Search results for 'tag:Expressions tag:Colloquial expressions' matching tags 'Expressions' and 'Colloquial expressions'

Re: Look like

Liveinjapan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:11:07 GMT

Oh, It's a difficult one for me now.

I think technically death should be Death, but it's decapitalized as a fixed expression, or maybe not. The meaning could be "He looked like he was almost dead."(I looked it up in my dictionaries, haha.)

Am I right on the money? Am I missing something important?

By the way, thanks for the colloquial expression!

Re: whining

Goodman — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 18:50:17 GMT

Bitching â is a colloquial expression with a negative connotation. In a bulk sense, it means vocally express your dissatisfaction about something, either with reason or otherwise. When someone is âcomplainingâ about something, there is usually a cause or reason which may or may not stand.

i.e. Mary is bitching about the long hours with her new job.

Whining on the other hand an subdue form of complaining which is often an annoying, naggy or pesty display of sound and behavior from someone who is looking for attention or wanting something.

i.e. My kid has been whining to me about buying him an Ipod for over 6 months.

Re: Is American English lazy English?

Brazilian clown — Sun, 11 May 2008 22:16:09 GMT

All I know is that British accent sounds better but surprisingly...however, I'd rather to speak the American one because words come out easier regarding the pronounciation..of course sometimes when I watch some American movies is unavoidable to dislike some colloquial expressions...some used by rappers, for instance..

A load of rubbish

Liveinjapan — Thu, 01 May 2008 13:44:45 GMT

...by the way, I think second-hand smoke is a load of rubbish.

I think 'a load of rubbish' indicates something being disliked by poeple.

Is this a colloquial expression?

Thanks
LiJ

Re: Need help with this sentence

Goodman — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:07:58 GMT

"^{She looks fed up with the aggressive crowd}."

This is correct, "fed-up" is a colloquial expression meaning running out of patience, or can't no longer tolerate.

Re: oriental elements/thoughts/concepts

Mister Micawber — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 08:58:27 GMT

Incorporate. No, they are not the colloquial expression; concepts might be OK, but thoughts is too vague.

Re: Play Judo

Hoa Thai — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 04:21:38 GMT

Hi,

Thanks to those programs, my English is getting better. The narrators speak slowly, clearly, and precisely. My vocabulary chest is filling up gradually.

However, I wish I could watch series about relationship and interaction between family members or people in regular daily life. Members of my English club and a majority of students in the universities think they would have better feeling of the language and the culture of the native speakers by watching those shows.

I teach Vietnamese to foreigners here in Saigon. I can see their struggle with the language as I've been struggling with English. The problem is that when our brains are wired to patterns that are natural to us, it is very difficult to absorb what seemingly odd to our ears. Phrases that we don't know, we literally translate. Sometimes, I can feel the resistance from my students in accepting colloquial expressions. Once they understand a bit deeper, they try again searching in their own language for another equivalent, and another, and another ... And the more they try, the slower they acquire the language. Those who do not question early in the learning process often advance quicker. Once they get a hang of the language, they start question the details and become more attuned to its intricacies. Eventually, some even can be very innovative and surpass the majority of native speakers. From my experience, that is the reason why children acquire the language skills faster than adults do.

That said, teachers must work harder in helping learners. Simple Yes or No sometimes leads the students down a wrong road. Important to foreign language learners are examples and more examples. What you've posted about 'single/plural' or 'play Judo' are excellent.

All the best,
Hoa Thai

Re: Who is standing? or Who are standing?

Pter — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:12:42 GMT

And, oddly enough, "Who all is coming to dinner" sounds better to me than "who all are coming to dinner", even with the reference to a plural.

Thanks Philip. Is "Who all ....." a colloquial expression? How about in writing? If a teacher shows a picture to the students with two boys under the tree and asks them to write a question about it, do you think the teacher expects them to write "Who is standing under the tree?" or "Who are standing under the tree?"

Re: rumor has it that

WesternAmerican — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 16:43:13 GMT

Dear Angi,
Rumor has it that.. is an idiom, a colloquial expression.
All in all, idioms usually don't make much sense to the listener's ear.

Re: Stick out a mile

CalifJim — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 20:05:58 GMT

~~I'm challenging to use colloquial expressions.~~
I'm taking up the challenge of using colloquial expressions.
I'm challenging myself with the use of collquial expressions.
_____________

I don't think sticks out a mile is commonly used these days.

CJ