Connecting Two Ideas

Structure:
subject/verb/object

Example:
In Iraq, the temperature (subject) is (verb) 45 (object).


If we have two complete ideas, we can make one sentence, but we need to connect the ideas with a clause or a conjunction.

Example:
In Iraq, the temperature is 45.
This surprised me.

OR

In Iraq, the temperature is 45, AND this surprised me. (connecting with a conjunction)
In Iraq, the temperature is 45, WHICH SURPRISED ME. (connecting with a clause)


Please correct this sentence.
1. I'm from Indonesia it will surprise you to know about Indonesian food.


There are many ways to say this:

1. I'm from Indonesia. It will surprise you to know about Indonesian food.
2. I'm from Indonesia, and it will surprise you to know about Indonesian food.
3. I'm from Indonesia, which has a lot of surprising foods.
4. I'm from Indonesia, a country with a lot of surprising foods.


1. Run-on sentences -- A complete idea is one sentence. You can connect two complete ideas by using a conjunction or a clause.
‎2. We want to be careful to put an "s" on plural nouns. Some phrases are always used with plural nouns -- a lot of, many, one of, different, etc.
3. Capitalization -- The first word of every sentence is capitalized. "I" is always capitalized, but "you" isn't (unfortunately). Our country is important, and we show this by capitalizing it. Our language is important, so we capitalize it.

Prepositions

Let's start to learn about prepositions.


"At" is used for specific times -- at 4:00 a.m., at noon

Addresses:
"On" is used for a street -- on Washington Street
"At" is used for street numbers -- at 1276 First Avenue
"In" is used for a city -- He lives in Indonesia.



‎"At" is also the preposition of location -- He's at work./She's at her parent's house.

Quick quiz -- Please fill in this HUGE sentence to review.

at, on, in

_______ midnight, we'll go to a party _______ Carlos' house. He lives _______ 1723 West Thomas Street _______ Buenos Aires.




At midnight -- Specific times take "at".

Please fill in.

His plane leaves _______ 7 p.m.
We want to have lunch _______ noon.


"At" is used for a more general location. Notice that I didn't say a general location. I said a "more general" location.
Example:
He's at work.

This is a large location -- Work can be a big place. How can I find him? I need a more specific location.

"In" is used for a more specific location.
Example:
He's at work. He's in the copy room. (Now I know more specifically where he is.)


General times take "in."

Examples:
in the afternoon
in August
in 2010

Please fill in: (at, in)

_______ July, we had lunch every day _______ 1:00 p.m.


Let's add "on" -- talking about dates

On July 25, we'll start an exercise class.

"In" -- for general time
"at" -- for specific time
"on" -- for specific dates


at, on

The dinner will be _______ July 29 _______ 7:00 p.m. _____ his uncle's house.


It should be -- The dinner will be on July 29 ("on" a specific date) at 7:00 p.m. ("at" a specific time) at his uncle's house (location).

It's possible to say "in his uncle's house", but it's not as natural. If you use "in", you're saying "inside his uncle's house" rather than just giving a location.


Let's look at two sentences. Which is correct?

My Uncle's house
My Uncle Juan's house


My Uncle's house -- This isn't correct because we have no name. It should be -- My uncle's house . . .

My Uncle Juan's house -- This is correct because we have a name.

My professor said (no name; no capital letter)
We heard that Professor Thomas wants . . . (a name, so we need a capital letter)

Some American Slang

We use it with friends, family, and in informal situations. It's fun in the right situation.

Let's learn some American slang.


The first one is "BFF". This has become popular in the last few years. It means "best friend forever."

Who's your BFF? As some of you know, mine is Vickie. We've been BFF's since we were fifteen years old.


Next - Two teenage boys are walking on the street. They see some people coming toward them, looking angry. One boy could say to the other, "Don't worry. I have your back." 

It means that he'll protect him. It has the feeling that he'll do whatever is necessary, even if he gets hurt himself.


Next -- "to dis someone". Have you ever heard this? It means "to be disrespectful to someone". If we look at "disrespectful" we can see "dis" as a prefix. The slang word is the prefix.

Has anyone ever dissed you?


The next slang expression is "to be hot." Have you ever heard it before? It means "to be very sexy and good looking."

Practice sentence: Who's the hottest person you know?


The next slang expression is used to describe something that's "really great; fantastic. It's "off the hook."

Example:
That party was off the hook.

What's the last thing you experienced that was off the hook?
Structure (Subject) was off the hook.


The last one means the opposite. It's "ridiculous." The dictionary meaning of "ridiculous" is "stupid." As a slang expression, "ridiculous" means the opposite. It means "fantastic" when you're using it as a slang expression.

Example:
Taylor Swift's singing voice is ridiculous.
His talent is ridiculous.


The word is "booty". It means "buttocks, butt, bottom." We have a lot of words for it as I'm sure you do in your native language.

This is the way it's used -- Beyonce has a nice booty.

discourse markers

- Introducing: First and foremost, first of all, first(ly), second(ly), third(ly), etc.
- Adding info: What is more, moreover, in addition, additionally, etc.
- Finishing a sequence: Lastly, last but not least, finally, etc.
- Contrasting: on the one hand... on the other hand; whereas; while
- Balancing: similarly, in the same way, likewise
- Conceding: It is true that, of course, obviously, evidently...
- Counter-argument: however, nevertheless, nonetheless, still...
- Generalization: Generally speaking, Broadly speaking, On the whole, In general

Can't Help But

The can't help but construction (with other forms of the verb, like cannot and could not) is a little illogical: it comes from two other constructions, can't help —ing (meaning “I can't keep myself from —ing”) and can't but (meaning “I can't do anything except”). So can't help but should mean “I can't keep myself from doing anything except,” which is a kind of double negative. Still, can't help but has been around for a long time (the OED traces it to 1894), and it's probably not going away, so it's not worth grousing about. I avoid it myself, preferring “can't help —ing,” but there are better things to worry about.

disinterested - uninterested

What is the difference between 'disinterested' and 'uninterested'? 'Disinterested' means that you lost interest (you were interested, but not anymore). 'Uninterested' means that you do not have an interest in something, and does not express you had an interest before.

EASTER CELEBRATION

Throughout history, people have celebrated Spring as a time of renewal and rebirth. For example, Christians observe Easter to celebrate the death and rebirth of Christ.  However, they also follow some of the old customs of pagan (pre-Christian) Europe.          

   In ancient Europe, eggs symbolized new life and rabbits fertility (reproduction).  Eggs and bunnies (baby rabbits)continue to play an important role in Western non-religious Easter celebrations.  American children often color hard-boiled eggs for Easter, a custom that probably arrived with German and Dutch immigrants.