Phrasal Verb: TO FROWN UPON/AT

Hey guys. How are you? Today I wanna talk about some phrasal verbs that may be really interesting for you to learn. Those are TO FROWN UPON and TO FROWN AT something or someone. Have you ever heard of them? They're really common and from the moment you learn them, you'll find yourself using them on a really regular basis.

See what I found on a Facebook page:

When something is frowned upon, it means it is disapproved. In other words, the management doesn't approve people slaping the shit out of anyone at work. In this case, who disaproves is not necessarily a person, but the administration, the management of an institution. For that case, you can only use the phrasal verb to frown upon or simply frown on, because it simply means to disaprove. See another example: The Internal Revenue Service frowns on tax cheaters.

But when you look up the meaning of the verb to FROWN on the dictionary, you'll find a description that says something like "to contract the brow, as in displeasure or deep thought". Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to know that only people can do that. Only people can contract their brows in an act of displeasure. That's why there's the second phrasal verb TO FRAWN AT that refers to the literal act of contracting your brow. See the next example: Please don't frown at me. I din't do anything.

Hope you liked it. See you soon!

Como dizer "não quero me gabar" em Inglês?

Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation where we don't wanna sound like a jerk. What does that mean? It means that at the same time we want to show people we're right or capable, we don't wanna come off as this arrogant bastard. For example, you and your classmates are given a math exercise to do in group. After realizing you're the only one who's solved most of the math problems, you decide to say something before proceeding: I don't want to toot my own horn, but I think I know the answer for that one too.

I don't know if you've heard of the word horn before. According to Dictionary.com, horn is "one of the bony, permanent, hollow paired growths, often curved and pointed, that project from the upper part of the head of certain ungulate mammals, as cattle, sheep, goats or antelopes." I know that's a long description, but it's pretty simple if you simply know horn is what a sheep has in its head. When you say you don't want to toot your own horn, you're figuratively saying you don't want to blow your own horn. I don't know about the origin of that expression, but imagining yourself blowing a horn makes it easier to remember of the expression at least.

Se familiarizando com a palavra thread

Você conhece a palavra thread? Ela faz parte do vocabulário muito usado pelos nativos de língua Inglesa. Thread significa fio, fibra, linha, ou qualquer outro sinônimo que possa se referir àquele pedaço de fio delicado que insiste em sair da costura das roupas. Se caso você encontrar alguém com uma peça de roupa se descosturando, você pode dizer: You've pulled a thread in you jumper. (Você puxou um fio da sua blusa)

Se você procurar a palavra thread no dicionário, verá que também significa uma conexão entre ideias ou parte de uma história. É possível imaginarmos que existe uma associação entre os entrelaçados de fios de uma peça de roupa com os entrelaçados de ideias de uma história. É basicamente assim que as pessoas conseguem fechar raciocínios: elas ligam ideias umas as outras até que enfim o resultado final faça sentido. Quando não conseguimos contar bem uma história ou fazer boas conexões de ideias, em Português podemos dizer que perdemos o fio da meada. Fio da meada, aliás, pode ser a correspondente mais próxima ao que chamamos de thread em Inglês.

O que podemos fazer com o fio da meada de uma história, ou seja, conexões de ideias? Você perde o fio da meada (lose thread), segue o fio da meada (follow/trace the thread), mantém o fio da meada (keep the thread), tece o fio da meada numa conclusão (draw together/ pull together/ weave together threads into a conclusion).

Pra finalizar, vamos conhecer uma expressão idiomática que faz uso da palavra thread, que é "hanging by a thread". Se alguma coisa está "hanging by a thread", significa que está por um triz, ou seja, num estado muito crítico. Veja esta frase: The player's career is hanging by a thread after this latest injury to his knee. (A carreira do jogador está por um triz depois da sua última lesão no joelho).

I hope you liked it. See you next time!

O que significa "to labor under an assumption"?

Do you know what the word labor means? It is petty simple if you simply start thinking "to labor" means "to work", but there's a difference between them. The difference is that if you're laboring, it means you're engaged in your work, you're being productive. The same doesn't always apply to the verb to work. You can say you've been working on your project for the past 5 months, but never really been committed to it.

But let's say the same project might get you a promotion. That would make you so much more encouraged to finish it, wouldn't it? Even if it required you extra hours of work or even many sleepless nights, you'd still try to make it on time. That's what we call motivation. If you're motivated by a special reason (maybe a bonus, an advantage), you suddenly become a much more productive worker.

Still talking about the supposed promotion you're trying to get, let's suppose you find your boss and tell him how much you've worked on your project lately. Instead of getting a positive response, he then pauses and says: If you're laboring under the notion that you are going to be promoted, you'd better keep your expectations low.

When you're laboring under the notion/idea/assumption of something, it means you're functioning or operating believing something. You're going about living while assuming something. In that case, you labored under the idea that you were going to be promoted. Now that you know that might not ever happen, you'll be no longer as energetic as before.

Collocations com a palavra TEAR

When we talk about tears, of course we're partially talking about crying. But there are several reasons for one to shed tears besides crying. If you have some kind of respiratory allergy for example, from time to time you may find yourself weeping uncontrollable tears. Suddenly your nose starts itching, tears fill your eyes and you have no option but cry.
But emotions are always the major cause for tears. Sadness for example may bring tears to your eyes, but who never laughed so hard until tears brim over? There's also a stigma that says men don't cry. Some men take it so seriously they'll always try to fight back tears whenever they feel like crying. On the other hand, women are known for being more sensitive. They're more likely to break down in tears while watching a blue movie for instance. But speaking of movies, even if you're not a woman, sometimes you relate so much to a sad plot that you're in floods of tears at the end of the movie.
Anger can also reduce you to tears. Some people choose to shout or cry in order to supress anger. They do it most of the times as an attempt to avoid irational decisions.
And since the topic is tears, funeral is the right place to cry. Some people who have lost close relatives or friends say they couldn't cry at the funeral. They say there are times when suffering may be too deep for tears. I think that happens because sometimes people need some time to process the situation and finally burst into tears.

Collocations com a palavra BLAME

Abaixo você encontrará um texto falando sobre culpa (blame). Dê atenção especialmente às palavras que combinam com essa palavra em negrito. Elas são o que chamamos de collocations: palavras que simplesmente combinam com outras, neste caso BLAME.

When in trouble, some people have a hard time shouldering the blame. I think it's part of human nature to try to avoid blame or even put blame on someone else.
You just have to take a look at how children behave in trouble. It's very unusual to see a child taking full blame for something wrong they've done. When they don't try to make the blame fall on someone else, the best they can do is share the blame.
But as I said before, that does not only apply with children. A perfect place for you to see adults laying the blame at someone's door is in court. There is where people gather in favor of a common goal: apportion blame.
If you've commited a crime and can prove innocence, they may absolve you from blame. On the other hand, if you can't, blame will probably rest on you. Depending on which crime you've commited, your lawyer may advise you to either bear the blame or keep lying.

Are you in a hurry?

For living in such a hectic lifestyle, many people live as if in a marathon race. They go according to a very demanding
schedule and almost never have time for themselves. There's no doubt living like that can cause us many health issues, but that's not what we're discussing today. Actually, I'd like to give you some expressions for the times when you find yourself struggling with such hurry. And if you're just one of many busy people out there, you'll find those expressions came in handy.

Actually, the title of this post comes already with the first expression of the day: to be in a hurry. You can use that expression to tell people you can't give them the deserved attention because you're busy. Maybe you have a meeting in five minutes and run into a friend of yours on your way to work. You haven't seen him in a while and he seems to want to catch up a little bit. The problem is that you really don't have the time to do that right now and want to let him know that without being rude. So you say: I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry right now. Can I call you later? 

After walking past your friend without giving him a bad impression, you've finally made it to work on time. Although you're glad you're not late this time, you know only part of your problems has now been solved. While attending the meeting, your boss tells you to hand him someone's contract in no time. So you ask him: Do you need it now? And he answers: I need it yesterday. Where is it? You may find it weird your boss said he needs something for the previous day since the day has already passed, but that's only a way to tell you how urgent that contract is. It is an emergency.

Do you know what to say to an ungrateful person?

When you're young and you have just entered market place, most of the times you have to start small. Starting small refers to the act of starting something from the bottom, and from there on maybe build your way up. In business, starting small can be considered a good strategy because you become able to experience new things when risks are still low. That way, you can take the chance to become more experienced before trying out something big.

But the problem with some people is that as soon as they leave college, they want to be at the highest level of an organization, a company. It becomes a problem because at the moment they realize it is not that easy they're more likely to give up the job before a chance to grow. Suppose for example a friend of yours has been looking for a job for a long time to no great avail. You then tell him you can get him a job at the company you work for and he seems to be very excited about it.

However, when he finds out the job you found him is not the job of his dreams, he gives up. You think he's very ungrateful for feeling doubt about something good that has been offered to him. So you say: I know it is not the job of your dreams but it pays good money. I'd be inclined not to look a gift horse in the mouth if I were you.

When you tell someone not to look a gift horse in the mouth, you're criticizing him for refusing to take something that has been offered.

Fonte: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/look+a+gift+horse+in+the+mouth

If only...

I was watching the sitcom Friends these days, which is by the way one of my favorite sitcoms, and right at the begining of an episode I heard something that could be a great lesson for today's post. But first, let me give you some insight on what was going on before the expression came out. It started with Chandler and Monica talking about some trip they'd make in the upcoming weekend. The problem was that Rachel and Ross would be throwing their daughter's first birthday party in the same weekend as the trip and wouldn't let them miss it. Chandler, who was really looking forward to the trip, said ironically: If only she were one and had no idea what the hell a birthday was!

Chandler eventually gave in to the birthday, but what matters now is to know why he decided to use the expression If only in the beginning of his statement. If only is a very useful expression in English language because it can be used on a very regular basis. When you start a sentence with "If only", it means you wish something was different, or you're expressing regret about certain situations. For example: If only you were here / If only I had more money. If only I'd listened to you. Instead of saying "If only she were one and had no idea what the hell a birthday was!", Chandler could also have said "I wish she were one and had no idea what the hell a birthday was", but it is true that "If only" can be more emphatic. Both the expressions "If only" and "I wish" mean the same thing though. See how you can use them:

I wish I was taller.
I wish I knew the answer.
If only the sun would come out.
If only he could have explained!
Fonte: http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-5529.php

Expressions with the word DOUBLE

Today we're going to be focusing on the word DOUBLE. Yes, you got it right. Double means twice as large, be it in size, amount, number or extent. If you say for example you asked a double portion at the restaurant, it means you just had it double the size of the normal one. You can also use the word double as a verb, as in "the baby doubled its weight in a year". It is pretty simple huh? So let's get to something more challenging now by learning some expressions with that word.

Sometimes you find yourself in a situation that whatever you do, you'll never succeed. That's maybe because you're in a double bind. You know what that means? Suppose that you're a woman struggling with a very difficult decision to make: working or staying at home taking care of the children? To make it worse, you notice that whatever you do, society will always judge you because after all, if you leave your children to go to work, people will say you're neglecting your family. On the other hand, if you decide to stay at home, they'll label you as a non-achiever. Pretty hard, right? So, while talking to a friend of yours, you can say something like this: I don't know what to do. I'm in a double bind. Whatever I do, there will always be bad results.

There's also a very easy expression with the word double that can be very related to drunk people. You know that when people drink too much, their perception of things can become very messed up. One of these symptoms is seeing double. Maybe one of your friends or yourself might have been through a situation where you can't be really sure if people have suddenly gotten a twin or if you really need to stop drinking. Of course, seeing double does not only happen when you're drunk. You can see double if you're too sleepy or if you simply have some eye disease. The thing is, you can also use that expression in a figurative way to try to say you're really confused.

Do you have a topic you find almost impossible to understand? People usually say that trying to understand the laws of Quantum Science is not for everybody. I don't know about that because I'm really not involved in that area. But if by any chance I had tried to read a book on Quantum Science and miserably failed to understand it, I could say that "a book on Quantum Science is written in double Dutch". When you say that something is written or spoken in double Dutch, you're just saying it is really impossible to understand it. It is about a language or speech you're really not used to. Maybe you think your Math teacher speaks in double Dutch, or the lecture you last attended was given in double Dutch.

Well, that's it for today guys. Maybe I'll provide you with some more expressions with the word double in a different post very soon. There are still plenty of them. Stay tunned!

Short story: expressões com a palavra TONGUE

Maria has been an English student for four years now. At the very beginning of her studies, she thought the hardest part in English language was to learn how to pronounce words correctly. There were certain words in special that caused her a lot of troubles speaking, especially the ones with the th sound like through or thought. She couldn't really get her tongue around words like those.

In her first English class, her teacher asked her to introduce herself to her classmates. She was so nervous that, as a slip of tongue, instead of saying she was fourteen, she said forty. After noticing everybody giving her such puzzled look, she started to stumble for words on the tip of her tongue. Of course all of that set tongues wagging in her classroom. Her teacher, on the other hand, did everything possible to calm her down.

Today, after overcoming most part of her pronunciation issues, she feels like words or phrases containing the th sound just roll off the tongue very easily.

get your tongue around/round something
to pronounce a difficult word or phrase

a slip of the tongue
a mistake you make when speaking, such as using the wrong word

be on the tip of your tongue
if something you want to say is on the tip of your tongue, you think you know it and that you will be able to remember it very soon

set/start tongues wagging  (informal)
if something that someone says or does sets tongues wagging, it causes people to talk about them

roll/trip off the tongue
if a word or phrase trips off the tongue, it is very easy to say

Fonte: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/

Você sabe o que significa one-night stand?

If you're single, maybe you'll understand very well what I'm about to say. I'm not saying it happens to all single people, but some of them have really no problem whatsoever hooking up with a different person everyday. If for example you usually have several sexual relationships that last no longer than a single night, you can say you've had many one-night stands. A one-night stand is what you can have for one single night with someone you barely know, but it is not always the case. Maybe you've been with the person several times before, but the relationship is not based on anything more than a series of one-night stands. It's not a serious relationship. It is a purely sex-based relationship.

Still talking about the term, people don't necessarily have to be single in order to have night-stands. If you're married, but still have secretly one-night stands with somebody else, you're simply cheating on your partner. Some cheaters, after getting caught by their partners, may want to try to explain what they've done by saying something like this: It's you I love. She was just a one-night stand. As you can see, if you call someone a one-night stand, you're just saying he or she means nothing but a person you once had sex with.