Category: Hear it, Say it, Write it !

Posted in Notes on English Cross Cultural Comments Hear it, Say it, Write it ! Popular sayings, proverbs & quotes

“April showers bring May flowers”

Global warming or not …. here’s a … springtime saying:

April showers bring May flowers.

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Posted in Notes on English Cross Cultural Comments Hear it, Say it, Write it ! homonyms

I didn’t hear you.

I didn’t hear you

I hear you.

Just one short verb to express so much. Hear. Pronounced just like its homonym: here.

I hear you. I understand what you’re saying …

and I’m paying attention to WHAT you’re saying. It has not only reached my ears … it’s reached my … reason. I’m taking what you’re saying into consideration.

Famous people have said this at some point in their political careers when they’re forced to listen!

Others might be … a little hard of hearing and say this:

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18022a1.mp3|titles=I didn’t hear you]

and when it comes to the latest news … or gossip:

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18022e1.mp3|titles=Have you heard]

and when we finally meet … one of us just might say :

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18022c1.mp3|titles=I’ve heard so much about you]

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Posted in Notes on English Cross Cultural Comments Hear it, Say it, Write it ! Keywords Online Language Resources for English

saying … telling … speaking … talking …

Four verbs we “do” every day. Probably because we do these things a lot !! Four verbs describing one of our favorite activities. I’ll just leave it to each reader’s imagination for the others.

You might expect me to immediately go into the differences … but I’d like to touch on some common uses of “say” first.

“What can I say?”   (Que veux-tu que je te dise ?)

“Do you know what I’m saying?”

Tu me comprends?

“What would you say if . . .?”

Que diriez-vous si…       Que dirais-tu si …

“I can’t say for sure.”

Je ne peux rien affirmer. Je ne peux pas te le confirmer (avec certitude).

“Say when.”

“Arretez-moi.”

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Posted in Notes on English Hear it, Say it, Write it ! homonyms

homonyms = when words sound the same!

Listen to these:

nyms … like names, (comme “noms”) “homo” like the same.

just a refresher first:

homonyms are words which sound the same.
homonyms are words which sound the same but which mean different things.
homonyms are words which sound the same, have different meanings and are spelled differently.

“I” as in “I am” has the same pronunciation as “eye” as in “The one-eyed man is king among the blind.”

too bad … ? working too much?

If you’re interested in nyms … there are also … antonyms, synonyms, hypernyms, all kinds of nyms!

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Posted in Notes on English Hear it, Say it, Write it !

Who can count? Who knows about cause and effect? Maybe we’re not as smart as we think we are …

What students know and can do: student performance in reading, mathematics and science. (around the world)

Did you see the OECD statistics on education? Shanghai’s got everyone beat … I wonder why …

Do you think this could have anything to do with it?  … Listen to this (You’ve got to double-click …)

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex202261.mp3|titles=they never get up before noon…]

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Posted in Notes on English Hear it, Say it, Write it ! Online Language Resources for English

Expression of the day = “Gimme five!”

When you meet a friend … this is one of the things you might say and DO!

“Gi’ m Faiv”  “Gimme five”  or literally:  “Give me 5”

This is what it sounds like : [audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/EX18013A.mp3|titles=Gimme five]

and it means:

=  Tope-là !

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Posted in Cross Cultural Comments Hear it, Say it, Write it ! Online Language Resources for English Popular sayings, proverbs & quotes

There’s e.t.a., eta, ETA and E.T.A. …

When S. used the abbreviation “e.t.a.” the other day, it took me a minute to catch on.
“What’s your “e.t.a.?” she asked her mom on the phone.

Well over in France and in Spain, those initials refer to a Basque separatist movement.

In travel-intensive North America, it does not, to my knowledge, refer to a secessionist tendency.

It does have to do with time, though_

“What’s your e.t.a.?”
“Between 12 and 12:30” … That’s to say, just in time for lunch.

E.T.A. =  Estimated Time of Arrival

A fine substitute for “What time do you think you’ll get here?”

For the others, try wikipedia …

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Posted in Cross Cultural Comments Hear it, Say it, Write it ! Keywords

How odd … 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 … odd numbers, aren’t they?

This is a remarkable word … odd … How odd!

We often use it in the same way as the French use the word “bizarre” … How strange! How unusual! How funny! How peculiar! How unexpected … How odd it is!

What an odd thing to say …

And here’s another … obviously everyday way of using it …

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Posted in Cross Cultural Comments Expressions Hear it, Say it, Write it ! Idiomatic Expressions

Answers to the Listening Bee: October 8, 2010

 
       
         
  1. “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
  2. Nothing hurts like the truth.”
  3. “Let’s get down to business
  4. “Keep smiling!”

5.  “I’ve got to run now”

  1. ” The rest is history.”
     

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Posted in Notes on English Hear it, Say it, Write it ! Online Language Resources for English

just one letter from the alphabet: “s”

and it make … S all the difference in the world … when we hear it pronounced.

It gives the plural of millions of wordZ  …  except feet and mice and geese …

AND

It is PRONOUNCED with present tense verbs with subjects like “he” … “she” and “it” …

This is the letter that make…S the difference!    Try it … You just might like it …

Listen to this …

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex22019.mp3|titles=s as in snake]

then this;

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/mf22019.mp3|titles=s s ess]

and … in context:

[audio:http://test.paris-savannah.com/wp-content/uploads/ex18044b1.mp3|titles=Love makes the world go round]

If you’re interested in the English language as it’s spoken today … subscribe to the Paris Savannah Connection.

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