Double Word Wars!

Hi Everybody!!

Today I've got two sets of words (one is the same in each case) which are often confused, making this post a Double Word War!!

The two sets of words are:

Flammable vs. Inflammable

and

Inflammable vs. Inflammatory

Let's begin.

Flammable vs. Inflammable

These two words actually mean the same thing!! YES, that's right!!!
Both words mean: 'easily bursting into flames, that can be set on fire'.

Many think that inflammable is the opposite of flammable, but it's not!!
The prefix in- used in inflammable is not negative! It means into. Into flames!

The opposite of flammable and inflammable is non-flammable or non-inflammable!

Now,

Inflammable vs. Inflammatory

We have clarified that Inflammable means easily bursting into flames. So, what's the difference with Inflammatory?

Inflammatory means 'tending to make people angry or over-excited, to arouse violent feelings'.

Inflammatory comes from the noun Inflammation, which means 'condition in which a part of the body is red, swollen and sore or itchy, especially as part of an infection'.
Inflammatory also means 'being or tending to produce inflammation'.

Let's write down some examples:

This substance is highly inflammable.

His inflammatory remarks caused chaos in the meeting.


Use these words properly!

Have a great day! :)

Accept vs. Except

WORD WARS!

So, what's the difference between accept and except?

When we say these words they sound quite similar and it is easy to misunderstand what someone is trying to say.

These two words are actually very different!

accept = (pronounced ak-sept) a verb which means to take or receive (1), to agree to (2) or to undertake responsibility or regard something as true (3)

e.g. 1. She accepted their present with great joy.
       2. I accept your proposal. It sounds like a great idea!
       3. He had to accept the consequences of his actions. Next time he'd be more careful.


except = (pronounced ik-sept) a preposition or conjunction which means with the exclusion of, excluding, but.

e.g. Everyone went to the party, except me.
       She eats meat, except poultry.
       He answered all their questions except the reason for leaving his previous job.
       They looked exactly the same except their hair color.


:) Have a great week!!

Beat Boredom!

Hi Everybody!

Article time!

http://www.pickthebrain.com/ is filled with lots of information and interesting articles for you to go through and enjoy.
I've picked one for today, which sounds very much like how most of us feel when we get caught up in routine and end up feeling bored.

So, go to http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/16-ways-beat-boredom-make-day-spontaneous/ to read the article! I hope you enjoy it!

Here's a sneak peek...
I've chosen six of the sixteen mentioned ways to beat boredom. Do you agree with me?

1. Dance!!
Well, yeah!! Don't save your dance moves only for parties! Get moving and lift your mood, with or without music!! :)

2. Offer someone a hand.
True. When you help someone, even if it's just helping an elderly person cross the street, you feel better and you never know... helping a stranger in need might even bring about a new friendship!

3. Take a wrong turn.
I like this one! Of course, be sure you have enough time to do this!! Change your route and discover new places around your area! You might just find some great new places.

4. Start a new hobby.
Sure, we don't have a lot of free time, but when we do, let's not waste it -let's use it to do something new! Whether that be drawing, painting, crafting, knitting or even reading, you'll benefit from having a new hobby!

5. Connect with an old friend.
It's become so easy to disconnect with our friends... we end up losing touch without even noticing.
Don't fret about the time lost. Make up for it. Re-connect! :)

6. Offer to teach someone.
Teaching can be very rewarding and you don't have to commit yourself for a long period of time.
For example, you can teach someone who is computer illiterate how to use e-mail or if you're good at something like drawing or knitting you could teach someone how to get started (or how to improve their own skills).
Even when learning languages, helping each other out and teaching each other things we haven't understood or don't know, can give us a chance to practice and keep ourselves from getting bored!

Have a great day!
:)

Articles: No more chocolate??!!#$@!!

Welcome to a new feature of Your English Learning Area: Articles!

Almost all newspapers can be found in digital form on-line and most magazines too. SO, I've decided to upload links to interesting articles for you to read to practice your English, while learning something new or interesting.

I'll vary the range of difficulty, but don't be discouraged if you have many unknown words. Get your best friend, your dictionary (don't forget the wonderful on-line one: http://www.dictionary.com/), and read on!

Here's an interesting article from The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/ on the effect of climate change... How will it shape our future of accessible coffee, chocolate and beer??

Have a read and find out!

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/09/no-beer-chocolate-coffee-how-climate-change-ruin-your-weekend

As for chocolate, Karl Mathiesen (the author of the above article) says:

"In four decades, the amount of land available for growing cocoa has dropped 40%. In the next 40 years, the temperature in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, where 70% of cocoa is grown, is set to rise by 2C. That’s going to make it too hot and dry for cocoa trees....By 2020, world cocoa demand is set to outstrip supply by 1 million tonnes."

!!! :O

St. Patrick's Day!

March 17th is in two days... and that means it's St. Patrick's Day!

Have you ever wondered why so many people celebrate St. Patrick's Day and why they dress in green and wear shamrocks??

Welcome to a new feature of English learning: Culture. :)

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated globally, especially by Irish communities, on March 17th. It is a celebration in honour of St. Patrick, one of Ireland's patron saints, who is said to have died on March 17th in 493 (5th century!). 

St. Patrick's Day is a holiday in Ireland and is celebrated by holding parties with Irish food and drinks, which are sometimes dyed green, and by wearing green clothing or shamrocks which symbolize the day.

Search for more information on St. Patrick's Day and this year, we don't you celebrate too? :) 

How much do you know about Ireland? 

Do you know what Leprechauns are? 

Have you ever heard of Riverdance? 

Get your Culture helmet on!! ;) ;) 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

:) :)

Use your Phrasal Verbs!

Hi English Learners!

So... let's not forget to use Phrasal Verbs!

I came across this web page today and it had this image that is very cool and fun with phrasal verbs!

http://languagelearningbase.com/88976/phrasal-verbs-come-put-go-take

Take a look!!
Also, don't forget that most English Language books (usually in the accompanying Workbooks or Companion books) have a list of Phrasal Verbs with their meanings.

Instead of trying to just learn their meanings off by heart, create sentences that you can relate to, to help you remember what they mean.

For example,

What does "Break Off" mean?

Literally it means to break something off of something.
e.g. I broke off a piece of chocolate and ate it.

As a phrasal verb though, it means to stop - to discontinue.
e.g. I broke off my engagement. We are no longer together.

Another example.

What does "Put down" mean?

Literally, to put something down means to place something you're holding, down onto a surface.

e.g. He put down his coffee cup on the table. / She put the baby down for a nap.

As a phrasal verb though, it is used for people: to put somebody down, and it means to criticize them or make someone feel unimportant.

e.g. My boss always puts me down. I've really had enough... I think I'm going to quit!

Here's a list https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/phrasal-verbs-list.htm where you can find all the phrasal verbs you can imagine, with useful examples in use.

www.englishclub.com is another great site to help you out with English!

No excuses, learners. Use those Phrasal Verbs correctly!! :) :)

Internet Acronyms

Did you know that there are COUNTLESS Internet & Texting Acronyms?

We all know OMG and LOL and probably even YOLO
(Oh My God, Laughing Out Loud, You Only Live Once) but here are 80 more to check out...
some involve strong language, like WTF (no, this doesn't mean Wednesday - Thursday - Friday) so beware!

AMA = Ask Me Anything
BON = Believe it Or Not
BTD = Bored To Death
BTDT = Been There, Done That
BTW = By The Way
DBD = Don't Be Dumb
DDAS = Don't Do Anything Stupid
DDG = Drop Dead Gorgeous
DGT = Don't Go There
DND = Do Not Disturb
DUST = Did You See That?
FO = F**k Off
FOS = Full Of Sh*t
FSR = For Some Reason
FTLOG = For The Love Of God!
FTTB = For The Time Being
GAHOY = Get A Hold Of Yourself!
GBTW = Get Back To Work
GBG = Great Big Grin
GMAB = Give Me A Break
GMTA = Great Minds Think Alike
HIG = How's It Going?
HIH = Hope It Helps
ICW = I Can't Wait!
ICYC = In Case You're Curious OR In Case You Care
ICYMI = In Case You Missed It
IDC = I Don't Care
IDK = I Don't Know
IDM = It Doesn't Matter
IKR = I Know, Right?
IMO = In My Opinion
IOH = I'm Out of Here
JK = Just Kidding
JP = Just Playing
JSYK = Just So You Know
JW = Just Wondering
LHK = Love, Hugs, Kisses
LIFO = Last In, First Out
LMK = Let Me Know
LMAO = Laughing My Ass Off
LMSO = Laughing My Socks Off
LOLA = Laughing Out Loud Again!
LOML = Love Of My Life
LYL = Love You Lots
LYLB = Love You, Later, Bye
MCM = Man Crush Monday
MMYT = Mail Me Your Thoughts
MYOB = Mind Your Own Business (Also NYOB = None of Your Business)
NP = No Problem
NVM = Nevermind
NW = No Way! (Also NFW = No F**king Way!)
NYC = Not Your Concern
OAO = Over And Out
OOT = Out Of Touch
peeps = people
ROFL = Rolling On Floor Laughing (Also ROTFL = Rolling On The Floor Laughing)
S4B = Sh*t for Brains
SETE = Smiling Ear To Ear
SLAP = Sounds Like A Plan
SOB = Son Of A B*tch
SOT = Short On Time
SWIM = See What I Mean?
SYS = See You Soon
TBA = To Be Advised
TBC = To Be Continued
TBD = To Be Determined
TBH = To Be Honest
TBT = Throwback Thursday
TBYB = Try Before You Buy
TMI = Too Much Information (Also WTMI = Way Too Much Information)
TTG = Time To Go
TTTT = To Tell The Truth
TTYL = Talk To You Later
WOT = Waste Of Time
WTF = What the F**k?
WTH = What the Heck / Hell?
XME = Excuse Me
Y = Why? or Yes!
YNK = You Never Know
YOYO = You're On Your Own

Do you use any of these? :) :P I haven't mentioned the most common because I'm sure most of you know them already.
Which acronym do you use the most?

Happy March!!