Fun English learning site for students and teachers

The Pros and Cons of Driving

5/28/2015

I must admit that I'm not a big fan of driving. I dislike having to deal with traffic and with moody drivers. I always try to walk whenever I can. However, there are times when driving can be so time-saving and efficient. This is especially true when I have to get somewhere quick or if I have a lot of things to carry with me. So there are advantages and disadvantages to driving.

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Another way we can say this is "pros" and "cons." It basically means the same thing as "the good things" (which are advantages) or "the bad things" (which are disadvantages). Sometimes they may also be used as "for" and "against." This is seen and heard often in debates.

You may sometimes hear these kind of terms used in business or in school. Someone might say, "Let's weigh the pros and cons of having an office party this Friday" or "What are the pros and cons of opening up a new store?"

There are so many pros and cons to everything in life:
The pros and cons to marriage/ getting a college degree/ buying a dog / buying lottery....

Can you think of any more pros and cons of driving?

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Meaning of Hangry

5/15/2015

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I recently saw a post by someone that said, "Excuse my rudeness, I'm just hangry." I've never heard the word "hangry" before and at first I thought the person meant "hungry." I was wrong.

I did some research of my own and discovered that the word is a humorous slang (informal) used to describe anger caused by being hungry. The word was created by blending the words "hungry" and "angry" together. It makes sense, as when we're hungry, it becomes hard to focus and we become short-tempered and irritated. How interesting and useful as I've definitely been hangry before. What about you?

So happy to have discovered a new and trending word while being able to share it with you all!

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Meet and Meat

5/13/2015

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Words that sound the same but are spelled differently are called HOMOPHONES.

Take a look at some examples of homophones:
to, two, too
plane. plain
deer, dear
write, right
see, sea

When speaking, it's much easier to tell which words are used because there's context (not all the time, but most of the time!). If you're driving and someone says. "Go right," we know he/she doesn't mean "Go write" because why would you go "write" when you're driving?!

However, it's important to distinguish between different homophones so that we can write correctly and not confuse our readers.

Let's look at the words 'meet' and 'meat.' These are homophones that are spelled differently but have completely different meanings.
Meet= [verb] get together with someone, for example, "Let's meet for lunch tomorrow."
Meat= [uncountable noun] flesh from animals that we eat, for example, chicken or beef

Use this image to help you remember the difference:
Think of two people meeting on a date (E meets E)
Think of a person indulging in a delicious beef burger (E eats A)

Test yourself on these common homophones:
(1) I really wish I had your/you're job.
(2) The bank is on your write/right.
(3) There/Their/They're classroom is so much bigger than ours!
(4) Your cellphone is over their/they're/there.
(5) Look at that dear/deer over there!
(6) I don't want to attend this meeting to/ too/two.
Answers:
(1) your, (2) right, (3) Their, (4) there, (5) deer, (6) too

Related Lessons:
Jeans or Jeans
Everytime or Every Time
British Versus American English

Homophones, difference between meet and meat, words that sound the same but different meaning, homonym, homograph

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Corn Fritters

5/11/2015

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RECIPE VOCABULARIES
All-purpose: (adj.) suitable for many uses
Grilled: (v.) cooking something at very high temperature with fire or coal usually on a grill
Whisk: (v.) stir or beat together
Skillet: (n.) frying pan
Flatten: (v.) to make something flat, smooth, even surface that is wide but not thick
Flip: (v.) turn something over to the other side quickly

The original recipe is from Table For Two food blog. Please visit the site to find the original and other interesting recipes to try!

Related Lessons:
No-bake Cookie Recipe
Household Chores

Summer is almost here which means there's lots of sweet delicious corn here! Corn doesn't cost very much but it's insanely delicious! Don't you agree? It tastes good in so many ways: boiled, grilled, canned. Of course with the warmer weather approaching, I just had to feature a corn recipe found from Table For Two food blog . As promised before, I try to make these recipes before I post them. You can see my pictures below. It was quick, easy and delicious. Before you start, don't forget to learn the new vocabularies for this recipe on the bottom. Remember the point of making this isn't to become a professional chef, but it's to help you learn names of ingredients, nouns, verbs, and adjectives used in cooking while enjoying a delicious outcome!

GRILLED CORN FRITTERS
Total time needed: 15 minutes

(1) 1/3 cup of yellow cornmeal
(2) 1/4 all-purpose flour
(3) 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
(4) 1 teaspoon salt
(5) 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
(6) Bunch of chopped parsley
(7) 1/3 cup of milk
(8) 2 cups of grilled corn (you can also use canned corn)
(9) Some vegetable oil

(1) Get a large bowl. Add the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and parsley in a large bowl, then whisk together.

(2) Add the milk and mix the ingredients together.

(3) Add the corn into the mixture so everything is mixed together very well.

(4) Warm up a skillet on medium-high heat and place about 1/3 cup of the mixture onto the skillet and press down to flatten it. Do this to rest of the mixture. Leave them on skillet for about 5 minutes each side then flip it!

(5) Serve and enjoy!

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Happy Mother's Day

5/10/2015

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It's the special time of the year where we give thanks to our selfless, supportive mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, or anyone who has been a mother to you. I always remember this quote " A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie left for five people promptly announced she never did care for pie." Mothers make these kind of sacrifices every day. That's why "mom" written upside down is "wow." Moms are wow!

The word "wow" can be used in multiple ways:
(1) As an interjection (exclamation to show surprise or amazement): "Wow! That movie was amazing!"
(2) As a noun (excitement, dazzle): "You need furniture that will add some wow to your new home"
(3) As a verb (impress):" The actors really wowed the audience"

Wishing you all a Happy Mother's Day with your loved ones. How is your mom wow?