What is vowels clipping? Or just clipping in phonetics? EVERY detail matters in language especially if you are really trying to sound closer to native speakers of English. One of those details that make a difference in how you sound is “clipping”. Clipping is the process of shortening sounds particularly vowels, and mainly long ones. […]
We are all selling something aren’t we? We sell our skills and experience to future employers. We sell our vision to potential investors. We sell products to consumers and services to clients. Some of us even try to sell Gods to non-believers. Never before has the ability to sell been more critical for survival (relatively […]
Today, we’re going to look at “BE+AHEAD+OF” as an idiom as that is how it is commonly used. 6-He’s ahead of… Steve Jobs was definitely ahead of his time. = Steve Jobs’ ideas were way too modern, just as if they (the ideas) had come to him from the future. Now if we just remove […]
Her name was Miyu, a 26-year-old Japanese English teacher at a public Junior High school in Hyogo prefecture, Japan. Miyu was (and hopefully still is) incredibly passionate about teaching English. It’s easy to recognize a passionate teacher when you are one. Miyu believed that the sole purpose of her existence was to teach English to […]
Why we don’t do it much… Some say “don’t do it”, others say “do it in moderation”, and I say, do it as often as the learners need it. Note that I’m not talking about error correction in a General English class, I’m only talking about error correction in pronunciation courses where learners do often […]
Though extremely common, using “BE + away” is pretty simple and straightforward. Basically, we use it when we want to say someone is not available. There are 3 prepositions that commonly succeed (come after) “BE + away”: 5-He’s away…(from/on/for) How often do you talk to your husband while he’s away?! = How often do you […]
WARNING: Is that what you really want? To sound like a native speaker of English? Then be prepared to live as two different persons in one. Relax, I’m not talking about schizophrenia, I’m talking about creating a new identity that can coexist with the old one peacefully. You will have to be comfortable speaking with […]
4-I’m over…(over at/over with) I’m over her/him (girlfriend/boyfriend)! = I’m not thinking about her anymore (after the break-up). She means nothing to me. We also say it when we lose interest in something we were actually very excited about at some point: I’m over it ([it] can be anything). Example: A: How about another pool […]
So you’re an advanced English speaker! You can speak fluently, you can say pretty much anything you want, you can even discuss politics, economy and other social issues intelligently and even eloquently. Congratulations. Many native speakers can’t do that with the language. You would be amazed to see how limited some native speakers’ vocabulary is, […]
Don’t miss Part 1 or Part 2. Part 3 of the 8 must-know phrasal verbs is pretty short, yet very important as all the other verbs. Practice, practice and practice. 3-I’m out…(out/out of/out on) I’m out of luck! = I don’t have any luck. Can you guess what these mean then? I’m out of gas. […]