Taking a load off (#idiom)

Taking a load off

Monday is President’s Day, a holiday in the U.S., so we’re getting a three-day weekend, which means I finally get to TAKE A LOAD OFF. It’s been so busy at work lately that I’m making it a point to take it easy this weekend. Sure, I still have a list of things to do, but… Read more »

Christmas 2015

It’s Christmas!

We’re having an unseasonably warm Christmas here in New York City. It’s strange, but no one’s complaining. Most of us are enjoying it, especially as we know the brutal wintry weather will eventually return. I, myself, have been busy lately, so Christmas this year means slowing down, taking it easy, and getting plenty of rest…. Read more »

Pasta dish for English vocabulary lesson

It’s Thanksgiving!

It’s Thanksgiving once again! I wish you all a day of fun, great food, quality time with family and friends, and plenty of things to be grateful for. If you are celebrating Thanksgiving, you will most likely pig out on a huge meal with some fantastic desserts. You will probably have seconds. You will be… Read more »

Image of autumn leaves for English lesson on the future perfect

Reviewing the Future Perfect

. We’re halfway through November. The autumn leaves have fallen, and winter is fast approaching. The year 2015 is almost over, and we just have a month or so before the new year begins. Do you have anything that you want to accomplish by the end of the year? Are you working on a task… Read more »

cute pumpkin photos for Halloween post

Is Halloween becoming less scary? :-|

Halloween has always been a spooky holiday where people put up creepy decorations and wear scary costumes. When you think of Halloween, you think skeletons & vampires & haunted houses & witches flying in the dark. People get pumpkins and carve Jack ‘o lanterns that are supposed to give passersby chills, right? SPOOKY, CREEPY –… Read more »

photo of lunch for #vocabulary lesson

Calling in sick & feeling under the weather

I’ve been home feeling under the weather the past two days. I think I caught my cold early last week when I started sniffling off and on. I must say I did a pretty good job keeping it at bay until Sunday, when it suddenly got worse and my nose started to run nonstop. 😐… Read more »

image of the simple present and the present progressive from a grammar booklet

Have you mastered the English present tenses?

The Simple Present and the Present Progressive/Continuous are the first two tenses that you learn when you first start studying English. Because of this, many students who have been studying English for a long time don’t want to practice them anymore because they think these tenses are too easy. Unfortunately, even advanced students can have a… Read more »

photos for English lesson on the slang phrase "the skinny"

Here’s the skinny on “the skinny”!

You probably already know that the word “skinny” also means “thin,” which is the opposite of “fat.” A person who doesn’t need to lose weight and who probably needs to gain weight is skinny, right? However, did you also know that the phrase “the skinny” is slang for “information” about some topic? That’s right! This… Read more »

photo to teach English vocabulary

Are you a night owl or an early bird?

People are usually either a night owl or an early bird. If you love to stay up until the wee hours of the morning, you are definitely a night owl. On the other hand, if you prefer to hit the sack early and get up early the next day, you can call yourself an early… Read more »

PB&J photo for an English vocabulary blog post

Becoming FOND OF blueberry jam

I usually make a PB&J to take to work every day–or my wife does it for me. 🙂 Recently, we decided to try blueberry instead of my usual raspberry, but I quickly realized I wasn’t too fond of the flavor. 😐 I like blueberry in pies and cakes, but it just didn’t go with peanut… Read more »

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Latest

  • On my way vs In my way

    Pedestrians ON THEIR WAY to work on a rainy weekday morning in Midtown Manhattan hoping nothing gets IN THEIR WAY as they rush to their destinations. These two expressions, ON ONE’S WAY and IN ONE’S WAY, differ by just one preposition, but they are very different in meaning. When we say I’m ON MY WAY,… Read more »

  • Hands down

    I think this is HANDS DOWN the best orca footage I’ve seen online, and I’ve seen quite a few. It’s a short video clip of the birth of an orca at Sea World San Diego. Orcas are also called killer whales and are one of my favorite animals on the planet. If you look closely,… Read more »

  • Getting a kick out of something

    I GOT A KICK OUT OF reading this sign at a cafe inside Grand CentralStation and seeing people pay just 5 cents for coffee. There were long lines of customers taking advantage of the offer. I’m so busy these days that I GET A KICK OUT OF DOING anything out of my routine. Last Friday, I… Read more »

  • Happy New Year!

    I have to admit, I slowed down quite a bit over the holidays as I took some time off from the classroom, went out of town a couple of weekends to rest, and spent some time with family over the holidays. Now, as we welcome 2013, I’m FIRED UP (excited) as I think about future… Read more »

  • Taking a break while on vacation!

    Well, I’ve been on vacation this week with one more week to go, and the week has been really great. It’s been nice STAYING UP late, SLEEPING IN, not waking up to an alarm clock, and basically just resting. However, it’s not all lying down and sitting in front of the tv; I’m definitely getting… Read more »

  • What I’m GRATEFUL for this year

    It’s beautiful, bright, and sunny here in Brooklyn this THANKSGIVING DAY, and I’m GRATEFUL that I was able to SLEEP IN, which I’ll probably also do tomorrow. With my six-day workweek, sleeping in is truly a RARITY. I’m also grateful for my two weeks of vacation that starts on Monday. It’s my first one since… Read more »

  • President Obama’s Victory Speech

    POLITICS ASIDE, President Obama’s victory speech Tuesday night was an INSPIRING reminder of what it means to rise above the ugliness of political campaigns, the CYNICISM of those who don’t believe in what people can achieve, and the FIERCE, MESSY disagreements in a democracy in order to take part in the important work of building… Read more »

  • Happy Halloween!

    Here’s a video from History.com on the origins of HALLOWEEN. BOO! Do you know how wearing costumes, lighting a jack-o-lantern, and going trick or treating all got started? Well, check out the video, then see if you can hear the vocabulary mentioned below.Some sentences and phrases you will hear from the video: On a day… Read more »

  • Are you CARVING a pumpkin this Halloween?

    With Halloween just a week away, you might be thinking of doing a bit of pumpkin CARVING, yourself. If you’re CONTEMPLATING doing something completely new and different from the usual TRIANGULAR eyes and nose, check out this entertaining video from the Wall Street Journal and get some fresh ideas and tips on how to GO… Read more »

  • New vocabulary exercise

    Episode 10 of our vocabulary exercises is ready, and our story continues with the autumn chill arriving and the trees in the neighborhood beginning to show some yellow and red. There are a couple of new developments in our story. John and Tabitha have set the date of their wedding; they will TIE THE KNOT (get… Read more »