English Expressions: Dodge the Bullet

English Expressions: Dodge the Bullet

English Expressions: Dodge the Bullet. As you can see in the photo, a bullet (una bala) is what comes out of a gun (pistola). To dodge something is to avoid something by jumping out of the way quickly. The expression comes from the idea that if you get out of the way of a bullet, you can save your life. Although the expression isn’t used in this way today, it does refer to dodging something bad.

DODGE THE BULLET

  • To avoid an unpleasant situation or even danger
    • I’m so glad she broke up with him. She really dodged the bullet because he has a terrible reputation.
    • We really dodged a bullet by not going on vacation because there was a hurricane where we

English Expressions

Now that you have seen English Expressions: Dodge the Bullet, take a look at our other Expression Session posts:
Expression Session: Hang in there
Expression Session: Hammer out the details

Cursos de inglés

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades. Pincha aquí para apuntarte ahora o escribirnos a idiomas@camaradealava.com

  • Cursos de preparación de exámenes de A2 a C1
  • Oxford Test of English – www.oxfordtestofenglish.es
  • Cursos de preparación para el Oxford Test of English
  • Business English
  • In Company – cursos deseñados para ti y tu empresa
  • Inglés General
  • C1/C2 Mantenimiento
English Vocabulary: Raise Rise Arose

English Vocabulary: Raise, Rise, Arise

English Vocabulary: Raise, Rise, Arise. These three verbs can be very confusing. So, let’s break them down one by one.

Raise

English Vocabulary: Raise
  • Raise is a regular verb, which means that raised is the past and past participle.
  • It is a transitive verb which means that an object must follow the verb. This is the main difference between raise and rise. To learn more about transitive verbs click here.
  • We need to raise something.
    • He raised his hand. (hand is the object)
    • The government raised taxes (taxes is the object)

Rise

  • Rise is a irregular verb. Rose is the past tense and risen the past participle.
  • It is intransitive, so it is not followed by an object. Click here to learn more.
  • The temperature is rising. (no object needed)
  • She rose. (no object needed)
English Vocabulary: Rise

Arise

English Vocabulary: Arise
  • Arise, like rise, is an irregular verb. Arose is the past tense and arisen is the past participle .
  • It is also intransitive, so it is not followed by an object.
  • Arise means that something presents itself.
    • Should the need arise, … (should the need present itself…)

Collocations

It’s important to learn vocabulary in context. So, here are some of the words that tend to ‘collocate’ with Raise, Rise and Arise.

Raise

  • a question, a point,
  • I would like to raise a question here.
  • your hand, her leg, their heads
    • Please raise your hand if you know the answer.
  • standards
    • If you want to past the audit, your company must raise its standards.

Rise

  • dramatically, markedly, sharply, significantly, steeply, substantially
    • Profits rose substantially in the third quarter.
  • a little, slightly, higher, steadily, fast, quickly, rapidly
    • Sales dropped rapidly during the pandemic.
  • be expected to, be likely/unlikely to, be projected to, be set to, begin to, continue to
    • The number of people is unlikely to rise this late in the year.
  • above, by, from, in, in line with, to

Arise

  • naturally, spontaneously, directly
    • Sometime bad behaviour at school arises spontaneously.
  • may, might, be linkely to, be unlikely to
    • Disagreements are likely to arise out of a debate.
  • from, out of

English Vocabulary

Now that you have seen, English Vocabulary: Raise, Rise, Arise, have a look at our other posts:
Vocab Rehab: backlash
Vocab Rehab: strike

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs in less than 5 minutes

Learn about Transitive and Intransitive Verbs in less than 5 minutes.

TRANSITIVE VERBS / VERBOS TRANSITIVOS

  • Verbos que deben ir seguidos de un objeto directo.
  • Si el verbo transitivo no va seguido de un objeto, sonará extraño.
  • Ejemplo:
I love… (Who or what do you love?) Amo… (A quien o que amas?)
I love tennis Me encanta el tenis.
I love books Me encantan los libros
I love you Te quiero a ti.
  • Ejemplo 2:
She’s wearing… (What is he wearing?)Ella lleva puesto… (¿Qué lleva puesto?)
She’s wearing a suit to work Ella lleva un traje al trabajo
Jenny’s wearing a t-shirt today Jenny lleva hoy una camiseta
He’s wearing pijamas. Lleva un pijama

INTRANSITIVE VERBS / VERBOS INTRANSITIVOS

  • Verbos que no necesitan ir seguidos de un objeto directo.
  • Ejemplo
We arrived Llegamos
He lied Él mintió
I criedYo lloré
The sun rose at 5:24 (at 5:24 answers when, so it is not a D.O.)El sol se levanta a las 5:24 (a las 5:25 responde a cuando, por lo que no es un objeto directo.
Mary is sleeping on the couch (on the couch answers where, so it is not a D.O)Mary está durmiendo en el sofá (en el sofá responde a donde, por lo que no es un objeto directo.

DIRECT OBJECT / OBJETO DIRECTO

  • Sustantivo o pronombre que recibe la acción.
  • Suele escribirse como D.O.
  • El D.O. responde a la pregunta QUIÉN o QUÉ recibió la acción del verbo

Verbos que son transitivo e intransitivo

A veces un verbo puede ser tanto TRANSITIVO como INTRANSITIVO, dependiendo de su uso.

TRANSITIVE / TRANSITIVOINTRANSITIVE /INTRANSITIVO
Lucia plays basketball every Monday and Wednesday / Lucía juega al baloncesto todos los lunes y miércolesLucia plays outside. / Lucía juega fuera.
We will continue the meeting after lunch. / Continuaremos la reunión después del almuerzo.After lunch the meeting continued. / Tras el almuerzo, la reunión continuó.

More examples / Mas ejemplos

  • OTHER TRANSITIVE VERBS
    • address
    • borrow
    • bring
    • discuss
    • give
    • lend
  • OTHER INTRANSITIVE VERBS
    • Die
    • Live
    • Rain
    • Smile
    • Stand
    • Wait

Grammar Videos

Now that you have seen this grammar video, take a look at our other posts:
Grammar Video: Frequency adverbs in less than 5 minutes
Grammar Video: Embedded questions in less than 5 minutes

Cursos Ingles

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Álava tenemos cursos de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades. Ponte en contacto con nosotros para saber más idiomas@camaradealava.com

English Vocabulary: Backlash

English Vocabulary: Backlash

English Vocabulary: Backlash. Some say that all social issues face backlash at a certain moment. What kinds of rights are facing backlash by you?

BACKLASH

  • A reaction that goes against a previously popular idea or person.
  • A reverse movement.
  • a negative reaction to something
    • There has been a backlash against women’s rights in the US.
    • Governments who make very liberal or very conservative laws often face a lot of backlash from opposing sides and from their own side if they think their ideas are too extreme.

COLLOCATIONS WITH BACKLASH

Collocations are words that go together. Stop learning vocabulary by itself and learn it with the words that are used with it. Learning this way will also help you memorize the words more easily.

VERBS

  • Experience, face
    • The government is facing a backlash from Feminist Movements on both sides.
    • She is experiencing a backlash for not having consulted her partners.
  • Cause, create, prompt, provoke, spark
    • The gas company provoked a backlash for increasing their prices.
    • It was quite predictable that his message was going to spark a backlash from his voters.
  • Anticipate, expect, fear, predict
    • They should have anticipated the backlash and had a strategy to deal with it.
    • Even though she feared a backlash, she went ahead with the new regulation.

ADJECTIVES

  • Consumer
    • They promted a consumer backlash by not giving employees paid holidays.
  • Political
    • The Right is experiencing political backlash for having attacked their party’s famous icon.
  • Public
    • There will be strong public backlash to the increased retirement age.
  • Violent, racist, serious
    • Many States are facing a violent backlash from anti-immigrant supporters.
    • After COVID, many member of the Asian community incorrectly received racist backlash.

ENGLISH VOCABULARY

Now that you have seen English Vocabulary: Backlash, check out our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: strike
Vocab Rehab: sibling

Would you mind?

Would you mind?

Would you mind? Although this seems like a very simple phrase, it can get quite confusing. M1nd in this question means ‘to bother’ or ‘molestar‘ in Spanish. The tricky part is in the answer. No, it doesn’t bother me or yes, it does bother me.

ASKING FOR PERMISSION

This is an indirect way of asking for permission for something. It is quite commonly used in English. Pay special attention to the answers.

DO YOU MIND?

Informal question

Do/Does (someone) mind + if + subject + present simple

  • Informal way to ask if something bothers you or makes you uncomfortable.
    • Do you mind if I call you Joe? (Does it bother you if I call you Joe?
    • No, I don’t. (You can call me Joe)
    • Yes, I do. (I don’t want you to call me Joe.
Do you mind if he comes? ¿Te importa que venga?informal
No, I don’t No, no me importa
Yes, I do Si me importa.

WOULD (someone) MIND?

Would (someone) mind + if + subject + present simple

  • Polite way to ask permission from someone, by asking if it bothers them.
    • Would he mind if I use his phone? (Can I use his phone?)
    • No, he wouldn’t. (You can use it)
    • Yes, he would. (I don’t want you to use it.)
Would you mind?
Would she mind if we met after class? ¿Le importaría si quedamos después de clase?Polite
No, she wouldn’t. No, no le importaría.
Yes, she would. Si, si le importaría.

Would (someone) mind if + past simple

Polite and Formal question

Would someone m1nd + if + subject + past simple

  • Would she m1nd if we didn’t go together (Would it bother her if we went separately?)
  • No, she wouldn’t. (we can go separately)
  • Yes, she would. (I would rather go together)
Would he mind if we arrived late? ¿Le importaría que llegáramos tarde?Polite and Formal
No, he wouldn’t No, no le importaría.
Yes, he would. Si le importaría.

Would (someone) mind + me/my + ing… ?

  • Would they mind me leaving early? (Will it bother them if I leave perfore expected?)
  • No, they wouldn’t (It is OK if you leave early)
  • Yes, they would. (I will not be happy if you leave early)
Polite and formal

REQUESTING HELP

We can also use this question form to politely request help from someone.

WOULD (someone) M1ND + ING

Polite

Would (someone) mind + ing…?

  • Would Carol mind picking up my daughter from school? (Can Carol and/or does Carol want to get my daughter from school?)
  • No, she wouldn’t (I can get her)
  • Yes, she would. (I can’t or do not want to get her)

ANSWERING NO OR YES

As you have seen in the previous examples, you can answer these types of questions with ‘Yes, I do/would’ or ‘No, I don’t/wouldn’t’. However, it quite common to use some of the following phrases as well.

NO

  • Of course not
  • Not a problem
  • No, I can do it.
  • Sorry, but I can’t
  • I would, but I …
  • It’s not that I m1nd, I just can’t.

English Grammar

Take a look at our other Grammar posts:
Grammar: Multi- Word Verbs
Grammar: Reflexive Pronouns

Cursos de inglés

En la Cámara de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio, tenemos clases para todos los niveles y necesidades. Ponte en contacto con nosotras a idiomas@camaradealava.com o ver nuestros cursos pinchando aquí

English Expressions: Hang in there

English Expressions: Hang in there

English Expressions: Hang in there. It’s May, the weather is getting nice and we still need to make it through some months before we can enjoy the summer. Hang in there!!! You can do it.

HANG IN THERE

  • A way to tell someone to keep trying even if things are difficult
  • Used to encourage someone to not give up.
    • I know it has been a rough month, but hang in there. Let me know if I can help with anything.
    • I know you are tired, but hang in there. You only have 5 more minutes left.

ENGLISH EXPRESSIONS

Now that you have seen English Expressions: Hang in there, take a look at our other Expression Session posts:
Expression Session: Hammer out the details
Expression Session: Catch someone’s eye

CURSOS DE INGLÉS

En la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Comercio de Álava, tenemos cursos de todos tipos. Pónte en contacto con nosotros: idiomas@camaradealava.com

  • Preparación de Exámenes de Cambridge, EOI y Oxford Test of English
  • Business English – Inglés para el negocio
    • Cursos presenciales y online
    • Cursos InCompany, especializados para ti y tu negocio
  • Inglés General
    • C1/C2 mantenimiento – fluidez y aumento de vocabulario
    • B1/B2 – ganar confianza, vocabulario y gramática para comunicarse en inglés
English Vocabulary: Strike

English Vocabulary: Strike

English Vocabulary: Strike. May 2nd is an International Worker’s Rights Day. In countries all over the world, people are striking for better working conditions and better pay. There are many ways to use the word strike, so let’s take a look at some of them.

STRIKE (verb)

  • to refuse to continue working due to an arguement with your boss. Usaully over working conditions, pay, etc.
  • One person or a group of people can strike.
    • We are striking for better working conditions.
    • The teachers strike every year on the same day to raise awareness about a variety of educational concerns.
  • Strike can also mean to forcefully hit someone or something
    • He is in jail after striking a woman on the street for no reason.
    • Julie struck the football so hard that it hot the back wall.
  • Something that happens all of a sudden and has a major impact, usually negative.
    • The lightning struck the building and killed three people.
    • The storm is moving fast and they say it will strike within the hour.

GO ON STRIKE

  • Same meaning as strike.
    • The French workers are going on strike this weekend.
    • They went on strike last week.

STRIKE (NOUN)

  • A perdiod of time that a worker does not work due to arguement with management about working conditions, pay, etc.
    • The man died in prison after a 90-day hunger strike.
    • The workers are calling for a nationwide strike to happen next month.
  • A strong hit
    • The strike to his head may cause permanent damage.
    • The building was damaged by the lightning strikes.

Other meanings and collocations with strike

  • The clock strikes midnight in 5 minutes! (sounds a bell or turns that time)
  • He struck out their best hitter (baseball reference)
  • In baseball you only have three stikes and you’re out!
  • She stuck the ball as hard as she could. (hit the ball hard)
  • They said it wasn’t a good idea to teach children how to strike a match. (light a match)
  • I’m so mad I want to strike them from the list of attendees. (to take someone off a list)
  • When the country struck oil, everyone suddenly wanted to be their best friends. (found oil)
  • We finally struck a deal with them and we start work on Monday. (made an agreement)
  • Doesn’t it strike you as odd that she never even called? (to seem strange)
  • Although my partner didn’t want me too, I decided to take part in the strike. (join the strike)
  • There have been so many air strikes in the last week that I think most of the people have left the city. (military attacks from the air)

English Vocabulary

Now that you have seen English Vocabulary: strike, take a look at our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: Sibling
Vocab Rehab: decimal point

English Roundtable Discussion

English Rountable Discussion

Join us for an English Rountable Discussion. We will be thinking about why it is valuable to know where we really want to go. Also, why is it important to know this before you get there.

DETAILS

When: May 4th, from 18:00 to 19:30
Where: Manuel Iradier 17, Vitoria
How to register: Please sign up for the event here.

WHO WILL BE SPEAKING

Annie Hintz – I am happy to be hosting this roundtable discussion at the Chamber of Commerce in Alava where I work. As host I hope to open up the discussion to everyone so we can all enjoy a hearty conversation and in English.

There will be three other English teachers involved in the roundtable and an Associate Profesor at UPV/EHU

Learn more about them here:
Annie Hintz
Blessing Osudji

Olga Fernández
John Hird
Martin Holland

WHAT IS THE TOPIC?

We will be thinking about why it is valuable to know where we really want to go. Also, why is it important to know this before you get there.

Registration

Don’t forget to register here for the English Rountable Discussion.

Learn English

While you are here, take a look at some of our posts teaching vocabulary, expressions and grammar.
Vocab Rehab: Sibling
Expression Session: Hammer out the details
Grammar: Multi-word verbs

English Vocabulary: Sibling

English Vocabulary: Sibling

English Vocabulary: Sibling. Sibling is such a commonly used word. So, we do so few people know about it? How many siblings do you have?

SIBLING

  • A sister or a brother or both.
  • This is good to use instead of asking how many brothers and sisters someone has
  • It’s also very useful when you have several sisters and brothers.
    • How many siblings do you have?
    • I heard he has 13 siblings!
    • I don’t have any siblings.

Learning English Vocabulary

It can be difficult to remember all the vocabulary that you need to learn a new language! As the saying goes, ‘Practice makes perfect’. There are number of ways to improve vocabulary:

  1. Take our English quizzes on Instagram (@blogglish) every Monday, Wednesday and Friday
  2. Read! Read as much as you can. Read things that are at your level and try to pick up on the vocabulary based on the context of the sentence.
  3. Try to work in the vocabulary words we teach you here every week into your everyday conversations.
  4. Write in English. Even if you don’t write correctly, writing is a great practice.

English Vocabulary

Now that you have seen English Vocabulary: Sibling, take a look at our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: Apologize
Vocab Rehab: decimal point

English Expression: Hammar out the details

English Expression: Hammar out the details

English Expression: Hammar out the details. Although this expression sounds a bit strange, it’s actually used quite often. If you hammer something like a glass cup, it breaks down into many little pieces. So, the expression means we are going to figure out all the little details.

HAMMER OUT THE DETAILS

  • to discuss something in detail in order to come to an agreement
    • So, we know that we are going to Malaga this summer, but we still need to hammer out the details.
    • The course starts this Saturday but they still haven’t hammered out the details.

English Expressions

Now that you have seen English Expression: Hammar out the details, take a look at our other Expression Session Posta:
Expression Session: Catch someone’s eye
Expression Session: A ballpark figure

Learning and Using English Expressions

There are so many expressions in every language. Not living in an English speaking country can make it difficult to learn all of them. Here are some tips on how to learn and use English expressions.

  • Read – books and articles are full of English expressions. So, take advantage of them. Choose a book that is challenging but easy enough to enjoy. You don’t have to look up every word. Try to understand the meaning from the context.
  • Watch TV series in English – I know it can be difficult sometimes. You get home late and at the end of the day you just want to relax. Well, start watching something at breakfast or lunch time. Don’t leave it for the end of the day. Small hint – comedies use more colloquial language so it can be harder to understand. Find a story that is easy to follow and doesn’t jump around a lot.
  • Listen to podcasts – there are so many podcasts out there that are quite short. Look for ones that are 3 to 10 minutes, then work your way up to 20 minutes.
  • Try to use the expressions we post weekly in a conversation. Not having conversations in English? Think about how you could use it in a conversation in your own language. You don’t have to say it out loud, but you can think about how to use it.
  • Make a mind map! If you’re a visual learner, make a map of the expressions, separating them into categories.

Good Luck!

Cursos Intensivos Inglés Gratuitos

Cursos Intensivos B2 y C1 Inglés Gratuitos

Cursos Intensivos Inglés Gratuitos

Cursos Intensivos B2 y C1 Inglés Gratuitos. Cada julio preparamos los/las alumnos/as para pasar sus exámenes de B2 y C1 de Cambridge y Oxford Test of English. Este verano los cursos intensivos están 100% bonificados. Quiere decir que puedes recibir 60 horas de inglés de alta calidad gratuitamente.

CURSO INTENSIVO B2

Preparar el alumnado para el examen de B2 de Cambridge y/o Oxford

OBJETIVO

  • dar un empujón intensivo sobre el Speaking, Listening, Reading y Writing antes de realizar el examen de B2
  • revisar puntos gramaticales
  • incrementar el vocabulario necesario para el nivel B2
  • recibir instrucción sobre cómo mejorar el Speaking para el examen
  • organizar ideas y estructurar diferentes formatos de Writing con correcciones individualizadas
  • aumentar la capacidad de escuchar para periodos largos y poder distinguir la información relevante
  • completar más de 15 exámenes de prueba dentro y fuera de clase
  • aprender trucos para cada destreza del examen

CURSOS INTENSIVO C1

Preparar el alumnado para el examen de C1 de Cambridge y/o Oxford

OBJETIVO

  • dar un empujón intensivo sobre el Speaking, Listening, Reading y Writing antes de realizar el examen de C1
  • revisar puntos gramaticales
  • incrementar el vocabulario necesario para el nivel C1
  • recibir instrucción sobre cómo mejorar el Speaking para el examen
  • organizar ideas y estructurar diferentes formatos de Writing con correcciones individualizadas
  • aumentar la capacidad de escuchar para periodos largos y poder distinguir la información relevante
  • completar más de 15 exámenes de prueba dentro y fuera de clase
  • aprender trucos para cada destreza del examen

Cursos Inglés

Ahora que has visto Cursos Intensivos B2 y C1 Inglés Gratuitos, puedes ver los de más cursos que tenemos en la Escuela de Idiomas de la Cámara de Alava pinchando aquí

English Vocabulary: Apologize

English Vocabulary: Apologize

English Vocabulary: Apologize

English Vocabulary: Apologize. Whether we like it or not, apologizing is an important part of communication. And let’s face it – we love saying ‘sorry’ in English. So, let’s do it properly, please.

APOLOGIZE

  • apologise (British spelling)
  • apologize (American spelling)
  • to say you are sorry in a more formal way
    • She apologized for missing the meeting, but she didn’t give a proper reason for missing it.
    • I apologize for waisting your time. I know you are very busy.
    • We apologize for any inconveniance this has caused you or your family.

SAYING SORRY VS I APOLOGIZE

  • Saying ‘I’m sorry’ is a bit less formal. Saying ‘I apologize’ is a bit more formal.
  • ‘I’m sorry’ is sometimes overused and so sometimes saying ‘I’m sorry’ just isn’t enough.
  • Saying ‘I apologize’ shows that you are a bit more sorry than usual.
  • Sorry can also mean you are sad to hear something. So, when someone dies, we usually say sorry, not I apologize.
    • I’m very sorry for your loss.
    • I’m sorry to hear about your father.

When to apologize

When to say I apologize or I’m sorry is definetly a cultural concept. So, let’s take a look at some common scenarios where a ‘sorry’ is needed.

  • Many English Speaking countries (particularly the U.S.) are time oriented culture. This means that time is important to us and waisting our time is not appreciated.
    • We apologize for the delay in delivery. We appreciate your service.
  • When we have made a mistake. Making mistakes is normal and apologizing for your mistakes is normal for English speakers. Taking responsability and apologising is a cultural value.
    • I apologise. I understood you needed the report for tomorrow, not today.
  • Running into someone. So, you bump someone in the street. Apologise!
    • Bump! I apologize. or simply, ‘sorry’.

English Vocabulary

Now that you had a look at English Vocabulary: Apologize, take a look at our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: large numbers in English
Vocab Rehab: micromanage

Writing Rules: Mr Miss Mrs Ms

Writing Rules: Mr, Miss, Mrs, Ms

Writing Rules: Mr Miss Mrs Ms

Writing Rules: Mr, Miss, Mrs, Ms. You may have heard of Mr., Miss and Mrs., but have you heard of Ms.?

History of Ms.

The idea of Ms was originally presented by publishers as early as the 1900s who wanted to avoid embarrassment by mistaking a woman’s status. It wasn’t until the 1960’s, however, that Sheila Michaels supported the idea of using Ms as a way for women to not have to be identified by their marital status. Read more about Sheila Michaels. Ms. was later used as the title of a famous feminist magazine in the US in 1971. Take a look at the online Ms Magazine here. However, Ms was not used in the New York Times until the 1980s. Today, the term is used quite frequently.

MR.

  • Used to formally present or address a man.
  • You can use Mr. with or without the man’s last name.
    • I would like to present Mr. Smith.
    • I met Mr. O’Donnell yesterday.
  • Used to formally address someone in a letter or email, especially if you do not know the person’s name.
    • Dear Mr. Potter,
    • Dear Mr. Harry Potter,

MISS

  • Miss has previously been used to refer to someone of a younger age.
  • Today we use Miss to refer to an unmarried woman, young or old.
  • As with Mr, use Miss with or without the first name.
    • Miss Philips will address the crowd at the concert this weekend.
    • Dear Miss Anita Jones,

MRS.

  • Previously, Mrs. related to an older woman.
  • Today we use Mrs. to refer to a married woman.
  • As if the case with Mr and Miss, use Mrs. with or without the first name.
    • Mrs. Patel is presenting the awards tonight.
    • Dear Mrs. Lucy Johnson,

MS.

  • Use Ms. To address a woman when you do not know her marital status.
  • Women who may not want you to know their marital status may also use Ms.
  • It is quite common today for someone to use Ms.
    • Hello Ms. Hintz. I would like you to meet my partner Mr. Williams.
    • Dear Ms. Rita Brown,

PRONUNICATION

It is quite important to know the difference between Miss, Mrs. and Ms.

  • Pronounce the ‘s’ in Miss like the ‘s’ in snake
  • Mrs is pronounced as if it was written misses,
    • the first S sounds like snake, but the second sounds more like a z in buzz
  • Pronounce the ‘s’ in Ms with a ‘z’ sound only.

Writing Rules

Now that you have seen Writing Rules: Mr Miss Mrs Ms, take a look at our other writing focused posts:
Emails: we can do better
Frequency adverbs in less than 5 minutes

English Expression: Catch someone's eye

English Expression: Catch someone’s eye

English Expression: Catch someone’s eye. This expression has two meanings and eventhough they look similar, there are some important differences.

CATCH SOMEONE’S EYE

  • to get someone’s attention.
  • For this definition, ‘catch someone’s eye’ can be replaced with ‘get someone’s attention’.
    • Can you try to catch the waiter’s eye? or Can you try to get the waiter’s attention?
    • He’s been trying to catch her eye all night. or He’s been trying to get her attention all night.
  • something noticeable, usually pleasant.
    • Wow! Her earrings really catch your eye, don’t they?
    • I love the colors you have chosen for the walls. They really catch your eye.
  • If we replace the previous sentences with ‘get your attention’, it sounds as if you do not like them because they are too loud. Getting attention in this way in English is not usually seen as positive.
  • Tone can make a big difference here.

ENGLISH EXPRESSIONS

Now that you have learned about English Expression: Catch someone’s eye, have a look at our other Expression Session posts:
Expression Session: a ballpark figure
Expression Session: be on equal footing

CURSOS INGLES

En la Escuela Oficial de Idiomas de la Cámara de Alava, hay clases de inglés para todos los niveles y necesidades. Ponte en contacto con nosotros para encontrar una clase para ti.

English: decimal point vs comma

English decimal point vs comma

English decimal point vs comma. Putting a decimal point instead of a comma can make thousands of dollars of difference. So, let’s make sure we get it right.

MONEY

  • In English, commas are used after every three digit position to the left of the decimal point.
  • A decimal point is a period (in US English and) or a full stop (British English)
  • The decimal point separates the dollars and cents.
  • To learn more about how to say large numbers, click here.

COMMAS

  • Just like in money, we write and say large whole numbers in the same way.
  • a comma will always indicate a separation between hundreds, thousands, millions, and so on.
  • 10,001 – ten thousand and one
    • They sent us an extra piece, so now we have ten thousand and one pieces all together.
    • There are over 3,000 (three thousand) people attending the event this weekend.

DECIMAL POINT

  • Anything left of the decimal point is considered to be the whole number.
  • Anything right of the decimal point is called the fractional number
  • This number can be pronounced as:
    • three hundred twenty-one point four five.
    • Three hundred twenty-one and forty-five hundredths

ZERO

  • When using a decimal point, the fractional number zero will be pronounced as ‘oh’.
  • The decimal point will be pronounced as ‘point’.
    • 32.06 – thirty-six point oh six
    • 4.305 – four point three oh five

COMMON MISTAKES

  • In Spanish and many other European languages, the comma and the decimal point are in the opposite positions which causes many problems.
  • So, if you are translating documents, make sure you know which country is going to read the article.
US, UK, ChinaSpain, France, Germany, etc
123,456,789.00123.456.789,00

ENGLISH VOCABULARY

Now that you have seen English decimal point vs comma, have a look at our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: large numbers
Vocab Rehab: Micromanage

In addition to our posts here, follow us on Instagram and Facebook @blogglish to take weekly English quizzes.

English numbers

Large Numbers in English

Numbers in English. I’ve been speaking Spanish for almost 20 years and I still do math in English. But, it is really important to know how to say and write large numbers. One zero can make a complete difference.

HOW TO SAY LARGE NUMBERS IN ENGLISH

  • 0,50 – fifty cents
  • 561.00 – five hundred sixty-one. (British English: five hunder and sixty one)
  • 2,000.00 – two thousand
  • 972,000.00 – nine hundred seventy-two thousand (British English: nine hundred and seventy-two thousand)
  • 9,000,000.00 – nine million
  • 289,000,000.00 – two hundred eighty-nine million (British English: two hundred and eighty nine million
  • 3,000,000,000.00 – three billion

COMMON MISTAKES

DECIMAL POINT

  • Use commas to separate a set of three numbers.
  • A decimal point is used to separate the dollars and the cents.
32,001thirty-two thousand and one
32.001thirty-two point oh oh one

DOLLARS AND CENTS

  • Say dollars before saying the cents or else it can be confusing.
$65,300.06 sixty-five thousand, three hundred dollars and six cents
$65,306.00sixty-five thousand, three hundred and 6 dollars

SINGULAR AND PLURAL

  • we don’t say millions with a specific amount.
400,000.00€four hundred thousand euros
four hundred thousands euros
  • use an ‘s’ to talk about less specific amounts of money
  • when it is a specific number, use a before the number and no ‘s’ on the amount.
Millions of euros are spent every year on street cleaning. a million euros are spent everyear on street cleaning.
Hundreds of billions of dollars are made by pharaceutical companies every month.a hundred billion dollars are made by pharmaceutical companies every month.

English Vocabulary

Now that you have learned about Large Numbers in English, take a look at our other Vocab Rehab posts:
Vocab Rehab: Micromanage
Vocab Rehab: Lateral Thinking