Do you know what the magic verb is in English? It's 'got'. If a Spanish student doesn't know the verb for the thing they want to say, they should just use 'got' because chances are it will work. I bet this morning you got up, got out of bed, got in the shower, got your clothes on, got online, got an e-mail (or two), got a cold, got the paper and a cup of coffee, got some change (from the barista), got stopped by a cop for speeding, got a speeding ticket, and finally got to work (and maybe got drunk afterwards). The word 'got' can mean: entered, put, took, received, bought, obtained, became and arrived. It's very useful. (As a matter of fact I am IMing with Allison right now and she just said, 'I need to get my hair cut and I have some shopping that needs to get done. And I said, 'Don't you need to get an appointment for a haircut?') Count how many times you use it in a day. I think you'll be surprised.
And what about close (the door), close (to my heart), clothes? How confusing. Two of them sound the same but are spelled differently. The ones that are spelled the same are pronounced differently. I'm surprised anyone attempts to learn our crazy language.
The other day one of the English teachers said that she had a question for me. She said a student asked her about a word in a movie he/she watched in English. The student heard the word 'Shocker' as one of the lines in the movie and didn't understand it. For some reason it struck me as funny. I think because it is a slang expression that you are used to hearing from teenagers rather than from my generation (or older). I imagine a student doing a speaking activity during English class and using the expression:
Student A: I like to go to the movies, play video games and read.
Student B: Shocker.
Or: Student A: When I was younger I used to walk to school by myself.
Student B: Shocker.
The rest of the week was pretty boring. I had to rest up after the trip to Morocco and before Mom, Allison and Patty arrive this coming Thursday. I did, however, try to cook a couple of things: spaghetti with garlic and grape tomatoes (which I will forever remember because I have a burn the size of a dime on my wrist that is sure to leave a scar. We don't have an ice pack so I carefully reviewed of the contents of the freezer for something that could be used as such. Ultimately I decided frozen meat or fish on an open wound would be worse than ending up with a scar. Henceforth I will be reminded of Spain when I look at my right wrist. Actually, it is sort of in the shape of Spain too.), an omelette with onions, potatoes and canned mussels (my stomach is still churning) and today I made a spaghetti sauce with mushrooms, onions, garlic, artichokes and crushed tomatoes.
This past Thursday I hung out with Megan, Jose and (for a little while) Cedric, the French conversation assistant at the school the past three years. (Clarisse went to Portugal this past weekend and we needed a French friend, so he was the stand-in.) Cedric wanted to practice English at one point, so Megan asked him questions. A few times he didn't understand when Megan or Jose asked the question but for some reason understood when I asked the question. I guess that proves the Minnesota and Wisconsin accents are different (Megan is from Minnesota).
Well, I've got to get going.
And what about close (the door), close (to my heart), clothes? How confusing. Two of them sound the same but are spelled differently. The ones that are spelled the same are pronounced differently. I'm surprised anyone attempts to learn our crazy language.
The other day one of the English teachers said that she had a question for me. She said a student asked her about a word in a movie he/she watched in English. The student heard the word 'Shocker' as one of the lines in the movie and didn't understand it. For some reason it struck me as funny. I think because it is a slang expression that you are used to hearing from teenagers rather than from my generation (or older). I imagine a student doing a speaking activity during English class and using the expression:
Student A: I like to go to the movies, play video games and read.
Student B: Shocker.
Or: Student A: When I was younger I used to walk to school by myself.
Student B: Shocker.
The rest of the week was pretty boring. I had to rest up after the trip to Morocco and before Mom, Allison and Patty arrive this coming Thursday. I did, however, try to cook a couple of things: spaghetti with garlic and grape tomatoes (which I will forever remember because I have a burn the size of a dime on my wrist that is sure to leave a scar. We don't have an ice pack so I carefully reviewed of the contents of the freezer for something that could be used as such. Ultimately I decided frozen meat or fish on an open wound would be worse than ending up with a scar. Henceforth I will be reminded of Spain when I look at my right wrist. Actually, it is sort of in the shape of Spain too.), an omelette with onions, potatoes and canned mussels (my stomach is still churning) and today I made a spaghetti sauce with mushrooms, onions, garlic, artichokes and crushed tomatoes.
 |
| BURNED! (I got a burn, you might say) |
This past Thursday I hung out with Megan, Jose and (for a little while) Cedric, the French conversation assistant at the school the past three years. (Clarisse went to Portugal this past weekend and we needed a French friend, so he was the stand-in.) Cedric wanted to practice English at one point, so Megan asked him questions. A few times he didn't understand when Megan or Jose asked the question but for some reason understood when I asked the question. I guess that proves the Minnesota and Wisconsin accents are different (Megan is from Minnesota).
Well, I've got to get going.
No comments:
Post a Comment