Phrasal verbs and idioms for challenging times (and positive thinking… because we need it!)

By Isabel Solano.

Ah! 2020. What a year, right? Let’s be honest, we all wanted this year to be much different from what it has been some far. When we rang* in the New Year back on January 1st, we had hopes and dreams we wanted to achieve. We had listed our New Year’s resolutions and we had gotten our new gym membership, yoga mat or flight tickets! We were ready.

But this year had other plans in store* *for us and even though it hasn’t been easy, hope is never lost. In every situation there’s always a positive side, even if it seems impossible to see from where we stand. So today, I want to give you some vocabulary that can help you express your feelings during these challenging times and idioms you can use to motivate yourself and others. 

Let's get started...

1. Cope with something (phrasal verb): to face and deal with responsibilities, problems, or difficulties, especially successfully or in a way that is calm and adequate. 

Example: Because of our ability to cope with the stress of life changes, we have been able to stay positive during these times.

2. Hang in there (idiom): This expression is used to advice someone to remain persistent and determined in difficult circumstances. It’s another way to say “Don’t give up”.

Example: I’m sorry to hear that you lost your job but hang in there. Keep looking! I’m sure we will find a new one soon.

3. To embrace something: Literally, to embrace is to hug. However, it can also mean to welcome something with open arms whether it be physical or not. We can embrace good things but we can also embrace change or challenges. To embrace a challenge is the willingness to welcome obstacles.

Example: Teachers around the world were nervous to start teaching online during the pandemic but they embraced the challenge, learned the new technology and now they are doing a great job! 

4. To ride something out (phrasal verb): Originally, this expression referred to a ship surviving a storm. Now, it can be used to express getting through a dangerous or difficult situation without being harmed or affected. 

Example: The country was able to ride out the economic crisis. 

5. Every cloud has a silver lining (idiom/proverb):  This idea comes from the understanding that behind dark clouds the sun is always shining even if we cannot see it. This idiom can be used to express that every difficult or sad situation has a comforting or more hopeful aspect, even though this may not be immediately apparent.

So, no matter how difficult things might seem, just remember, every cloud has a silver lining.

Until next time! 

Isabel.

*to ring the new year:To mark the end of the previous year and usher in the start of a new one, typically with a party or other celebration.

**in store (for someone/something) planned or likely to happen: We have a big surprise in store for you.

5 Ways to Practice Your Speaking Outside the Classroom!

By Isabel Solano





Chances are you already have some ideas on ways to practice your English skills on your own. Turning on English subtitles while watching your favorite TV shows, listening to music or reading a book in English are all great ways to practice while doing activities you enjoy. These are all excellent habits to keep! However, these forms of practice mostly provide a way to improve your passive skills, like listening and reading. But how about your productive skills?

In the classroom, you have the opportunity to practice your speaking and pronunciation through error correction and choral repetition exercises that your teacher provides. But practicing your speaking and pronunciation doesn’t have to stop when you leave the classroom. Here are some ways you can ACTIVELY practice on your own and at no cost:

1. “Hey, Siri”: Take advantage of voice recognition tools on your smartphone. This is a great way to practice your pronunciation and question formation structure. Ask Siri question types that you’ve learned so far: Hey, Siri. How old is Madonna? Or what’s the best Chinese restaurant in my area? Is Siri asking you to repeat? Try again until she can  understand you.

2. Voice-to-text: Similarly, using any voice-to-text options on your phone are a great way to practice your pronunciation. Use the apps readily available on your smartphone, such as: Notes, iMessage, etc. You will see a tiny microphone icon   that will allow you to convert speech into text. Practice minimal pairs you find challenging and repeat them until the text comes out correctly. For example: very vs. berry or cheap vs. sheep, etc. This is also great for new vocabulary you learn in class. Don’t forget to save those notes!

3. Imitate, record, compare: The Voice Memos app is another handy resource available to you at your fingertips (it should already be downloaded to your phone). Use this app to record yourself and listen for errors. I recommend choosing a short sample of speech from a movie, TV show or even a TED talk that you like. Practice reciting it as you record yourself. Then, play both recordings and compare. Find the words you need to work on (if any) and practice until the recordings sound more and more similar. This particular tip is also very useful when working on accent reduction!

4. Meet up with Meetup: Let’s take this out this out into the real world! Meetup.com is a useful website that makes it easy to connect with people with shared interests.  Here you’ll find many language exchange meetups to choose from. Help others practice a language you master, as they help you practice your target language, i.e: English. It’s also a great way to make new friends, network in the city and more.

5. Tandem:  Lastly, if you’d like to connect with people all around the world, Tandem is a free and engaging app that will connect you to thousands of speakers of different languages eager to help you practice your English in exchange for helping them practice your native language or any other language you’re fluent in. Through Tandem you can text or call or both! The options are endless!

Which of these tips would you like to try first? Do you have any other ways to practice your speaking outside the classroom? Let us know in the comments!

It takes two to tango! ... & other idioms

The following sentences have idioms that are related to music and sound. Try filling in the blanks with the correct word on the list to complete each idiom. The answers and explanations are below so  you can check your work. No cheating! 

FIDDLE             WHISTLE             EARS             UP             RECORD        

EAR              HORN             BELL           TANGO          DRUM        

1. Stop complaining about the same thing over and over. You sound like a broken _____.
2. He’s not the most modest person in the world. He tends to toot his own _____.
3. She’s not the only one to blame. He played a part in the whole situation. You know, it takes two to _____.
4. He runs 5 miles a day. He’s fit as a _____.
5. The latest news from City Hall was like music to our _____. The metrocard is going to be a dollar cheaper next month!
6. I don’t think I know that person. The name doesn’t ring a _____.
7. He’s always been a bit odd. He’s always marched to the beat of his own _____ since he was a child.
8. I’m not really sure what I want to do tomorrow, so let’s just play it by _____.
9. Wow! This place is as clean as a _____! They must have worked all day! This place was so filthy just this morning.
10. I like it, but it’s a bit too plain. Add some color, and jazz it _____ a little.

GOOK LUCK!

Idioms tied to nature & the environment

The theme for this Friday's LAB is Nature & the Environment. Here are some #idioms to get you in the mood to talk about these topics!

ONCE IN A BLUE MOON  (rarely)

• She always eats out and only cooks once in a blue moon.

 

FEELING UNDER THE WEATHER  (not feeling well)

• Maria decided to stay home today as she's feeling under the weather.

 

EVERY CLOUD HAS A SILVER LINING  (every problem has a solution)

TAKE HEART  (don't worry)

• Take heart, Tom, every cloud has a silver lining. 

 

CHILL should be October's Word of the Month!

When we see pumpkins around town, we know that fall is here! There's a CHILL in the air, and Halloween is on its way.
Are you ready to make a Jack-o'-lantern that will give passers by CHILLS?

Well, we're now well into October, and fall weather has definitely arrived. The temperatures have dropped and there's a chill in the air.

• BE WELL INTO - not in the beginning anymore; almost in the middle
• DROP - decrease
• A CHILL - a coldness

Speaking of the word "chill," I'm sure you know we use it to talk about cold weather, right? Did you know we also use it to talk about relaxing or to describe something scary? With the temperatures dropping and with Halloween just around the corner, the word "chill" just might be the perfect word for October. What do you think? Let's make CHILL October's Word of the Month!

• AROUND THE CORNER - very near; almost here

Did you SLEEP LIKE A LOG last night?

How well you sleep can be a major issue when you're in school. You need to be wide awake in class in order to get the most out of your lessons, and if you toss and turn in bed, you might be too pooped to concentrate the next day. Unfortunately, we don't always get to hit the sack at a decent hour for whatever reason, and some of us are just night owls and prefer to be awake late at night than in the morning. In any case, you still need to get up early however late you turn in. If you oversleep, you'll be late for class. So, set the alarm, and hit the sack at a decent hour, so you'll be wide awake in class and eager to learn. 

 

Not sure what the bolded vocabulary and idioms above mean? Just scroll down a little; you'll find their definitions just below. Now that you know them, remember to use them in conversation.

 

Good luck! :-)

 

Also ...

Getting Around & Getting Around To

When you're very busy and don't have a lot of extra time, GETTING AROUND TO buying your groceries can be challenging. On the other hand, some people find ways to GET AROUND going to the supermarket by shopping online and having their groceries delivered. 

GET AROUND and GET AROUND TO look very similar but these phrasal verbs actually have very different meanings that are kind of opposite from each other. One means to avoid doing something, while the other means to manage to do something.

GETTING AROUND means to stay away from a requirement or something annoying or unpleasant. We usually use this phrasal verb when we talk about avoiding a necessary activity that we don't like. If we say, "We can't GET AROUND taking that exam," or "There's no GETTING AROUND that exam," we mean that the exam is a requirement and that everyone has to take it. We can't avoid it if we want to get a certificate or receive a degree or apply to college.

Useful WINTER vocabulary

Snow day on the corner of Broadway and 37th Street, near NYLC in Midtown Manhattan

 

It's the beginning of February, and it definitely feels like the middle of winter here in New York City. The temperatures have DIPPED well below the freezing point and the weather has brought us a couple of snowstorms, especially in just the last week.

• DIP - go, reach down

One snowstorm, in fact, was thought to be so HUMONGOUS that the city decided to shut down MASS TRANSIT as everyone prepared for the worst. Luckily, the city was SPARED the BRUNT of the storm and was able to get things back to normal sooner than expected. A DECENT 8 inches or so BLANKETED most of NYC, but most of the snow and damaging winds hit Boston, parts of Long Island, and other areas north of us. 

• HUMONGOUS - huge; enormous
• MASS TRANSIT - subway, buses, commuter rail
• SPARED - saved or kept from experiencing
• BRUNT - main, strongest force
• DECENT - a good, significant amount
• BLANKET - to cover

Here's to not DROPPING THE BALL this year!

Former NYLC students working together on a project. I don't think anyone in this group DROPPED THE BALL. Nice job, guys!

 

It's now a week and a half into 2015, and we hope your new year is going really well. If you made new year's resolutions, we hope that you are making them happen and that they will last a very, very long time--at least to the end of the year. :-)

On New Year's Eve, as you know, they dropped a huge, heavy, expensive ball made of crystals at the top of a building in Time Square to welcome the new year. It's a New York tradition that's called the New Year's Eve Ball-drop. Did you see the event? The ball wasn't actually dropped though, but was made to slide slowly down a pole. It would be a disaster if a 12-foot-wide crystal ball were dropped on top of a building, wouldn't it?

In any workplace or school setting when you're doing a project with others, it can also be a disaster if you DROP THE BALL. This happens when you make a mistake or forget to do something that has negative consequences on the company or on the group you are working together with. The analogy comes from sports. When you are playing with friends and you are supposed to catch the ball but you don't, you let the team down. You DROPPED THE BALL! 

It's usually better not to WING IT.

 

If you're in New York City, you've probably seen this ad around town. This one was on the back side of a kiosk along Broadway in Midtown Manhattan. This PSA encourages parents to teach children to be ready for emergencies. WINGING IT when there is an emergency is not good enough; children need to know exactly what to do when something dangerous and unexpected happens.

• AD is short for advertisement
• PSA - Public Service Announcement 

WINGING IT is an idiom that means to do something unprepared. When we are not ready for a test, a presentation, a business meeting, or anything that requires preparation, we WING IT. 

Oh, quit WHINING & have a glass of WINE!

No one really feels better when they WHINE, but if they have a glass of WINE instead, now that's a different story!

 

If you walk around Union Square when the farmer's market is there, you've probably seen this sign from a wine vendor. Some people who notice it, especially those who like English or language in general, are usually amused by it. What about you? Do you like this sign? Do you notice the PLAY ON WORDS on it?

Many PLAYS ON WORDS or puns use homonyms and homophones, which I've mentioned in one of our previous posts. This PLAY ON WORDS is a play on the homophones WINE and WHINE. Wine, of course, is the drink you probably enjoy with your meal. WINE isn't really used as a verb, except for the expression to WINE AND DINE someone, which means to treat a person to a fancy dinner.

• HOMONYMS - different words that are spelled the same way and sound the same.
• HOMOPHONES - different words that sound the same, but are spelled differently.

Bears bear their bear cubs in the winter.

You've probably noticed by now that some words in English take on different meanings depending on context. The word BEAR is a good example. Most students know the animal. There are grizzly bears and brown bears and polar bears, and apparently, on this wallpaper from a local burger joint, dancing bears! :-)

Another common meaning of BEAR is to carry or endure something heavy or difficult. In this context, you usually BEAR a burden or a heavy load, which often refers to a problem. You can also BEAR someone's attacks. For example, politicians often have to BEAR frequent attacks and scrutiny from the public or the media.

• SCRUTINY - examination

We also use the word BEAR when we talk about someone giving birth, though this usage is a bit formal: She BORE a son when she was in her 20s and a daughter when she was in her 30s. That's right; the past tense of BEAR is BORE.

Rare, Medium, or Well-done?

When you order a burger at a fast-food joint, they're not going to ask how you'd like your meat cooked--ain't gonna happen. You may be able to request that they hold the onions or even ask for extra pickles, but that's about it. You get the meat as is.

• fast-food joint - fast-food restaurant; establisment
• ain't gonna - isn't going to (informal & technically wrong)
• hold the onions - don't include onions

On the other hand, if you go to some burger joints--and there are more and more of these popping up around town--they'll probably ask you how you want your burger cooked.

• popping up - appearing

So how do you like your meat cooked? The choices are the same as when you order steak: rare, medium, or well done. You ask for rare if you like your meat bloody and still cold in the center with only the outer parts seared and hot. Medium means your meat is mostly pink but warm throughout. Well-done, of course, is when the meat is completely cooked with no signs of blood. Some customers also go for something in between: medium rare or medium well-done.

• seared - cooked on the grill or in a pan with very high heat so the meat browns fast

Expressions with "HIT" - part 2

. Actors who've HIT IT BIG usually see their names displayed on Broadway. Do you ever dream of HITTING IT BIG?

How familiar are you with this second set of expressions with the word "HIT"? (If you missed the first group, check out this blogpost from early June.) 

• HIT IT BIG                  HIT IT OFF
• HIT THE SACK          HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD
• HIT THE HAY             HIT THE GROUND RUNNING

Take a look at this dialog and see if the expressions make sense, then try the matching exercise that follows.

A: You're not HITTING THE SACK yet, are you? It's still early.
B: I am, actually. Tomorrow's a big day. It's our opening day, and we need to HIT THE GROUND RUNNING if we want to compete with the other shops in the area.

A: Well, I have a feeling you guys will HIT IT BIG fast. You have a very good business model.

B: Thanks. We definitely believe in it. Tom and his team are working on the finishing touches of our website as we speak.

A: You two make a really good team. So you take care of the daily shop operations, and he handles the website?

B: That's right. We met about two years ago in business school, and we just HIT IT OFF. Our ideas just make sense to each other.

A: That's awesome. I hear you two have been working on the business plan for about a year and a half. I think it's easier to get along and find things in common with people and harder to actually work and collaborate on a business venture.

B: You HIT THE NAIL RIGHT ON THE HEAD there. We definitely disagree on some things, but it helps when we have the same goals as far as what to offer customers.

A: Well, I wish you both the best. I guess I'm going to HIT THE HAY, too. I want to be your first customer in your new shop tomorrow.

B: Alright. Good night. See you in the morning.

A: Good night.

Now, try matching the following idioms with their meaning: Two of the idioms have the same definition. The answers are below.

1. HIT THE SACK _____                                          A. get along well from the start
2. HIT THE GROUND RUNNING _____                       B. be exactly right   
3. HIT IT BIG _____                                               C. go to bed  
4. HIT IT OFF _____                                               D. start with a lot of energy  
5. HIT THE NAIL RIGHT ON THE HEAD _____           E. become very successful or famous
6. HIT THE HAY _____

Expressions with "HIT" - part 1

Summer hasn't officially begun yet, but many people have already HIT THE BOARDWALK in Coney Island, Brooklyn.

What do you think of when you hear the word "HIT"? Do you picture a person striking, slapping, or punching another person? Maybe you think of the more positive meaning when the word is used as a noun and means that someone or something is popular? For example, Taylor Swift's newest single became an instant HIT, or my lasagna was A HIT at the party.

If you're in the intermediate levels, you're probably familiar with both meanings. However, did you know the word "HIT" is also used in some idioms to simply mean "go to" or "reach" a place or an objective. This usage is often used informally in conversation, and they're quite common, so you should start using them if you don't already. Here are some expressions that use "HIT" this way.

• HIT THE ROAD means to get on the highway and start a long journey or simply to get going or leave. 
• Alright, if you're ready, let's HIT THE ROAD; everyone's waiting for us.

• HIT THE BOOKS means to study
• I can't hang out with you guys tonight; I have to HIT THE BOOKS. I have a huge exam tomorrow. 

NYLC English Episode 9- Pet Peeves

 Watch Ryan's fun video lesson on some of his personal pet peeves. What are your pet peeves?#ilovenylc

A quick exercise on using idioms with "CUT"

English has several idioms with the word "cut." The list below are some of the more common ones. Are you familiar with these idioms? Can you use them in conversation? Fill in the blanks below and see how well you know them.

If you need a quick refresher (review), head over to our NYLC English blog for a quick lesson.

CUT IT CLOSE; CUT CORNERS; CUT OUT FOR; CUT OUT TO; 
MAKE THE CUT; CUT SOMEONE SOME SLACK; CUT IT OUT; 
CUT THE CRAP; NOT CUT IT  

1. He did his best. Everyone makes mistakes. ________, will you?
2. He finished quickly, but the work is so sloppy. He ________ again.
3. You should be at the airport already. If you're just leaving now, you're ________.
4. He decided to quit. He realized he's not ________ be a salesperson.
5. ________! Mom, Billy's kicking me!
6. ________. I want you to stop lying and start telling me the truth.
7. A lot of people said she wasn't ________ the position, but five years later, she's still the president. 
8. The professor said his project ________ and he had to do more research.
9. Ted tried out for his school's basketball team, but a lot of excellent players were there, and Ted didn't ________.
10. Sarah almost got fired, but his manager decided to ________ and give her another chance.
11. Bill had always thought he wasn't ________ work with kids, but he realized that he was really good at it.
12. He kept goofing off (acting silly) at the library until the librarian told him to ________.

Vocabulary for the Year of the Horse

Horses on duty with the NYPD in Midtown Manhattan

The Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year, began on Jan. 31, and according to the Chinese zodiac, it's the Year of the Horse. The horse is supposed to signify energy, adventure, and decisiveness. In addition, events are expected to move fast because it's a horse year. Perhaps, we should minimize horsing around (playing around) and get to work, right? :-)

The horse is a beautiful animal, but whether you are into astrology or not, what does the horse mean to you? While you think about that question? Here are some vocabulary associated with horses. Do you know what the list of words below mean? 

MANE, HOOVES, GAIT, SADDLE, REINS, STIRRUPS, TROT, GALLOP, BIT, SPURS