To chip in means to contribute to some cause or project. You can chip in $5 for an office party or chip in to get a coworker a birthday present. You can chip in with your talents, skills, or expertise; you can also chip in with your opinions during a discussion. In addition, when you… Read more »
Like the present perfect, the present perfect progressive connects the past with the present. However, the progressive tense focuses more on the action or activity of the main verb, while the present perfect presents the sentence more as a fact. In addition, the present perfect progressive is almost always used with for (to convey duration),… Read more »
I’ve been thinking about clutter a lot lately. I don’t like it, but I see it quite a bit these days. Clutter the noun is synonymous to a mess and is pretty much any disorganized collection of things especially if they’re strewn across a space or an area. As a verb, to clutter means to… Read more »
I’m on my third week on a new schedule and I’m still getting the hang of it. I still teach until 10 at night. However, instead of starting at noon, I now start at 10 a.m., which makes for a long day and means I have to go to bed as soon as I get… Read more »
Needle & button in Midtown Manhattan If you’re in New York City, you’ll find this enormous (huge) needle and button leaning against an information booth in Midtown Manhattan. I walk by this sculpture in the city’s Garment district everyday and have often thought of the expression “like looking for a needle in a haystack.” (Yes, I… Read more »
I took this photo from an ad by Aruba (the country) on the subway. The ad LURES (invite; entice) subway riders to the island’s clear Caribbean waters and white sand. I wonder how many COMMUTERS (people traveling from home to work/school) actually booked tickets to Aruba after seeing this ad. I remember wanting to go, myself, as… Read more »
First, be sure to review our small lesson on the past perfect. Once you understand how to use the past perfect, the past perfect progressive shouldn’t be too difficult. Like the past perfect, the past perfect progressive occurs before the past tense. The progressive or “ing” form means that we’re focusing on an activity that was… Read more »
Here’s the second photo that I took from a poster at Whole Foods Market. As in the first one, we’re sure the PUN (play on words) is totally intended. On this one, the pun is in the phrase “to the core“; it has a couple of meanings. 1. The core of an apple or any… Read more »
Here’s one of two photos I took at Whole Foods with clever PUNS (play on words). On this poster, “over easy” has a couple of meanings. 1. Eggs cooked “over easy” is a fried egg flipped over gently and served with the YOLK (the yellow part) still RUNNY (liquid). 2. “A price that goes over… Read more »
MADE FROM SCRATCH – prepared from basic ingredients (flour, water, sugar, …) I found this cool idiom on a poster at Whole Foods. I go there QUITE A BIT (often) to get some work done, take advantage of their free wifi, and have some of their prepared dishes. They’re A BIT PRICEY (a little expensive);… Read more »
