It's all about the money

Here we are in the freezing cold December. To divert you out of this unpleasant weather conditions, I intend to improve your vocabulary related to money. You know two weeks ago I wrote an entry on the song Price Tag by Jessie J. I thought it would be a fantastic idea to complement that entry with one dealing with money vocabulary. Here we go !

Actions related to money

- Pay IN cash.

- Pay BY credit card .

- Lend money TO someone = give money to someone

- Borrow money FROM someone = receive money FROM someone.

- You owe money to someone when you’re in debt / have got into debt. You have to pay them back.

- Pay FOR something.

- Save money (put money aside)

- Inherit money from a loved one who died

- You spend money ON  things, but invest money IN the stock market.

- When you spend a lot of money on useless things, you waste money or SPLASH OUT money.

- You take money out of a cash machine / ATM or you withdraw money from a cash machine / ATM

- You can’t afford to buy something when you don’t have enough money.

- That computer costs / is worth €500. / In the shop, they charged me € for that computer.

- Volunteers raise money for a charity / an NGO. You can also donate money.

- Every month, you earn your salary (not win).

- Make ends meet = get to the end of the month

- Get by with €200 a month (manage to live on that money).

- You can live off a person (teenagers usually live off their parents)

- You can live on a salary.

- You can buy/ purchase things by using money. You can exchange money for goods and you can shop FOR things.

- In some countries it is compulsory to tip the waiters.

- If you are an entrepreneur, you make money. 

Adjectives related to money

- You can be wealthy / rich / loaded (informal)

- You can be well-off (and have no problems related to money) / in the black

- You can be poor / broke/ penniless / in the red

- You can be a charitable person (generous) or you can be mean / tight-fisted / stingy/ cautious with money.

- You can be a spender or a saver.

- If you waste money, you are spendthrift or extravagant.

- Articles can be expensive / pricey or cheap / inexpensive. Really cheap articles are bargains. In some countries like Egypt you need to bargain to get your products.

Nouns related to money

- You can open a bank account and deposit your savings. To use it you can withdraw it from a cash machine / ATM or  take out money from your account. You can also keep your savings in a money box or in a piggy bank.

- If you have a lot of expenses, you’ll need to try and save your money.

- If you live in a city you have to pay taxes like VAT (Value Added Tax).

- Children usually receive pocket money.

- The money of a country is the currency, for example, in Spain, the currency is Euro, in the UK is the pound… Money includes coins and notes.

- When you don’t have money, you can ask the bank for a loan. If that loan is to buy a house, that is called mortgage. If you don't pay your mortgage installments, you'll get evicted. 

- You have a certain amount of money.

- Gratuities / tips are not included in some countries.

- You have to pay the bill every time you go to a restaurant. In America, the bill is the check.

- When you want to take something back to the shop, you need the receipt. They will offer you a refund.

- To rent a house, you need to pay a deposit.

- When you want someone to do some repairs at home, you must ask for a budget first, that is, the total amount of money that person thinks will cost the repairs.

- The price tag is the paper where you can see the price of an item.

IDIOMS RELATED TO MONEY

 

- To be in the red : When you have less than 0 euros in your bank account (bankruptcy). The opposite is to be in the black. 

- To be a soft touch : Be overly generous with money. My father used to be a soft touch. every time I asked him money, he would give it to me. 

- If you pay peanuts you get monkeys : It means that if you buy inexpensive things, you will get a useless product. You have to pay the right value of things.

- Foot the bill : In informal English, that means 'pay the bill'. 

- Go on a shopping spree  : To but things compulsively
- Be shopaholic : Be addicted to shopping

Well, you know money is important in life but don't let that cloud your judgement. Try to enjoy life without thinking too much of financial problems ! Please, post comments with more expressions and vocab related to money that you find interesting. 

Meet... the US currency

Are you one of the luckiest people with 5 days off this week ? In any case, I'm spending one of these days to write another post about money. As you know, some weeks ago, I wrote an entry on money vocab and another one related to the song : The Price Tag by Jessie J. Today I'm writing an entry about the US currency. I chose to write an entry about this given that US currency is quite interesting and there are many words to refer to the different US coins or notes. Do you know them all ? Let's see : 

As you know, the US currency is the dollar and as usual US dollars are divided into coins and banknotes. Let's start by analyzing coins :

1. Penny : A penny is worth one cent and it is the smallest dollar unit. You can't practically buy anything with a cent. 

2. Nickel : A nickel is the five-cent coin. It receives this name because it is made of nickel (only 25%).

3. Dime : A dime is the American ten-cent coin. It is the smallest coin in diametre. It is called dime because it refers to the tenth part of a dollar. 

4. Quarter : A quarter is a coin worth 25 cents, that is a quarter of a dollar.

5. Half dollar : A half dollar has a value of 50 cents.

6. Dollar coin : It is quite a strange coin, given that one-dollar currency is represented by means of a banknote and not a coin. It is a special coin for me, one that I cherish and treasure, as it's become a souvenir from my honeymoon to New York and a reminder of the happy moments I lived there !

Now, let's continue by showing US banknotes. There are seven notes in total, worth 1 dollar, 2 dollars, 5 dollars, 10 dollars, 20 dollars, 50 dollars and 100 dollars. Unlike in Spain, there are no 200-dollar or 500-dollar banknotes. 

Other quicks related to US currency and money

• Bucks : The word 'buck' ('bucks' in plural) is a synonym for dollar in informal English and is used a lot by American citizens. In the UK, however, they have pounds and in informal English they use the word 'quid' instead.

• How do you write and pronounce amounts of money ? Well, to write an amount in English, firstly, you have to write the symbol of the currency, then the total amount. However, if there are cents (or pence) involved, you must write them with a period (not a comma). To pronounce the price correctly you must follow three steps : 1) Firstly, you pronounce the number of dollars (or pounds, euros or other currency). 2) Secondly, you say name of the currency (it is not necessary if you are in the country where the currency is used); 3) Finally you pronounce the amount of cents / pence without saying the words 'cents' or 'pence'.

          $ 17.99 = seventeen (dollars) ninety-nine

• Other quirks about amounts of money : For normal people, big amounts of money are difficult to read and pronounce. So, in informal English, they read big amounts of money like dates, that is, in twos : 

         $1250 = twelve fifty dollars

   

         Besides, they use the word 'grand' instead of thousand.

        $20,000 = twenty grand

• US mottos : In the coins and banknotes of the US you can read some of the country's mottos.  E Pluribus Unum (out of many one) and In God We Trust, the former (out of many, one) indicating that out of thirteen colonies emerged a new nation, and the latter somehow illustrates the importance of religion for the Americans. 

Money in America could be quite interesting, don't you think? See you next week and remember that you can always post your comments, they'll be really appreciated!

London in the past and now

Girls don't like boys

An elephant in the fridge

Dear students,
imagine getting home after a long, tiring day at school. You feel like watching TV and playing video games. Suddenly, you feel thirsty and hungry and you go to the kitchen. You open the fridge door and you find... this !

Then, you see a note on the fridge. It is a note from your parents. Invent a story to complete the note 

Dear _______,

We are not going to be at home because we have to work. When you get back from school, you must know that there is a big elephant in the fridge. There is  a perfectly logical explanation for this…

Tuesday, 13th: good luck charms and bad luck bearers

Hello,

You need to be careful of Friday, 13th. In most countries, it is Friday, 13th (and not Tuesday, 13th) that brings bad luck. But what are the origins of this terrible day ?

On Friday, 13th, 1307, a group of knights from the Templar Order were hanged and they didn't say where their treasure was hidden. There were 13 steps to the noose. From that day on, bad luck for everyone.

Besides, on Friday, 13th, a computer virus affected a lot of computers in Great Britain, so it is not advisable to use computers on this day.

Bad things associated to Fridays

- Jesus Christ was crucified on Friday.

- Adam and Eve ate the forbidden apple on Friday and they died on Friday.

- In Medieval times, people and criminals were hanged on Fridays.

- It is bad luck to start something on Friday and to have a haircut that day.

Bad things associated to number 13

- Number of people in the Last Supper (12 Apostles and Jesus Christ).

- In tarot, this is associated to death.

- Chapter 13 in the Apocalypse is linked to the Antichrist and the Beast.
- In the past, people bought things by the dozen. Having twelve guests for dinner meant thirteen people and, therefore, one didn't have enough cuttlery and crockery for them.

Bad luck bearers

a) Walk under a ladder                    

     b) Black cats and bats

c) Break a mirror                            d) Opening an umbrella indoors

    

e) Hats on the bed                                 f) Shoes on the table

   

Good luck charms
1. Rabbit feet                                                 2. Horseshoes 

         

3.Ladybirds / ladybugs                          4. Four-leaf clovers

     

5. Finding a penny                                  6. Red underpants

              

Words and idioms associated to luck 

- Break a leg (good luck before acting in front of public)

- Knock on wood (people do this when they see a black cat)

- Bad luck comes in threes (when you are unlucky, a lot of things happen to you)

- Beginner's luck (when you are debutant you will have an unexplainable stream of good luck)

- To get up on the wrong foot / on the wrong side of the bed (when you have a bad day, it may be because of this).

- Stepping on a crack will break your mother's back; stepping on a line will break your mother's spine : This is why children play games when they never step on lines or cracks.

- Triskadeikaphobia : This word actually means 'fear to Friday, 13th'.

Did you learn something about Friday, 13th ? Post a comment and tell me how your day went. Did you have any accidents or problems with computers ? What is your favourite good luck charm or bad luck bearer ? Post your comments.

Love is in the air: vocabulary related to love and relationships

Well, folks, want it or not, St. Valentine's Day is about to arrive in town! Last year, I devoted two entries to this lovely festivity: one related to different ways to address your soulmate; and another one related to the history of St. Valentine. 
This year, I thought it might be a good idea to revise your vocab related to relationships! So, I'll be delving into some expressions that you can use when talking about relationships.

Expressions related to the beginning of a relationship



- Woo/court someone (=be courteous so to persuade that person to go out with you)
- Ask someone out (for a date)
- To strike up a relationship (=to begin)
-To be in a relationship
- I'm dating someone / I'm seeing someone/ I'm going out with someone 
- Have a blind date with someone you don't know / go on a date with someone
- Fall in love with someone / fall for someone / fancy someone / have a crush on someone.
- Flirt with someone / chat someone up (=when you try to find a partner). When you flirt with someone, you may be looking for a hook up / one night stand (nothing so serious) or for a steady relationship. If you are good at flirting with others you are considered to be a heart-breaker / a Romeo / a Casanova
- It was love at first sight.
- You can fall heads over heels in love (=love someone very ardently)

If you are interesting in passing to the next level (wedding, I mean), do not miss my entry on wedding vocab!

Expressions of love


- You can kiss your partner passionately
- You can hug each other / you can embrace someone
- You can cuddle someone
- You get along (=get on well)
- You can get on like a house on fire (=very well)
- You can hit it off (=become very good friends quickly)
- You can cheer someone up / you can cherish someone

Problems in a relationship

- You can argue / have a big argument / bicker over something
- You can have a big row/ quarrel
- You can fall out with your beloved (=argue and stop talking to her/him)
- You can fight like cat and dog.
- To break the other's heart (=to deeply disappoint someone)

Expressions related to the end of a relationship


They broke up / they split up
She dumped him only to find another man. 
A smooth breakup vs. a rough breakup
Get over a breakup
If you don't love the other person, it is better to end the relationship.
After breaking up with someone, that person becomes your ex.
We couldn't make sense













Well, do you have a Valentine to cherish this year? Have you got any interesting plans for next Wednesday? I hope so. Anyway, if you are into songs and want to practise your English over a song dealing with relationships, click on the link. 
I hope you have a great St. Valentine's day!

St, Valentine's history

Questions:

1) The Romans conquered Europe and parts of Asia and Africa because:

a) they were strong

b) they were rich

c) they were soldiers

2) The Emperor Claudius II didn't wanttheir soldiers to get married because:

a) he didn't like families

b) he thought families made soldiers soft and weak

c) families made soldiers lazy

3) St. Valentine:

a) married every soldier in the army

b) was in favour of the Emperor's law

c) helped soldiers in love to get married in secret

4) St. Valentine was sentenced to death:

a) because they didn't prey

b) because he insisted on marrying soldiers

c) because as soon as the emperor discovered his actions, he sentenced him to die

5) The jailer's daughter and St. Valentine fell in love:

a) at first sight

b) after he cured her blindness

c) after they had spent a long time together

6) From 14th February 270:

a) lots of people draw hearts

b) lovers write letters to their girlfriends

c) lovers sign their cards :'from your Valentine'

I choo choo choo choo choose you

St. Valentine's Day exercises

Dear students,
if you want to practise your  vocabulary on St. Valentine's Day, here you have the opportunity. Click on the links to practise your vocabulary of St. Valentine's
http://www.isabelperez.com/hotpot/reasonslove.htm
http://www.5minuteenglish.com/feb14.htm
http://www.slideshare.net/Santiprofe/saint-valentines-day-vocabulary

Different ways to address your lover in English

From : http://bestmessage.info/happy-valentines-day-2017/

Hello,

Next week is deemed to be the most romantic week of the year : bouquets of flowers, boxes of chocolates, romantic dinners,..Cupid is on the loose with his well-directed arrows. Are you lucky to have a significant other for next Tuesday ?

Well, I thought it might be a good idea to create a post with St. Valentine's vocabulary, you know, just for the sake of learning English. So let's begin :

1. Honey /  hon / hun : This probably makes reference to the sweetness of love or, for others, to the sickeningly sweet love. 

From : http://tumundografico.com/clipart/honey-clip-art.html

2. My other half / my best half 

From : https://theblackestrose.wordpress.com/2013/06/28/my-other-half/

3. My significant other

From : http://www.cafepress.com/+other-half-of-my-rainbow+stickers

4. Sweet pie / sweetie

From : https://www.flickr.com/photos/jelene/3202419693

5. Babe / baby / bae (Before Anyone Else) 

From : https://www.clipartsgram.com/baby-clipart-no-background-230

6. My (teddy) bear 

From : http://www.123greetings.com/events/hug_holiday/hug16.html

7. My (honey) bun

From : http://www.bellybytes.com/recipe/wholegrain/whole-grain33.html#.WJ73gFMrLIU

8. Darling / darl :

From : http://quoteaddicts.com/topic/i-love-you-darling/

9. Love

From : https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-you-my-love-card-gradient-grey-background-vector-illustration-image34888300

10. My soulmate 

From : http://www.krazyinlove.com/love/soulmate/page/29/

11. My everything 

From : https://www.zazzle.es/my+everything+pegatinas

12. Sweetheart

From : http://www.pictures88.com/comments/sweetheart/

13. Dearie :

From : https://memegenerator.net/instance/58774404

14. My true love 

From : http://quoteaddicts.com/topic/you-are-my-true-love/

15. My plus-one

From : http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/MjAxMi05NTlmMTRkZjE0YzE1YzRi

16. My Valentine

From : http://www.talkingballoons.com/trade/pre-printed_balloons.php

Well, at last I finished  this cheesy and lengthy post. How are you gonna spend your St. Valentine's Day  ? Do you use other 'nicknames' to address your partner that you'd like to share with us ? Anyway, if you don't have a partner yet, be patient. If you do, remember you must prove your love daily and not just on one single day. 

Have a nice St. Valentine's Day.

The Hall of Fame

Lyrics training version (click on the photo)