Author: Amy Estrada (Page 22 of 28)

grim

November 7, 2016 / Amy Estrada / 6 Comments

Write a sentence using the word grim in the comments. Practicing new words in sentences will help you remember them, and it allows me to see if your usage and understanding of the word is correct. If you are not sure, guess! Guessing about how to use new vocabulary also helps make it stick. I will provide correction and feedback for your sentence.

It’s also important to practice the pronunciation of a new word. I’ve created a pronunciation loop so you can listen and repeat.

grim /grɪm/

adjective

stern and admitting of no appeasement or compromise: grim determination; grim necessity.
of a sinister or ghastly character; repellent: a grim joke.
having a harsh, surly, forbidding, or morbid air: a grim man but a just one; a grim countenance.
fierce, savage, or cruel: War is a grim business.

Origin of grim

Old English 900

Related forms: grimly, adverb; grimness, noun

Source: Dictionary.com

It’s Not Over Until The Fat Lady Sings

November 6, 2016 / Amy Estrada / 4 Comments

It’s not over until the fat lady sings.

Without googling or checking reference resources, what do you think this proverb means?

By guessing you are priming your brain for learning, which will help you remember the meaning more easily. It doesn’t matter if your guess is wrong, the key is to exercise your brain by guessing.

Write your guess in the comments below. After you post your guess, go ahead and look it up.

That’s right, I want you to find the answer. Because remember, my job as your teacher is to guide you to the answer. If I just gave you the answer without asking you to do the work, I’d be robbing you of your learning opportunity. No pain, no gain!

burka

November 6, 2016 / Amy Estrada / 8 Comments

Write a sentence using the word burka in the comments. Practicing new words in sentences will help you remember them, and it allows me to see if your usage and understanding of the word is correct. If you are not sure, guess! Guessing about how to use new vocabulary also helps make it stick. I will provide correction and feedback for your sentence.

It’s also important to practice the pronunciation of a new word. I’ve created a pronunciation loop so you can listen and repeat.

burka /ˈbʊər kə, ˈbɜr-/

adjective

a loose garment covering the entire body and having a veiled opening for the eyes, worn by Muslim women.

Origin of burka

Urdu 1830-1840

Source: Dictionary.com

If You Snooze You Lose

November 5, 2016 / Amy Estrada / 4 Comments

If you snooze, you lose.

Without googling or checking reference resources, what do you think this proverb means?

By guessing you are priming your brain for learning, which will help you remember the meaning more easily. It doesn’t matter if your guess is wrong, the key is to exercise your brain by guessing.

Write your guess in the comments below. After you post your guess, go ahead and look it up.

harangue

November 5, 2016 / Amy Estrada / 4 Comments

Write a sentence using the word harangue in the comments. Practicing new words in sentences will help you remember them, and it allows me to see if your usage and understanding of the word is correct. If you are not sure, guess! Guessing about how to use new vocabulary also helps make it stick. I will provide correction and feedback for your sentence.

It’s also important to practice the pronunciation of a new word. I’ve created a pronunciation loop so you can listen and repeat.

harangue /həˈræŋ/

adjective

a scolding or a long or intense verbal attack; diatribe.
a long, passionate, and vehement speech, especially one delivered before a public gathering.
any long, pompous speech or writing of a tediously hortatory or didactic nature; sermonizing lecture or discourse.

verb (used with object), harangued,haranguing.

to address in a harangue.

verb (used without object), harangued,haranguing.

to deliver a harangue.

Origin of harangue

Middle French, Italian, Gothic 1530-1540

Source: Dictionary.com

gargoyle

November 4, 2016 / Amy Estrada / 4 Comments

Write a sentence using the word gargoyle in the comments. Practicing new words in sentences will help you remember them, and it allows me to see if your usage and understanding of the word is correct. If you are not sure, guess! Guessing about how to use new vocabulary also helps make it stick. I will provide correction and feedback for your sentence.

It’s also important to practice the pronunciation of a new word. I’ve created a pronunciation loop so you can listen and repeat.

gargoyle /ˈgɑr gɔɪl/

noun

a grotesquely carved figure of a human or animal.
a spout, terminating in a groteque representation of a human or animal figure with open mouth, projecting from the gutter of a building for throwing rain water clear of a building.

Origin of gargoyle

Middle English 1250-1300

Related forms: gargoyled, adjective

Source: Dictionary.com

Measure Twice, Cut Once

November 4, 2016 / Amy Estrada / 6 Comments

Measure twice, cut once.

Without googling or checking reference resources, what do you think this proverb means?

By guessing you are priming your brain for learning, which will help you remember the meaning more easily. It doesn’t matter if your guess is wrong, the key is to exercise your brain by guessing.

Write your guess in the comments below. After you post your guess, go ahead and look it up.

Video | DEPENDS ON Pronunciation

November 4, 2016 / Amy Estrada / 0 Comments

Hi, this is Amy with Go Places English, and today I want to talk about the pronunciation of “depends on” in American English.

The word depend, when used with an object, is followed by the preposition on or upon, as in depends on something or depends upon something.

Depends on is often linked in American English, and it sounds like depends on. Depends on.

The stressed syllable is the second syllable, pends, depends on.

Let’s practice some example sentences. Speak these sentences aloud with me. Pay attention to the grammar as well.

It depends on what time you want to meet.

That depends on where you live.

It depends on several factors.

It depends on how you like to travel.

That depends on the kind of results you want.

Pay attention to native speakers when they say depends on, and notice the reduction and linking.

You can instantly improve your English and sound more like a native speaker by practicing and linking depends on correctly.

When you master American English pronunciation, you can speak with confidence knowing that your pronunciation is accurate and listeners will understand you.

If this lesson was helpful, give it a thumbs up and subscribe to Go Places English. Where will English take you? Thanks!

Slow And Steady Wins The Race

November 3, 2016 / Amy Estrada / 8 Comments

Slow and steady wins the race.

Without googling or checking reference resources, what do you think this proverb means?

By guessing you are priming your brain for learning, which will help you remember the meaning more easily. It doesn’t matter if your guess is wrong, the key is to exercise your brain by guessing.

Write your guess in the comments below. After you post your guess, go ahead and look it up.

craven

November 3, 2016 / Amy Estrada / 6 Comments

Write a sentence using the word craven in the comments. Practicing new words in sentences will help you remember them, and it allows me to see if your usage and understanding of the word is correct. If you are not sure, guess! Guessing about how to use new vocabulary also helps make it stick. I will provide correction and feedback for your sentence.

It’s also important to practice the pronunciation of a new word. I’ve created a pronunciation loop so you can listen and repeat.

craven /ˈkreɪ vən/

adjective

cowardly; contemptibly timid; pusillanimous.

noun

a coward.

verb (used with object)

to make cowardly.

Idioms

cry craven, to yield; capitulate; give up.

Origin of craven

Middle English 1175-1225

Related forms: cravenly, adverb; cravenness, noun

Source: Dictionary.com

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