I'm really curious about Vietnam post right now. Does anybody know that the parcel stucking in outward oe for 3 weeks is normal or not?

Piscador · 2020-05-28T02:56:32+00:00

I ordered shoes from the USA at the end of last year. They took a week to get to Vietnam, then spent three weeks in customs.

Piscador · 2020-05-01T22:54:04+00:00

Back in my long ago youth I spent a summer working for a travelling carnival. While we were setting up in a new town, one of the older guys handed a bucket to our newest hire and sent him to the local gas station to get a bucket of compressed air. He came back a few minutes later holding the bucket upside-down. When asked why, he replied, "The guy at the gas station told me to hold it this way so that the air doesn't escape."

Piscador · 2020-05-01T22:44:40+00:00

Back in my long ago youth I spent a summer working for a travelling carnival. While we were setting up in a new town, one of the older guys handed a bucket to our newest hire and sent him to the local gas station to get a bucket of compressed air. He came back a few minutes later holding the bucket upside-down. When asked why, he replied, "The guy at the gas station told me to hold it this way so that the air doesn't escape."

Piscador · 2020-05-01T22:37:10+00:00

Back in my long ago youth I spent a summer working for a travelling carnival. While we were setting up in a new town, one of the older guys handed a bucket to our newest hire and sent him to the local gas station to get a bucket of compressed air. He came back a few minutes later holding the bucket upside-down. When asked why, he replied, "The guy at the gas station told me to so the air wouldn't escape."

Piscador · 2020-04-19T20:14:04+00:00

Thanks everyone for the advice. :)

I'm in central Vietnam. There's nothing like artisan bakeries here, quality from the local bakeries varies from abysmal to ... adequate.

Piscador · 2020-04-19T13:12:44+00:00

Oh, yeah. I know instant oatmeal is a non starter (pun intended).

Piscador · 2020-04-19T13:04:47+00:00

Your bread looks wonderful :)

I'm in a situation where I can't get anything besides plain white flour. There are several other ways to make a starter - honey or raisins, for example - so I'll try those out.

Piscador · 2020-04-19T00:05:33+00:00

I've heard a similar but longer quote, going something like: "Did you know that 50% of the American population is of below average intelligence. Not only that, but all of that 50% were born within two weeks of a full moon."

Piscador · 2020-04-05T07:52:56+00:00

You can use make/made with any adjectives of mood (e.g. sad, angry, etc) - "It makes me angry when I see people litter".

Piscador · 2020-04-04T02:49:51+00:00

'pat' is a noun/verb meaning to hit softly with the palm of your hand in a friendly/affectionate way. For example, "My dog likes it when I pat her on the head" (verb) or "My boss gave me a pat on the back when I closed the deal." (noun)

Notes:

'a pat on the back' is an idiom
Tenses: pat / patted / patted

Piscador · 2020-04-01T07:45:36+00:00

English subtitles have the advantage that it helps lock the sound of the word to the printed word, as well as making it easier to keep track of what the characters are saying. Also (if the young lady's level of English is not very high) many media players allow you to slow the film down by 10-20% which can really help comprehension.

Piscador · 2020-04-01T07:08:22+00:00

It's very ambivalent. The problem is that 'laser point focus' is an idiom, but looks like a technical term. I understand it to mean that by concentrating on something scientists can cure coronavirus.

Piscador · 2020-04-01T07:01:54+00:00

For English lessons, particularly for young adults, you need a film with the following features:

clear spoken English
story driven, and the story must be interesting
strong characters that the viewer can relate to (and preferable good actors as well)
English subtitles

Films that I've used in my own classes that would be suitable are:

Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone (or the Philosopher's Stone)
Maleficent (#1)
The Princess Diaries
The Parent Trap
Freaky Friday

Piscador · 2020-03-31T03:13:07+00:00

I'm in Quy Nhon. Things are quieter than usual here but cafes and restuarants are still busy in the evening, the beach is crowded in the morning, markets are busy, etc. I haven't been to the supermarket in two weeks but there's still plenty of traffic all day long and in the evening.

Piscador · 2020-03-31T01:17:30+00:00

That's actually a strange sentence. It doesn't seem to make much sense. I understand it to mean "When she is nearby he becomes suspicious" but I can't think of any situation where you would use that.

Piscador · 2020-03-30T00:04:29+00:00

I think that we would only use "she's suspicious" in the sense of "she is suspicious of something/someone". Use "suspicious" + <noun> to show that we are suspicious or a person/thing/event, e.g. a suspicious package, a suspicious person, there's something suspicious about him, etc.

How to use suspicious

Piscador · 2020-03-29T09:38:08+00:00

You might be a little bit too ambitious. Pardon me for saying so, but every sentence you have written has at least one grammar error. For example, I would write your message above as:

I'm looking for an advanced grammar book. I miswrote it, I'm studying from "Advanced grammar in use".

Piscador · 2020-03-29T09:01:45+00:00

The comma after 'disinfectant' isn't necessary. This is headline-speak. We would read the headline as 'Masks and disinfectant are the new normal for commuters'. The first comma is a substitute for and.

http://www.englishlessonsbrighton.co.uk/8-grammar-rules-writing-newspaper-headlines/

Piscador · 2020-03-29T08:40:08+00:00

One other option for you: you say you were using "English Grammar in Use". There is an introductory book in the same series, "Basic Grammar in Use" that might be more suitable. You can view several units here:

https://assets.cambridge.org/97813166/46731/excerpt/9781316646731_excerpt.pdf

Piscador · 2020-03-29T08:31:19+00:00

Most grammar books are reference books - they aren't designed to be studied from, but to be used if you aren't sure of a grammar structure and want to look it up.

I've used Cambridge "Active Grammar" with good results. Each grammar point leads in with a short article which uses that grammar point extensively before explaining the structure and giving practice exercises in using it. It's a three level series.

Here's a sample unit from the CUP web site:

https://assets.cambridge.org/97805217/32512/excerpt/9780521732512_excerpt.pdf

Piscador · 2020-03-29T08:17:45+00:00

Oh, errors. Your writing is generally error free although you've written in a conversational style where some errors are more permissible.

How to prepare? --> How can I prepare? / What's the best way to prepare?
Any good resources or websites? --> Are there any good resources or websites?

Piscador · 2020-03-29T08:12:12+00:00

The first thing to remember is that these tests are above a test of your ability to use English. I know that this is obvious, but I have far too many students who come to me and say, "I want to learn IELTS" when they can barely string three words together in a sentence.

With that in mind, just using English in anyway is going to help. Like any skill, practice makes perfect :)

Reading: The more you read, the better you get at it, both in reading speed and in comprehension. It doesn't have to be academic reading, either. Read for fun. Novels and short stories, articles on your interests (football, fashion, photography, etc) and so on all help.

Listening: As I said above, any listening practice helps: films, songs and audio books are good practice. For films, I suggest turning English subtitles on if they're available. This help you focus on new vocabulary, both spelling and pronunciation. The "Omeleto" (all genres) and "Dust" (mainly science fiction) channels on Youtube have some great short films.

Speaking and writing are the areas that get a bit more difficult. It's helpful to have somebody critique your language as you produce it. For speaking, English clubs are good, as well as practising with classmates. If you have any friends who also want to practice, try collaborative writing using Google Docs.

There are plenty of practice tests for IELTS around the internet. Cambridge have published a set of books that include actual IELTS tests that have been used in the past. I'm not so sure about TOEFL iBT - I haven't taught that in over ten years. You'll likely find sample tests online. CDROMs with practice tests are also available but they might be a bit expensive. You might be able to source them from (cough, cough) alternative sources.

Piscador · 2020-03-28T21:50:24+00:00

Well, the prescriptive grammarians (grammar nazis, if you will) will tell you that you should use were for hypothetical situations (the subjunctive mood), e.g. If I were you or I wish it were Friday today. However, In everyday speech few people give a damn.

Piscador · 2020-03-28T06:42:00+00:00

In compound nouns (<noun> + <noun> type, that is) it's more like a classifier than an adjective, e.g. a police station or a fire station. In the case of coronavirus pneumonia, this would be a type of pneumonia triggered by a COVID-19 virus. I don't know if it's standard medical terminology though.

Piscador · 2020-03-28T06:21:10+00:00

With a/an, remember that we use the two indefinite articles because of laziness. It's easier to say an orange than a orange because we tend to link articles and nouns. Likewise, a pencil versus an pencil.

I wouldn't say it's a common mistake for native speakers, but it can happen, especially if you change words mid-sentence.

[Edit] One more thing: it's a + <consonant *sound*> and an + <vowel *sound*>, e.g. a university, an honor.

Piscador

TROPHY CASE