Posts tagged everyday English
English Lesson: Using “Other”
Jun 15th
I have a friend who lives in Istanbul. We write emails to each other every week. The other day, he sent me some photos from his vacation home in Izmir. In almost every other photo he was standing with a different girl. He must be a popular guy there! He must be dating one after another.
Other is an intersting word in English. Do you know how to use other? Take a look at the paragraph above and then check out today’s lesson:
Each other means the two of us together, or all of us together. We can also say, one another:
- We write emails to each other every week. I write to him and he writes to me.
- Ed and Paul haven’t seen one another in a long time. Ed hasn’t seen Paul, and Paul hasn’t seen Ed.
- The three of us have worked with each other for ten years. All of us have worked together for ten years.
- If we all got along with one another, there would be world peace. If all of the people in the world….
Every other means there are at least three or more things and we are talking about the first, third, fifth, etc.
- In every other photo he was standing with a different girl. In the first photo, there was a girl, in the third photo there was a different girl, in the fifth photo there was yet another girl, etc
- Please write your essay on every other line on the paper. Please skip a line when you write your essay. Write on the first line, not the second. Then write on the third line, not the fourth, etc.
- I go to the gym every other day. For example, I go to the gym on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, etc
- We have a staff meeting every other Friday. This Friday there is a meeting, next Friday there is no meeting, the Friday after that there is a meeting, etc…
We use other with time expressions like this: the other day, the other afternoon, the other night, etc. This means the recent past. So the other day means a few days ago. The other afternoon means the afternoon a few days ago. The other night means a few nights ago, etc. Note that you need to use the with these expressions:
- I saw Bob the other day. He’s doing well. Not,
I saw Bob other day. - Do you remember what he told you the other afternoon?
- It was too cold the other night.
Well, I hope this lesson is as helpful as the one I wrote the other day. Feel free to send me your comments or suggestions for a one point lesson!
Holidays & Vacations in American English
Apr 27th
Hi Everyone! Today I’d like to look at some vocabulary and expressions related to taking time off from work or school.
Special days in your country which have historical or religious roots are called holidays. In the USA, we have holidays like New Year’s Day, President’s day, Independence Day, etc. In most countries, some of these holidays are days of the year that the government has decided public offices and businesses should be closed. These are called national holidays.
In the USA, for most people the work week is Monday to Friday. Wednesday, which falls in the middle of the week, is often called hump day. People who have such a work week have off on the weekend, or we can say they have the weekend off. Thus for most of these people, Saturday and Sunday are their days off. Some people have different days off. Let’s look at some of this vocabulary in some example sentences:
Christmas is my favorite holiday.
The office is closed on Monday because it is a national holiday.
My work week is Monday to Friday.
Happy hump day everyone! (note that this word is used in informal conversation only)
I love having the weekend off.
I’m going to the beach tomorrow because I’m off.
I have a day off tomorrow, so I’m going the beach.
Sometimes there is a long break from work or school. Schools in the USA have breaks such as winter break, spring break, and summer vacation. In general, companies in the USA do not take such long breaks. But workers do! If you take several consecutive days off, you are taking vacation or you have vacation. People can generally take their vacation time whenever they want to. You can also say that you are going on vacation, and this phrase is also used when you travel during your time off. If you use the article “a” it means you have a trip planned which includes travel, you are going on a vacation or taking a vacation. Let’s look at some of this vocabulary in some example sentences:
The kinds are home this week because it is spring break. (or you can say they have spring break)
What are you doing during your summer vacation?
I’m taking vacation in June for a week.
I can’t wait to go on vacation
Bob and his wife are taking a vacation to Orlando
Be careful! The vocabulary for school breaks such as winter break, spring break, and summer vacation is used only when talking about school-related breaks. If you do not work for a school or are not a student, you don’t have sprng break. Also, in British English, the term holiday is used to mean time off from work. In American Englsih, holiday is NOT used this way.
This is how we talk about time off from school or work in American English. I know there are a lot of idioms and vocabulary here, so please take some time to memorize it.
Where did you go on your last vacation? Tell us about it!
Phrasal Verbs with “Hang” English Lesson From NY
Apr 24th
A phrasal verb is a verb followed by a preposition that has an idiomatic usage and meaning. Today, we will look at some commonly used phrasal verbs using hang.
When you want to encourage someone to keep positive, you can say, hang in there:
- Hang in there, Jane. I’m sure you’re going to find a new boyfriend soon.
Hang on means to wait for a short time. When you are walking down the street with a friend, you might say:
- Hang on. I want to run into the bank.
When you speak on the phone, and you want the person on the other end to wait, you can ask them to hang on:
- Hang on, Joe. I’ll call my mom to the phone.
When you finish the phone call, you need to hang up the phone.
When you hang out, it means you are relaxing and spending time not doing anything specifically.
- Do you want to hang out at my house tomorrow?
- I think everyone is hanging out at the pool hall tonight. Let’s go!
I know this is a lot to remember, so just hang in there. I am sure you’ll get the hang of phrasal verbs.
Where do you like to hang out?
