Showing posts with label Wortschatz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wortschatz. Show all posts

Thursday, February 14, 2013

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!

Monday, November 5, 2012

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!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

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!

Monday, August 20, 2012

False Friend: Terrorífico vs. Terrific

Hello! I've been pretty busy lately, so instead of a (longer) Common Error post, I decided to do a False Friend post today (especially since we talked about this word in my class this evening). If you're not sure what a False Friend is, check out this post. Today we'll look at the difference between terrorífico in Spanish and terrific in English. 

Is this clown terrific or terrorífico? I guess it depends on your point of view, but read on to find out the difference between these two words (they're very different)! Image by Graeme Maclean via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.

False Friend: terrorífico vs. terrific 
This SPANISH word...
Looks like this ENGLISH word...
...but they are DIFFERENT because...
terrorífico
terrific
In Spanish, something that is terrorífico is very scary; the English equivalent is terrifying:

"La foto del payazo es terrorífica!"
("The photo of the clown is terrifying!")

In English, terrific is a synonym for words like excellent, wonderful, or amazing:

"I had a terrific time on my vacation. I can't wait to show you the pictures I took!"

So, I think this is pretty easy. Just remember that "terrorífico" and "terrifying" are bad, and "terrific" is good!

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!

Thursday, August 16, 2012

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!

Monday, August 13, 2012

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!



Sunday, August 12, 2012

A Few German Things


Good Evening! As you probably know, I focus mostly on English here at Sitzman ABC. I do that mainly since it's my native language, and because there's a lot more demand for English than any other foreign language here in Costa Rica. However, I actually studied German, not English, and I have a special place in my heart for German-- a dark, somewhat scary place in my heart, but a place nonetheless.

I've been teaching a few German classes lately and I came across a few interesting links and resources that I thought I'd share. If you're learning German, it may help out, but even if you're not, the explanations are often in English, so they can help you practice English, also!

Gender (aka "German Word Sex")

First of all, I found this page with tips about German genders. As you may know, some languages have "gender" for their nouns. Spanish, for example, has masculine (el) and feminine (la). German takes the fun to the next level! It has masculine (der) and feminine (die), but it also adds a third one called "neuter" or "neutral" (das). The worst part is, there's no clear-cut way to know what gender a word is. In Spanish most words that end in "-o" are masculine and most that end in "-a" are feminine...but that doesn't work at all in German. However, there are a few general tendencies that you can find, and these pages help you sort them out:



Deutsche Welle

Deutsche Welle is awesome in any language, but it's best in German. It's like the BBC's continental cousin that always wears black, even on hot days. It's got all kinds of information and news, and it has a whole section about learning German. It also has extensive cultural articles, like this one about Ostfriesland, one of my favorite parts of Germany.


And Another Video

In class this week we were talking about seasons (all of which are masculine words in German, by the way), and I found two videos about Der Sommer. The first is at the top of this post, and the second is here:

Enjoy, and have a nice week. Thanks for reading!

Friday, August 10, 2012

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!)

Friday, August 3, 2012

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!

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Sense Vocabulary: "Good Touch" Words

Hi, and welcome to Word Wednesday! Tonight we'll be looking at words related to the sense of touch (also often described using the word feel; see Monday's post for a closer explanation).

Over the next few posts we'll look at 10 words that can describe different ways to touch. I'll divide them into three categories:

Today -"Good" (types of touch that are generally considered good)
Friday -"Neutral" (can be good or bad, depending on the circumstances)
Monday -"Bad" (types of touch that are generally considered bad)

Today's three "Good Touch" words all used for humans, but coincidentally they're also commonly used to talk about animals. They are:

Pat, Pet, and Rub: "Good" Touching

A sign advertising a "back rub" for men and women surrounded by red lights? Sounds a bit suspicious! I guess this could be good or bad! (Picture by CTLiota, used through Creative Commons license).
Here we go...
Pat
This was one of my favorite books when I was a kid. The pages had different textures that you could touch and feel.
"Pat" usually means to move your open hand up and down on top of something. In some cultures, people often pat children on the head. You can also pat an animal, especially on its head.
In a semi-literal sense, you can use the phrase "pat on the back" when you want to congratulate a person for something. For example, you can say: 

"John deserves a pat on the back because he finally graduated!"

Of course, "Pat" can also be an abbreviation for Patricia or Patrick, so pay attention to the context.

Pet
Many guide dogs and other "working" dogs (like drug- or bomb-sniffing dogs at the airport) have signs that say something like "Please don't pet me, I'm working." (Picture by Hurricane Omega, used through Creative Commons license).
"Pet" usually means to move your open hand in a line while continually touching a surface. There is more hand contact with petting than there is with patting. 
"Pet" is often used to talk about touching animals. Of course, animals that live in our houses are called "pets," but I'm not sure if that's a coincidence.
Also, when people have a close romantic relationship, they often use different or "cute" names when talking to each other. Those names can be called "pet names."

Rub
Our cat Chubby always enjoys a good belly rub! (Picture by author)
"Rub" is very similar to "pet," but it's more continuous. Sometimes it's used to describe touching in a circular motion. It's also used for therapeutic touching or massage. For example, when a cartoon character is hungry, he often rubs his stomach. You can also give a back rub to someone who has back pains.

So, that's it for now. If you understood all these words, you deserve a pat on the back! If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to join the conversation!

Monday, July 9, 2012

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!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Sight, Part 2: Vision Vocabulary

If this guy doesn't take the blindfold off his eyes, I have a feeling the binoculars won't help. (Image)

On Monday we talked about how to use the words look (at), see, and watch, so today I wanted to include a bit more vocabulary. Besides these three verbs, there are a lot of synonyms for actions that you can do with your eyes. Watch this video and see what different words you can find. Do you know how to spell them?


Let's quickly go through the words in the video. The man speaks very clearly (here's his site for more English practice), but it's still good to see what the words look like. The words he mentioned are: 

blink, wink, stare, gaze, peek, peep, and glare

Can you explain the differences between these words? How often do you do these actions, and when do you do them? If you aren't sure how to answer these questions, watch the video again and see if you can find the explanations.

Finally, I wanted to add the phrasal verb "check (it) out," which I use very frequently. It is a less-formal way to say "look." You can also move the object that you're looking at when you make the sentence, but if you use the pronoun, it's more common to put it between "check" and "out." For example, you can say:

"I'm going to check out Sitzman ABC."
OR
"I'm going to check it out." 

So, that's it for today. Be sure to check out the blog on Friday for another post related to this week's sense: sight. Thanks for reading, and have a nice night!

Monday, June 18, 2012

Senses: Sight, Part 1

Be sure to put on your glasses (or get your eyes checked) before you read this post. (Image)

As I mentioned last Friday, for the next series of posts I'd like to talk about the 5 senses. To start off, we'll look at the eyes this week. The name of the sense that your eyes perceive is usually called sight or vision. We'll look at more related words on Wednesday for Word Wednesday but for today I wanted to re-post one of the first Common Errors I put up, from back in 2010. It explains when to use the words "look," "see," and "watch." I did make a few small changes based on a recommendation by a coworker earlier today. Have a look:

Common Error: Confusing "see," "look (at)," and "watch"

DON’T say this:

See! There's a giant snake over there!
Let's go to the mall and look a movie.
I like to see the show "Smallville"
WHY?This is a difficult problem because the differences between these words are subtle:

-“See” means to perceive something by using your eyes (vision). You normally don’t plan to see, you just do it naturally or spontaneously:
"It's very dark in this room--I can't see a thing!"

One exception is if you're making plans to do something that involves your eyes (like going to a movie or visiting a family member):
"I'm going to go see/visit my grandma this weekend, and we may even go see/watch a movie."

-When you look at something, you generally move your eyes to see it. This is an action that you plan to do, and you look at something for a reason. Both “look” and “see” could be used as interjections, but “look” is much more common:
"Look at this backpack; do you think it would hold all my books and my laptop?"

-The word “watch” is similar to “look (at),” but it generally indicates a longer period of time. If you watch, you are carefully or continuously observing something. This is the most common verb to use with TV or movies. Things that you watch are generally moving or involve movement:
"I spent the whole afternoon babysitting, watching my neighbor's kids. But it was easy since we just watched a movie on TV."
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:-“Look! There's a giant snake over there!”
-“Let's go to the mall and see/watch a movie.”
-"I like to watch the TV show 'Smallville.'"
-“I was watching the soccer game, but when the lights went out in the stadium, it was too dark to see anything.”
-“I want to exchange my Dollars for Euros, so I’ve been watching the currency exchange rate closely.

"Then again, John MAY just be really dull." (Image)

So, I hope that is clear. What are your favorite activities that you like to do using each of these verbs? Please feel free to leave a comment below if you'd like. 
Thanks for reading and looking at my website. Be sure to watch the Internet on Wednesday for another post with more vocabulary involving sight. Have a nice week, and I'll see you again on Wednesday!

Friday, June 15, 2012

Introduction to Senses

Today I want to talk about words related to the senses, since they involve a lot of good vocabulary. We'll focus on one sense per week over the next few weeks, but for today's Fun Friday video I thought it would be good to have a short introduction to the senses, so that everyone knows what we're talking about.

I found this very good video on the internet that explains how we talk about the senses in English, and it also has text, so you can find new vocabulary, also. Check it out, and next week we'll begin talking about these words and concepts:


Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Football

Opening Trivia Question: What do you call the girl throwing the ball in the picture? 
A) The Quarterback  B) The Pitcher  C) The Seeker  D) The Umpire  E) Jenny

Good evening, and welcome to Word Wednesday! Today we're going to talk about sports. To be honest, I'm not a very sporty guy. I like to do exercise and walk around and do stuff, but I just don't like watching sports on TV. It's really boring for me, although that's obviously a personal preference.

Every play in a football game is 4 "exciting" seconds of chaos followed by 5 minutes of commercials. (Photo by Ed Yourdon)

Nevertheless, a few of my students are going to do a presentation on "American Football" tomorrow, and I found myself in a position where I had to explain some of the concepts of the game to them. I was a little embarrassed that I actually know so much about the game, so please don't tell anyone!

First of all, in much of the world "football" is the sport where players kick the ball with their feet and try to get it into the goal. It has 90 minutes of excruciatingly boring play, frequently punctuated by players falling down and faking injuries like drama queens. For a few countries, though, that same sport is called "soccer." It's called "soccer" in the USA, of course, but the name "soccer" is also very common in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa, since all of those countries have different sports that are referred to as "football."

In another half-second, all three of these players will be on the ground, holding different body parts, pretending to be in pain. This is the "thrill" of soccer. (Photo by Ingythewingy)

In the US, "football" is completely different. In Costa Rica and Latin America, at least, it's called "American Football," although they also say "we're all Americans," so something doesn't quite compute. But that's OK. A football game in the US has 60 minutes of excruciatingly boring play, but a game somehow takes about 4 hours to finish since the play is constantly interrupted by commercial breaks. It's really quite intolerable. The players also wear a lot more padding and equipment than in soccer. To play football without getting killed you should wear a helmet, shoulder pads, wrist tape, a mouth guard, knee braces, thigh pads, a jock strap and shoes with cleats

Some people say that football is better than soccer because football has beautiful cheerleaders. I'll admit it: these women are more attractive than me and better dancers, too. However, if you need to look at beautiful women to distract you from the sport you're supposed to be watching, then I'm sorry, but your sport is boring. (Photo by Keith Allison)
Here's some "cheerleader math" for you: The average cost of a ticket to a professional football game is almost $77, and some are even over $100--and that's the average cost. Parking can cost around $20, hot dogs can cost $6 or $7 a piece, a pop or beer is about $8, and in the end, you may not even see a cheerleader if it's snowing. However, the price of a copyright-free picture of a beautiful cheerleader is exactly $0.00 on the internet. So which is a better deal? (Photo by Keith Allison)

On the other hand, if you want to play soccer you just need some shoes, but even that is probably optional if they get stolen or you forget them on the bus. In soccer, players try to kick a ball into a goal. There are more rules, but that's the main idea of the game. It's pretty simple.

The main idea of football is... well, it's a lot more complicated than almost any sport except cricket, chess, or assembling furniture. I think it's (much) better if I let Burt Reynolds explain it to you:


So, did you get that? Hopefully so. It's cheesy but kind of funny. I really liked this video, mainly because it had Burt Reynolds, but also because of the amazing music and breathtaking fashion trends.

Ugghhh, here we go again: a soccer player fakes an injury to interrupt Sitzman ABC. The clock is still running, but don't get your hopes up: The worst part about soccer injuries (besides the pain the players suffer) is that the referees add extra time on the clock at the end of the game to make up for the lost time treating the injury. (Photo by ecmorgan)

So which is "better": soccer or football? It's very hard to decide. In both sports grown adults run around in the grass for a few hours and get paid more money in an hour than I'll earn in my life. Both sports are really boring unless you are drunk or have a very loose definition of the word "entertainment." Football's advantage is that it has cheerleaders and Burt Reynolds supporting it, but soccer's advantage is that the games end more quickly, giving you more time to do something more interesting and productive than reading a sport. In the end the score is zero to zero, so I'll have to call it a tie!

And that's it for today. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment, either in the comment form below, or by calling Burt Reynolds directly.

Thanks for reading, and have a great night!

Monday, June 11, 2012

Common Error: "News"

"Breaking News" refers to a news story that is urgent or developing at the moment. The particular piece of news in the picture was the death of Michael Jackson. (Image by David McKelvey)

Welcome again to Mistake Monday! We actually talked about today's Common Error a few times in my class last week, so I thought it would be appropriate to mention it here. It's also easy to correct:

Common Error: Use of the word "news"
DON’T say this:"Did you hear the new? Joan is pregnant!"
"That's a very sad new."
"That's a very sad news."
WHY?-This is confusing because noticias in Spanish is usually translated as "news" in English. And that's correct, but only when it's plural.

-"the news" is an idea or a concept (not something physical), and we treat it like a plural noun in English. For example:

"I got some good news at work today--they're going to give me a raise!"
"I watch the news on TV and read the newspaper every day."

-If we need to make this idea singular, we can't count "news" since it's an abstract idea. Instead, we can add the phrase "a piece of":

"I got an annoying piece of news from the bank: my account is overdrawn."

But even in this case, it's still more common to treat the world as a plural and use the word "some":

"I got some annoying news from the bank: my account is overdrawn." 

BONUS TIP! The word "new" exists in English, of course, but it's only used as an adjective (descriptive word) that means the opposite of "old" or "used." 
INSTEAD, SAY THIS:-"Did you hear the news? Joan is pregnant!"
-"That's some very sad news."
OR
-"That's a very sad piece of news."

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!

Friday, June 1, 2012

Fun Friday: The History of English

I've recently come across two videos that talk about the history of the English language, so I thought I'd share them with you here today.

My friend Juan Guillermo showed me the first one. It's pretty fast and it's funny, also. However, that may mean that it's a little difficult for English learners to understand. That's OK, but just watch it and try to see how many words you understand:


The second video is older and the speech is also clearer and less difficult. It also gives many examples of loanwords in English. You may remember that we talked about loanwords a few times (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5).


So, I hope you liked the videos and that you learned something new! Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Word Wednesday: "Sibling"

Good evening! Today's vocabulary tip is fast. The word is sibling. Basically, siblings means "brothers and sisters." I chose this word for today since my brother Paul is visiting us here in Costa Rica.

My brother Paul in Sarchi earlier today. I have two siblings, and Paul is the youngest of the three of us. Our sister Diana is the middle sibling.

For example, I have two siblings: one sister and one brother. In Spanish, I could say "Tengo dos hermanos," but that doesn't work in English, since "brother" only refers to males, and "sister" only refers to females. That's why we say the word "siblings."

If you want a more detailed explanation, including words for your mother and father, then check out this post that I wrote a while ago.

Thanks for reading, and have a great night!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

More "Big" Words

The London Skyline. On the right is the clock tower in the Palace of Westminster. The bell, and sometimes the whole clock tower, is called "Big Ben." (Image Credit)

Hello, and welcome to Word Wednesday! On Monday we talked about the difference between tall and high, and when we can use both of those words. So today I thought we could look at a few more words related to SIZE. Today we'll look at "big" words, and next Wednesday we'll look at "small" words.

HEIGHT

A diagram comparing the heights of some of New York's tallest and most famous buildings. (Image)


To review, as we saw on Monday, tall and high both describe height. We usually measure height (click for pronunciation) in centimeters and meters (and in inches and feet in the USA). The opposite of tall is generally short; the opposite of high can also be short, but more often is low.

Here are some examples:

"The Empire State Building is a very famous tall building in New York City. However, the new World Trade Center tower will be taller than the Empire State Building."

"I'm about 6 feet, 1 inch tall. That's around 186 centimeters. I wasn't especially short or tall as a child, although now I am taller than many people in Costa Rica."

(Giving instructions while hanging a painting): "OK, move it a little higher... higher... that's too much, move it just a little bit lower, a little bit lower...perfect!"

GENERAL SIZE

I took this picture of the Grand Canyon in January. Yep, it's big!

The most common word to describe size in English is big; its opposites are little and small. Today we'll look at "big" words, and next week we'll look at "little" words. 

Other words that mean "big" include:

-large: often used for general descriptions, but especially common with clothing

-grand or great: these two words are not as common in modern English; both of them can also mean "amazing" or "excellent," as in "The Grand Canyon" or "The Great Wall of China"

-huge, gigantic, enormous, humongous, gargantuan, massiveetc.: all of these words are extreme forms; they all describe something that's very big; click on any of the words to hear their pronunciation

Can you think of any other words to describe size? There are certainly more synonyms, but these words seem to me like the most common ones. 

Don't forget to check back next Wednesday for words related to "small" and "little"! Thanks for reading, and have a great day!