Many of you know that you can use “will” or “be going to do something” for the future, but do you know that you can use the regular present progressive for the future as well?
For example:
What are you doing tonight?
I’m staying at home and reading a book.
The only rule is you have to have some kind of time to show that it’s in the short term future, like “tonight”. It doesn’t have to be exact.
Watch the following blog post and send me any questions.
Okay, men, if you really want to watch, you can, but be warned, you may get grossed out (feel disgusted, feel sick in your stomach). This blog post is about when a woman gets her period (menstruates) in America.
Partial Transcript
Today we’re going to talk about “getting your period” (time of menstruation/bleeding).
Yes. I’m wearing my red jacket for this occasion (for this talk, this special event, this situation).
“Getting your period” means when a woman bleeds every month.
Okay, guys, you can turn it off. I know this is stuff you don’t want to hear.
If you’re in another country and you’ve got your period, you need to know what to say and how to say it. You can say, “She’s on the rag.” (She has her period, She’s bleeding.)
The time before she gets her period, that’s called “PMS” (pre-menstrual syndrome - the week before the bleeding starts when hormones change and can cause mood changes, fluctuations in emotion.
You can say, “I’m PMSing now.” (But Kim’s Note to Guys - Don’t tell a woman she’s PMSing or she might kill you.)
Or… “I think my period’s about to come. I feel like shit.” (I feel terrible.) Let’s say (Imagine), you are in a bathroom in America and EMERGENCY,you don’t have a tampon or a pad (napkin).
Sometimes women will ask one another, “Hey, do you have a tampon? Do you have any napkins? Do you have a pad?”
Even though there is a taboo (a barrier against talking or discussing something) … that’s why I’m talking to you about this.
If you have an emergency, women are pretty understanding (quite understanding) in America.
No one is going to say, “I’m so offended (insulted) that you asked me that.”
They’ll say, “Oh gosh, I don’t.” or “Let me ask my sister.” We tend to help each other out. (to tend to do something = to usually do something)
Don’t get offended (insulted, hurt, upset) if someone uses the word “fucking” in front of you. It could be a way of saying they like you. The word “fuck” doesn’t have to be bad. It depends how someone says it and if it’s used as an adjective, a verb or a noun.
Bad:
You are a fuck up. (You are a loser.)
Fuck you. (I hate you. Leave me alone. I’m angry at what you said.)
Good:
I fucking love this. (I really love this.)
I’m so fucking excited. (I’m really excited.)
Watch and ask me any questions you have!
Partial Transcript
I don’t want you to get embarrassed.
Those dogs were fucking on the street. (having sex, doing it)
It could be when they are really happy, really excited about something.
There is a lot of swearing that goes on here. (saying bad words)
I went to Pinkberry. These icecream treats are fucking amazing. (really amazing)
It’s really amazing. Really great.
I’m so fucking pissed off. You make your word ‘pissed off’ even stronger. (angry)
I’m going to fucking to kill you.
You make it stronger.
I’m not going to fucking sleep all night.
I’m just trying to emphasize it. (to make it stronger)
Hello everyone,
I’m sorry I haven’t posted for a while. I’m on vacation in Canada right now and after that, I’ll be moving with my family to New York, so just stick with me (stay with me, keep watching)! I’ll try to post once a week during this transition!
For now, I want to tell you a little bit about my trip to help you with the vocabulary of traveling. One quick note on spelling: In America, traveling is spelled with one L. In Canada and Great Britain, it’s spelled with two Ls. The original spelling is of course the British/Canadian one; however, when in Rome… (The expression “when in Rome…” means that when you are in a place, you should do things as the people do in that place.) The rule in America is if the stress of a word is on the first syllable, you don’t need to double the consonant of the last letter of the second syllable even if it contains a soft vowel sound.
Anyway, about my trip… I’m on vacation in Canada. (Note - many people have a problem with this expression. They forget to use ‘on’ and they use ‘in’ or something else.) I’m in Nanaimo, British Columbia right now. I plan to take the Clipper ferry in a couple days over to Seattle to visit the American part of our family, my husband’s dad, stepmom and brother. After that, I’ll be heading back (I’ll be returning) to LA to start packing for New York. So, I’ll do a few more posts from LA and then I’ll be posting from the Big Apple. (New York)
I will try to add more transcripts while I’m on vacation.
In the ten years I’ve lived in Los Angeles, I’ve always been amazed at people who work in the post offices. The people tend to be quite (very) rude (impolite, not nice) and paranoid (worried that someone’s going to hurt them), so don’t take it personally (don’t think the person is rude because of you or something you did) if this happens to you.
In this lesson, I go to the post office and talk about what the postal worker asked me to do. I also give the grammar behind requests:
to ask someone to do something
to get someone to do something
to have someone do something (Note: No infinitive for this one!)
Partial Transcript
I’m outside the post office.
I’m sending a package to my family.
a bit odd (strange)
They have bulletproof glass. (glass that stops a bullet)
People aren’t so paranoid there. (worried about someone hurting them)
They have an expression that’s called ‘go postal‘. (be angry and aggressive toward people)
There have been postal workers who come with their guns.
You have to open a door, stick it in (put it in) and close the door.
If we both have our doors open, I could take out my gun and boom-boom-boom (sound to shoot people with a gun).
She got me to do it, she had me do it, she asked me to do it. (Note - all these mean the same thing.)
She had me do it. It goes directly to the base verb.
Okay, so these words are nouns - height, weight, width, length.
You say, “What is the height of the entertainment center?”
You do not say, “What is the heighth of the entertainment center?”
It is such a common mistake, even for highly educated American people, and I think people get confused because width and length end in “th”.
On the TOEFL, they like to test you on whether you should use the noun or the verb or the adjective form.
All of the following questions are correct:
How high is the table? How tall are you? How much do you weigh? What is your weight? What is the width of the table? What is the length of the table?
If there is an article - “the” - or a possessive pronoun - “your” - you know you need the noun form.
I wanted to bring you to one of my favorite areas in LA - the second Little Tokyo - not in downtown, but close to UCLA. I went to the Nijiya Market there today and bought some delicious salmon sashimi (raw fish), which I ate for dinner.
At this Japanese grocery store, they were fast and courteous (polite). But this is not always the case (not always true) at many grocery stores in America. Often, the clerks/cashiers are unbelievably slow. Many of my students have commented on this (talked about).
Another problem for students is that the cashiers talk to you. What should you say? Watch the video and let me know what you think!
Also, look at the partial transcript below if you have trouble understanding.
Partial Transcript (Sorry for the wind - this one’s harder to understand!)
Today I’m in one of LA’s small Japanese areas – my favorite.
It’s near UCLA. It’s on Sawtelle between Olympic and Santa Monica boulevard.
If you’re from here and you’re Japanese, you probably already know it.
If you’re not Japanese and you’d kind of like Japanese food, I highly recommend it. Especially if you want noodles – mmm, there’s a great place here.
That’s not exactly what I wanted to talk to you about – it’s about grocery stores.
In a few minutes I’m going to be going to the Nijiya Market, which is a Japanese market here.
There are all kinds of grocery stores, but what I want to talk to you about is, uh, the normal grocery stores.
A lot of my students encounter something that is very strange.
The first thing is that they are slow. Have you ever noticed that? Slow, slow, slow.
If you’ve traveled to other countries, if you’ve been anywhere, if you’re American, and you’re listening to this, it’s shocking how slow people are here, in the service industry, especially in the grocery store.
For my foreign students, people who are learning to speak English as a second language, bring your vocabulary (lists).
If you have nothing, grab a magazine and start reading. If you are going to be very brave, talk to the person behind you.
You say, “Oh it’s so slow.” And they say, “Yes it is.”
You look in their grocery cart and talk (about what’s in there).
Some people might look at you like you’re strange, but what do you care? (why do you care? It’s not important.) You’ll never see them again. And it’s a little English conversation practice.
When you finally get to the teller, the person is pretty chatty. That means the person talks a lot.
“Hey, how are you today?” “Did you find everything you need?”
You may think, yes, I got everything I needed, and that’s why I’m here.
Or – “How are you today?”
You think, “I don’t know you. Why do you care?”
Well that’s just America. They’re trained to talk to you.
Usually Americans say, oh I’m fine, how are you.
They put your groceries through. (to put s.t. through - to complete a transaction)
Sometimes they’ll ask you at the end, “What’s your name?”
That’s just strange, but make up a name and it could be fun.
Okay, they’ll say, “Mr. Balugawuga, have a nice day.”
They just ask you name so they can use it when they say, “Have a nice day.”
Just make up a name. (lie about s.t.) It could be fun.
That’s the grocery store near my home. I always find it weird myself. But whatever.
You can even talk to them. Say, “Hey, so are you having a nice day.”
You know, turn it around. Ask them questions.
They have to answer you.
That’s the greatest thing about a store in America. They have to be nice.
I went out with my family to a friend’s house for a barbecue on this Fourth of July. This holiday is also called Independence Day. Many people have barbecues and watch fireworks. We usually go to the beach, but this year, I wanted something more mellow (relaxing).
Here’s a quick video I did while watching fireworks. Listen for the adjectives. Are there some you didn’t know? Can you think of more? They all mean more or less the same thing. If you are impressed and if you think something is cool, use these!
Thanks for watching!
Kim
PS - These fireworks were at Beverly and Rossmore in Los Angeles. I highly recommend them. You can just park on the street!
Transcript
I’m watching the Fourth of July fireworks and I’m going to give you some adjectives today, some adjectives to describe something…
amazing
incredible
stupendous
exciting
extraordinary
amazing (oh I said that)
fantastic
earth-shattering
incredible … incredible
In my last post about writing a TOEFL essay, I talked about your introductory paragraph. Usually, people don’t have time for more than their thesis and two main points or reasons.
Today, I want to talk about the body of the essay - the main information section of the essay. In the body of the essay, you need at least two paragraphs. Each of these paragraphs explains one of your main points, using strong details. First, you repeat the main point in a new way and then you give a detail.
After the body, you have a conclusion. This final paragraph explains your main reasons in a new way and comes to a final conclusion. Therefore…
Let’s talk about the body of the essay. Let’s use gay marriage again since we’ve started with the introduction. Here is the introduction again:
Homosexuals should have the right to get married because sexual orientation is biologically predetermined in one’s genetic makeup and is not a choice. Therefore, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation should not be permitted any more than discrimination on the basis of race. Furthermore, people who are in love should be allowed to get married, regardless of sexual orientation, because the institution of marriage provides more financial and emotional stability for children and families.
After this introduction, in my second paragraph, after I restate how I think homosexuality is natural, I need to give details. First I’ll give a scientific study detail. I’ll talk about homosexuality in the animal world. In over 500 species in the animal world, a varying percentage of the animals are homosexual or bisexual. Maybe I’ll talk about bonobos, 100 percent of which are bisexual.
In my third paragraph, I’ll give a personal story of a family I know with two moms.
You may completely disagree with me. That’s okay. It’s the same when you write a TOEFL essay. It doesn’t matter if the marker agrees or disagrees. It matters if you gave your reasons and details to prove those reasons. So, for your details, you can use a description, a personal story, an example or a scientific study.
How do you know if you gave a detail? If you left a picture in the reader’s mind, you gave a detail. If not, it was just more explanation.
The big mistake a lot of students make is they repeat their reason or explain it, but they don’t give an actual detail.
You go for it. Write your opinion on any issue, give two reasons, and explain these reasons with details.
Going to yoga is a great way to make friends and meet Americans … especially if you live in a big city in America like Los Angeles. People who do yoga are learning to be more open and accepting with all kinds of people, so they also tend to be very warm (kind, welcoming) toward foreigners.
I did yoga in Korea and it really improved my Korean. You can do yoga in America and improve your English fast. Plus, you’ll get in great shape (to have a stronger, healthier body)! I know more than a few of my students have wanted to return to their countries not only more worldly (having knowledge of the world and more intellectual things), but also more beautiful than they left.
In Los Angeles, a great place to go is Golden Bridge Yoga (goldenbridgeyoga.com). It costs 16 dollars to go. Many places give you a free first time - ask if they have a free first class. Golden Bridge doesn’t, but many do. The teacher I recommend is Gurmukh. She’s a mentor to me (an advisor, someone you respect, someone who you want to be like). Watch the video and let me know how your yoga experience goes! (Let me know how ____ goes - Tell me what happens with ____.)
Transcript and Vocabulary Explanation:
Go to my website. I have everything there. I think it’s much more useful than writing the transcript on the actual video itself. You can focus on what I’m saying while you’re watching the video rather than reading below.
Okay so right now we’re going to talk about yoga. Yes, I’m going to yoga. And I wanted to tell you that if you are in America and you are having trouble meeting Americans, go to yoga! Now, you get a great workout (to exercise your body), but also afterwards….make sure you pick a place that has sort of a common talking area (a place where everyone can talk together).
I did this when I lived in Korea. I went to their kind of yoga which is called Dahn Hak. And afterwards you have tea and you talk to everyone. It really improved my Korean and it does the same thing in America (improves your English!).
Now one of my favorite places is called Golden Bridge Yoga. It’s amazing. It’s in Hollywood. I highly recommend it (I think you should go). They have this huge table where everyone sits and you can all chat (talk) and it’s really wonderful. Now, when you sit down to talk to everybody and you feel, “Nobody’s talking to me!” Well, you have to talk to them. You have to ask questions. That’s what you need to be really good at.
So if you come to yoga, you can ask, “What class did you do?” Because here there are sometimes a couple different classes going at the same time. And then you say, “Oh do you like that teacher? What do you think of her? Or him?” And then they explain. (You say…) “How long have you been doing yoga?” And then they talk,talk,talk. They think you’re amazing (and your English too!) because you’re asking all these questions and you’re interested in them. That’s what people want. They just want someone who cares. And then you become friends with them. You go to more classes. You hang out (you spend time together). And the friendship develops from there. Now, go for it. I believe in you (I think you can do it).
