A crock-pot? What kind of pot is that? Posted by Gabriele on Mar 26, 2013
Have you ever heard of a crock-pot? How about a slow cooker? Well, luckily for you they are the same thing so if I tell you what one is you’ll know what both are! Crock-pot is the brand name (or common name) for a device that is called a slow cooker. A slow cooker is…
Emphatic expression you really need to know! Posted by Gabriele on Mar 21, 2013
An emphatic expression is one that is said with emphasis and stress to indicate importance. This type of expression is used to show you have strong feelings about what you are saying. Often emphatic expressions that are written have an exclamation point (!) at the end of the sentence. While spoken emphatic phrases have stress…
Saint Patrick’s Day and Irish sayings Posted by Gabriele on Mar 17, 2013
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day everyone! Today is the Irish, Irish-American, and Irish-at-heart holiday that celebrates the patron saint of Ireland: Saint Patrick. Saint Patrick is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland, which is why he is the country’s patron or national saint. This holiday, which has its origins in Christianity as a religious holiday…
Popcorn Lover’s Day is today! Posted by Gabriele on Mar 14, 2013
Yes, there really is a day of the year that is set aside to celebrate popcorn and the love of this light crunchy snack and that day is today! So, if you are in the mood for something crunchy that is salty or sweet you are in luck because that is what we will be…
Let’s warm this house with “a housewarming” Posted by Gabriele on Mar 12, 2013
This past weekend I went to a friend’s housewarming party. In this post I wanted to introduce you to this expression as well as American traditions around housewarmings. First of all, let me define this word for you. housewarming (n): a party celebrating a move to a new home ‘A housewarming’ or ‘a housewarming…
English suffixes you need to know Posted by Gabriele on Mar 7, 2013
There are many, many different types of suffixes in English. Suffixes are letters added to the end of a word to give the word new meaning. Some of the most common suffixes in English are related to conjugating verbs, for example –ed is added to a word to show it is in the past tense…
English prefixes you need to know Posted by Gabriele on Mar 5, 2013
Words in English (and other languages too) can often be broken down into different parts, including prefixes and suffixes. Knowing the meaning of common prefixes and suffixes in English is very helpful when trying to figure out the meaning of a new and unfamiliar word. If you know the meaning of a prefix or suffix…