You can depend on me

Sometimes it’s hard to know which preposition goes with certain words, and depend is one of those words. On always follows depend for the common phrase, depend on, meaning rely on or determined by.

The homeless man depends on his daily free meal from the Salvation Army.

Marco’s job promotion depended on several factors.

You can depend on me to enhance your English speaking.

The Underground Railroad

When you hear about an Underground Railroad in the USA, what is your first thought? The subway, the tube, the underground? That’s what comes to my mind. Actually, from 1793 to 1860 there was an Underground Railroad in the United States but it wasn’t a form of transportation --- it was a passage to freedom for escaped slaves from the South to the North.

The Underground Railroad was a secret network of hiding places and people who attempted to help fugitive slaves escape from slavery and move them to and from safe places in a quick and secretive way. Their activities did not literally take place underground or via a railroad, nor was it an official organization.

People involved with the Underground Railroad had special words to describe participants, safe places, and other necessary information. People who guided slaves from place to place were called "conductors." Locations where slaves could safely find protection, food, or a place to sleep were called "safe houses" or "stations." Those who hid fugitive slaves in their homes, barns, or churches were called "station masters." Slaves who were in the safekeeping of a conductor or station master were "cargo."

It must be noted that while conductors and fugitive slaves were participating on the Underground Railroad, all of their actions were illegal. Today’s estimates indicate the number of slaves who successfully escaped reached 100,000, but there are many, many more who did not succeed. I live in the northern United States, in the state of Wisconsin, and there is an Underground Railroad safe house on the road where my mother lives and I was able to go inside it once. Even now, whenever I pass it, I think about life 200 years ago and the risks people took to get there.

Who’s the Boss?

This particular post is for Italian speakers and it answers the title question: Who’s the Boss?

The boss is called the boss, the manager, the supervisor, the director, the person-in-charge, the chief, the head --- but it is not called the responsible. I often hear Italian speakers refer to their boss as their responsible so that's why I'm clarifying it here. It seems to be a common confusion.

Elisa is the marketing director, responsible for sales in the New York City area.

Paolo is responsible for collecting unpaid taxes for the Internal Revenue Service.

I used to babysit when I was a teenager and I was responsible for the care and safety of many children in my neighborhood.

Responsible is an adjective relating to a position or duty that involves decision making and accountability. So, it’s not a noun. That’s all you need to know.

What are you going to do?

You were probably taught that will indicates the future tense in English but that’s really not true in most cases. Surprising, isn’t it? We often use the present continuous form or 'going to' when talking about future events when a plan or intention exists, or when you have evidence of something.

It’s Sunday night. What are your plans for Monday? ---> I’m working on Monday (the plan).

You won the lottery. What are you going to do with the money? ---> I’m going to buy a yacht (your intention).

The sky is grey and dark. What’s the weather? ---> It’s going to rain (prediction based on evidence).

So, when is will used?

When you have no plan before speaking, a spontaneous comment:

I need a ride because my car is at the mechanic. --- > I’ll drive you (a spontaneous offer-no plan).

For a prediction (without any evidence):

The fortune teller said I will meet a tall, dark stranger (their prediction based on no evidence).

With the verb BE:

The verb be is an exception with will. Even when we have a very firm plan, and we are not speaking spontaneously, we can use will with be.

I will be late for the party.

Angelo will be in London tomorrow.

Katia will be in Egypt for five days.

Will isn’t used as often as you think it is.