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.  

The History of Valentine's Day

St. Valentine's Day is celebrated on 14th February every year, and in Ireland we have a special reason to be particularly fond of this Saint as his remains are in Whitefriar Street Church in Dublin, a gift from the nineteenth century pope, Gregory XVI. Every year special Masses are held on 14th February in the church for engaged couples. 

Although St. Valentine is associated with love, romance and the giving of gifts and cards, little is known of the original St. Valentine – in fact there were several Valentines associated with 14th February in the early history of the Church. The first associations of St. Valentine with a day celebrating romance and love are attributed to Geoffrey Chaucer of The Canterbury Tales in the 14th century.

Initially lovers used to exchange hand-written notes, letters and poems expressing their feelings. However, in the 19th century , the arrival of a postal system increased the popularity of sending loveletters, particularly anonymously, and the next development was of pre-printed cards . These were often decorated with real lace and ribbons although this was replaced with paper lace in the mid-nineteenth century. 

Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is an established day for lovers to remember each other and give each other cards and gifts, from traditional flowers and chocolates to something altogether more personal and quirky. It is also a day for candlelight dinners and other romantic dalliances for couples, and woe betide any boyfriend or husband who accidentally ‘forgets‘to show his girlfriend or wife how special she is! It is estimated men spend twice as much as women on their Valentine’s Day gifts... 

For any singles without any romantic entanglements to celebrate, it’s definitely a day for keeping the head down – who wants to be asked did they get a Valentine and have to say ‘no’?! But it is also a day for celebrating that secret crush by sending an anonymous card or gift or even asking that special someone out on a date.