Freddies English Teaching Course

[Vedrana]

Could you describe where you heard it? At a guess I would say it meant "Cheer up, get out of your low mood" - but I could be completely wrong.

 

hmh, yeah, it could be something like that, I've heard it in the song - so get off your low, let’s dance like we used to. That's whole line.

Yes..I think you right, he is saying to the girl to cheer up...even though I think she's actually dead.

[silver]

hmh, yeah, it could be something like that, I've heard it in the song - so get off your low, let’s dance like we used to. That's whole line.

Yes..I think you right, he is saying to the girl to cheer up...even though I think she's actually dead.

 

A song about getting a dead girl to dance? Should you be listening to things like that?

[sienna]

Can someone please tell me what Crisco is?

I think it's something you can eat but there is nothing in my dictionary so I assume it's a brand name?

[suzie]

Can someone please tell me what Crisco is?

I think it's something you can eat but there is nothing in my dictionary so I assume it's a brand name?

 

you might mean this one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisco

[sienna]

you might mean this one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crisco

 

Ah thank you! How could I forget to go to Wikipedia?

[sofi_4]

can somebody explain me this phrase with simpler words, please??:

 

your wrinkled eyes betrayed the joy with which you smiled

 

it's from Stuck in the middle, it's just to complicted for me :S i mean, i understand the idea but not the exactly meaning of each word

[Vedrana]

A song about getting a dead girl to dance? Should you be listening to things like that?

it's a good song, maybe I made it sound worse than it is it's Unfinished Business by White Lies, you can give it a listen

thanks for your help

Can someone please tell me what Crisco is?

I think it's something you can eat but there is nothing in my dictionary so I assume it's a brand name?

I ran into Crisco few times in some recipes on internet and I used margarine instead Can't remember know how's that worked out:naughty:

[roxy]

Take your shirt off.

Take off your shirt.

 

Ive heard both, but I dont know which one is correct..

 

Same for:

Turn the lights on

Turn on the lights

Wash your plate up

Wash up your plate

...

[CazGirl]

Take your shirt off.

Take off your shirt.

 

Ive heard both, but I dont know which one is correct..

 

Same for:

Turn the lights on

Turn on the lights

Wash your plate up

Wash up your plate

...

 

Well I don't know if any particular one is actually grammatically correct, but in my experience everyone I know has used both of those at some point, they all make sense to me so...

[silver]

Take your shirt off.

Take off your shirt.

 

Ive heard both, but I dont know which one is correct..

 

Same for:

Turn the lights on

Turn on the lights

Wash your plate up

Wash up your plate

...

 

I think the grammatically correct ones are

 

Take off your shirt

Turn on the lights

Wash up your plate

 

because grammatically correct people hate to end sentences with prepositions like "up" and "off".

 

But as Cazgirl rightly points out, we happily use both forms

[Siu]

Take your shirt off.

Take off your shirt.

 

Ive heard both, but I dont know which one is correct..

 

Same for:

Turn the lights on

Turn on the lights

Wash your plate up

Wash up your plate

...

 

Non-native linguist's point of view (read: book knowledge)

 

In the examples you gave the verbs are transitive particle verbs which have a nominal object (shirt, light, plate). If the object is an ordinary noun the preposition may be on either side of the noun (Turn the lights on / Turn on the lights), although in very long phrases it tends to come before the noun:

 

Turn on the lights in the children's room where the kids are playing

 

So basically in shorter sentences you can use the prep in either position, this is the rule (which of course has so many exceptions but let's not go there ).

 

In respect to the unspoken rules of grammatically correct people you'll have to take Silver's word.

[roxy]

Well I don't know if any particular one is actually grammatically correct, but in my experience everyone I know has used both of those at some point, they all make sense to me so...

 

I think the grammatically correct ones are

 

Take off your shirt

Turn on the lights

Wash up your plate

 

because grammatically correct people hate to end sentences with prepositions like "up" and "off".

 

But as Cazgirl rightly points out, we happily use both forms

 

Non-native linguist's point of view (read: book knowledge)

 

In the examples you gave the verbs are transitive particle verbs which have a nominal object (shirt, light, plate). If the object is an ordinary noun the preposition may be on either side of the noun (Turn the lights on / Turn on the lights), although in very long phrases it tends to come before the noun:

 

Turn on the lights in the children's room where the kids are playing

 

So basically in shorter sentences you can use the prep in either position, this is the rule (which of course has so many exceptions but let's not go there ).

 

In respect to the unspoken rules of grammatically correct people you'll have to take Silver's word.

 

Ahhh thanks!

[sariflor]

Non-native linguist's point of view (read: book knowledge)

 

In the examples you gave the verbs are transitive particle verbs which have a nominal object (shirt, light, plate). If the object is an ordinary noun the preposition may be on either side of the noun (Turn the lights on / Turn on the lights), although in very long phrases it tends to come before the noun:

 

Turn on the lights in the children's room where the kids are playing

 

So basically in shorter sentences you can use the prep in either position, this is the rule (which of course has so many exceptions but let's not go there ).

 

In respect to the unspoken rules of grammatically correct people you'll have to take Silver's word.

 

 

 

Thank you SO much for this!! I've always wondered about this, and what the correct way was.

[coolcat]

How do I know when to say in and when to say at?

[silver]

How do I know when to say in and when to say at?

 

It would help if you could give an example, but generally "in" would be used when you are enclosed, and "at" when you are near something. If you say "I am in the house" you would mean you were inside, but if you said "I am at the house", you would be outside.

[DerMoment1608]

Is there a difference between "apology" and "excuse" and if yes, what is the difference?

[Christine]

An apology is expressing regret for something you've done and an excuse is giving an explanation in order to justify what you've done.

 

So if you were late for a meeting for example, you would say you're sorry for making the other person wait for you - which is an apology. If you said that you were late because your child was sick - that's an excuse.

[DerMoment1608]

An apology is expressing regret for something you've done and an excuse is giving an explanation in order to justify what you've done.

 

Thank you, that makes it clear to me

[suzie]

I think the grammatically correct ones are

Take off your shirt

Turn on the lights

 

because grammatically correct people hate to end sentences with prepositions like "up" and "off".

 

But as Cazgirl rightly points out, we happily use both forms

 

I have never read that in any grammar book.

Are you sure this person used the term 'grammatically correct' and was not thinking about 'Shut up' and 'F*** off' instead? ()

 

In theory it would make sense for prepositions not to end sentences because by definition, they are meant to be placed before nouns and pronouns. However, expressions like ’take it off’ or ’turn them on’ as well as sentences like ”She didn’t like the child she was looking after” or "I watched the plane take off" seem to contradict this theory.

 

The answer is that ’off’ in ’take it off’ and ’on’ in ’turn them on’ are not prepositions but adverbs and these multi-word verbs are not prepositional verbs but phrasal verbs.

Siu’s explanation was correct: when phrasal verbs are transitive (i.e. have a direct object), we can separate the two parts, so both ’take off your shirt’ and ’take your shirt off’ are correct. However, when we use such phrasal verb with a pronoun you must separate the verb from the adverb and insert the pronoun between the two parts (e.g. ’take it off’)

 

 

One more point to add for non-native speakers: there are verb+preposition type of multi-word verbs (prepositional verbs) that also take a direct object but for these expressions you must keep the preposition right after the verb even when used with pronouns. So 'look after him' and 'look after the child' are the only correct forms, you can’t separate the preposition from the verb.

 

So how do you distinguish a transitive phrasal verb from a prepositional verb? You use your instinct if you can separate the adverb / preposition from the verb… ’Take off your shirt’ and ’take your shirt off’ are both correct , so it is a phrasal verb. However, ’look after the child’ is the only way to say it correctly, so it is a prepositional verb… Basically, it seems to be a catch 22 since not even all native speakers seem to be able to do that…

 

Anyway, I think if your instinct does not work, perhaps the best way to judge it is that if the meaning of the expression is similar to the verb itself, it is a prepositional verb eg. I believe in love; whilst if it is completely different e.g. I turned down the offer, it is a phrasal verb.

[basicamenteyo]

I have never read that in any grammar book.

Are you sure this person used the term 'grammatically correct' and was not thinking about 'Shut up' and 'F*** off' instead? ()

 

In theory it would make sense for prepositions not to end sentences because by definition, they are meant to be placed before nouns and pronouns. However, expressions like ’take it off’ or ’turn them on’ as well as sentences like ”She didn’t like the child she was looking after” or "I watched the plane take off" seem to contradict this theory.

 

The answer is that ’off’ in ’take it off’ and ’on’ in ’turn them on’ are not prepositions but adverbs and these multi-word verbs are not prepositional verbs but phrasal verbs.

Siu’s explanation was correct: when phrasal verbs are transitive (i.e. have a direct object), we can separate the two parts, so both ’take off your shirt’ and ’take your shirt off’ are correct. However, when we use such phrasal verb with a pronoun you must separate the verb from the adverb and insert the pronoun between the two parts (e.g. ’take it off’)

 

 

One more point to add for non-native speakers: there are verb+preposition type of multi-word verbs (prepositional verbs) that also take a direct object but for these expressions you must keep the preposition right after the verb even when used with pronouns. So 'look after him' and 'look after the child' are the only correct forms, you can’t separate the preposition from the verb.

 

So how do you distinguish a transitive phrasal verb from a prepositional verb? You use your instinct if you can separate the adverb / preposition from the verb… ’Take off your shirt’ and ’take your shirt off’ are both correct , so it is a phrasal verb. However, ’look after the child’ is the only way to say it correctly, so it is a prepositional verb… Basically, it seems to be a catch 22 since not even all native speakers seem to be able to do that…

 

Anyway, I think if your instinct does not work, perhaps the best way to judge it is that if the meaning of the expression is similar to the verb itself, it is a prepositional verb eg. I believe in love; whilst if it is completely different e.g. I turned down the offer, it is a phrasal verb.

 

 

I think I´m gonna print this post to study it later... I´m sick now and can´t concentrate....

 

[sariflor]

I have never read that in any grammar book.

Are you sure this person used the term 'grammatically correct' and was not thinking about 'Shut up' and 'F*** off' instead? ()

 

In theory it would make sense for prepositions not to end sentences because by definition, they are meant to be placed before nouns and pronouns. However, expressions like ’take it off’ or ’turn them on’ as well as sentences like ”She didn’t like the child she was looking after” or "I watched the plane take off" seem to contradict this theory.

 

The answer is that ’off’ in ’take it off’ and ’on’ in ’turn them on’ are not prepositions but adverbs and these multi-word verbs are not prepositional verbs but phrasal verbs.

 

Siu’s explanation was correct: when phrasal verbs are transitive (i.e. have a direct object), we can separate the two parts, so both ’take off your shirt’ and ’take your shirt off’ are correct. However, when we use such phrasal verb with a pronoun you must separate the verb from the adverb and insert the pronoun between the two parts (e.g. ’take it off’)

 

 

One more point to add for non-native speakers: there are verb+preposition type of multi-word verbs (prepositional verbs) that also take a direct object but for these expressions you must keep the preposition right after the verb even when used with pronouns. So 'look after him' and 'look after the child' are the only correct forms, you can’t separate the preposition from the verb.

 

So how do you distinguish a transitive phrasal verb from a prepositional verb? You use your instinct if you can separate the adverb / preposition from the verb… ’Take off your shirt’ and ’take your shirt off’ are both correct , so it is a phrasal verb. However, ’look after the child’ is the only way to say it correctly, so it is a prepositional verb… Basically, it seems to be a catch 22 since not even all native speakers seem to be able to do that…

 

Anyway, I think if your instinct does not work, perhaps the best way to judge it is that if the meaning of the expression is similar to the verb itself, it is a prepositional verb eg. I believe in love; whilst if it is completely different e.g. I turned down the offer, it is a phrasal verb.

 

 

Wow, fantastic post

[sienna]

I have never read that in any grammar book.

Are you sure this person used the term 'grammatically correct' and was not thinking about 'Shut up' and 'F*** off' instead? ()

 

In theory it would make sense for prepositions not to end sentences because by definition, they are meant to be placed before nouns and pronouns. However, expressions like ’take it off’ or ’turn them on’ as well as sentences like ”She didn’t like the child she was looking after” or "I watched the plane take off" seem to contradict this theory.

 

The answer is that ’off’ in ’take it off’ and ’on’ in ’turn them on’ are not prepositions but adverbs and these multi-word verbs are not prepositional verbs but phrasal verbs.

Siu’s explanation was correct: when phrasal verbs are transitive (i.e. have a direct object), we can separate the two parts, so both ’take off your shirt’ and ’take your shirt off’ are correct. However, when we use such phrasal verb with a pronoun you must separate the verb from the adverb and insert the pronoun between the two parts (e.g. ’take it off’)

 

 

One more point to add for non-native speakers: there are verb+preposition type of multi-word verbs (prepositional verbs) that also take a direct object but for these expressions you must keep the preposition right after the verb even when used with pronouns. So 'look after him' and 'look after the child' are the only correct forms, you can’t separate the preposition from the verb.

 

So how do you distinguish a transitive phrasal verb from a prepositional verb? You use your instinct if you can separate the adverb / preposition from the verb… ’Take off your shirt’ and ’take your shirt off’ are both correct , so it is a phrasal verb. However, ’look after the child’ is the only way to say it correctly, so it is a prepositional verb… Basically, it seems to be a catch 22 since not even all native speakers seem to be able to do that…

 

Anyway, I think if your instinct does not work, perhaps the best way to judge it is that if the meaning of the expression is similar to the verb itself, it is a prepositional verb eg. I believe in love; whilst if it is completely different e.g. I turned down the offer, it is a phrasal verb.

 

Wow, Suzie, impressing research!

 

I know it's necessary and important to know about grammar but I could never summon the energy to dig as deep. I prefer to trust 'my feeling' for the English language, and of course I get it wrong many times but in comparison it will have to do.(to serve)

I learn by reading books and magazines and on the Internet and watching movies without subtexts and when I have the opportunity, talk and listen to people!

And asking millions of questions in this tread of course!

[suzie]

Wow, Suzie, impressing research!

 

I know it's necessary and important to know about grammar but I could never summon the energy to dig as deep.

 

I did not have to dig deep, I studied it and even taught it ages ago

It is not difficult for me at all - once you understand the rules there is no way you forget them or get it wrong.

 

I wish I had similar affinity to parts of the job I currently get paid for

Edited March 21, 2011 by suzie

[AnnaMariaPetra]

What is a buzzsaw?

I understand it's some kind of saw but.....

 

edit: found it: http://www.google.nl/images?hl=nl&rlz=1T4ASUT_nlNL419NL420&q=buzz+saw&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1345&bih=523

Edited March 31, 2011 by AnnaMariaPetra

[Yuna]

what is difference between 'gig' and 'concert' ?

in Korea ppl use the word 'concert' much more than the word 'gig'. but it seems that native speakers use the word 'gig' when talking about the 'popstar' or 'rockstar' show. (classical show is definitly 'concert' ..I think...'

Mika also use the word 'gig' when talking about his show....but in Korea he also said like 'for my concert blah blah...' thing to me ..that's so confusing thing!

so anyone could make it clear for me?