Games for learning English: Fruit and Vegetables

Confusing Words: Journey, Travel, and Trip

I’m planning a travel to the US.

I’m planning to travel to the US.

I’m planning a trip to the US

Why is the first sentence incorrect? Why is to travel anda trip correct in the second and third sentence?

For today’s lesson you’re going to learn some confusing words: JOURNEY, TRAVEL, and TRIP and at the end of the lesson I’m going to give you a series of quizzes related to this lesson. So let’s have a look at these examples:

JOURNEY

• He was planning for a four-week trip to Indonesia.

• They went on a trip to Africa.

We use JOURNEY as a noun, meaning a trip (a long distance trip) from one place to another; an expedition.

TRAVEL

• How often do you travel abroad?

• The train was  travelling at about 100 miles an hour.

We use TRAVEL as a verb to mean to go from one place to another on a trip, usually over a long distance.

TRIP

• I met my husband on a trip to Bali.

• Alejandro had to make a number of business trips to New York.

We use TRIP as a noun, meaning a travel from one place to another, usually for business or pleasure.

TRIP over

• He tripped over the child.

• I tripped over the kerb and broke my nose.

TRIP over is a verb (phrasal verb), meaning to fall because you hit an obstacle.

Check out this video lesson from Espresso English.

A Shotgun Wedding

"Shotgun Wedding" -- Pernikahan karena hamil duluan

Meaning: A wedding that is arranged to avoid embarrassment due to an unplanned pregnancy.
-- Kita mengenal istilah MBA (Married By Accident) untuk mengggambarkan pernikahan yang disebabkan karena si pengantin perempuan hamil terlebih dahulu.

The phrase is based on the situation that the father of the pregnant daughter must resort to using coercion (such as threatening with a shotgun) to ensure that the man who impregnated her follows through with the wedding.
-- Istilah ini berasal dari sebuah keadaan di mana ayah dari perempuan yang hamil harus menggunakan kekerasan atau mengancam - dalam budaya barat menggunakan senjata api (dalam budaya Indonesia menggunakan golok) - agar si laki-laki yang menghamili anak perempuannya mau menikahi anaknya.

Examples:
• Looks like it's a shotgun wedding for those two.
• When she told her parents that she was pregnant, her father forced her into a shotgun wedding.
• After a shotgun wedding at 20, she had 3 children before divorcing from her husband.


"My phone is broken" or "My phone is out of order"

Don’t say:

The telephone is “broken”.

When you say “my phone is broken”, your listener might think you just dropped your phone on the floor and now it’s broken (shattered) to pieces.

Say:

The telephone is “out of order”.

When something, for examples, telephone, ATM, toilet, vending machine, elevator, etc., is not in working condition, say “it’s out of order”, or just simply say “it’s not working.”

Examples:

• The elevator was out of order and we had to walk to the tenth floor.

• We couldn’t use the telephone because it was out of order.

When you say “my phone is dead”, it means the battery is dead; your phone needs charging.

Ditto

Ditto ['dit-oh] (n, adj) -- sama, juga, idem, sama dengan yang di atas

Ditto or ditto mark is a mark that you write immediately under a word in a list to indicate you're repeating whatever is above; same as above.

Example:

Apple $2.00 a kilo

Pear      −”−  a kilo

Ditto mark ( −”− ) means the price list on second item is the same as the price list on the item above.

⇒ Tanda 'ditto'  ( −”− ) artinya idem; sama dengan yang (disebutkan) di atas.

You can also use the word ditto informally to describe repetition, the same, likewise.

⇒ 'Ditto' dapat digunakan untuk menyatakan suatu pengulangan kata/kalimat yang sama.

Example:

Barry: I love you, honey.

Julie  : Ditto

Ditto in the dialog means "I love you too" dalam dialog artinya "Saya juga cinta kamu".

Also it can be used to say that you have exactly the same opinion as someone else.

⇒ 'Ditto' bisa berarti sama atau juga.

Example:

A: I hated school when I was young.

    ⇒ Saya benci sekolah dulu waktu saya masih muda.

B: Ditto.

    ⇒ Sama.

Ditto in the dialog means "me too" or "I second you".

⇒'Ditto' dalam dialog mempunyai pengertian "saya juga" atau "saya setuju dengan kamu".


WAYS TO SAY I LOVE YOU

I know it’s not yet Valentine’s Day, but I’m feeling kind of romantic now, also a bit silly. So today I’m going to spread my love virus to you. I’m warning you, it’s contagious! ;)

There are so many different ways to tell someone that you love them, but the problem is there are so many phrases that seem to have the same meaning, and you can’t decide which one is more appropriate and sound more romantic than the others. Oh, boy! Telling someone you love them in English can be so challenging! :D

Here are some ways to say “I love you” without actually saying it:

1. You mean the world to me.

2. I need you to make me feel alive.

3. You are the one for me.

4. Me and you. Always.

5. You are the best thing that ever happened to me.

6. I’m so into you.

7. I’m yours.

8. I adore you.

9. You to me are everything.

10. Me minus you equals blue.

And sometimes adding humor often helps convey your feelings even better. Here are a few examples:

• You’re the reason I get up in the morning… Just kidding, I have to pee.

• Loving you is like having diarrhea… I just can’t hold it in!

• Let’s grow old and miserable together.

• I love you more than coffee (or maybe a really close second).

• I knew I loved you when I farted you didn’t run away.

I know they are cheesy and corny, but hey, I like them! :D If you think you have a better way to say “I love you”, please share it in the comment. I’d like to hear it.

Common Dishes for Fast-breaking in English

In fasting month of Ramadan, we usually make special dishes for fast-breaking, which are mostly sweet dishes sort of like dessert. We eat them before we have the main meal.
What are the common dishes you have for fast-breaking in your country?

Here are some dishes we have in Indonesia for fast-breaking:
• kurma = dates
• cendol = rice dumplings with coconut milk and brown sugar syrup
• kolak pisang = banana with coconut milk and brown sugar syrup
• kolak ubi / singkong = sweet potato / casava with coconut milk and brown sugar syrup
• bubur ketan hitam = black sticky rice pudding
• bubur kacang hijau = mung bean porridge
• kolak biji salak = sweet potato balls with coconut milk and brown sugar syrup
• lumpia = spring roll

Ada yang mau nambahin kosakatanya lagi? Jangan lupa dicatat ya...

Pronoun Rule after “than” and “as”

To decide whether to use the subject or object pronoun after the words “than” or “as”, mentally complete the sentence.

Examples:

• Sonali is as smart as she/her.

— If we mentally complete the sentence, we would saySonali is as smart as she is. Therefore, she is the correct answer.

• Rina is taller than I/me.

— Mentally completing the sentence, we have Rina is taller than I am.

• Graham would rather talk to her than I/me.

We can interpret this sentence in two ways:

– Graham would rather talk to her than (talk) to me. 

OR

– Graham would rather talk to her than I would (talk to her). 

The meaning of a sentence can change considerably, depending on the pronoun you choose.

Although for most people the “than me” (using object pronoun) version sound more natural than the “than I”(using subject pronoun) version, the previous runs the highest risk of being considered wrong. It’s because the“than I” version has been around longer and seems more grammatically correct. The “than I” version is falling out of favor and now sounds a bit stilted though.

Evidently, the dilemma between the “than I” and “than me” is not clear cut. So, the best thing to do is to consider your audience (listeners/readers). In formal situations, it would be best to stick with the “than I”(subject pronoun). Otherwise, you may need to be prepared to fight your corner.

Ailments, Symptoms, and Injuries

AILMENTS, SYMPTOMS, and INJURIES - Penyakit ringan, Gejala penyakit, dan Luka-luka

• headache = sakit kepala
• earache = sakit telinga
• toothache = sakit gigi
• stomachache = sakit perut
• backache = sakit punggung
• sore throat = sakit tenggorokan
• fever = demam
• cold = pilek
• cough = batuk
• virus = virus
• infection = infeksi
• rash = ruam
• insect bite = gigitan serangga
• sunburn = terbakar matahari
• stiff neck = leher kaku
• runny nose = ingusan
• bloody nose = mimisan
• cavity = gigi berlubang
• wart = kutil
• hiccups = cegukan
• chills = meriang
• cramp = kram
• diarrhea = diare
• chest pain = sakit di bagian dada
• shortness of breath = napas pendek
• laryngitis = radang tenggorokan

So, how do we tell people we are sick with something? Don't say "I am flu" or "I am headache". "Flu" and "headache" are nouns. Use the verb have with diseases or symptoms to tell people you suffer from sickness.

Examples:

• I have a headache.
• She had a nosebleed, but she's fine now.
• He's having a fever. (Also: He's running a fever.)

ADJECTIVE IN ORDER

We sometimes use more than one adjective before the noun:

Examples:

• I like big black dogs.

• She was wearing a beautiful long red dress.

What is the correct order for two or more adjectives?

1. The general order is: Opinion, Fact.

“Opinion” is what you think about something. “Fact” is what is definitely true about something.

• A nice French car. (not a French nice car)

[You have an opinion that the car is nice; and the fact that it was made in France.]

2. The normal order for fact adjectives is size, age, shape, color, material, origin. Other references place ‘age’ after ‘shape’ (just like in the picture). Both references are correct. I prefer OPSHACOM (Opinion, Shape, Age, Color, Origin, Material) because this pattern is easy to remember.

• A big, old, square, black, wooden Chinese table.

Watch this video. Professor Grammar will explain more about OPSHACOM.

3. Determiners usually come first, even though they are fact adjectives.

• articles (a, the)

• possessives (my, your…)

• demonstratives (this, that…)

• quantifiers (some, any, few, many…)

• numbers (one, two, three…)

Now try this: Arrange these adjectives into a good order.

a – chest – it’s – beautiful – ivory – antique.

Vocabulary: In the Street

When you walk along the bustling streets in Jakarta, you will find many pedagang kaki lima. At the intersections, you can see pengemis begging for money when the traffic light turns red, or you can enjoy some music and songs from pengamen when you're on a bus. Some of them have nice voice, but some others just don't have that talent. Some of them are children. We call them as anak jalanan in bahasa Indonesia. Unfortunately they don't get the chance to go to school and are forced to make a living on the street.

You must be wondering what's the English for pedagang, kaki lima, pengamen, pengemis, dan anak jalanan. In this article you will learn those words. When you finish reading this article, you can use one of those words in a sentence. You can post it in the comment box. I will check up on you later to see if you make a mistake in your sentence and need my help to correct it.


Street vendor = pedagang kaki lima
A street vendor is a person who sells things (goods or food) in the street, either from a stall, cart, or van, or with their goods laid out on the sidewalk.

Street hawker = pedagang kaki lima
A street hawker (also: hawker) is a person who travels about selling things (goods or food), typically advertising them by shouting.

Basically, a street vendor and a hawker are people who sell their goods in the street. The difference between them is that the hawker cries out (shouts) to advertise what they're selling. In bahasa  Indonesia a street vendor and a hawker mean pedagang kaki lima.

Busker = pengamen
A busker is a person who plays music or sing in a public place, for example on the sidewalk or on a bus, so that people will give them money.

Beggar = pengemis
A beggar is a poor person who asks others for money or food.

Street kids = anak-anak jalanan
Street kids are children living in the margins.

Vocabulary related to TRAFFIC

- traffic jam = kemacetan
- be caught in a traffic jam = terjebak kemacetan
- bumper to bumper traffic = lalu lintas padat merayap
- rubber neck = kemacetan yang disebabkan oleh kendaraan yang berjalan perlahan untuk melihat sebuah kecelakaan
- fender-bender = kecelakaan kecil antar kendaraan, seperti serempetan

A rubber neck traffic is usually happened after a car accident, drivers tend to slow down as they pass the accident site because they're curious to see what happened. It is annoying, especially if it was a simple fender-bender.

Bumper to bumper (traffic) -- Lalu lintas padat merayap

Meaning: Cars that are close together in a line one after another and are moving very slowly.

Examples:
• Cars were lined up bumper to bumper along the whole length of the road.
• The traffic is bumper to bumper from the accident up ahead.
• Peak hour traffic lined up bumper to bumper on one side of devided highway.

US: crosswalk (noun)

UK: zebra crossing (noun)

jaywalking (noun): an act of walking across a street at a place where you should not cross
jaywalk (verb): menyebrang jalan sembarangan
lollipop man/lady: a person who helps people to cross the street at a crosswalk.


CONDITIONAL VS SUBJUNCTIVE

What’s the difference between conditional sentences and subjunctive moods? Conditional sentences are usually introduced by ‘If’ while subjunctive moods are often introduced by ‘wish’. The subjunctive moods use the simple form of the verb; the infinitive without the “to”.

Compare these examples:

• If I were rich, I would travel around the world. (Conditional)

• I wish I were rich. (Subjunctive)

The conditional sentences are only used to express certain conditions. They can be real conditions or unreal ones.

The subjunctive mood is the verb form used to express a wish, a suggestion, or a command.

The following verbs often attract the subjunctive mood: ask, command, demand, insist, order, recommend, suggest, and wish. (Use the simple form of the verb. The simple form is the infinitive without the “to”.)

Examples:

• She suggests that Mark work full time from Saturday.

[Mark works becomes Mark work]

• He said it was essential that Jeremy guard the box.

[Jeremy guards becomes Jeremy guard]

• It is imperative that the game begin at once.

[game begins becomes game begin]

• I wish it were still in use.

[it was becomes it were]