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A daily dose of new English words, grammar and phrases to speak fluently. Bot: @EnglishTipsandTools_bot
- druthers (noun) [plural ] [ˈdrʌðərz] - informal
- one's druthers
- if one had one's druthers / given one's druthers
['druther' - alteration of 'would rather']
#idiomatic_expressions
▶️ Verbs Followed by Gerunds OR Infinitives
✳️ can't bear + gerund OR to-infinitive ✅☑️
✴️ can't stand + gerund OR to-infinitive ✅☑️
#Grammar
⚪️ - blind someone with 📈📉📊
⚫️ - blind someone with science/technology 📡🌡🔬
#idiomatic_expressions
🔘 fat chance = slim chance
#idiomatic_expressions
🔘 fat chance = slim chance
#idiomatic_expressions
▶️ Passive voice 2/1
✳️ Present/Future Modals —> The passive form ➡️ modal + BE + past participle
✴️ Past Modals —> The passive form ➡️ modal + HAVE BEEN + past participle
#Grammar
💰 - avarice (noun) /ˈævərɪs/ - formal 💵💶💷
= insatiable greed for riches; inordinate, miserly desire to gain and hoard wealth
- avaricious (adj.) /ˌævəˈrɪʃəs/
#Vocabulary
✳️ an ordinary/average/regular Joe
= an ordinary man
#idiomatic_expressions
🖌🖍🖋 Punctuating Dialogue
- dialogue tags, actions, and/or thoughts ➡️ go outside of the quotation marks
#Grammar
▶️ - outgoing (adj.) - openly friendly and responsive : extroverted
~ His outgoing personality made him popular at school.
#Vocabulary
🆘🛠🔦💡🔍
- moral (noun, adj.) /ˈmɒrəl/
- morale (noun) /məˈrɑːl/
#Vocabulary
🐻🐼🐨 envelop (verb) vs envelope (noun) ✉️
- envelop (verb) /ɪnˈveləp/
- envelope (noun) /ˈenvələʊp/
#Vocabulary
📚📖🖌 Soliloquy vs Monologue
- soliloquy (noun) /səˈlɪləkwi/ (plural soliloquies)
- soliloquize (verb) /-kwaɪz/
- monologue (noun) /ˈmɒnəlɒɡ/ (also US monolog) (plural monologues also US monologs)
🖌 Verbs Followed by Gerunds OR Infinitives
➡️ can't bear - He [can't bear being] / [can't bear to be] alone.
➡️ can't stand - Nancy [can't stand working] / [can't stand to work] the late shift.
- the boondocks (noun) [plural] /ˈbuːndɒks/
- the boonies (noun) [plural] /ˈbuːniz/
#Vocabulary
✳️ vocation (noun) /vəʊˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/
✴️ avocation (noun) /ˌavəˈkeɪʃ(ə)n/
~ Mason regarded teaching as his vocation.
~ He's a professional musician, but his avocation is photography.
#Vocabulary
🔘 fat chance = slim chance
#idiomatic_expressions
🔘 fat chance = slim chance
#idiomatic_expressions
▶️ Passive voice 2/2
✳️ Present/Future Modals —> The passive form ➡️ modal + BE + past participle
✴️ Past Modals —> The passive form ➡️ modal + HAVE BEEN + past participle
#Grammar
👩💻 pull/tear your hair out 🙅🙅♂️
= to feel very worried or very annoyed about something
~ When they still weren't home by midnight, I was pulling my hair out.
#idiomatic_expressions
✂️ - be a cut above sy/sg = to be much better than someone or something else
~ a cut above the rest
~ a cut above average
~ This is a cut above the average Hollywood thriller.
#idiomatic_expressions
✒️✏️📝 Punctuation - quotations within quotations - double and single quotation marks
#Grammar
😁😎
✳️ - outgoing (adj.) - directed to an intended recipient; addressed and ready for posting:
~ outgoing mail
✴️ - incoming (adj.) - newly arrived or received:
~ incoming mail
#Vocabulary
🖌 - 'Morale' (noun) means the general attitude usually of a group of people.
🖋 - 'Moral' (noun) means the lesson learned from a story or a situation.
#Grammar
#Vocabulary
💠 The four main kinds of conditionals 💠 ☕️
#Grammar
📖 - on paper / look good on paper = in theory 📝
~ I think your plan only works on paper.
~ This automotive design looks really good on paper.
#idiomatic_expressions
🖌
- If 'LIKE' is in the NEGATIVE, a GERUND refers to an action that we DO but don't enjoy doing,
while a TO-INFINITIVE means that we DON'T DO something because we don't think it right to do.
#Grammar