Even a small gesture like talking about the weather is enough to get a conversation going. See this post for some expressions. You could also mention the current weather and add a tag question to get someone’s response…
…or ask a direction question:
Often, students’ first response to hearing a phrase or a sentence that they don’t understand is to ask the speaker, “Can you repeat that?” The English learner hopes that by hearing the phrase again, they will understand it. Not only is this technique ineffective (most of the time), it is also usually not the phrase that a native English speaker would use when they can’t understand another English speaker.
Usually the problem of understanding comes from speed, vocabulary knowledge, expressions and idioms knowledge, or missing a key grammar component (such as verb tense, subject, or quantity). This list of phrases identifies the origin of the error, so you can find a more appropriate phrase to use during your next conversation.
Is it a speed problem? If so, say,
Is it a loudness problem (a noisy room/party/social situation)? If so, say,
Is it a phrase problem? If so, say,
If it’s a key grammar component, consider using who, what, and how many in your request for more information. Put the stress on those question words when you use them:
When you break something up, you crush or tear something whole into smaller pieces. In “break it up”, “it” refers to something concrete or tangible.
You break something down when you explain it in a way that is easier to understand. In “break it down”, “it” refers to an idea, a thought, or a concept. Breaking something down can also mean separating something tangible from a larger whole into its unique parts.
Neither break it up nor break it down refers to a relationship or a car, but this activity can help clear that up:
Things that you can try out include: a new recipe, a restaurant that you haven’t been to, some food you’ve never tasted before, or an activity you’ve never done before (such as rollerblading or sky diving). Trying something out means to decide whether you like something.
Things that you can try on include: clothes, shoes, sunglasses, hats, and other things you can wear. Trying something on means to decide whether something fits you or whether it is your size.
Listen: Plans
I asked one of my students what his plans were for the weekend. His response was, “I have a plan to go to Florida.” When you talk about what you are doing tonight, this weekend, or on your next vacation, you should make the noun, plans, plural, even if you are just doing one thing.
Examples:
So, what are your plans for Valentine’s Day?
It seems like “After all” would be used to describe a point in time when you completed steps to accomplish something, but many ESL students confuse “After all” with more appropriate options.
Let’s look at this phrase in terms of a situation. Let’s say you are trying to make new friends. You joined a club, you signed up for a class, and you spend time at the coffee shop. When you have completed all these steps, you still don’t have any new friends. In this example, replace “When you have completed all these steps,” with any of the following phrases:
Click here to continue listening.
“After all”, however, is used differently. It doesn’t refer to the steps in a process. Rather, “after all” is used to emphasize what you have just said with conclusion statement. Let’s look at the same example. You are trying to make new friends. You joined a club, you signed up for a class, and you spend time at the coffee shop. After all, making friends requires that you spend time with other people.
In this example, the statement with “after all” emphasizes your various attempts to meet people.
Click here to listen to one more example.
I’m trying to improve my French. I will hire a tutor, download French radio and listen to it in my free time, and read a novel in French. After all, the more you expose yourself to the language, the greater your chances are of improving.
The words here and there are not subjects, and therefore can’t be plural or singular. Click here to listen.
Students of English tend to think these words are subjects because they appear at the beginning of a sentence. In sentences that begin with here or there, the subject appears after the verb. These are common phrases in English, but the sentence structure is not your typical Subject + Verb + Object construct that you’re used to.
The expressions in here and in there also can’t be used as subjects. Why? Well, it’s because they are prepositional phrases. They might also appear at the beginning of a sentence, but these phrases are used as transitional phrases. If you use them in a sentence, make sure you use a subject in addition to the phrase. See these examples:
Click here for an activity to practice using the expressions here and in here. (also in PDF)
The expression used to means a few different things. It can mean you are accustomed to or familiar with something. It can mean you did something, an activity, in the past over a period of time, but now you no longer do that activity. It can also describe the function of something.
You could avoid using used to altogether! Eventually, though, you will hear native English speakers use used to, and to avoid confusion, you’d better get used to it!
One way of familiarizing yourself with the different meanings of used to is to become familiar with the auxiliaries that accompany this expression (be and do) as well as the form of the verb that follows it.
Here’s a chart to help you remember:
| This form… | followed by a(n)… | refers to… |
| be used to | gerund | familiarity |
| be used to | infinitive | function |
| used to/did used to | infinitive | past activity |
Which meaning does used to connote in each of the following sentences?
Answers:
How did you do? Are you used to these expression yet?
So, you are experimenting with new vocabulary and you realize that you have used the word got 10 times in one paragraph! To fix the problem, you instinctively highlight the word and copy/paste it into Thesaurus.com. The result is a list of many different meanings for “got”.
As great as our technology is, it still does not compare to our own ability to think. In this situation, only you, the author, can accurately select the best replacement word for a generic word such as “got”.
Here’s what you can do: Specify which meaning of “got” you meant. Did you really want to say “arrive”, “seize”, or “become”? Plug those words into your sentence to see immediate results. If you’re still not satisfied, find a synonym for the new word.
Try this activity for practicing replacing the word “got” with its more specific counterpart.
One type of upset (the stress is on UP) is when the underdog wins. The underdog is the person, group, or team that is not expected to win. For example, if you followed American Idol in 2009, you might have thought, based on the media, that Adam Lambert would win. Last night’s result, that Kris Allen (the underdog) beat Adam Lambert, was clearly an upset.
The other meaning of upset, which is pronounced with stress on SET, describes how Adam Lambert fans feel about his coming in second.
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