Search results for 'tag:Idioms tag:Conversations' matching tags 'Idioms' and 'Conversations'

Re: "i beg the difference" or "i bet the difference"

zagreb041 — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:25:52 GMT

Thanks nona, that was very detailed.
If you think that i'll never use this idiom in my future conversation, i beg to differ... :o)

Looking for some tips and/or curriculum suggestions

mikesusangray — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:50:11 GMT

Hi all!

I've been giving English conversation lessons to a theology professor for about a year now. He's getting on in the years - a couple years from retirement - and his primary goal has been just to get his spoken English going a little stronger. His mother tongue is French but he's been teaching at a German language university for many years.

I'd like to add some more specific inputs to our lessons but I can't seem to find the right material. His passive skills are excellent - he reads widely and with perfect comprehension in his field - and he can communicate quite understandably. He is a linguistics specialist and can grasp any concept about the language immediately. I brought along Cambridge Advanced Grammar in Use and he could plow through a chapter in five minutes with perfect conceptual comprehension.

However, he also continues to make very simple errors - for example, he has trouble choosing between present simple and continuous or often uses the present tense for past events. Sentence order tends to get wander hither and yon while definite and indefinite articles come and go with the tide. (Prepositions are a problem too, but I won't beat him to hard there - prepositions are difficult in any new language.) In many cases his mistakes are typical of French or German speech patterns.

One other limitation is that he enjoys the weekly lessons (a good hour), but doesn't have much time to study in between.

Right now we spend about 15 minutes reading a chapter from Advanced Grammar in Use and about 45 minutes talking about just about anything under the sun, while I take notes and show him problems under the categories Pronunciation/Articles & Prespositions/Word Order/Other Grammar/Vocabulary/Idioms. However, I don't think the work book is a good choice - particularly since he doesn't do the homework - and it seems like he isn't making very good progress with his typical problem patterns - though he greets them like old friends when I point them out.

Any tips here?

Re: many times/ many a time

Tanit — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 14:04:52 GMT

This thread reminded me of something I've wanted to ask here for a long time.

I've encountered the expression "Many's the time" only once: it's the opening sentence of the song "American Tune" by Simon and Garfunkel.
As far as I understand, it's a synonym for "Many times" and "Many a time".
Is it an American idiom? How would you classify it (poetic/formal/stiffy...)? Would you use it an ordinary conversation?

Thank you!

Re: park along/by/on

CalifJim — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 03:59:09 GMT

throw out the baby with the bath water

to lose the good parts when you get rid of the bad parts of something. You can't close the airport because one airline has problems â that's just throwing out the baby with the bath water.

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/throw+out+the+baby+with+the+bath+water

In your case, don't discontinue the good practice of reading English just because you want to prevent yourself from reading unusual expressions that are not normally used in conversation.

Re: Best regards, Kind regards, or Yours sincerely, - which is correct

Clive — Thu, 01 May 2008 03:34:19 GMT

Hi,

What about when you end a conversation with something like, "It's been good to see you again, Jack. Please give my best to Doris and the kids. I'm sorry they couldn't come on this trip with you," or "So, you're going to the San Diego office? If you see Sandra Evans out there, give her my best." Is this usage another one of our quaint southern US idioms, grounded in ignorance and bad grammar? Or is it more widespread? Yes, seems pretty common to me. Just 'my best wishes'.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: Best regards, Kind regards, or Yours sincerely, - which is correct

Delmobile — Thu, 01 May 2008 03:28:46 GMT

Re: Correct to make it sound better

RayH — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 00:04:16 GMT

I largely agree with Clive here. I've also never heard the term "standing tickets" I wonder if it is a direct translation of an idiom that either doesn't exist in English or has some other form. The only alternative I can think of is "standing room" so:

P4: Do you want standing room? [note that the alternative "seats" is implied here as it's the only other choice]
P5: ...with standing room you don't know...
P6: ...with standing room you can...

Still this is very awkward. I don't think native speakers would ever have this conversation, at least not in these terms.

colloquialism

Anonymous — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 02:35:08 GMT

Hello teachers,

well, could you give us some more examples on colloquialism, language street? I mean, things that are said on everyday informal conversation. This is not about slangs or idioms, this is about the act of modifying sentence's structure.

For example:

1. Watcha wanna do = what do you want to do
2.

I've heard people usually don't say 'what do you want to do', it can make one seem like a robot, right? people say: Watcha wanna do.

I really appreciate any help.

Thanks in advance

Re: at loss words

Susankay — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 15:12:42 GMT

She is never at a loss for words.

Idiom or expression that means never unable to participate in the conversation. So she is always talking!!

confused about 'would'

New2grammar — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 08:10:33 GMT

I know 'would' carries many meanings. My problem is sometimes I find it difficult to tell which meaning the speaker uses. I think I understand its hypothetical usage, and in some contexts, its politeness usage. Below is a post that has several woulds I have trouble interpreting. I also copied a post on would by CalifJim for reference.

Your analysis is good. Context will determine if you're using the expression as an excuse to break off what you're doing. If you're calling the people you expect to meet, then you would (1)tell them the truth. You can say, "I'll be about five minutes late," or "I may be a little late." If you're speaking to someone who is about to make you late for an appointment, the expression would(2) mean, "Hey, I'm gonna be late if I don't split right now!" If you just say, "I'm gonna be late," you probably would(3) have already tipped the person off that you would(4) need to end the conversation soon, and as you suggest, you would(5) still expect to be on time if you left immediately.

1) I don't thing politeness is the intended meaning here. To my ear, it carries the meaning of preference.

2) would here means possible? I have zero confidence in this one.

3) it doesn't look like hypothetical usage to me because the if clause is in present tense

4) and 5) should follow the same reasoning for #3, whatever that is.

Please help! Thanks in advance!

CalifJim's explanation on would
Yes. I thought maybe that's what you were referring to.
would in an if clause is possible when the would or the entire if-clause is part of a formula of politeness. if you would be so kind is a typical example of if with would in a "politeness phrase". This formula is equivalent to please. This sort of if-clause does not even have to be classified as a true conditional even though it contains the word if.

The phrase would like as a polite way of saying want, and it too can appear in an if-clause. Note that the idiom would like counts as a present tense for purposes of tense combinations. That is, it may combine with the imperative or the future. The idiom would rather has the same property.

If you would like to have dinner with us tomorrow, please call and let us know before noon.
I'm sure that if he'd like to go with us, he'll tell us. (If he would like to go, he will tell us.)
If you'd rather wait until tomorrow, [just say so / I'll understand].

if-clauses that are part of an indirect question structure are also exempt from the rule about combining if and would:

I wonder if he would object to this procedure.
I don't know if I would agree.
We had not decided if we would go along with the plan.

With the exception of the indirect question structure, which is quite common, these are just a very, very small number of situations where if and would occur in the same clause. The main rule for 99.99% of cases is 'never' to place if and would together!