Who am I and Why am I Here?

Hi 🙂

My name is Megan and I’m an English Teacher. Some of you may know me either as one of my students or a family member or friend. I’m not your traditional English teacher either. I’m not going to do a lot of talking about grammar or sentence structure. There is so much information out there already on that.

I specialize in conversation and speaking for those that speak a different language. I focus on your confidence in using English in your life and the skills you have while building new skills.

I love teaching, and sharing, and learning. That is what this blog is about. I feel that if you are interested in what you are watching, reading, or talking about, you will learn. That is what this blog is about. It is a space for people who are learning English, or not, to see something new.

I plan on talking about several different things on this blog:

• English: I want to talk about slang, difficult concepts, how to do things in English, etc.
• Traveling in English: How do you order a coffee in English? Where is a good place to go if traveling in America? How about how to travel on a budget in America? How do I get there?
• Videos and written posts: I want you to have variety in the way you learn.
• Culture: I believe culture is as important to language learning as grammar and speaking.

I hope to connect to people who are trying to learn English as a second language, and those who just want to learn fun things in general. There are a lot of things I want to show you and I hope you will enjoy this journey with me.

It’s a new journey for me, but it is fun and exciting and I hope you will be excited for it as well.

Then versus Than

Last time we talked about Were, We’re, and Where. Lets do a quick review!

Were: past tense of “to be” in second person plural. Example: “We were going to the movies when the car broke.”

We’re: A compounded word for “we” and “are”. Example: “We’re going to the movies tomorrow.”

Where: A location word. Example: “Where are we going to see the movie?”

So, now let us talk about “then” and “than”. These two words are very often misused, even among native speakers.

“Then” is an adverb that generally is used to show time in a sentence. This word can have many different synonyms because it is dealing with time. Examples: “I made breakfast then took a shower.” “I stretch first then run on the treadmill.”

“Than” is a word used for comparing items and cannot be replaced in the sentence. It does not have as many synonyms and is more often used in spoken English.  Examples: “I like apples better than oranges.” “Your car is bigger than mine.”

These two words are ranked in the top 100 words used in the English language and are also on the top 100 misused words in English.

So, when thinking about which word to use, “then” or “than”, think about if you are comparing something or not. If you are comparing two or more things, then your word will be “than”. If not, then more than likely you will use “then”!

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below!

If you are interested in Conversational English Lessons, check out my classes and schedule here. I have my schedule and classes posted on italki.com.

I am now accepting all major credit cards so if you would like to schedule a lesson with me privately you can! You can check out the options here.

We’re, Were, and Where

These 3 words are not quite as similar as the last ones we did, but they can sometimes still be confused with spelling.

We’re is yet another compounded word of “we” and “are”. “We are going to the bank.” is changed to “We’re going to the bank.” Again, “we are” is often shortened to “we’re” when speaking.

“Were” is the past tense version of “to be”. Now you may be asking “Isn’t ‘was’ also a past tense of ‘were’?” Well, yes, you are correct! The big difference is “who” is speaking.

Was: First person past tense singular such as “I” and for third person singular such as “he, she, and it”

Were: First and third person plural such as “we or they” and second person both singular and plural such as “you, your, and yours”

Let’s look at some examples of the differences:

“I was going to the game.’ “She was doing the dishes.” “It was going to be a long day.”

“We were going shopping together.” “You were supposed to do your homework.” “They were making dessert for the party.”

Where is simple, it is a location word. It tells you the location of a person, place, or thing. “Where is the car?”

I hope this helps out a bit! If you have any questions, feel free to ask questions in the comments or on my Facebook page!

If you are interested in Conversational English Lessons, check out my classes and schedule here. I have my schedule and classes posted on italki.com to make scheduling and paying easier!

They’re, There, Their

In the last post we talked about commonly misused words. We talked a little bit about “your” and “you’re”. Do you remember which is which?

A quick review for you: You’re: a compounded word you get by combining “you” + “are”

Your: a possessive word meaning something belongs to you.

So today we will discuss the 3 different “theres”….They’re, there, their!

Like “you’re”, “they’re” is a compounded word. They + are = They’re. When speaking, “they are” is more commonly pronounced “they’re”. You will rarely hear someone say “they are” in natural speaking speeds. Examples: “They’re at the car.” “They’re coming over for the baby shower.”

“Their” is a possessive term, like “your”.  It is showing that something belongs to someone. Examples:  “This is their car.” “I can’t understand their story.”

There shows the place of something or someone. It is the location, generally within view of the person saying it, but not very close. Examples: “The car is parked over there.” “Why is my purse over there? I left it here.”

I hope this helps a bit in understanding the different spellings. Again, they are all pronounced the same in daily spoken English, but mean very different things. If you have questions please make sure to ask!

Next time we will talk about “we’re”, “were”, and “where”!

If you are interested in Conversational English Lessons, check out my classes and schedule here. I have my schedule and classes posted on italki.com to make scheduling and paying easier!

Common Misused Words

In every language, there are always words that are used wrong by both the native and the non native speakers. It is no different for the English language.

Here are some of those words that many people don’t use correctly.

Let us talk about these a little bit.

You’re versus Your

The pronunciation is the same in daily speech, but the meanings are different. “You’re” is a compounded word, a combination of “you” and “are”.

In written sentences, you might see “You are going to the movie with us?” but when we speak, we put these two words together and say “You’re going to the movie with us?” instead.

“Your” is a possessive word, meaning that something belongs to you. For example: “Is this your bag?” or “Can I borrow your pen?”

A good way to see which one to use is to break apart the compounded “you’re” and use it in the sentence. If it makes sense, then it’s the correct one to use. If not, then “your” is the better option.

In the next post, we’ll talk about there, they’re, and their!

If you have any questions, ask away!!! If you want to schedule a lesson for Conversational English check out my Italki.com profile here!

Zero’s WOD:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zero’s Word of the Day: Impact

In this series, we explore words that you might see on the TOIEC or TOEFL tests. You may see these words in different parts of the test.

The word impact can be both a noun or a verb. The context of the sentence will show you which it is. So let’s look at some examples!

NOUN USE:

1. There was a sound of a third impact.
2. The customer has a small impact on the company.
3. There was a small impact when the apple fell from the tree.

In these sentences, impact is used as a noun. It is identifying a thing or event. A thing can be anything from a physical object to a thought or feeling. It is the act of something coming in contact with something else.

VERB USE:

1. The glass impacted on the ground.
2. The high interest rates have impacted the stock market.

The verb form of these sentences have two different meanings.

In sentence 1, the meaning of impact is that an object came into forcible contact with another object. The glass hit the ground very hard.

In sentence 2, the meaning of impact is that something has a strong effect on something else. I doesn’t actually have contact with the other object, but it affects it.

Can you identify if it is a noun or a verb in these sentences?

1. We were just beginning to understand their impact on nature.
2. Cutting prices will impact our revenue.

Synonyms (words with similar meanings)

• Shock
• Bang
• Buffet
• Crash

Antonyms (words with the opposite meanings)

• Coincidence
• Unity
• Concord
• Unison

Knowing words that have a similar meaning or an opposite meaning can help a lot when you take the test. Often times they will use one word in the question, and a different word in the answer.

If you have questions or comments, leave a comment below! Discussion is always a great way to expand language learning!

SIP video: “~ish” word endings!

This video talks about the ending “~ish” that many English speakers use.

Using ~ish at the end of a word removes the exact meaning of the word. It makes the word less exact.

Examples:
-Sand: Sand is a type of dirt that you often see at a beach. It is coarse and not good for growing gardens. **”The sand at this beach is so soft!”
-Sandish: It is dirt that may have sand in it, or a similiar texture to sand, but may not actually be sand. **”The soil in my garden is sandish in texture.”

You can put ~ish at the end of most adjectives:
-Sweet + ish = a little sweet
-Hot + ish = it is a little hot (temperature or spice wise)
-Blue + ish = Something that could be blue, but you are not sure

We also use it for time. Putting ~ish at the end of a time means around that time.
-12 + ish = around 12
-5 + ish = around 5

Lets look at some example sentences:

1. Can you meet at 1ish today for lunch?
2. The cake was sweetish.
3. My missing phone has a pinkish cover with animals on it.
4. My stir-fry is spicyish.

In the U.S., I hear this ending a lot, especially with my friends. It is a common slang ending in our daily language!

If you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave a comment!