Archive for October, 2019
When English is Tense Posted by Gary Locke on Oct 31, 2019
In my capacity as Social Media Manager for Transparent Language, I oversee our blogs and our Word of the Day service. These are offered free as a way to help language learners. They are also quite interesting, and I learn a lot from them. I also learn from our subscribers. Many of you make keen…
Body language in English Posted by carol on Oct 30, 2019
What’s up, dear readers? Time to put a smile on your face because there is a new post today! Body language is something that is part of our daily lives, even if we don’t realize it. We are always communicating through our bodies and transmitting nonverbal information with our movements, gestures and facial expressions. But…
Trick or Treat! Posted by Gary Locke on Oct 24, 2019
When I was a kid, Halloween was always an exercise in greed. I was far less interested in my costume than in the loot I was going to acquire while wearing the costume. I planned my evening very carefully, mindful to take advantage of the time my parents had permitted me. I wouldn’t allow my…
English Alphabetizing Rules Posted by Gary Locke on Oct 18, 2019
My wife has been in the book business for…well…a very long time. We have a lot of books. We find it necessary to shelve all those books in something which resembles an orderly system so that we can find them again. We have bookcases that are carefully alphabetized by an author’s last name. If the…
US Units of Measure for Cooking Posted by Gary Locke on Oct 10, 2019
I love to cook. I find it relaxing, but also creative. When I get home at night I gather my ingredients for dinner, pull out the necessary cookware and utensils, pour a glass of wine, and focus on making something that my wife and I will enjoy at the table. I rarely measure anything. I’ve…
The English Non-Binary They Posted by Gary Locke on Oct 3, 2019
We have a word in English which has always been trouble for grammarians. They and its related case form their and them, is a singular indefinite pronoun. We use it to refer to a group of people who might be male, female, or a combination. “They say it’s going to rain tomorrow.” It is also…