In-laws (plural)

When you get married, your relatives by marriage are called in-laws. There is the mother-in-law, the father-in-law and, to them, you are a daughter-in-law or a son-in-law. If your spouse has more than one brother or sister, how do you refer to in-laws in the plural form?

For example, if one brother-in-law loves to barbecue and another brother-in-law makes the most wonderful pasta dishes, you can say that your brothers-in-law are excellent cooks. We add the letter “s” to the noun. This is true for any in-law in the plural form:

sisters-in-law
brothers-in-law
daughters-in-law
sons-in-law
mothers-in-law
fathers-in-law
cousins-in-law

This rule is for smaller groups. If you want to make things easy for yourself, just call them all “my in-laws”. Here we add the “s” at the end of “law” because “in-laws” is a collective noun, referring to the whole group.

- My "in-laws" have invited us on a cruise to the Bahamas.
- Elisa gets along very well with her "in-laws".
- Daniele’s "in-laws" have a family reunion every two years.

Little Free Library

Do you have a Little Free Library in your neighborhood? It’s not what you might be thinking. A Little Free Library isn’t a big building full of books. It is, seriously, a really, really small library that is usually housed in a wooden box that looks like a tiny schoolhouse.

These little libraries are located in the fronts of publicly accessable locations like schools, shops, healthcare facilities, etc., but I most often see Little Free Libraries in the front yards of people’s private homes, facing the street, full of books for anyone to borrow. I always marvel at the commitment of those who decide to make the little library a prominent feature of their home.

The Little Free Library movement started in 2009 when a gentleman from Wisconsin built one as a tribute to his mother, a former school teacher who loved reading. He filled it with books and put it on a post in his front yard. This developed into a mission to promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide. Anyone who has the desire can install the library; you can build one yourself or buy one.

I see on the interactive map that there are a few countries in Europe that have two or three little libraries. Italy has 23! Do you have one in your part of the world?

Americana

There are surely many things associated with your country that reflect its culture. They can include certain foods, art, architecture, cultural icons, etc. Since I live in the USA the things that are closely identified with the culture and history of America, specifically the United States, are referred to as Americana.

In the 1970s there was a popular commercial for the Chevrolet automobile with the slogan “Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, and Chevrolet.” This advertising campaign turned the Chevrolet into an iconic all-American brand by associating it with other established symbols of Americana: baseball, hot dogs, and apple pie.

Many things are considered to be typical of the American culture, like hamburgers or the art of Norman Rockwell, but some Americana elements evolved from the cultures of immigrants. Rock and Roll is a perfect example because it derived from various influences and numerous cultures: a merging of the African musical tradition with European instrumentation plus Western swing and country music. Despite all of those influences, rock and roll’s origin is a music genre that evolved in the USA.

What is associated with your country, culture, and history?


*Post image is Norman Rockwell's "The Runaway" (1958).

Intensifiers intensify!

When you’re speaking informally, telling a story, for example, using intensifiers in everyday speech gives force or emphasis to the details. An intensifier is a type of adverb that enhances adjectives and adverbs. In English, they come before the words they modify. Look at this example:

I’m sorry.
I’m “really” sorry.
I’m “very” sorry.
I’m “so” sorry.
I’m “quite” sorry.
I’m “extremely” sorry.
I’m “awfully” sorry.

OR

Jean dances well.
Jean dances “very” well.
Jean dances “extremely” well.
Jean dances “pretty” well.
Jean dances “so” well.
Jean dances “quite” well.
Jean dances “fairly” well.
Jean dances “rather” well.
Jean dances “awfully” well.
Jean’s dancing is “absolutely” amazing.
Jean’s dancing is “pretty” amazing.
Jean’s dancing is “so” amazing.

Common intensifiers in everyday speech include so, really, very, quite, extremely, absolutely, strongly, pretty, fairly, rather, a little, just, too, and more.

It's “quite” humid today.
Blair is “too” sarcastic.
Marco is “really” busy on Mondays.
Kathy is my “very” best friend.
Andrea is a “little” tired today.
Kurt “just” got a brand new car.
I know her “fairly” well.
It's “extremely” windy outside.
You're “absolutely” right!
The traffic is “rather” noisy.
I was a “little” nervous before my wedding.
That was a “pretty” tasty burger.


Pretty may seem like an unusual intensifier but it’s very common. Pretty means attractive but it’s also an informal adverb meaning “to a moderately high degree; fairly.”

It’s “pretty” good ice cream but I’ve tasted better.
Danny is “pretty” smart. I think he’ll do well at the university.
I’m “pretty” sure I’ll accept the job but I need to think about it over the weekend.

I hope this post was extremely helpful :)

Splurge

Splurge (pronounced “splərj”) is a funny sounding word. It seems like a word you might hear in a cartoon. In reality, splurge is an informal verb meaning to spend (money) freely or extravagantly. To splurge on something is to spend a lot of money to buy it.

- It was our anniversary so we "splurged" and ordered champagne and lobster for dinner.
- Ava "splurged" on fresh roses even though they last only a few days.
- The girls "splurged" and bought the most expensive tickets to see the Rolling Stones in concert.

What have you splurged on recently?

It's a process

A process is a series of actions or steps taken to achieve a particular result. Describing a process means writing /speaking about how something is made or how something happens. Can you describe a process in English?

Think of a simple activity, such as brushing your teeth.. You’re not negotiating a contract or taking a Cambridge English exam. You’re just being very specific about how to brush your teeth. Can you do it? It involves words like toothpaste, squeeze, tube, bristles, gums, tongue, swish, rinse, spit, and floss.

People possibly overlook the words involved in easy tasks because the activity may seem unimportant (but the vocabulary isn’t), thus they don’t know how to convey a simple process with enough detail. How about sharing a recipe? The ingredients, measurements, actions, utensils?

Examples of other processes:
- How to pack a suitcase
- How to donate blood
- How to shave
- How a camera works
- How to get a passport
- How to drive
- How to make popcorn
- etc....

One of the big road blocks (hindrances) most people have when learning a new language is developing a larger vocabulary. I think that many English learners feel pressure to memorize long, sophisticated words when learning the appropriate word for a situation is best for clear communication.

I enthusiastically encourage you to take every opportunity to develop a richer vocabulary through books, lessons, and media, but don’t forget the small stuff.

Simple tasks, challenging to describe well.

Fast food, not quick food

Take a break, rough estimate, get drunk, crystal clear. What do these expressions have in common? They are collocations.

Collocations are typical word combinations – words that usually go together in normal use. They like to be together. For example, “a big mistake,” not “a large mistake.”
Collocations are fixed expressions or word pairings that just sound "right" to native English speakers because we tend to use these combinations over and over again. There is nothing wrong with speaking freely and not collocating, but doing so would reveal that you aren't a native speaker whose meaning many not be clear.

The bad news: Word pairings and phrasal verbs are collocations. These fixed expressions must be memorized.
The good news: I can help you remember a few more easily.

There are many communication collocations that begin with “make” and “have.”

Make is used with most nouns for ways of speaking/planning. For example, you make a complaint, a promise, an offer, a threat, a speech, an apology, a point, a confession, an accusation, a suggestion, an arrangement, a decision, a plan, an appointment.

Have is used with most nouns which involve a two-way discussion. For example, you have a conversation, a chat, a discussion, an argument, a fight, a row, a meeting, an interview.

I hope that “makes a difference” :)