Archive by Author
Smokey the Bear an important American figure Posted by Gabriele on Sep 25, 2014
“Only you can prevent forest fires.” That is a saying most Americans know. Do you know who is famous for saying this? It is a warning from the famous Smokey the Bear. Smokey the Bear is an American character with a very interesting story that I am going to share here today. Most Americans know…
An English recipe for chili and an American chili cook-off Posted by Gabriele on Sep 24, 2014
If you are looking to try a new recipe and cook an easy authentic American meal, look no further. Today’s post is all about the all-American classic food “chili.” Chili is a spicy stew (i.e. a thick soup) made of beans, meat, and vegetables (including tomatoes, onions, and peppers). There are actually two types of…
Money, money, money: English expressions related to $ Posted by Gabriele on Sep 18, 2014
Money, we all have it and we all want more of it! Money is a big part of our lives whether we like it or not; and we all have different ways of approaching our use and saving money. These common English expressions, idioms, and phrases all about money prove this – some people are…
Polite ways to say “no” in English. Posted by Gabriele on Sep 16, 2014
Here is a good rule to keep in mind about English; it is often better to be polite than it is to be direct. English speakers often use more words than are necessary to say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ because they are adding polite words to the simple messages they are trying to get across. If…
A good old English grammar review. Posted by Gabriele on Sep 12, 2014
It is time to do a review of the parts of speech in English! This post will be a review for many people, but for some it may be introductory. For everyone there is a practice exercise at the end of this post for you to see how well you know your parts of speech…
I’m stuffed! (And other ways to say “no” to more food in English.) Posted by Gabriele on Sep 9, 2014
We all know that when travelling we are likely to eat a lot of food, often good food, especially if we stay in someone else’s home. Sometimes it is hard to say ‘no’ to food your host is giving you because you don’t want to be impolite. Food is an important part of every culture…
Let me introduce the ‘zero conditional’ in English. Posted by Gabriele on Sep 4, 2014
Some of you may already be familiar with this grammatical construction, but for those who are not, I want to introduce to you, the zero conditional. A zero conditional grammatical construction is used in sentences, when the time is now (or always) and the situation is real (or possible). Zero conditional sentences are used to…