Archive for September, 2012
Capitalization Rules Posted by Gabriele on Sep 12, 2012
Here is a little review of the rules of capitalization in English. The following is a list of when you should use capitalization. Always capitalize: The first word of a sentence, Example: When is it time to go? The pronoun “I”, Example: James and I will be visiting Germany next month. Proper nouns (the names…
9/11 Posted by Gabriele on Sep 11, 2012
Today is September 11th, a day that is now and will always be known to Americans as 9/11, a day of tragedy. Many people believe that the terrorist attacks that took place on this day in 2001 were carried out on this day because of the connection between the written date “9/11″and the emergency phone…
Grocery Shopping Posted by Gabriele on Sep 10, 2012
Do you make a grocery list before going to the supermarket? In the United States it is very common for people to buy their groceries* in stores instead of in open air markets. (Open air food markets in the United States are called ‘Farmer’s Markets’ and often they are held only one day a…
African American Spirituals Posted by Gabriele on Sep 9, 2012
Have you ever heard an African American spiritual song? Do you know what one is? African American spirituals are religious songs that were created and sung by enslaved Africans in the United States. (You may also hear this type of song called a ‘Negro spiritual.’ Negro is a term that today many people find offensive…
Knock on wood Posted by Gabriele on Sep 7, 2012
“Knock on wood” is an expression that is often used by English speakers, but it is a very unique phrase. This phrase basically means ‘I hope so’ or ‘if all goes well’. Knock on wood is a spoken phrase (it is generally not written) and it is an expression used to express a desire…
Going to the bank Posted by Gabriele on Sep 6, 2012
The term in English “bankers’ hours” refers to a time of day when banks are open, or at least when they were traditionally open. “Bankers’ hours” are the hours between 10:00am and 3:00pm. Today in the United States banks are generally open more hours of the day, usually from 9:00am to 5:00pm, like most other…
Back to school time Posted by Gabriele on Sep 4, 2012
It is back to school time for children all over America. This means it is time for parents to buy new school clothes and supplies. Luckily for parents in America there are a lot of ‘Back to School’ sales this time of year. Also teachers usually mail parents a list of school supplies their children…