Archive for April, 2012
Syllables and Word Stress Posted by heather on Apr 21, 2012
photograph – photographer – photographic Do these three words sound the same when you say them out loud? If you are pronouncing them correctly, then they shouldn’t. The reason (and no, it is not just because they are three slightly different words) has something to do with syllables and word stress. What are Syllables? Syllables…
Food Idioms (Part II) Posted by Gabriele on Apr 20, 2012
Yesterday I introduced you to ten new food related idioms, today I have ten more! First though, here are some important points about idioms to keep in mind. Native speakers of English use idioms all the time. Thus a strong knowledge of idioms will help you to be a better speaker and negotiator. There…
Food Idioms (Part I) Posted by Gabriele on Apr 19, 2012
In a few previous posts I began covering related idioms that are grouped around specific topic areas. Today that topic area is going to be food! In fact there are so many food related idioms (that I think are important) this is going to be the theme of tomorrows post as well. You might…
Goodnight or Good Evening? Posted by Gabriele on Apr 17, 2012
I was recently walking down the street around 7:00pm and a non-native English speaker said to me “Goodnight.” I replied back to him, “good evening.” This started me thinking about the important difference between the use of these two phrases “goodnight*” and “good evening” in English. It is important to know what each means…
Play with Palindromes Posted by Gabriele on Apr 16, 2012
A palindrome is a word, phrase, (or even a number) that can be read the same way in either direction (left to right to right to left) and have the same meaning. Palindromes exist in many languages and they can be a a lot of fun! There are some common palindromes in English that are…
Tax Time Posted by Gabriele on Apr 15, 2012
It is tax season in the United States! In fact April 15th is “Tax Day” every year in the United States. Since April 15th falls on a Sunday this year, US Income taxes are due on April 17th this year, but April 15th is the day that people always think of as “Tax Day” in…
Backward versus Backwards Posted by heather on Apr 14, 2012
I’m walking backwards for Christmas, Across the Irish Sea, I’m walking backwards for Christmas, It’s the only thing for me. I’ve tried walking sideways, And walking to the front, But people just look at me, And say it’s a publicity stunt. I’m walking backwards for Christmas, To prove that I love you. -excerpt…