't touch me, you aliens!" "Can you close your eyes and touch your nose? If not, you may be drunk." As you can see, touch is normally used as a verb, but there are also cases when you can use it as a noun. -Feel (past tense: felt) is closely related to touch. In fact, you can normally say that a person who touches "does" the action, and the person who feels "receives" the action: "Did you feel that tremor? It wasn't an earthquake, but I still felt the room shake a bit." "I went to the dentist and they gave me anesthesia. I can't feel my tongue when I touch it." -Feel is also commonly used with temporary physical states and emotions (but it's not reflexive like in Spanish or some other languages): "I feel really hot-- do you think you could open the window or turn on a fan or something?" "I felt really sad when my cat died." As you can see, feel is a verb. The noun form is feeling. BONUS: -Touch is not used with musical instruments (unless you only want to touch it... but most people prefer to play an instrument): "In the past I could play some songs on the piano and the saxophone, but I've forgotten how to play them."
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"She feels bad." -"I want to learn to play the guitar."

Do you have any questions? Remember that on Wednesday we'll look at more vocabulary related to this sense. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment or contact me. Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Solution to Wednesday's Song Exercise

Hi everyone! Today's post will be short, just to give you the solution to Wednesday's song exercise. Remember that you had to find the errors in the song below. I'll include the video with the lyrics again, just for reference, and after that I'll include the solution at the end of the post:

Find 11 Mistakes in These Lyrics:

INCUBUS – LOVE HURTS


Tonight we drinks to youth
and holding fast too truth
don't want to loose what I had as a boy
My heart still has a beat
but love is now a feet
as common as a cold day in LA
Sometimes at nite alone I wonder
Is there a spell that I am under
Keeping me from seeing the real thing


Love hurts, but sometimes is a good hurt
And it feel like I'm alive
Love sings, when it transcends the bad things
have a heart and try me
'Cause without love I won't survive


I'm fettered and abused
Stand naked and accused
should I surfaced this one man submarine
I only want the truth
So tonight we drinked two youth
I'll never lose what I had as a boy
Sometimes at night alone I wonder
Is there a spell that I am under
Keeping me from seen the real thing
(Repeat chorus)

Solution

(changes are underlined and in bold)

INCUBUS – LOVE HURTS

Tonight we drinks to youth

(drinks--> drink)

and holding fast too truth

(too--> to)

don't want to loose what I had as a boy

(loose--> lose)

My heart still has a beat

but love is now a feet

(feet--> feat)

as common as a cold day in LA

Sometimes at nite alone I wonder

(nite--> night)

Is there a spell that I am under

Keeping me from seeing the real thing

Love hurts, but sometimes is a good hurt

(is--> it's)

And it feel like I'm alive

(feel--> feels)

Love sings, when it transcends the bad things

have a heart and try me

'Cause without love I won't survive

I'm fettered and abused

Stand naked and accused

should I surfaced this one man submarine

(surfaced--> surface)

I only want the truth

So tonight we drinked two youth

(drinked-->drink) (two--> to)

I'll never lose what I had as a boy

Sometimes at night alone I wonder

Is there a spell that I am under

Keeping me from seen the real thing

(seen--> seeing)

(Repeat chorus)

So, were you able to find all the errors and understand why they were errors? If you have any questions or comments, I'd be happy to hear from you!

Have a great weekend, and see you again on Monday! 

On Vacation

Hello! It's technically Mistake Monday, but this week I won't be putting up any new posts since I'm on a short vacation! I'll be back online next week to finish our series on the five senses, but for now, if you REALLY feel like learning some English, I'll pass on this link that explains how to use vocabulary related to holidays and vacations. I wrote it last year, and in addition to vocabulary, it also has a sample dialogue. Check it out!

Thanks for reading, and have an excellent week!

A Friday Video

Hello! It's very late on Thursday night, but technically it's Friday (very early Friday morning) so I'm going to post this video now since I'll be traveling later "today."

The video is for a song called "Tongue Tied" by Grouplove. The lyrics aren't very amazing, honestly, and the video is strange, but the song's title has "tongue" in it and for "Taste" week, that's good enough for me! Plus it has a good beat:

If you didn't know, "tongue tied" generally refers to a person who is not able to speak because he or she is nervous or has something else preventing him or her from speaking. Another common phrase for that is "the cat's got your tongue." Yeah, I know, it's weird, but that's English. And that's how Fun Friday works.

So, thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

Senses: "Taste" Vocabulary

This statue is sticking out its tongue. Tongues are the main organ used for the sense of taste. (Image)

Good evening! It's Word Wednesday, so today I'd like to talk about vocabulary related to the sense of taste. In the last few weeks we've learned a lot of vocabulary related to other senses (sight, hearing, and smell) if you want to review those words, too.

First of all, the sense is called taste, and like the word "smell," taste can also be a verb or a noun. On Monday we examined how to use it as a verb. If you're using taste as a noun, a synonym can be flavor, but they're not exactly the same. Taste can be general, but flavor usually refers to a specific taste:

The guanabana fruit is one of my favorite foods in Costa Rica. It has a very unique taste. Its flavor is like a mixture of pineapple, mango, and milk, but with a texture that's different from all of them. (Photo by Ryan Sitzman)

If something has a good taste, you can say that it's tasty or flavorful. Other common words are delicious and yummy. If something has a bad taste or texture, you can say it's disgusting, gross, nasty, or awful. Or, if something tastes strange, you can say it tastes funny.

Of course, when you eat and taste food, it's a process. The first part of that is to take a bite of food (a piece) or to take a sip of a drink (a small amount of liquid). Another option, for example if you're eating ice cream, is to lick it with your tongue and bring the food into your mouth. If you're eating solid food, you probably need to chew it with your teeth (the plural form of "tooth"). The food will pass over your tongue, which is an organ covered in taste buds; these taste buds are basically little receptors that allow you experience the food's taste. Finally, you need to swallow your food, which means that you move your tongue and throat to pass the food from your mouth to your esophagus. After that, the food travels to your stomach, where your body digests it.

So, let's review today's vocabulary. Can you explain what each of the words means?

1. taste

2. flavor

3. tasty

4. flavorful

5. gross, nasty, disgusting

6. to taste funny

7. to take a bite

8. to take a sip

9. to lick

10. to chew

11. tooth, teeth

12. taste buds

13. to swallow

14. tongue

15. stomach

16. to digest

Here are some suggested definitions:

1. taste - to experience a flavor with your tastebuds
2. flavor - a noun; a synonym of "taste"
3. tasty - a way to describe food with a good flavor
4. flavorful - a way to describe food with a good or "complete" flavor
5. gross, nasty, disgusting - a way to describe food with a bad flavor
6. to taste funny - when food tastes strange
7. to take a bite - to eat a small piece of food
8. to take a sip - to drink a small amount of liquid
9. to lick - to touch your tongue to something, usually food
10. to chew - to use your teeth to break food into smaller pieces
11. tooth, teeth - the things you use to chew; tooth is singular, teeth is plural
12. taste buds - flavor receptors on your tongue
13. to swallow - move food from your mouth to your esophagus
14. tongue - the organ used for the sense of taste
15. stomach - where your body digests food
16. to digest - to break down something (usually food) into smaller parts

This cat is licking its paw, but not to clean itself. Cats lick their paws and bodies to clean themselves. (Image)

So, that's it for today. I hope you learned some new words and ideas! If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please tell me. Thanks for reading, and have a nice night!

Common Error: Taste, Try, Test, and Prove

This is a picture of me sampling (tasting/trying) different batches of coffee at a tasting room in Palmares. This is my dream job! (Picture by Angela Jimenez) 

Good afternoon! Today is Mistake Monday, so I wanted to continue with our senses theme. This week's sense is taste. Today's Common Error is actually a series of confusing words and errors. Most of them are related to the Spanish verb probar, which can be translated into a few English words. Have a look:

Common Error: Taste, Try, Test, and Prove
DON’T say this:	"I haven't proved your tacos. Can I have a test?" "Tomorrow we will prove five different types of coffee."
WHY?	Basically, all of these words can be expressed with the verb "probar" in Spanish. But there are different uses for each in English: -Taste is to put something into your mouth to experience its flavor (saborear in Spanish): "This pizza tastes wonderful!" "I am sick and have a stuffy nose so I can't taste very well." -Try can also be similar to "taste" if you're talking about food, but it can also mean to attempt to do something (like intentar in Spanish): "Would you like to try a piece of this cake I made?" "I will try to come to class on time." -Test can also mean to "try," but we don't normally use it with food. It's more commonly used to see if something functions correctly, or with evaluations and exams (similar to evaluar in Spanish): "Our teacher is going to test us on our new vocabulary." "I took my DVD player to the repair shop, but when they tested it they couldn't find the problem." -Prove means to demonstrate that something is true or real. It's often used in science and math: "Isaac Newton did experiments to prove that gravity exists." "The suspect proved to the police that he was innocent."
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"I haven't tried/tasted your tacos. Can I have a taste?" -"Tomorrow we'll try/taste five different types of coffee."

I hope my explanations make sense. If you try to use them in different situations, please tell me how it goes! On Wednesday we'll look at more vocabulary related to these words, especially taste. If you have any questions or comments, please leave a comment or contact me. Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Fun Friday: Two "Smell" Videos

Hi Everyone! It's Fun Friday, but only for 20 minutes more (I'm writing this at 11:40 pm). I thought this would be a good occasion to post two of my favorite videos for songs about smell. The first you've probably heard if you listened to any popular music in the last 20 years. It's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana (and if you can understand the lyrics without looking at this site, then your English is better than mine!):

In any case, the video was very popular when I was in junior high school, but I still like the song even now. And since you've seen that video, now you can watch the Weird Al Yankovic parody of the song called "Smells Like Nirvana." Here are the lyrics, which basically joke about how hard it is to understand Nirvana's lyrics! Enjoy:

So, thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

Senses: Smell

A scene from The Simpsons, one of my favorite shows. Moe is looking at a picture a child drew of him and he says, "Aw, you got the stink lines and everything!" 

Hi, and welcome to Word Wednesday! Today we're going to continue our series about the five senses. Over the last two weeks we've talked about sight and sound, and today we'll learn more vocabulary related to the sense of smell. We'll look at some common ways to talk about smell, and then review 20 vocabulary words!

First of all, what organ do we use for this scent? That's right, we obviously use our noses. But do you know what the two holes in your nose are called? They're called nostrils. When we're healthy and everything is normal, we can use our nose to breathe (to move air in and out of our body) and to smell. 

However, when we're sick, especially with a cold or the flu, then our noses sometimes get congested. If you're suffering from nasal congestion, you can also (more informally) say that you have a "stuffed nose" or that your nose is "stuffed up." In other words, the mucus (informally: snot) is blocking the air from entering your nose. But when we aren't sick, how can we talk about our nose and what it does?

The word smell can be either a verb or a noun. For example, as a verb I can say: 

"The pizza smells excellent" 

and as a noun I can say: 

"The pizza has an excellent smell." 

In this picture, we can say "The girl is smelling the flowers" or "The flowers smell good." (Image)

As a verb, smell is a little "special," because it can be used to describe the thing or person that causes the smell, or it can be used for the person that receives or perceives the smell. For example, if I walk into a kitchen where someone is cooking garlic, we can say:

"Ryan smells garlic. The garlic smells good!" 

(I am receiving the smell; the garlic is causing the smell)

However, if I stay in that kitchen for a long time, my clothes may absorb the smell. Then when I go into the living room later, people may say:

"Ryan smells like garlic. He smells bad." 

(I am transmitting the smell of the garlic, and I'm also causing the smell)

If I absorb a lot of the garlic smell, then I exercise for two hours and sweat a lot, and then I step in dog poop, I'll have to deal with a lot of bad smells. In that case, you can use the verb stink:

"Ryan really stinks. He should take a shower!"

"Stink" is usually a verb; a common noun that is similar is stench:

"There is a pig farm near my house. The stench is awful, especially on hot days."

Apparently this child stinks, because the man at the table is reacting negatively to the stench! (Image)

So we know how to talk about unpleasant smells, but what about good smells? Well, a good smell can also be called a scent or even a fragrance. We can use these words when describing perfumes and colognes. However, if someone wears too much perfume or cologne, we can say that the scent is overpowering or suffocating. Sometimes the smell can even make your eyes water, which is like crying, but not emotional.

So, let's go through the words. Can you explain what each of them means and give an example of how to use them?

20 VOCABULARY WORDS FOR THE SENSE OF SMELL:

Nouns:

1. nose

2. nostrils

3. a stuffed nose

4. mucus

5. snot

6. smell

7. scent

8. stench

9. a cold

10. the flu

11. perfume

12. cologne

Verbs:

13. to smell

14. to breathe

15. to stink

16. to be sick

17. to be congested

18. to overpower

19. to suffocate

20. to wear

Can you define and explain those words? If not, try to read through the post again and see if you can find the answers. Then, you can read my suggested definitions below.

There's a fruit in Asia called the "Durian." I've never smelled it personally, but apparently it's horrible. It stinks so bad that it's prohibited in many hotels and on public transportation. This is a sign from a transit station in Singapore. (Image)

Suggested Definitions For The Vocabulary Words:

Nouns:
1. nose - the organ humans and animals use for their sense of smell
2. nostrils - the two holes at the base of your nose
3. a stuffed nose - when your nose is filled with mucus
4. mucus - the gel-like substance in your nose
5. snot - a slang word to describe nasal mucus
6. smell - an odor that you can perceive with your nose
7. scent - a synonym for "smell" and "odor"
8. stench - a bad smell
9. a cold - a common illness; also called "the common cold"
10. the flu - an illness similar to a cold; an abbreviation for "influenza"
11. perfume - a special liquid that a woman uses to give her body a scent
12. cologne - a special liquid that a man uses to give his body a scent

Verbs:
13. to smell - to perceive a scent or odor with your nose
14. to breathe - to move air in and out of your body; to respirate
15. to stink - to emit a bad smell
16. to be sick - to suffer from an illness
17. to be congested - to not be able to breathe because of nasal congestion
18. to overpower - to conquer or be stronger than someone or something
19. to suffocate - to make it impossible for someone to breathe
20. to wear - to have clothing, accessories, or perfume on your body

Well, I think that's definitely enough vocabulary for today! I hope you enjoyed it and/or learned something. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave me a comment below. Thanks for reading, and have a great night!