I’m giving it up!

by David Sweetnam on September 8, 2011

Last time we talked about things you can’t live without; today, what about things you WANT to live without?

image Boca Dorada licence CC by 2.0

Is there anything you want to give up? This week I decided to stop drinking coffee. I’ve done this before, and went 2 months without, and got so much extra energy from it. However, one day when I was in a particularly good mood I thought to myself: “One cup won’t hurt.” Then it became 2 and then I was back on the coffee.

But this time it’s different – I’m going without for 3 months, that’s the goal.

Below are some phrases you can use to talk about what habits, cravings, and addictions you’d like to stop. A habit is something you do regularly or without thinking about it, as it’s something you’ve been doing for a long time. It can be positive or negative. A craving is this strong feeling that you really want to have something RIGHT NOW (eg a chocolate craving). An addiction is a strong desire to want to do something which is usually harmful to you (eg referring to cigarettes, drugs).

Some of these words can also be used humorously as well – while you can be an alcoholic, you can also be a chocoholic and a shopaholic! As always, the context is important.

What do you want to give up?

    I’m addicted to..(shopping; chocolate!)
    I (desperately) need to give up.. (smoking, drinking)
    I really ought to cut down on..(cigarettes)
    I should cut out.. (the coffee).
    I’m a compulsive (shopper, overeater, gambler) so I have to seek help on this.
    I’m going cold turkey
    I’ve got to stop…(spending so much/doing my English homework at 2am in the morning).
    I have to drop this habit
    I ..(smoke) too much, I really should break/kick the habit.
    I’m quitting this habit of a lifetime!
    I have to quit..(smoking).
    I want to get off (the coffee).
    Right, that’s it – I’m off (coffee)!
    Maybe I’ll just wean myself off (coffee).

Vocabulary notes

Going cold turkey was originally used to talk about immediately stopping a drug, but now can be used to refer to stopping other things that you’ve become dependent on. It can also be used for people eg when you split up from your girlfriend or boyfriend and it’s in your best interest not to see or contact them AT ALL.

Cut out something v. cut down on something
“I’m cutting out coffee” means completely kicking the habit. However, ‘to cut down’ means to reduce. So if you cut down on chocolate, it means you eat less chocolate, perhaps having just a little piece after lunch instead of a whole block!

Wean yourself off something
The verb ‘wean’ is not often used, but you do hear it for talking about quitting a habit or addiction. ‘Weaning yourself off’ something refers to going through this process of not being dependent on, for example, alcohol or a drug, anymore. It’s not as quick as going cold turkey but rather something more gradual.

Compulsive shopper/gambler/spender
It might be fun to say you’re a shopaholic but we use ‘compulsive shopper’ (or spender, for example) for when it’s a serious, negative habit which is not healthy and which you may need some assistance with. ‘Compulsive’ is similar to ‘obsessive’.

Famous quotes on addiction

Which do you agree with here?

“LOVE? It’s like a cigarette. You get addicted fast, but it slowly and painfully kills you from the inside out.” — Alli Ward

“We are addicted to our thoughts. We cannot change anything if we cannot change our thinking.” — Santosh Kalwar

“Even as a junkie I stayed true [to vegetarianism] – ‘I shall have heroin, but I shan’t have a hamburger.’ What a sexy little paradox.” — Russell Brand

“Every form of addiction is bad, no matter whether the narcotic be alcohol, morphine or idealism.” — C.G. Jung

source: GoodReads.com

Over to you

What do you want to give up? Or are you the opposite and love a beer and a ciggie for breakfast every morning?! Please leave a comment below about your attitude towards quitting and giving up things.

David Sweetnam
Prague English Teacher
Specialising in FCE | CAE | CPE | IELTS Preparation

david [at] GetIntoEnglish [dot] com
Skype: getintoenglish
Twitter @GetIntoEnglish

What can’t you live without?

by David Sweetnam on August 30, 2011

No internet connection at home since that storm the other night in Prague. Had us thinking: “wow, what did people do before the internet!?” What about you – what can’t you live without?

The media say we’re living in times of austerity. You hear this word a lot right now from politicians such as David Cameron, that because public finances are not in good shape, we need to cut down on expenditure.

Fair enough – if everyone pulls their weight.

Another word in the media is staycation – those who spend their vacation time at home. This was the first summer I think I’ve ever had where I didn’t go anywhere, and I know others in the same boat. This is connected to these austere times. Some folks just don’t have the money right now, or perhaps they wish to save while the economic situation is bleak.

If you don’t know who the staycationers are, they’re the grumpy ones walking down Václavské náměstí trying to trip up the smiley ones with the Croatian tans. But after a while, you accept your lot and move on. I decided last week that I wouldn’t go on holiday after all, which then got me thinking about other things. What will I do next year? How will this blog develop?

It also got me thinking about what things we must have in our daily lives in order to be happy, and what is really just ‘fluff’, something the media and the marketers tells us we need but we don’t really. Not having the net at home has been a novelty. We’ve had to go downstairs and walk around the block until we find a signal. On Sunday night we were at the tram stop in front of Cigars and Cigarettes updating our inboxes.

What about you – what things can’t you live without? Your iPod, iPad, the internet, something your girlfriend gave you? The ring you got from your Prince (hi Kate if you’re reading this).

Here are some phrases you can use to talk about what you can’t live without:

What can’t you live without?

I can’t live without… [my iPad]
I’d be lost without… [my favourite pair of jeans]
The most important thing I have is…
I really love ..[my iPad]..as it reminds me of [my lovely Aunt Agna]
My most valuable possession is…
I don’t really need…
I guess I could go without.. [my laptop]
This has got great sentimental value.
If I had to choose my top 3 things, I’d say…

Plus from Hanka’s comment (below):
I’d die without…
There’s nothing better than…
I can’t imagine being without…

Homework

Leave a comment below answering what is true for you ; )

Vocabulary mission

I’ve used quite a few idioms and collocations in this post – can you find them? What items of vocabulary can you write down in your notebook?

Further reading

‘Staycation’ is an example of a portmanteau word. Find out more on this here on Get Into English.

Get an opinion!

by David Sweetnam on August 23, 2011

One simple way to improve your confidence in English is to have real conversations and express how you feel. But some learners miss out on having real interaction by worrying about grammar and vocabulary and making ‘mistakes’. Is this you?

Image: Center for American Progress Licence (CC by 2.0)

Confidence. How can you improve your spoken English if you just stick to ‘studying’ the grammar and vocabulary and not express how you feel?

Sometimes during my time in Prague I’ve ask students about an issue in the media but they reply “I don’t know” or “I’m not interested in this topic” or (my personal favourite) “I don’t like politics.” I understand to some extent that this is cultural – in this country at least it was only 20 or so years ago when there was a communist government and people were afraid to give their opinions.

But imagine you go on a date with someone. Perhaps you met online or at a party. What kind of conversation will you have if you’re afraid to give your opinion? Or what kind of conversation will you have if your potential boy or girlfriend wife says “I don’t know” the whole evening?

You’ll be bored out of your mind!

Communicating with more confidence involves sharing ideas, thoughts, asking your friend what they think and responding to how they reply.

You can only achieve this by doing it.

So I really encourage you to think more about how you develop your conversations and less about those ‘mistakes’ you’re afraid of making.

Interactive communication in Cambridge Exams

One thing I find helpful in encouraging learners to say more about how they feel about a particular topic is to mention that this is tested in the main English exams, which quite often they are preparing for.

For example, in the Cambridge FCE exam, you are expected to give your opinion on a variety of familiar topics, such as travel, sport, family, the environment, and so on.

The higher the level, the more you are expected to justify your opinions, give reasons for your opinions, and respond to what others say. As well, the higher the level, the more you’re expected to speak about unfamiliar or abstract topics.

Read the newspaper!

Why not check out your favourite news site, preferably in English, and ask yourself:

  • What are the top 3 news stories of today or this week?
  • How do I feel about these stories?
  • Would I be able to summarise a story that interests me and give my opinion on it within 1-2 minutes?

I say this because reading the newspaper helps with understanding what the main issues of the day are, and gives you a richer bank of knowledge to draw upon when you speak with others. Just like with reading literature and documentaries.

Broaden your mind

If you only worry about the grammar and vocabulary, you’ll miss out on the chance to develop as a person. Giving your opinion and exchanging your thoughts and ideas helps build confidence. It also helps build healthy relationships.

So next time your English teacher asks you about today’s news or about something that’s happening in your city or country, express how you feel. If you don’t have an opinion, ask others for more information about it and then say what you think.

You can even make up your opinion in an English lesson!

Beyond this, what’s the point of learning all these cool phrases for giving your opinion (eg in my opinion; as far as I’m concerned) if you can’t complete the sentence with your own thoughts?

If you liked this article please share it with your friends:

Barriers

by David Sweetnam on August 17, 2011

A cloudy day in Prague

I walked up to the counter of a bakery in Karlín, an up and coming part of Prague, and ordered their summer special.

The shop assistant replied in Czech: “Which one – the salad or the Argentinian baguette?”

I didn’t have my glasses on me, in fact I broke them ages ago, so I squinted at the board in front of me to see what they were offering. I didn’t realise there were two summer specials.

Before I had a chance to reply, the assistant replied in English:

“Do you speak English?”

I replied in Czech: “No.”

He looked annoyed. But we completed the transaction in Czech.

I can order in Czech, zero problem, but this guy couldn’t wait another 10 seconds for me to have a good look at their full menu before telling him my preference.

People across the world complain that expats and immigrants don’t learn the local language but this small exchange is typical of a LOT of transactions I’ve carried out this summer in Prague.

Just because I have an Australian accent when I speak Czech doesn’t mean that I can’t order a baguette in Czech!

I always speak Czech when I go to restaurants and cafes in Prague and quite often the waiters reply in English.

So if you want foreigners to learn Czech, how can we when you respond in English??

This is just one barrier I have to face each time I walk into a cafe or a restaurant or indeed interact with Czechs. I’m a foreigner – so get used to hearing Czech with an accent.

It’s bad enough when we have our own internal barriers to learning a language, let alone what others impose on us.

  • What barriers do you have when it comes to learning English?
  • Are they barriers that come from within or from others around you?
  • How do you deal with them?

David Sweetnam
Specialising in FCE | CAE | CPE | IELTS Preparation

david [at] GetIntoEnglish [dot] com
Skype: getintoenglish
Twitter @GetIntoEnglish

The Gay Pride Parade comes to Prague: worth it or not?

by David Sweetnam on August 15, 2011

The first Gay Pride Parade came to Prague on Saturday, bringing out even more umbrellas onto the narrow streets of the Czech capital. What did you think of it?

Prague_gay_parade
Prague Gay Pride Parade 2011

As I was walking down quiet Paleckého street on Saturday, I suddenly heard whistles and clapping and the general sound of a party. I turned into Jungmannova and saw shopkeepers outside looking towards Národní Třída. Hmm, so this must be the parade the media have been talking about all week.

Prague’s first gay parade passed without any major hitches. Those strongly against the parade stayed away for the most part, as did the rain – so it didn’t rain on their parade. Beyond that, I kinda wondered what the point of the parade actually was.

To what extent do you feel the people who took part in the parade represented the interests of the wider the gay and lesbian community? Please feel free to leave your thoughts below.

How was it – describing an event you went to

Whether you loved it, hated it – or are ho-hum about the whole thing, there are plenty of adjectives you can use to describe what you thought of it.

Prague Gay Pride Parade 2011
Prague Gay Pride Parade 2011

If you’re positive about it:

You can say it was a colourful parade. Other adjectives include:

wonderful; brilliant; awesome; fantastic [for saying it's very good]
big; grand; spectacular [for talking about how many people took part or how big it was]
thought-provoking [it made you think]
emotional
exciting
unforgettable
fun, enjoyable

If you’re negative about it:

It was a boring or dull parade.

Other negative adjectives include:
predictable [there was nothing surprising about it]
terrible; awful; appalling [well, you don't like it!]
disgraceful [eg you feel the people at the parade behaved in a way which is offensive to you, especially because you disagree with their values or morals]
shocking
pathetic [this can make you feel pity for someone or that you feel angry at seeing a display of weakness]
unnecessarily provocative

Prague Gay Pride Parade 2011
Prague Gay Pride Parade 2011

Verbs with ‘parade’

You say have, hold or stage | a parade.

Some people take part or participate in a parade while others attend or watch the parade.

What else?

Was the parade worthwhile or was it pointless?

Do you agree with Mr Hajek, an aide to President Klaus, who criticised Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda for supporting “deviant fellow citizens”?

Do you think the Czech Republic’s Conservative Christian Democrats handled it better by having a peaceful parade in support of traditional family values?

Or do you side with President of Prague Pride Czeslaw Walek who said: “Prague Pride means joy, knowledge, respect, pride and tolerance”?

What was the reaction among your friends? Is this a good or a bad thing for Prague?

And if you live in another country, what are your thoughts?

Please leave your thoughts below – and please note I won’t be able to publish anything abusive or nasty. This is a blog for those interested in learning English so please present your arguments and thoughts with this in mind.

Further reading on the parade
BBC.co.uk
France24
A short history of Sydney’s much-celebrated Mardi Gras.

David Sweetnam
Specialising in FCE | CAE | CPE | IELTS Preparation

david [at] GetIntoEnglish [dot] com
Skype: getintoenglish
Twitter @GetIntoEnglish

C’mon Prague, is this really summer?! – rain idioms

by David Sweetnam on August 9, 2011

While half the country is lying on a Croatian beach right now, the rest of us are being drenched at seemingly regular intervals. I won’t look at the forecast for my hometown back in Australia but I bet the phrase “rain all day with 2 minutes of sunshine” isn’t included. So what to do? All we really can do is look at some rain idioms ;)

Come rain or shine

We use this to say we’ll do something whatever happens or whatever the weather is like:
I have to be in Brno tomorrow come rain or shine.
We’ll deliver it tomorrow rain or shine.

Take a rain check (on something)

This comes from the USA, as a rain check is a ticket to an outdoor event which you can use later on if it rains. It’s use is now more idiomatic way to say that we can do something later when the time is better:
Sorry, got to go. I’ll take a rain check on that drink tonight.

When it rains, it pours/It never rains but it pours

Sometimes bad things happen all at once. Your partner leaves you, you lose your job, and your team loses in the finals (that’s by far the worst).

So we say when it rains, it pours.

We can also use this to say that many things happen at once in a big quantity:
Bill: “Another customer of ours cancelled their order. That’s the 9th today!”
George: “When it rains, it pours.”

This idiom can be used to stress how something can happen in big amounts after a long drought. Just like in Australia it may not rain for 6 months and then suddenly there’s a big downpour:

Bill: “For months I didn’t go on a date and now there are 5 girls who all want me!”
Hillary: “It never rains, but it pours.”

Rain on someone’s parade

If you have a parade and it rains, it spoils the occasion. Likewise, sometimes things may seem to be going well for your friend but you want to warn them about something or say something which may spoil things:

George: “I just met a really beautiful woman!”
Bill: “Yeah, I know her. Look, I hate to rain on your parade but she’s married.”

George: “I think I’ll get the job.”
Bill: “I’m not trying to rain on your parade but I heard they’ve chosen Barrack as he has more experience.”

This idiom is usually used just before you give your friend the potentially bad news. In a way, you’re acknowledging that you’re going to say something which they may not like.

Right as rain

We use this idiom to say that everything will work out in the end or that everything will be ok or in good order:

Bill: “I had a headache this morning but after drinking a lot of water I was right as rain.”

Barrack: “Once we raise our debt limit to 20 trillion dollars and sell all our assets to China, we’ll be right as rain.”

Today’s cool rain Tweets

When I was younger, I remember two drops of rain moving down the window and pretending it was a race.
- funnyfacts

There will be a rain dance today, weather permitting.
- discordianquote

Rain falling in Chicago on my bike ride. Frankly, I expected to get hit by falling stocks first.
- redeyesportsguy

The feeling of sheer panic as you see the first drops of rain hit your windshield and you can’t remember if you have an umbrella in your car
- NothingButNorts

Source: Twitter

When it’s the Talk of the Town

In parts of Australia when there’s drought (=no rain for a very long time) a downpour can be something the whole town talks about, as this country-pop ditty by John Farnham shows. Let’s hope my next post won’t be on floods.

David Sweetnam
Specialising in FCE | CAE | CPE | IELTS Preparation

david [at] GetIntoEnglish [dot] com
Skype: getintoenglish
Twitter @GetIntoEnglish