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!

A "Berlin" Song

The 1980s band Berlin. Just look at them!

As I mentioned a while ago, I live in Costa Rica in a little town called Berlín. The town may be named after the German capital, but it's completely different, believe me.

Anyhow, "Berlin" is also the name of a pop band from the early 1980s, so I thought I'd share one of their videos with you. It's from the song "No More Words." I'll let you decide what you think of it, but for me it's pretty strange. It takes place in the Great Depression, and the band members are apparently part of a gang that needs to rob and steal to survive.

Here are the lyrics to the song. As you noticed, there is also an "introduction" to the story at the beginning of the video. Can you think of synonyms or definitions in English for the following words?

misery

poverty

homeless 

ragged

hobo

I'd also like to know what you think of the video, so if you'd like, please leave a comment. Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

Miss, Mr., Mrs., Ms., etc.

Three beauty pageant winners wearing their "Miss" title sashes. If you don't know the difference between "Miss USA" and "Mrs. USA," then this post is for you. Photo by Glenn Francis.

Good afternoon, and welcome to Word Wednesday! This will be our final post on titles for addressing people in English. In the last week we've talked about how to use the title "professor" and the job description "teacher," and a while ago we talked about naming customs in the USA, where we looked at a few titles.

Today we'll look at how to use some of the most common titles in English. Remember that if you use any of these titles, you should normally say:

(TITLE) + (LAST NAME/S)

It's sometimes appropriate to include the person's first name, but only if you also include the last name. For example, you could call me "Mr. Sitzman" or "Mr. Ryan Sitzman." The first is more common if you're talking to the person, and the second is used more when writing. You should not say something like "Mr. Ryan," though, unless the person you're speaking to asks you to do so.

Another quick note: If you don't know a person's title, then it's normally perfectly acceptable to ask "What should I call you?" to a person you meet. If he or she includes a title like Doctor, Admiral, or Professor, then use the title they tell you. Or, they may say something like "Just call me Jimmy"; if they do, don't call them something like "Admiral Jimmy Akbar" if it goes against their wishes.

So, let's look at the most common titles:

Titles for men and/or women:

There are some titles that are the same for men and women. The most common examples of these are:

Doctor (often abbreviated "Dr."): This is used for people who have an MD (doctor of medicine), DVM (doctor of veterinary medicine), or other doctorate-level degree. It's more common for people in the medical profession, but often university professors use the title "Doctor" after completing a PhD (doctor of philosophy degree).

Professor: As we discussed a few days ago, this is normally for people who have graduated from the university with a PhD (doctorate of philosophy degree). My friend Marie also pointed out that often university instructors with an MA (master's degree) are addressed with this title.

Any military rank: Depending on the branch of the military, these titles can include Private, Captain, Lieutenant, General, Admiral, etc. 

Titles for men: 

A joking sign featuring Mr. T. What does the "T" stand for? 

The world will never know. (Image credit)

Mister (normally abbreviated "Mr."): This is the common, general title used for all men, married or unmarried, who don't have a different title (like Doctor or any other title mentioned above).

Titles for women: 

So if she's "Miss USA," does that mean her last name is "USA"? Good question. 

Photo by Glenn Francis.

If a woman doesn't have one of the titles mentioned above (like Professor or Doctor), then there are three main titles specifically for women: Miss, Mrs., and Ms. Here are some guidelines:

Miss: (click for pronunciation) Used for unmarried and/or young women, and generally followed by the last name.

Mrs.: (click for pronunciation) Used for married women, and generally followed by the husband's last name. Important note: this is not the "plural" of "Mr."!

Ms.: (click for pronunciation: notice it's pronounced with a /z/ sound, not /s/). Used for married or unmarried women. If you don't know if a woman is married or not, this is a safe choice. Also, some women choose to use this as their title since it's really nobody's business but their own if they're married or not, and the title "Ms." allows them to keep that information private.

So, that's it for today. Hopefully that'll help you in your social interactions in English. 

Have a great day!

Common Error: Addressing a Teacher as "Teacher"

Welcome to Mistake Monday! Today's Common Error is very basic but very common, at least in almost all my classes in Costa Rica.

My face wasn't this skeptical until my students started calling me "Teacher Ryan" continuously.

Common Error: Addressing a teacher as "Teacher"
DON’T say this:	"Hello Teacher, how are you?" "Teacher Ryan, could you repeat that?" (To get my attention): "Teacher! Teacher!"
WHY?	I realize that in Costa Rica this is common for some reason, but it still sounds ridiculous to me (and to any teacher from the U.S.A. I talk to about this). Whenever my students call me "Teacher," I respond by calling them "Student" or, if I know their jobs, "Baker," "Engineer," "Airport Cop," "Carpenter," etc. If that sounds strange, then you understand why calling me "Teacher" is strange for me. My name is Ryan, so call me Ryan or, if you absolutely need a title, you can call me "Mr. Sitzman." Don't confuse a personal title with a job description. Common personal titles include Mr., Mrs., Miss, Doctor, Professor, Principal, President, and a few others. If you call someone by their title, you say Title + Last Name, as in: -"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is the title of a famous movie." -"Principal Jefferson gave a teaching award to Miss Holmes, the Math teacher." -"Dr. Henderson prescribed the old man some medicine for his back pain." In English, "teacher" is a job description, but not really a title. Think of this: I have a friend named Brad who is a lawyer, but no one calls him "Lawyer Brad." I have another friend named Andrea who cleaned hotel rooms, but no one called her "Housekeeper Andrea." Those are just job names or descriptions, but not titles for people. Also, as I mentioned last week, you shouldn't address your teacher as "professor" unless she or he has a PhD degree. If that's the case, then you can call them "Professor + (last name)." For example you could call Albert Einstein "Professor Einstein," but not "Professor Albert," and definitely not "Teacher Albert."
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"Hello Ryan, how are you?" OR -"Hello Mr. Sitzman, how are you?" -"Ryan, could you repeat that?" OR -"Could you repeat that?" (If you're already looking at me, then you don't need to say my name over and over.) -(To get my attention): "Excuse me, Ryan?" OR -(You can also just silently raise your hand... I'll probably see you and help if I can.)

So, that's it for today. If you have questions or comments, please leave a comment or contact me. Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Clothing Vocabulary: "A Pair Of..."

Finally! A man who knows how to wear a pair of pants with style! (Image)

Good afternoon, and welcome to Word Wednesday! On Monday we looked at a common word we say when we talk about clothing: "wear." Today I wanted to talk about a vocabulary point that is different in English and other languages:

Common Vocabulary Error: "a pair of..."
DON’T say this:	Today I am wearing a jeans and boots, and she is wearing a short and tennis. I need to wash my clothes; I don't have a single clean underwear. She always wore a glasses.
WHY?	All of the following words are considered plural in English, and can be "counted" with the phrase "a pair of...": -a pair of glasses / sunglasses / reading glasses / etc. -a pair of ski goggles / swimming goggles / etc. -a pair of ear muffs -a pair of headphones / earphones -a pair of underwear / boxer shorts / briefs / panties / etc. -a pair of jeans / pants / trousers / slacks / dress pants / etc. -a pair of shorts / swimming trunks / board shorts / hot pants / etc. -a pair of leggings / tights / pantyhose / etc. In some languages (like Spanish and German) many of these can be singular. For example, in Spanish you can say "un pantalón," and in German "eine Hose"; in English, both of these are "a pair of pants" (or "a pair of trousers" in British English). But why do we say "a pair" if it's only one piece of clothing? That's a good question. Notice that most of these words are for clothing related to your legs, ears, or eyes. I normally tell my students to count the number of legs, ears, or eyes to remember that certain pieces of clothing are always plural in English. If that's too complicated, remember that in many cases, we can even eliminate the phrase "a pair of," as long as we say the clothing in plural: "She's wearing shorts and tennis shoes." OR "He wears goggles and swimming trunks when he goes to the pool." Obviously, if you're talking about clothing that has two parts (like shoes, gloves, boots, etc.), then those are also going to be considered plural.
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"Today I am wearing a pair of jeans and a pair of boots, and she is wearing a pair of shorts and a pair of tennis shoes." OR -"Today I am wearing jeans and boots, and she is wearing shorts and tennis shoes." -"I need to wash my clothes; I don't have a single clean pair of underwear." -"She always wore a pair of glasses." OR -"She always wore glasses."

Hopefully that makes sense. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below.

If you're reading this in Costa Rica, hopefully you can enjoy the beautiful day-- go for a nice walk, but be sure to wear a pair of shorts and a pair of sunglasses!

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Leap Year

Hello, and welcome to "Word Wednesday"! Today we'll talk about vocabulary related to a special event that literally happens only once every four years. It's called "leap year." 

As you have probably noticed, today is February 29th. You probably also noticed that February normally has 28 days, but that every four years we add an extra day to the month. When that happens, we say that it's a leap year, as in "2012 is a leap year" or "I was born in a leap year (1980)." Leap rhymes with jeep, sheep, and cheap. Sometimes today is referred to as "leap day."

When I was a kid I always wondered what happened to people who were born on February 29th, especially regarding their birthdays --did they only turn a year older every four years? When I was 12 years old, were a few unlucky classmates technically only 3? Apparently, most people born on leap day simply celebrate their birthdays on February 28th or March 1st, but that's not quite as mysterious or interesting!

So why does a year normally have 365 days, but every four years it has 366 days? You can read here for a detailed explanation, but basically it's because the Earth's revolution around the sun lasts a little bit more than 365 days, so if we didn't have leap years, eventually all the seasons would gradually shift to different times of the year.

It's also a good time to note that in English we generally use ordinal numbers for dates, not cardinal numbers. So, instead of saying "Today is February twenty-nine," we say "Today is February twenty-ninth." In a future post I'll write more about when we use ordinal and cardinal numbers.

Here are some useful vocabulary words for talking about leap year and calendars in general:

leap year - a year that has 366 days instead of 365, by adding February 29th

leap day - February 29th

solar calendar - a calendar based on the sun, like the Gregorian calendar (the one we most often use in the USA and most of the western world)

lunar calendar - a calendar based on the moon, like the one used in much of the Islamic world

cardinal numbers - "normal" numbers; one, two, three, etc.

ordinal numbers - numbers used to "order" or rank things; first, second, third, etc.

(to) turn + (age) - a phrase used to talk about your birthday and your age. For example, "Jane's birthday is tomorrow; she's turning 13." or "He turned 22 on January 18th."

seasons - the different times of year, characterized by changes in weather and day length; the four seasons are winter, spring, summer, and fall/autumn

"thirty days hath September..." - the beginning of a rhyme that children learn to remember the number of days in each month; most children only remember the beginning: "thirty days hath September, April, June, and November" 

So, that's it for the moment. Thanks for reading, and have a great leap day and and even better leap year!

False Friend: Costumbre vs. Custom and Costume

This is one of my favorite costumes: I just put on glasses and a wig, and Ryan Sitzman instantly becomes "Bryan Fitzman," Ryan Sitzman's Bizarro-style arch-enemy and nemesis!

Hello! It's been a long time since we looked at a False Friend, so I wanted to talk about one that I noticed in two of my classes recently. But first, if you're not sure what a False Friend is, check out this introductory post. Today we'll look at the difference between costumbre in Spanish and the words "custom" and "costume" in English. Let's take a look:

False Friend: costumbre vs. custom and costume
This SPANISH word...	Looks like this ENGLISH word...	...but they are DIFFERENT because...
costumbre	custom & costume	In Spanish, a costumbre is a habit or a custom. It is something that you are used to doing, or something that you do frequently. In English, if you do something frequently, you can say it is a habit or a custom, or that you are accustomed to doing something. For example, you could say: "When she's nervous, she has a habit of spinning her hair and biting her fingernails." OR "I am accustomed to studying English at least one hour per day." The word "costume" in English has a completely different meaning. It's like a disguise, or some clothing you put on so that you look like someone or something else. For example, many people wear costumes on Halloween. The equivalent Spanish word would be "disfraz." "Costume" can also refer to traditional clothing in a region, but this meaning is less common.

One more note: the pronunciation of "custom" and "costume" is a bit tricky for some students. If you click on each word, it'll take you to dictionary.com, where you can hear their pronunciation.

So, I hope you make it a habit to read my blog. If you want, try reading Sitzman ABC in a Superman costume --I heard it's 50% more interesting that way! Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

False Friend: Asistir vs. Assist

An emergency call box for assistance (help). Photo Credit: Eric E. Johnson

Hello again! In a few days I'll post more about the Third Conditional, but for today we have another False Friend. If you're not sure what a False Friend is, check out this introductory post. I want to look at the difference between asistir in Spanish and assist in English. My students commonly confuse these two words: 

False Friend: asistir vs. assist
This SPANISH word...	Looks like this ENGLISH word...	...but they are DIFFERENT because...
asistir	assist	In English, assist is usually used as a verb. It is similar to the word help. For example: "If you have English problems, please tell me and I'll be happy to assist you." In Spanish, asistir is a verb that often means to go to or to attend. BUT, it can also mean to help, depending on the context. As nouns in English, an "assistant" is a helper, and "assistance" is help. Note that "attendance" is a noun form of "attend." Compare: "When her car broke down, Jane called her insurance company to ask for assistance." "It's important to go to every English class because 10% of my final grade is based on class attendance." As nouns in Spanish, asistencia can mean either "attendance" (in a class) or "assistance" (help, like in the photo above).

I hope that helps you. If you're confused or have any questions, please leave a comment below and I'll be happy to try to assist you! If you have suggestions for other False Friends or Common Errors, please tell me. 

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

False Friend: Discusión vs. Discussion

Are these birds having a discussion? An argument? Read on to find out! (Photo Credit)

Hello! Today we have another False Friend to discuss. If you're not sure what a False Friend is, check out this introductory post. Today we'll be looking at the difference between discusión in Spanish and discussion in English. Like most False Friends, they look very similar and in fact sometimes there's no difference in meaning. Still, there are some contexts where they mean different things. Let's look:

False Friend: discusión vs. discussion
This SPANISH word...	Looks like this ENGLISH word...	...but they are DIFFERENT because...
discusión	discussion	In English, a discussion is usually the same thing as a conversation. It can be positive or negative, depending on the context. In Spanish, a discusión is usually a negative thing. In other words, if you use this word, it indicates that people were possibly yelling and getting very angry. Basically, it's like a verbal fight. If you want to say discusión in English, try to use a word like "an argument" or even "a fight." Those are closer to the meaning in Spanish.

I'll be posting more False Friends in the days and weeks to come, but if you have any suggestions for other False Friends or Common Errors, please tell me. 

Thanks for reading, and have a great day full of interesting discussions--but hopefully no arguments!

Introduction: False Friends

A sign for a "night club" in Costa Rica. Read this post to see how "night clubs" in Spanish and "nightclubs" in English are different! 

There's a common English phrase that I like: "With friends like these, who needs enemies?"* It means that sometimes the people who we think are our friends, are the people who hurt us most. This can be applied to language learning when talking about cognates, or specifically false cognates. 

Cognates are words that look identical or very similar in two languages. For example, the Spanish word "actor" is identical to the English word "actor," and their meanings are the same. Only the pronunciation is a little different. So, we could say that "actor" and "actor" are cognates. (Click here for a nice list of many English-Spanish cognates.)

False cognates --also called "false friends"-- are pairs of words that look similar, but in fact have different definitions and meanings. One example that causes problems for a lot of people is the word "once." In Spanish, once means "eleven," but in English, "once" means "one time." Another example is "actual." In Spanish, actual means "current," but in English, it means "authentic" or "real."

I notice my students getting confused by false friends very frequently. As you know, I already have a Common Errors section in this blog, but since false friends are quicker and more specifically related to vocabulary, I decided to start a False Friends page on this blog. I'll post more of these false friends and their explanations occasionally, but if you want to have a quick list now, you can check different extended lists here, here, and here.

So, here's our first False Friend: "night club" in Spanish vs. "nightclub" in English:

False Friend:
This SPANISH word...	Looks like this ENGLISH word...	...but they are DIFFERENT because...
"night club"	nightclub	Obviously, "night club" isn't really a native Spanish word, but it's used frequently, at least in Costa Rica. BUT, there's an important difference. If you go to a night club in Costa Rica, you're going to what's called a "strip club" in English, where strippers take off their clothes for money. In English, a "nightclub" is a place that normally serves food and alcohol in the evenings, and usually provides a place to dance. It's very similar to a "disco" or a "dance club." If you go "nightclubbing," it means you go out  dancing in the evening.**

I'll try to post more False Friends in the future, and you can find them by clicking on the "False Friends" tab at the top of this blog. If you have any questions or suggestions for additional False Friends, I'd love to hear from you.

Thanks very much for reading, and have a great day...or night; and if you're going to a night club, be careful!

*Apparently, this phrase may have originally come from German, since there's also a similar phrase in German: Mit solchen Freunden braucht man keine Feinde mehr.

**"Nightclubbing" is also the name of a song by Iggy Pop.

Common Errors: Confusing "Family" Words

Hello everyone, and welcome to Mistake Sunday (Monday is going to be busy, so I'm posting this Common Error a day early)! Today's error is common for most of my Spanish-speaking students, since Spanish--and probably other languages, too--has a tendency to group people together under a "masculine" word. For example, if someone says "Tengo cuatro hermanos" ("I have four 'brothers'"), it's unclear if the speaker is referring only to males, or to males and females together.

English did and still does this, too, but it's not as common these days. Consider the phrase from the Declaration of Independence, "all men are created equal." That was obviously written hundreds of years ago, and today would probably read, "all men and women" or "all people." Nevertheless, this error is easy to recognize and correct, with a couple of good vocabulary words. Let's take a look:

Common Error: Confusing "Family" Words
DON’T say this:	Clark Kent lived with his fathers, Jonathan and Martha, before he became Superman. I'm going to visit my uncles Peter, Paul, and Mary during the vacation. We are seven brothers in my family, and I am one of the three girls.
WHY?	-If you are talking about two dads (both males, obviously), then you can use the word "fathers." If not, use the word "parents," which indicates men and/or women. -Use "uncles" for men, but if you're including women, you have to use the phrase "aunt(s) and uncle(s)." -For brothers and sisters together, use the word "siblings," which indicates brothers and/or sisters together. -Finally, if you're talking about the number of people in your family, the phrase "we are" sounds strange. Instead, say something like "there are (3) of us" or "I have (2) siblings."
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"Clark Kent lived with his parents, Jonathan and Martha, before he became Superman." -"I'm going to visit my aunt Mary and my uncles Peter and Paul during the vacation." -"There are seven siblings in my family, and I'm one of three girls." OR -"My parents had seven children, including three girls."

So, I hope that was helpful! If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions for future Common Errors, please leave a message in the Comments section or contact us. 

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Common Error: "-ed" vs. "-ing" Endings

 Hello, and happy Friday! I'm still planning on talking more about other languages' influence on English, but it's been a while since we've had a common error, so I wanted to share this one. I've heard my students make mistakes with words like bored/boring, excited/exciting, amazed/amazing, and other similar word combinations.  Fortunately, this is an easy error to correct. Let's look:

Common Error: Bored vs. Boring, etc. (-ed vs. -ing)
DON’T say this:	I have been doing grammar exercises for an hour, so I'm very boring. The movie last night was very amazed. This Common Error is not very confused. Can you please play some relaxed music?
WHY?	For word pairs like these, just remember how to use the two endings: -Use -ing at the end of the word if the subject causes the emotion. For example, a movie can cause an emotion, but it can't experience an emotion (because it's not alive). So, we'd have to say: "The movie was boring/exciting/interesting/etc." -Use -ed at the end of the word if the subject experiences or feels the emotion. For example, a person can experience an emotion, so you could say: "John is bored/excited/confused/etc." -BUT, a person can also cause an emotion (if he or she makes someone else experience that emotion). So, you could also possibly say: "John is boring/exciting/confusing/etc." ...depending on what you want to express in your sentence. Other similar word pairs include: -annoyed/annoying -depressed/depressing -disappointed/disappointing -embarrassed/embarrassing -enchanted/enchanting -fascinated/fascinating -frightened/frightening -frustrated/frustrating -interested/interesting -pleased/pleasing -relaxed/relaxing -shocked/shocking -surprised/surprising -tired/tiring -worried/worrying Can you think of any others?
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"I have been doing grammar exercises for an hour, so I am very bored." -"The movie last night was very amazing." -"This Common Error is not very confusing." -"Can you please play some relaxing music?"

I hope that this Common Error isn't too confusing... and I also hope that you're not confused! If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave a comment or contact us. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Loanwords Part 4: German Words in English

Welcome to our final post about loanwords! We've previously talked about loanwords from French and Spanish, but I wanted to mention German loanwords. I studied German for nearly 10 years, and even though it's difficult, I really do like German.

Sauerkraut, anyone?
I didn't think so.

I originally was going to talk about how German is related to English, but I think that topic is much more complicated than just loanwords, so I'll talk about that in a different post in a day or two. Today let's just focus on German loanwords in English.

German and English share many historical similarities, so many vocabulary words are similar. However, the number of direct German loanwords in English is much smaller than the number of words from French or Spanish. (Click here for a partial list). There are a few areas where we can notice a higher concentration of German loanwords.

Like Spanish, German gave English some specialty words related to food; some examples are bratwurst, sauerkraut, delicatessen, schnitzel, and strudel. There are also words related to technology, such as autobahn, wunderkind and ersatz. Also, it's interesting to note German's contribution to philosophical and psychological vocabulary, with words such as gestalt, realpolitik, angst, and zeitgeist.

Unfortunately, many German words migrated into English as a result of World War II, and as a consequence they have an association with Nazis and/or war in general. Such words include blitzkrieg, fuehrer, lebensraum, flak and even Nazi (an abbreviation of "Nationalsozialist").

However, it's not all gloom and doom (or Sturm und Drang, if you prefer). German has many great words that made it into English, so here I present you with my list of...

Ryan's Top 7 German Loanwords in English*:

7. kindergarten: Literally meaning "children-garden," it makes going to school seem fun. Now I suspect it may have just been a trick.

6. poltergeist: It means "banging spirit." In other words, call the Ghostbusters.

5. kitsch: A dismissive word used to indicate something is tacky or uncool.

4. kaput: A synonym of "broken."

3. gesundheit: It literally means "health," but it's what you say when someone sneezes.

2. schadenfreude: It means "misfortune-pleasure," but it's a word to describe the sensation of being happy when bad things happen to other people. Very German.

1. wanderlust: Not as funny as "schadenfreude," but it's nicer. It means the desire to wander or travel.

Can you think of any others? What are your favorite loanwords, either from German or any other language? Please share your thoughts in the comments section!

So, that's it for today. Since we're already talking about German, I'll write a post in a few days exploring some similarities and differences between German and English, just in case you're interested. Thanks for reading, and have a great day! 

From the (English-language) comic Bizarro.

*A few of these words are spelled differently in German (like kaput/kaputt), and in German all of them except kaput would start with a capital letter, since German nouns are capitalized. 

Weekend Words: Loanwords

A buffet table. Have you ever wondered why it's spelled with a "T," but pronounced "buf-A"?

Maybe you've noticed English speakers saying bon appetit before they eat their lunch, or you heard one say gesundheit when someone sneezed. Or maybe it's occurred to you that kindergarten is spelled with a "T," but garden is spelled with a "D." Or maybe you wondered why the "T" isn't pronounced in words like valet, fillet, buffet, or chalet. If you've experienced any of these situations, then you might have thought that English was a bit insane, but the truth is that you were simply noticing what's called "loanwords."

A loanword is simply a word that one language adopts or adapts from another language. Loanwords can really go from any language to another, but in English they're really common. As English has developed through the centuries, it has taken on many loanwords from languages like Greek, German, Spanish, and, more recently, especially French. 

You can follow some of the links in this post to read more about loanwords now, and in the next few weeks we'll look at some specific loanwords from different languages. For now, I'd also recommend this interesting short story, which is written almost entirely with French loanwords!

Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Vocabulary: "Procrastinate"

Are you the type of person who waits until the last minute
to do something important? If so, you're a procrastinator!

I've wanted to focus on some vocabulary words on this blog for a while, so today's post will be the first one. I wanted to call it "Vocabulary ____," but there's no day of the week that starts with "V," at least not in English. So, I decided to call this feature "Word Wednesday"! So today's word is:

PROCRASTINATE

(click on the word for definition and pronunciation)

I noticed that even some of my higher-level students hadn't heard this word, but it's a great one. It sounds vulgar, but it's not. As a verb, procrastinate means to avoid doing something, usually something important. The idea or concept is procrastination, and the person who procrastinates is a procrastinator.

Here are some examples of these words in use:

"I'm disappointed with John's presentation. I heard that he was procrastinating and planned it at the very last minute."

Pete: "Hey Sally, I thought you had an English test tomorrow. What are you doing?"

Sally: "I do, but I can't focus on studying. I really prefer to chat with my friends on Facebook."

Pete: "Wow, you're a real procrastinator! You should start studying or you might fail the test!"

"I know that I should clean the toilet, but it's such a terrible job and I keep finding other, more interesting things to do. Still, sooner or later, I'll have to stop procrastinating and actually clean it."

So, that's it for today. If you have other suggestions for new vocabulary words to talk about, I'd love to hear them. But be sure to tell me soon--don't procrastinate! Thanks for reading, and have a good day!

Common Errors: "Know" vs. "Meet," "See," and "Visit"

Good evening, everyone! Welcome back to Mistake Monday. This week's Common Error is actually really common, but it's also very easy to fix. The four words we'll talk about --know, meet, see, and visit-- are used in similar ways, but they're not 100% interchangeable. Let's look:

Common Error: "Know" vs. "Meet," "See," and "Visit"
DON’T say this:	I want to travel to France to know the Eiffel Tower. I have never known New York, but I've heard it's an amazing city. The Spring Social Meeting is a great way to know new people.
WHY?	If you know someone or something, it means that you have knowledge or information about them. If you meet a person, you see him or her for the first time. This situation can be called an introduction, since you introduce one person to another person. If you visit a place or person, you interact with them in some way. If you see a person or place, it's similar to visit; normally you interact with them, but you may just observe them.
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"I want to travel to France to see/visit the Eiffel Tower."  -"I have never visited/been to/gone to New York, but I've heard it's an amazing city." -"The Spring Social Meeting is a great way to meet new people." -"Do you know Paul? He's a really nice guy." OR "Have you met Paul?" -"I don't know French, but I do know German."

So, hopefully you'll know what to say now if you meet someone new or visit a new place. If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave a comment or contact us. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Common Error: "Since" vs. "For"

Good evening, and welcome to Trouble Tuesday! We're back tonight with an error that many students make when talking about things that happened in the past. Let's take a look:

Common Error: "Since" vs. "For"
DON’T say this:	She's lived in San Jose since 15 years. I only have 5 months at my new job.
WHY?	For and Since can both be used to refer to activities that started in the past and continue today, but each word is used a little differently: -Use since if you mention when the activity started. -Use for if you mention the period of time that has passed or will pass. The second incorrect example above is wrong because you can generally not "have" time. In this case, you'd have to re-phrase the sentence (see below). Note: Both since and for can generally be used with any tense except the simple present tense.
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"She has lived in San Jose for 15 years."  OR "She has lived in San Jose since 1997." -"I have only been working at my new job for 5 months." OR "I have only been working at my new job since December."

So, this error isn't actually that complicated to fix, right? If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to leave a comment or contact us. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Common Error: "Remember" vs. "Remind"

Hello, and welcome again to Mistake Monday! This error can happen if you confuse two very similar-looking words. Let's take a look:

Common Error: Remember vs. Remind
DON’T say this:	Please remember me to pick up party supplies after work. Did you remind to wash your hands after you used the bathroom?
WHY?	-Remember is a verb; it's the opposite of forget. If you remember a piece of information, you keep it in your memory. -Remind is also a verb, but it's used differently. When you remind someone about something, then you're doing it because you don't want them to forget. You're basically giving a person an order to remember something.
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"Please remind me to pick up party supplies after work." -"Did you remember to wash your hands after you used the bathroom?"

So, today's error was pretty quick, wasn't it? Hopefully you'll remember the correct way to use these words. I'll try to remember to remind you about this mistake if I notice my students making this error--but then again, I may forget!
If you have any other questions or suggestions, please leave a comment or contact us. Thanks for reading!

Common Error: Misusing "advice" and "advise"

Welcome again to Mistake Monday! Our error this week is pretty quick, but I even noticed it in my classes one or two times this past week. Let's look:

Common Error: Misuse of "advice" and "advise"
DON’T say this:	This problem is urgent, so please advice me on what to do. This is my advise: you should quit medical school and start a band! Can you give me an advice?
WHY?	-This is an easy-to-solve problem: advice (with a C) is a noun, and advise (with an S) is a verb. -Additionally, advice is a non-count noun. That means that you can't say "an" advice, since it can't be counted. Instead, you can make it plural ("some advice") or if you want to "count" it, you could say "a piece of advice." -For pronunciation, at least in American English:      -advice is pronounced with an "/s/" sound     -advise is pronounced with a "/z/" sound
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"This problem is urgent, so please advise me on what to do." -"This is my advice: you should quit medical school and start a band!" -"Can you give me some advice?" OR -"Can you give me a piece of advice?"

So, that's it for today. I'll be happy to advise you if you have any more questions about this common error. Or, if you have any other questions or suggestions, please leave a comment or contact us. Thanks for reading!

Common Error: "Grow" vs. "Grow Up"

Hello, and welcome to Mistake Monday! Actually, I guess at this late hour, I'll have to call it "Mistake Monday Tuesday"! It's been a busy day and my schedule just changed, so please pardon the delay. In fact, I may have to start posting these common errors on Tuesdays, but we'll see. For now, let's look at a quick error. It's pretty small, but it's one I hear surprisingly frequently:

Common Error: Confusing "grow" and "grow up"
DON’T say this:	Those palm trees really grow up quickly, don't they? "When I grow I'm going to be a firefighter," said Jenny. I hope to grow up in my new job. My grandmother always grew up tomatoes in her garden.
WHY?	-Generally, the verb "grow" means to become larger, bigger, or to get more experience. -We can also use the verb grow when talking about agriculture; if you plant a seed, then you want it to grow. -On the other hand, "grow up" means to become older (to age). -Both verbs are irregular; the pattern is grow-grew-grown.
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:	-"Those palm trees really grow quickly, don't they?" -"'When I grow up I'm going to be a firefighter,' said Jenny." -"I hope to grow in my new job." -"My grandmother always grew tomatoes in her garden."

So, that's it for the moment. If you have questions or comments, please leave a comment or contact us. Thanks for reading!