Being able to speak English isn’t just about learning word order and proper grammar tenses. But you know that already, right ? Language ability is a tool. It enables us to communicate with friends, understand the world around us, resolve problems, and more importantly express ourselves. That’s why knowing the “lingo” ( special language for a community) is so useful ! With the internet, an entire new lingo was born. Read below to understand the most common phrases used by users in social media. TROLL: a person who writes a mean or insincere comment to a post or video to make the original poster (OP) feel bad. Common expression: he’s just trolling you – don’t pay attention to him ! (troll can be used as a verb) . Don’t feed the troll ! (don’t respond to the trolls’ comments, otherwise the troll will continue with their actions) Background: a troll is a mythological character from Nordic folktales. Trolls are large ugly or frightening human like beings that like to hide from people. But troll is also something fisherman do; when they want to catch a fish they troll the bate on a line very slowly behind their boat. Thus, the internet troll is born: both ugly, mean and attracting (or “bating”) people to respond to their negativity. LOLZ: is an initial for “laughing out loud,” with an additional “z” in the end. This is usually used sarcastically to express a lot of laughing if you find the post or comment stupid. “Z” is a slang version
A determiner tells us more information about a noun. Say we want to discuss some car. Is it a specific car (the car), somebody’s car (his car) , a car we see over there (that car), or are we talking about some group of cars (cars) ? We inform the listener with determiners, which as the name implies, determines if the noun is specific or a random noun, or perhaps even the quantity. Determiners are used to help the listener orient. In other words, when we speak, we always have some specific noun in mind, but the listener cannot read our mind. That is why determiners are created for the LISTENER, not the SPEAKER to understand which noun we are speaking about – this concept is especially important with articles (a/an/the). Determiners always come before a noun and there are 4 main categories: ARTICLES (a/ an/ the) Articles help us to specify if it is a definite (the : specific) or indefinite ( a/an : unspecific) noun I have a blue laptop –> ‘a’ here means some blue laptop that the listener hears about for the first time. I have the blue laptop which you lent me –> “the” specific blue laptop which the listener already knows about. POSSESSIVE DETERMINERS ( my, your, her, his, its, our ) Help us to specify whose noun(s) we are discussing. I bought my guitar in the shop on the corner. –> Here the definite article “the” is unnecessary because the owner of the guitar
felt x fell (these two past tense verbs always get mixed up!)felt: past tense of feel Yesterday, I felt really sick !fell: past tense of fallHe fell on his skateboard while going up the ramp.funny x fun funny: describes something as being humorousThe movie was so funnyfun: describes something as entertainingGoing on the rollercoaster was so much fun ! stranger x foreigner stranger: a person whom you don’t knowI don’t open the door to strangers. foreigner: a person from a different country living in your country. When foreigners come here, it will take a long time for them to get adjusted! especially x specificallyespecially: when you have a choice and you like one above all others with enthusiasm. I love ice-cream, and especially chocolate! specially: another word for “specifically” to highlight an important point without enthusiastic positivity. we need to close all the accounts, specially this one that isn’t doing well. host x guest host: the person who is organizing an eventask the host if she has an exctra wine glass for you. guest: a visitor at an eventall guests should bring a gift at a wedding. Meaning x opinion meaning: the definition of a word or further explanation of an action for clarification.what is the meaning of the word “curse” I see you didn’t understand me, what I meant was that I think we should stop being in a relationship.opinion: a personal evaluation or judgement about something or someone.My opinion is that we are actually doomed ! chef x chief chef: a professional head cook in a restaurantthe chef on tv creates amazing disheschief: the head top professional
I come across these mistakes so often when I teach English that it’s time to share them with everyone. But fear not, this list is useful for all English learners, not just Czech speakers. healthy x health healthy: (personal adjective) Today I don’t feel sick, I’m finally healthy! The economy isn’t healthy these days . health: (noun) The health of the economy is not looking good. Good health should be taught at school. view of x view on view of (what I see) I have a beautiful view of downtown from my window . The view of the stage sucks from the back. view on (opinion) My view on the topic is complicated. People have a view on everything nowadays. look x see x watch look: actively using your eyes , focusing your attention for a short time. I’m looking at the picture, but I still don’t see the hidden meaning. Stop looking at me! See: to notice something I didn’t see her yesterday, was she at the party? I saw how it was done, but I still can’t replicate it. watch: look at something for a longer period of time with intention. I watched an amazing film last night! They were watching the bird flock and documenting their movement. during x for x since during: used with time periods During the winter, I like to go to cafes and read. I drink at least 2 coffees during the day. for: total duration of time John has
Here are the TOP TIPS I give my intermediate and advanced students that will improve your battle with articles. Use this cheat sheet for proofreading your own English.Tip #1: Pause before using any noun.Articles need to be taken into consideration before we say or write any noun. Of course there are quite a few rules to keep in mind , but what’s important is that you briefly pause and think about whether the definite, indefinite or no article is needed in front of the noun. This will GREATLY improve your English to make you sound more proficient. Tip #2: Definite article ‘the’ : It’s not about you, it’s about the listener.Consider whether the definite or indefinite article is needed based on the perspective of the listener. Does the listener know exactly which thing you are speaking about? Did you already speak about this thing? Are you both in the same room, and the listener can see it? Is it something that is related to a specific place? examples: The shop I told you about is now closed. Yesterday, I bought a shirt in a different shop.Tip #3: It’s not about the brand, model or type of thing.Even if I tell my friend that I have a black Canon 60D camera, there are thousands, probably millions, of such cameras around the world. My friend hears about mine for the first time, so I use the indefinite article “a.” examples: My old phone broke, so I bought a One Plus Nord phone. The One Plus