English Lesson: Using have

As you know, I have a dog named Happy.  She is cute and full of energy. She also has a strange way to eat her favorite cookie. I posted her video here so you can check it out. Have you ever seen anything like it? We recently has a party for her 12th birthday. I think she had a good time!

Today, we will look at the most common ways to use have. Do you know them? Have a look at the paragraph above,  then check out today’s lesson:

Have is used when we talk about possession and ownership

  • Tom has a dog.
  • They have a summer house in mountains.
  • Do you have a Mac or PC?

You can use have when you talk about relationships

  • He has two older brothers.
  • I have three cousins on my father’s side.
  • Do you have a big family?

We also use have to talk about health problems

  • I had a hangover this morning.
  • Mom has a headache, so she is taking a nap.
  • Brad has a cold, so he’s not coming to the party.

We can also use have to talk about events.

  • We are having a birthday party for Jane. Can you come?
  • We are having a company picnic next weekend.
  • They are having a conference in the hotel ballroom.

We use have + to + verb to talk about obligations

  • I have to work on Sundays
  • Do you have to work late tonight?
  • What do you have to do to get the car running again?

We use have + object + pp verb to talk about experiencing something

  • I just had my hair cut
  • Joe will have his car serviced before he drives to Boston.
  • You had me worried when you didn’t call.

Do you have a good idea about have now? I hope you had a good time studying today. Thanks!

English Lesson: Take, Cost, & Spend

I live near the beach. It takes about 20 minutes by car. On a hot summer day, there is nothing better than spending time at the beach. I can spend a whole day at the beach. I usually pack a cooler with drinks and food for lunch, because food at the beach is overpriced. A hot dog costs around five dollars! Plus, you have to spend a lot of time waiting on line. I don’t want to take time standing on line to buy overpriced junk food!

Today, let’s look at using take, cost, and spend. Do you know how to uses these words? Have a look at the paragraph above, then check out today’s lesson:

Take

We use take to talk about using time. Here are some examples:

  • It takes about 20 minutes by car
  • I don’t want to take time standing on line
  • Flying from New York to Seoul takes twelve hours
  • How long does it take to get to Washington by train?

Cost

We use cost to talk about using money. Here are some examples:

  • At the beach, a hot dog costs around five dollars.
  • An iPad costs less in New York than it does in Tokyo.
  • I usually compare the cost of something in different stores before I buy.
  • How much does it cost to get from New York to Washington?

We can also use cost to talk about time, when we feel that we wasted our time doing something. When we want to comlain about wasting time, we can use cost, and we do so using the past tense, like this:

  • That meeting cost me three hours. Now I need to work overtime.
  • I missed my flight, so it cost me a whole day.
  • The traffic jam cost me an extra half an hour this morning.

Spend

We use spend to talk about using both money and time. Here are some examples:

  • I can spend the whole day at the beach.
  • I spent an hour in traffic this morning
  • Bob spent a lot of money on that watch.
  • We spend three hundred dollars a month on groceries.

So there you have it. I hop you can spend a lot of time studying English! Thanks for studying today. Feel free to suggest a topic for a one-point lesson anytime!

English Lesson: Talk About the Weather

I had a conversation like this the other day:

 Michael: Hi Taka, how’s it going?
 Juwon: Pretty good. It’s a fine day outside.

Juwon’s answer got me thinking. For me, a fine day would be sunny, about 70°F (21°C), and no humidity. Let me give you a few expressions you can use to talk about the hot, summer weather we’ve been having.

It’s a scorcher out there!

Scorch means to burn and we use scorcher to mean it is very hot and humid. When you speak this sentences, put stress on the word scorcher  → It’s a scorcher out there.

It’s hot as hell out there!

Hell very hot, and if it is hot as hell, then it is very hot outside! When you speak this sentences, put stress on the words hot and tell  →It’s hot as hell out there!

It’s the three H’s out there!

The three H’s are Hazy, Hot, and Humid. When it is very humid, there is a lot of moisture in the air. Thus, when you try to look a far distance away, the scenery is not clear. That is hazy. Haze is similar to fog, but fog is a cloud that is on the ground. Hazy is “cloudy” air due to humidity.  The weather reports often mention the 3 H’s.

So there you have it. Try to memorize these three expressions and use them! Stay cool, ok!

English Reading Practice: Is Your Skin Protected?

Hi Everyone,
Hanging out with your family and friends on the beach is great, but just make sure you protect your skin. Please check out my latest article on Poligo. It’s great reading practice, too! (Actually, I wrote it for reading practice. Let me know what you think!