"When words are scarce, they are seldom spent in vain"

William Shakespeare




28 de jul. de 2012

Peter gets in the office where he works and notices that Sally and Pamela are LAUGHING THEIR HEADS OFF.


PETER: Why are you laughing your heads off?
SALLY: Because Pamela has just told me that her boyfriend bought her a pink polka dot bikini.
PETER: I can't believe it!!! LOL (laughing out loud)
PAMELA: Oh no! Even Peter is laughing his head off now.


If you LAUGH YOUR HEAD OFF, you laugh a lot, loudly. When was the last time you laughed your head off?

TO SHOOT THE BREEZE


Peter enjoys shooting the breeze with his friends, especially on Sunday afternoons.


So, if you shoot the breeze, you:


a. take a gun to hunt animals in the breeze.
b. talk to someone about important things.
c. talk to someone or a group of people about unimportant things.


...
...
...


If you chose letter C, you're right!




How do you like shooting the breeze?

22 de jul. de 2012

TO ACHE FOR SOMETHING / SOMEONE


Sally is into a guy she met some weeks ago at a disco. She is talking to Betty about him:


BETTY: So, what does he look like?
SALLY: He's tall and well-built. He has short dark hair and blue eyes. He's so cute!
BETTY: He seems to be a good catch.
SALLY: And I can't stop thinking of him! I don't know how to make him ache for me.
BETTY: Oh no! You are in love with this guy.
SALLY: Stop it! I'm not!
BETTY: So why do your eyes shine with delight when you talk about him?




If you ACHE FOR something or someone, it means that you want it or you want this person very much.


How about you? Are you aching for love?

TO STRIKE UP A CONVERSATION


What happens if you strike up a conversation with someone? Do you:


a) finish a conversation?
b) start a conversation?
c) break a conversation?



If your answer is letter B, you are right. If you STRIKE UP A CONVERSATION, you start a conversation with someone.

20 de jul. de 2012

A CLOSET GAY

Sally and Janet are talking about Marcus, a guy who works with them.

JANET: Oh boy, he's so handsome, isn't he?
SALLY: He sure is, but there's something I need to tell you.
JANET: Spill the beans!
SALLY: Peter and I think he's gay.
JANET: Marcus? Gay? I don't think so. Besides, he acts like a real man.
SALLY: I don't know. He may be a closet gay. He is never seen with any girls and he's always hanging out with Tom.
JANET: Really?


If a guy, for instance, hasn't come out of the closet yet, he's a CLOSET GAY.

All conversations from this blog are written by André Fernandes - 2012
BOOKWORM

Peter meets Joshua at the bookstore.

PETER: Hey Joshua, how are you man?
JOSHUA: Hey Peter, I'm fine. How are you?
PETER: I'm doing fine. Boy, are you buying all these books?
JOSHUA: Yeah! You know, I love reading.
PETER: You're a real bookworm. Every time I see you, you are either buying books or borrowing them from the library.


Do you read a lot? If yes, you are a BOOKWORM.




THAT'S A RIP-OFF!

Sally and Peter went shopping this morning in order to buy a gift for Sally's best friend. While they were window-shopping, something drew their attention:


SALLY: What? $89.99 for a Justin Bieber's CD? That's a complete rip-off!
PETER: Spare me!

If something is a RIP-OFF, it means that it is not worth what you pay for it. It's too expensive!


19 de jul. de 2012

18 de jul. de 2012

TO BE IN THE BLACK / IN THE RED


PETER: Wow! I've just checked my bank statement and I'm in the black.
SALLY: Lucky you! I'm in the red. I'm screwed.






As you can see, Peter is in the black, so he has money in the bank.










As for Sally, she is in the red, so she owes money to the bank. Shame on her!







And you, are you in the black or in the red???
Sally broke up with her boyfriend a couple of weeks ago because she found out he was cheating on her. She promised herself she would never speak to him again. Then... 

PETER: Hey, what happened?
SALLY: I was on my way to work when I ran across that jerk.
PETER: Who? Michael?
SALLY: Yeah! 
PETER: Did he talk to you?
SALLY: Of course not! I cut him dead.



Have you ever cut someone dead? Why?

When you CUT SOMEONE DEAD, you pretend you don't know this person in order to show that you are angry.

Definition taken from CAMBRIDGE ONLINE DICTIONARY.
All conversations from this blog are written by André Fernandes.
Do you write emails in English every day? If you work in a big company, for instance, how do you usually thank your clients while you are emailing them?


You will find in this article the TOP TEN WAYS TO SAY "THANK YOU" in an English email. Check this out:

13 de jul. de 2012

TO GO DUTCH

Have you ever gone dutch? I bet you have! Whenever Sally and Peter eat out, they go dutch.

For instance:

AT A RESTAURANT

SALLY: This spaghetti with meatballs was yummy!
PETER: Yes, it was. Time to go!
SALLY: Alright. 
PETER: Waiter! Can we have the check, please?
WAITER: Of course. Wait a second.

(minutes later)

WAITER: Here you are.
SALLY: Thanks.
PETER: Let's go dutch, shall we?
SALLY: We always do that!





When you GO DUTCH, you share the cost of something, especially a meal. It's a great idea when you go out for lunch or dinner with a friend or a group of friends. 
WARNING: Boys, never do that when you ask a girl out on a date. Be a gentleman!

Conversations written by André Fernandes - 2012

12 de jul. de 2012

TO GET A TAN

Do you ever get a tan when you go to the beach? 

If you GET A TAN or A SUNTAN, your skin turns darker after being in the sun.


Sally and Peter goes to a restaurant near the office where they work. They decided to order something to drink, but something is wrong with Sally's drink. Let's check it out:

SALLY: Damn! My Coke is flat.
PETER: So why don't you complain to the waiter?
SALLY: Good idea! Hey waiter! Waiter! ...


It is really awful when our drink goes flat. FLAT describes a drink that stopped being fizzy. How about you? Do you like flat drinks? I don't think so.
GO IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER

Sally has a ten-year-old brother named Daniel. Everything she says to him goes in one ear and out the other.


So, when you hear something that GOES ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER, it means that you quickly forget it.

11 de jul. de 2012

REFRESHER COURSE
 
Sally speaks English very well, but she can't remember some words. She asks Peter for help. 

SALLY: Peter, help me please! I want to say something in English, but I can't remember. How do you say "a gota d'água"?
PETER: "The Last Straw".
SALLY: WOW! Thank you, dear!
PETER: My pleasure. By the way, how was your appointment with the dentist?
SALLY: Horrible! I had my....my....oh my gosh, how do you say "dente do siso"?
PETER: Easy! We say "wisdom tooth".
SALLY: True that! So I had one of my wisdow tooth out.
PETER: That's awful!
SALLY: Yes, it is. Well, I guess I need to take a refresher course immediately.
PETER: That sounds like a good idea.


A REFRESHER COURSE is a course to practise and improve skills, especially because you have not used them for a long time.

Definition taken from CAMBRIDGE ONLINE DICTIONARY
Dialogues written by André Fernandes - 2012.
TEACHERS, this question is for you: How important are SLANG & IDIOMS in language learning? Do you teach them in your classes?

STUDENTS, this one is for you: How do you like learning SLANG & IDIOMS in your classes?

I found a very interesting article about it. It's really worth reading:

LINK: http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/how-important-are-slang-and-idioms-in-language-learning/

10 de jul. de 2012

Do you want to study English?

I recommend:

RED BALLOON => The best English course for kids and teens

http://redballoon.com.br/

BK IDIOMAS => Excellence in Portuguese and English courses

http://bkidiomas.com.br/

SKILL IDIOMAS => Vila Matilde

http://skillvilamatilde.com.br/

Sally is really worried because something happened to her check.

BANK MANAGER: Ms. Benson, I'm calling to inform you that the bank bounced your check.
SALLY: What? I can't believe it! My check bounced again?


If your check bounced, it means that it was not accepted by the bank because there was no money in your account. 
Sally went shopping spree last month and probably forgot to deposit the money in her bank account. We all hope she doesn't forget to do that next time.
Peter and Sally were talking about their favorite sports last night. While they were talking, Susan asked him a question. Let's check it out:

PETER: I love hockey. It's my favorite sport.
SALLY: Really? How often do you play hockey?
PETER: Once in a blue moon.


ONCE IN A BLUE MOON means not very often, very rarely.

And you? How often do you practice sports??? Once in a blue moon???

Would you like to learn some common idioms in English? So, let's kick it off!!!

RING A BELL

If something such as a name or a description rings a bell, it sounds familiar.

For instance:


PETER: Sally, do you know Marie Fredriksson?
SALLY: Marie Fredriksson? Her name rings a bell, but I can't remember who she is.
PETER: She's the lead singer of Roxette.
SALLY: Oh, yeah! Now I remember.