Thanks so much for your interesting blog article. You've covered so much ground over your four weeks, I feel like I know Hungary much better than before!

I'm particularly intrigued by what you say about Hungarians being very good at science and maths and that Hungary has produced many notable inventors. Why do you think that is?

Once upon a time, you might have said the same about English people. We had many famous engineers like Brunel and George Stephenson. But nowadays I think we are a nation of pen-pushers! Many people in my city, London, are involved in international business, consultancy and accounting. I guess we have a big advantage in being able to speak an international language.

Britain: a nation of pen-pushers?

I'm going to say goodbye to Zsuzsi today because this is my last blog for now. I am sure I will be back in the future! Bye to all my readers too; it's been great hearing your thoughts.

LANGUAGE

I arrived really late at the place of fete with my boyfriend, and we didn't enter the museums even if it was possible, we enjoyed rather the atmosphere of the Night and we took a tour in the centre of city walking on the streets.

This is tricky stuff. I think that what you want here is something we teachers call the third conditional:

If (past perfect verb) then (modal + past participle)

So in your sentence, you could say:

Even if the museums had been open, we wouldn't have entered them.

But you put the result first, so it should look like this:

I arrived really late at the fete with my boyfriend, but we wouldn't have entered the museums even if it had been possible. Instead, we enjoyed the atmosphere of the night and took a walking tour of the city centre.

This is about as difficult as English grammar gets, so let's return to this point in this week's homework.

In my view, my country is not a rich one economically.

In my view is a great example of a stance marker: a word or phrase that indicates the speaker's attitude towards something. To find out about some other stance markers, watch this fun video.

LAST WEEK'S HOMEWORK

Well done to Les, Beatriz, Hind and Tereza - you all got these answers right! Beatriz, you're right that it is me that presents most of these programmes - the very same William! Can't you tell from the photo of me and my dad on this page?

Hind, well done for doing this even though you find the blogs difficult. I'm sure your English will really improve if you keep pushing yourself.

1. He knows everything there is to know about stamps. He's a complete anorak!
2. I can't believe you're getting married! When's the big day?
3. I just bought a packet of crisps and when I opened them I saw they were half-empty! What a swizz!
4. Lots of my friends kiss each other when they say goodbye. I have to say I don't like it - I guess I'm just not very touchy-feely.
5. I'm almost ready - I'll just be two ticks / two shakes / a jiffy.

Remember that you can find out more about all these words by going to The English We Speak homepage.

HOMEWORK

OK, I did say I would return to the difficult terrain of the third conditional. Can you fill in the gaps in the following sentences, using one of the words in brackets? You might find this page useful:

1. If I _______ to Budapest, I would have seen the Danube. (have gone / had gone / go / went)
2. I _______ visited Hungary years ago if I'd known it was so fascinating! (had / (nothing) / would / might have)
3. If only _______ him about the phone call, he wouldn't have wasted his morning trying to speak to the supplier. (I have told / I told / I had told / I tell)
4. _______ I had applied for a ticket, I probably wouldn't have got one. There was so much demand! (Only if / Even if / If only / Whether)
5. _______ got up earlier I might have got to my meeting on time. (Had I, I had, If I, Have I)

USEFUL VOCABULARY

• to cover so much ground - to discuss or review many topics, e.g. It was a very long meeting but we covered a lot of ground.
• intrigued - curious, interested
• notable - important, well-known
• Once upon a time - In the past, maybe a long time ago. Many children's stories begin with this line, e.g. Once upon a time in a land far away, there lived an unhappy princess. (Incidentally, children's stories often end with this line: They lived happily ever after.)
• pen-pusher - someone who works in an office, doing paperwork. The phrase is slightly derogatory, but humorous
• tricky - difficult
• to push oneself - to force oneself to work hard and achieve a goal, e.g. You'll never get into Cambridge unless you really push yourself and study every day
• terrain - the landscape. Here I am using it figuratively, to mean a topic area. Third conditionals are difficult, like doing a walk where there are many obstacles and you can't see the path.

I really enjoyed reading your blog about the Days of Turkey in Hungary. Here in the UK, we have always had lots of summer fetes but I think craft fairs are becoming more and more popular. In recent years, farmers' markets have also really taken off - this is where you can buy traditional food direct from producers.

In general, I would say that Britain is currently in the grip of a spell of nostalgia. Maybe it's because of the royal wedding, or maybe it's the tough economic times - I'm not sure - but at the moment Brits seem to be seeking solace in the past. Everywhere you go at the moment you can see bunting and posters inspired by the 1940s. There has been a revival of folk music, and traditional games have been rediscovered too.

Here is a picture of some traditional dancers that I took at a festival a few years ago. They would describe themselves as Molly dancers because they are from the east of England, but this kind of dancing is more commonly called Morris dancing. You can listen to a programme about it here.

The Pig Dyke Molly Dancers

LANGUAGE / LAST WEEK'S HOMEWORK

Just to follow on from what I said about your slightly formal style Zsuzsa, let's take a look at the following passage:

According to me, one of the most valuable parts of this entertainment is the presentation and purchase of old professions' products and a lot of other communal programs commence to follow this tendency nowadays in Hungary.

You could say something like this:

In my view, one of the most valuable aspects of this event is the space given to craft stalls and demonstrations. A lot of programs have recently been set up to support and encourage this folk movement in Hungary.

Thanks everyone for your very interesting insights and tips into learning informal English words. But before we look at those tips, let's just stop and ask ourselves the question 'Why learn informal English?'

Fayas pointed out that in his country, India, slang is not very highly-regarded. People are respected if they can speak formally. Svetlana made a similar point about Russia - that speakers are admired if they can construct beautiful sentences. And our blogger Zsuzsa pointed out that "the major point in studies is that we can express ourselves in a formal way."

So it isn't 'one size fits all'! Ask yourself why are learning English. Is it to pass exams? Is it to communicate formally in a business context? Is it to make friends? That will affect how important learning informal English is.

Also, some cultures are simply more formal than others. To some extent, I think it's great that learners use English to express their own culture - and that might mean using English in a different or more formal way from native speakers. (It's a different topic, but I think you could make a similar point about pronunciation. Lots of teachers nowadays say it's fine for students to retain an accent so long as they can be understood. It can help demonstrate a speaker's personality and culture.)

Having said all that, my starting point as a teacher is to look for things that will make students stand out from native speakers. And if I'm honest I think that learning a language is partly about entering into a new culture - not just speaking different words but saying different things!

This last point might be a starting point for your question, Zsuzsa. French and English are linked languages but culturally our countries are very different - even more so with France and the USA. I think the more time you spend with French and English speakers, books and films the easier you will find it to separate in your mind not so much the words we use, but the kind of thing we say. But as for the words themselves, circulation is a word in English (many words ending in -tion are words in English), although maybe we use it a bit differently. That's confusing but it's an advantage too!

OK, enough philosophy. Let's look at some of your tips:

• I really like Paloma's tip about listening to BBC 1Xtra. That radio station is far too young and trendy for me but it's so important that you find a source for new English words that suits your interest and personality.
• I liked Hooonamdrol's tip about using his phone to make a note of new words. But are there any modern ways to learn words as well as record them? For example, how about using social networking sites to communicate with native speakers? Or noting down the words you learn from computer games?
• Svetlana described herself as a book junkie. I think modern books - with plenty of dialogue - can be a really great place to go for informal language. What's nice about this idea is that this language is balanced with more formal prose in the descriptive passages. If you find 'proper' English books too difficult, why not try graded readers?
• Lots of people mentioned watching films with subtitles. Try watching a film with subtitles on, and then watching it again with them off. You will be surprised how much you can understand and remember. The reason for that is...
• Context is everything. As 'BBC fan' wrote, When you learn the word with no context first it is very hard to keep it in your long-term memory, and second it gives you no clue how to use the word...When I need to learn new words I just write them down, and try to make up a sentence with them. You will only learn new words by using them. So make up sentences on paper and in your head - and then the word will be ready in a conversation when you need it.
• Silvia has a perfect technique! First I usually find new words from the newspaper, reviews from restaurants or movies, magazines, e-mail, movies and television. Secondly I am used to writing the new word with their meaning, pronunciation and one or two examples. Finally I remember it when I start writing and when I can not remember I need to go over it one more time.
• Les mentioned vocabulary builders. The big advantage of these books is that words are linked together in themes. That should make it easier for you to remember topical words and use them in a conversation. Just make sure that you DO use the words. Do as WyLin does and use them as often as possible. A fantastic way to learn topical vocabulary is to plan to discuss a particular topic with friends; before you meet learn as many words and phrases connected with that topic as you can.
• One thing I would add is that it's worth spending some time learning the 'furniture' of English. I'm referring to things that are more formally called discourse markers. Two examples of what I mean are highlighted above: 'In my view' and 'having said that'. Using phrases like that will make you sound more natural but also serve to tell your conversation partner how you feel about something. That means that you are asking your topical vocabulary to do less work!

HOMEWORK

Let's round off this discussion by practising some everyday English phrases. Can you fill in the gaps in these six sentences? You'll find all the phrases you need here.

1. He knows everything there is to know about stamps. He's a complete _______!
2. I can't believe you're getting married! When's _______?
3. I just bought a packet of crisps and when I opened them I saw they were half-empty! What a _______!
4. Lots of my friends kiss each other when they say goodbye. I have to say I don't like it - I guess I'm just not very _______.
5. I'm almost ready - I'll just be _______.

USEFUL WORDS

• fete - a festival
• craft fair - a festival where you can buy handmade things
• to take off - to suddenly become very popular, e.g. I think this website is really going to take off next year
• to be in the grip of something - to be controlled by something, often something unpleasant, e.g. We're in the grip of winter
• nostalgia - wishing to return to a time in the past or to one's home (a feeling that is somehow both sad and enjoyable)
• to seek solace in something - to look for comfort in something, e.g., After Marty died I sought solace in work.
• bunting - small triangular flags on a string. See the picture below! Note that this is a non-count noun.

• revival - a new interest in something old, e.g. The dance is a revival of a Victorian tradition
• In my view... - I think that...
• movement - the action of a group of people who all share a belief or an ideal
• one size fits all - a way to describe clothing that doesn't need different sizes. But here it means an approach to something that is suitable for everyone. E.g. There is no one size fits all solution for a company's marketing needs.
• Having said all that... - But..., However...,
• stand out from - seem different from
• trendy - fashionable
• junkie - someone who is addicted to illegal drugs (Svetlana used the word humorously)
• graded readers - books that are designed for language learners, with different levels of difficulty

I know that in my last blog I ended by saying goodbye, but there has been a change of plan and you're stuck with me for another month.

Zsuzsa, it's great to meet you and find out about your wonderful city. I know that we had some technical gremlins last week, but everything seems to be sorted now. So, I'm really looking forward to blogging with you across the rest of June.

I have been to Hungary once, to see my friend who was working as an English language teacher in Budapest. I thought it was a lovely city - full of grand buildings but it also seemed quite a 'happening' place. I have vivid memories of eating palacsinta (pancakes) and listening to lots of fab gypsy CDs.

I'm not sure if this is Buda or Pest... but it's very grand!

LANGUAGE

In your passage you describe June as a nightmare for students, but you go on to tell us about a heavenly park where students can relax while they revise. As some other students commented on your blog, you create a nice mental image of this special place.

Frogs croak and water-lilies float on the surface of water, children run around, they angle for tadpole and undergraduates study their notes of chemist or philology on their blankets.

This is a lovely little passage. We would say Chemistry here and tadpoles. Here's another very small mistake:

June is a nightmare for Hungarian undergraduates. These days we have to prove our knowledge...

In English these days means the same as nowadays; i.e. it means now in 2011 rather than in the past. E.g.

In the past most Englishmen had a cooked breakfast every day, but these days people don't have time.

In your sentence you could say in this month or at this time.

But those are tiny mistakes. In general, I think you write very well indeed and really confidently. The only thing I would say at this stage is that your writing is a little formal and functional.

I would like to transmit some events and curiosities from my little country, Hungary in this month.

You could say - I can't wait to tell you about some of the events and curiosities from my little country, Hungary.

I don't know much about Hungarian (other than that it is very hard to learn!) but English is a profoundly informal language. So we tend to write in the same everyday language that we use with friends. Even business correspondence will contain phrasal verbs and contractions (although you probably wouldn't use slang words in that context).

There are usually three or four different ways of saying something in English. When you come across a word like transmit it's worth looking up the synonyms and trying to work out which of the words is most used, which is most formal and so on.

However....

HOMEWORK

... I'm interested in your ideas and the ideas of our correspondents on this blog. So for this week's homework I'd like everyone to share how they learn English vocabulary - particularly informal vocabulary.

Where do you pick words up?
How do you make a note of them?
What do you do to ensure that you can remember the words when you need them?

I look forward to reading your responses!

USEFUL VOCABULARY

• you're stuck with me - A humorous phrase that means 'Unfortunately for you, I'm staying"


• gremlins - gremlins are little creatures that don't really exist. Sometimes we say that problems with technology are caused by these little creatures living inside telephones, TVs etc.


• sorted - an informal word meaning fixed or resolved. Here in the UK we use this word quite a lot. E.g. - A: Did you manage to get that contract to the client? B: Yep, it's all sorted now.


• 'happening' - an informal adjective meaning that a lot of interesting or exciting things are happening. It's usually used to describe a place.


• fab - this is informal / slang English. It's short for fabulous, so it means great, brilliant. This word was very popular in the 1960s and 1970s.


• revise - to look again at your studies before taking an exam


• everyday - ordinary, normal. Note that this word is an adjective; the adverb form is two words. Compare: In the past most Englishmen had a cooked breakfast every day. We tend to write in the same everyday language that we use with friends.


• come across - encounter, find by accident


• looking up - to check something in a book or on the internet. It usually refers to using a dictionary or encyclopaedia.


• synonyms - different words that mean the same thing


• pick (something) up - here, to pick up means to learn something. We can use this phrase to describe learning a habit or activity, especially without much effort e.g. My dad was always playing the guitar and I just picked it up.

This is my last post. I just wanted to say thanks for being such great students and asking such interesting questions.

Lito, I'm so pleased you published those fish recipes with the mouth-watering pictures. I don't think I have ever tried Filipino food, but I'm going to seek out a Filipino restaurant in London now.

You've been a really fantastic blogger. It's not easy to write in another language but you have given us an idea of the sights, sounds and tastes of your country. You have also made us all feel very lazy because you get up so early every morning!

Thanks also to everyone who has commented below. We seem to have lots of film fans on this blog!

Mohammad, I was interested in what you wrote about how rare dancing and singing scenes are in Hollywood nowadays. Of course you are right that Bollywood films are really different from Hollywood films, but I wonder if the situation is changing. I know that recently there have been some Indian films that have tackled some quite serious themes. Meanwhile, in Europe and America musicals have come back into fashion partly because of a very popular American TV show called Glee. I wouldn't be surprised if in the next few years we see a lot more Hollywood musicals than we are used to.

I can remember the first time I saw a Bollywood movie. I grew up in a town with a great many people from the Indian subcontinent. For this reason my local cinema showed Indian flicks every Sunday. One day I went along to watch a film - I forget which one. I realised that I was the only non-Indian person in the whole auditorium. The film started, the hero was 'introduced' to applause from the people in the cinema... and I realised there were no subtitles! But guess what? It didn't matter. It was easy to follow the story.

I'm not the only person to have enjoyed a Bollywood film! The Queen visited a film studio during a visit to India in the 1990's.

From next week, my colleague Neil will be the teacher blogger. Be gentle with him.

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK'S QUIZ

1. Cinema is sometimes called the WHAT screen? a) bronze b) silver c) golden

The silver screen.

2. Which country has the world's biggest filmmaking industry? a) USA b) Nigeria c) India

Tricky one. More films come out of India than anywhere else so in that sense it is the biggest industry (but I'm not sure which country makes the most money from films!)

3. What is the missing word? "Lights, camera, _______!" a) action b) cut c) act

"Lights, Camera, Action!" This is what the director says when he wants people to start acting.

4. In what country was Catherine Zeta-Jones born?

Wales.

5. Where did Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn go on holiday in 1953?

The answer is indeed Rome. If you haven't seen 'Roman Holiday' then I heartily recommend it. Beatriz, I think there were as many women who fell in love with Gregory Peck in 1953 as there were men who fell in love with Audrey Hepburn.

USEFUL VOCABULARY

• mouth-watering if something is mouth-watering it makes you want to eat, e.g. She came back from Sicily with all of these mouth-watering stories about meals she'd had.
• tackled here, this means to address something, to examine and discuss something which is difficult to talk about. E.g. If you don't tackle these issues with your son, things can only get worse.
• flicks an informal word for movies
• auditorium room where films are shown; it can also be used for concerts
• applause a noun for lots of people clapping their hands
• subtitles the words that appear at the bottom of a film in another language
• heartily enthusiastically

Yesterday I had an interesting experience that some people reading this might have had before. I went out in London to shoot two short films.

My background is radio, not TV, so it was a new experience for me. We only had a small crew but everything was a lot more inconvenient and took a lot longer than recording a radio programme!

The reason is that it is very easy to edit audio but it is difficult to edit video without causing continuity errors. That's why when you make a film you often have to retake scenes from a different angle or from further away or closer up. If you are making a documentary you also have to take a lot of cutaway shots. It all makes the editing easier!

A BBC film crew (not my film crew!)

The videos will appear soon on the bbclearningenglish site. Do any of you like making films? Or do you prefer to just watch them?! For all you cinephiles, I have created a cinema quiz at the end of today's entry.

LANGUAGE

Lito, I enjoyed finding out about your hobby of going to fish markets. The fish market in London is called Billingsgate. I have intended to go there at 5.30 am for a long time but I am much lazier than you! But I did once visit the massive Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. I ate sushi for breakfast - it was very fresh!

If you feel that you've been ripped-off by them in getting fish that you bought in high price, I must say no you haven't, because its worth it.

This is a great use of that phrase to rip someone off / to be ripped off. If you are ripped off it means that you have paid too much for something. Your preposition here is wrong though - we should say 'at a high price'.

Here in the city where I live, person like me that loves eating seafoods are gathering every friday at fish market not buying a ice preserved fish but a live and fresh one.

There are a few little mistakes in this sentence that probably tell us what some problem areas are for you: plurals, present tenses and verb forms. Compare it to these sentences:

Here in the city where I live, people like me who love eating seafood gather every Friday at a fish market. We don't go there to buy ice-preserved fish but fresh, live ones.

Notice that I have turned your sentence into two sentences... In written English, it's best not to try to fit too much information into one sentence.

Lito, what I want to know is: what happens next? Do you have any good fish recipes?

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK'S HOMEWORK

Well done to everyone who tried last week's homework, because I think everyone got it right!

1. cold = chilly
2. cloudy = overcast
3. changing all the time = changeable
4. a hot day / period of time = a scorcher
5. light rain = drizzle
6. rains heavily = it chucks it down
7. humid = muggy

I was pleased to see that some of you had tried to make sentences using last week's weather words. However, let's just take a look at how to use that word scorcher. Iva wrote:

To be honest, I would rather enjoy some SCORCHER days on the beach in Varna, Bulgaria, but for the time being I have to pass my time in MUGGY Amsterdam.

... and vn_nghia wrote:

I'm from the southern of VietNam that the weather is almost SCORCHER and not CHANGEABLE.

These sentences aren't quite right because scorcher is a noun and not an adjective. Take a look at these two example sentences:

This summer is going to be an absolute scorcher.
It was a scorching (hot) summer day.

THIS WEEK'S HOMEWORK

I thought I would continue the theme of filming with a cinema quiz! This will test your knowledge of English and also film trivia. Enjoy.

1. Cinema is sometimes called the WHAT screen? a) bronze b) silver c) golden
2. Which country has the world's biggest filmmaking industry? a) USA b) Nigeria c) India
3. What is the missing word? "Lights, camera, _______!" a) action b) cut c) act
4. In what country was Catherine Zeta-Jones born?
5. Where did Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn go on holiday in 1953?

USEFUL LANGUAGE

To shoot - to film
A crew - the people who shoot a film (not the actors but the technical staff)
To edit something - to create a sequence in a film, TV or radio programme by putting together different parts of a recording
A continuity error - A mistake in a film or TV sequence. For example, someone might open a door but in the next shot we see that the door is closed.
To retake - to film another time
A cutaway shot - A short piece of film that is not of the main subject that can be used to help edit a sequence.
A cinephile - someone who loves movies.
Trivia - this is a non-count noun which describes knowledge which is useful in quizzes but not in everyday life. E.g. You must invite Martin to the pub quiz. He knows so much football trivia!

I'm just writing a quick entry today. I'll write a longer passage next week!

LANGUAGE

Lito, one of the great things about reading your blog is how your enthusiasm shines through your writing. Are you a travel agent? If not, I think you have missed your calling.

In this passage, I like the way you build up momentum by making a long list of ideas.

Bohol is also one of the best places to hit and enjoy in my country if you are really want a remarkable beach experience and an exciting expedition. Diving, swimming, hiking, having an underwater experience, taking a glimpse of the naturally landscaped Hills, Being an audiences of these friendly, playfulness, smooth skinny Dolphins, Beering, Well Beering shouldn't be absent on the list should it?

A couple of small points. In English we don't use capital letters in the middle of the sentence, unless it's a name.

Also, there is no such word as 'beering' - although I know exactly what you mean! We might use the informal word boozing, which means to drink lots of alcohol. Booze is a slang word for alcohol.

ANSWERS TO LAST WEEK'S HOMEWORK

Well done - nearly everyone got this right! Kirsti, I can understand your confusion about 'the gloves are off'. But think about it this way: if you punch someone without a boxing glove, it hurts them more. So, 'the gloves are off' means 'let's be tough'.

1. From now on, let's be really tough.
From now on, the gloves are off.

2. She's a very important politician.
She's a political heavyweight. (For some reason this sounds better than 'a heavyweight politician'!)

3. The teacher was about to ask me to read my homework when the class ended. Just in time!
Saved by the bell!

4. He used to be a successful pianist but now he is a failure.
He used to be a successful pianist but now he's down and out.

5. That's a bit unfair!
That's a bit below the belt!

6. This is the fourth time he's made this mistake. I'm going to tell him he's wrong and I'm not going to be easy on him.

This is the fourth time he's made this mistake. I'm going to tell him he's wrong and I'm not going to pull any punches.

THIS WEEK'S HOMEWORK

Like every Englishman I love to talk about the weather. The reason why we always discuss this topic is that England's weather is so changeable. Some days it is bright, other days it's overcast. Occasionally, it chucks it down but more often we will just have day after day of drizzle. At the moment it is rather muggy. But no-one is complaining because we had such a long and chilly winter. Everyone is hoping that this summer will be a scorcher!

Can you match the underlined words to these definitions?

1. cold
2. cloudy
3. changing all the time
4. a hot day / period of time
5. light rain
6. rains heavily
7. humid

USEFUL LANGUAGE

• to shine through - to be clear, e.g. Her essay was a little confused, but her intelligence shone through.
• to miss one's calling - a phrase meaning to do a job that isn't the job you would be best at, e.g. You're such a great cook. You really missed your calling!
• To punch someone - to hit someone with your fist

Thanks to all of you for your warm words. You know, really this blog belongs to you; I'm just a guest here. So thank you so much for welcoming me into your home and making me a nice cup of tea.

Lito, like some of the others on this site I confess I hadn't heard of Manny Pacquiao. But I've just watched him in action online.

Although boxing is not the English national sport, it has probably given more idioms to the English language than any other. I will return to this topic in the homework section at the bottom of this post!

Your post made me wonder who an equivalent British sporting personality would be to 'Handy Manny'.

The racing driver Lewis Hamilton springs to mind;

 

The reason is not so much that he has had a glittering career, although he has won his share of trophies. It is more that the British public has seen him make mistakes and make up for them.

We've watched David Beckham go from being a footballer to being - on many occasions - an ambassador for our country. Now he has become an icon of modern Britain - a bit like the London Eye or the Dyson vacuum cleaner.

LANGUAGE

We Filipinos are friendly, technically educated, hardworking, honest and religious. There's more of that, I just want it to cut it to the chase. One the best example is Manny Pacquiao...

If you cut to the chase, you miss out the long introduction and get to the point quickly. This is the sort of thing you might say in a business meeting: Let's cut to the chase. I think the phrase comes from Hollywood, when directors want to go straight to the most exciting part of their film, the car chase.

I think the phrasal verb to sum up would be useful here. Lots of you will know this to mean 'in conclusion'. But you can also use it when a single thing or person combines lots of qualities. So you could say:

We Filipinos are friendly, technically educated, hardworking, honest and religious. All of this is summed up in one man: Manny Pacquiao.

A more formal way to say something similar is:

We Filipinos are friendly, technically educated, hardworking, honest and religious. All of these qualities are epitomised by one man: Manny Pacquiao.

The epitome (pronounced e-PI-toe-me) of something is the very best example of that thing.

The epitome of the classic British racing car is the Aston Martin DB5.

Finally, here's one other way to say it:

We Filipinos are friendly, technically educated, hardworking, honest and religious. Manny Pacquiao embodies all of these qualities.

To embody means to give a physical form to something abstract.

LAST WEEK'S HOMEWORK

Well done everyone who sent in their suggestions. Almost everyone got these sentences right.... Although I did say there wasn't a single 'right' answer!

1. I was reared by my parents

This should be I was brought up by my parents (or more naturally, by my mum and dad).

Kika, yes you can say I grew up with my parents but notice that the meaning is slightly different. I grew up with my two sisters, but they didn't look after me and tell me off when I was naughty. (Well, they did, but can you see the point I'm making: to bring someone up means to act like a parent towards a child).

Mohammad, I like what you wrote - I was born and bred by my parents. I don't think this is wrong, but I think this phrase 'born and bred' is often used to describe national identity. So, if someone wants to say that they are a really really English person, they might say I'm an Englishman born and bred.

2. When people criticise her, she should defend herself.

This should be When people criticise her, she should stand up for herself or she should stick up for herself.

3. I'm starting to become ill.

I'm going down with something.

4. I said goodbye to Alice at the airport.

I saw Alice off at the airport.

THIS WEEK'S HOMEWORK

Let us return to the subject of boxing. Look at these six phrases from the sport:

• Down and out
• The gloves are off
• Below the belt
• Heavyweight
• (To not) pull any punches
• Saved by the bell

You can probably guess

Manny Pacquiao fighting Shane Mosley

1. From now on, let's be really tough.
2. She's a very important politician.
3. The teacher was about to ask me to read my homework when the class ended. Just in time!
4. He used to be a successful pianist but now he is a failure.
5. That's a bit unfair!
6. This is the fourth time he's made this mistake. I'm going to tell him he's wrong and I'm not going to be easy on him.

USEFUL LANGUAGE

• a personality - a celebrity from a particular field, e.g. a sporting personality, a TV personality
• to springs to mind - to occur to one
• glittering - very successful
• to make up for something - redeem oneself, to do something good after doing something bad
• an ambassador - here, this means someone who represents a country or cause unofficially
• an icon - originally, this had a religious meaning. Now, it is often used to describe someone who is well respected and sums up (or epitomises or embodies!) a particular time, e.g. a fashion icon, a gay icon
• to tell a child off - to tell a child (s)he is bad, naughty etc.

Bye!

I really enjoyed reading your first post and seeing those beautiful pictures of your country. I have never been to the Phillipines but it's definitely on my list.

I find it especially interesting that in Boracay international and local tourists enjoy the beaches side by side. Do these two groups of people always get on together?

Sorry, no holiday images from Thailand. Just a coconut.

After a while, I realised I was the only person on the beach; all the other tourists had gone off to bars and restaurants.

But suddenly, a large group of local people arrived on the beach. I recognised some of them as

workers from my hotel. They waded into the water fully dressed. Some of them were using coconuts as floats, something I had never seen before. The air was filled with peals of laughter as they started splashing about and throwing the coconuts to one another.

Some places are a joy to visit but even better to live in.

I'm really looking forward to your next post, Lito.

LANGUAGE

Lito, I think you employed some beautiful language in your piece. I like the way you described the restaurants' food as 'mouth-watering'. This means the same as delicious but it's a more interesting, evocative word. It's so important, when you're learning a language, to try and use new words. Some learners are too loyal to the words they already know (words like 'delicious') so they never move from using the language in an efficient way to using it an expressive way.

You said:

Not only Filipinos are spending holidays in that place, it is also sprayed with people from west countries.

It might be better to say:

It's not just Filipinos that spend holidays here; it is sprinkled with people from the west too.

Try to be a little careful with verb conjugation. In particular, ask yourself whether the verb you are using needs an S or not. For regular verbs in English, you only need to add an S in the third person (i.e. for he, she and it).

You said:

Are you getting stressed from the office work? needs to chill out? Wants to be away from the Bosses for a couple of weeks?

You don't need the S after 'need' or 'want' here because these questions are in the second person (you).

Restaurants that serves mouth watering western and asian foods

It should be 'serve' because restaurants is in the sixth person (they).

We would also normally say 'food' because this word is generally uncountable; we say 'How much food do you want?' not 'How many foods do you want?'

However, you can actually use the plural 'foods' in this sentence, as you have done. Does anyone know why? Some of you might also have noticed this unusual use of the plural in my passage above:

I spent the whole afternoon swimming in the beautiful waters.

HOMEWORK

If you look at my passage above, you'll notice I have used a few phrasal verbs.

Do these two groups of people always get on together?
...all the other tourists had gone off to bars and restaurants.
...they started splashing about and throwing the coconuts to one another.

Phrasal verbs are difficult to learn because there are so many of them! Also, they can have surprising meanings, sometimes even double meanings. However, it is extremely important to get a handle on these verbs if you want your English to sound more natural.

So, who would like to try making these four sentences sound much more natural, using phrasal verbs? You will find this site helpful.

1. I was reared by my parents.
2. When people criticise her, she should defend herself.
3. I'm starting to become ill.
4. I said goodbye to Alice at the airport.

There may be more than one correct answer for each sentence, but I'll give you four example answers next week.

USEFUL VOCABULARY

• it's on my list - It's on my to-do list, i,e, I want to do it / go there
• to sun oneself - to sunbathe, to enjoy the sunshine
• to wade - to walk in water
• side by side - together, in harmony
• A float - something you can hold to help you keep on the surface in water ('to float' is also a verb)
• peals of laughter - we can talk about a 'peal of bells,' which is the noise ringing bells make. Laughter can have a similar, happy sound.
• Evocative - bringing to mind an image, feeling or memory