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Sunday, November 23, 2008
- Holiday shopping is upon us, and we frequent malls and boutiques alike to find a perfect gift for everyone on our list. How do stores make sure they keep their customers?
They reward them by giving points for each purchase - the more we buy, the more points we get. This system encourages buying from a particular store or chain of stores. Many shoppers become returning customers as they enjoy to be rewarded for their purchases.-
- We can later redeem (convert) these points for cash, goods or services. For example, a store can decide to give a shopper a $10 gift card for 5000 points s/he got. Do you have a reward points card?
What if you’re unsatisfied with an item or service you purchased? Well, if you retain (keep) your receipt, you’d want to:
return – give it back to the seller and ask to
refund or reimburse you – give back the money you paid for a certain item or service.
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- Usually, if an item is on final sale, you won’t be able to return it to the store and/or get a refund.
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- How often do you return an item to the store?
POSTED BY Olga Galperin AT 12:10 AM
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Monday, November 10, 2008
- Some time is a combination of a noun (time) and determiner (some). It shows an unspecified amount of time (in the same way we say: some money or some work). For example:
It will take us some time to finish this project. (it’s unknown how much time it will take to complete the project)
Sometime is an adverb that means approximately. Although the exact time is still unspecified, this word is used with other adverbials (next week/this year) giving listeners an idea of a time frame:
He said he’d come sometime after lunch. (we’re unsure when exactly he’ll come, but we know it’ll be after lunch hour)
Sometimes is an adverb that means occasionally.
I usually drive to work, but sometimes I take a bus.-
- Choose: some time, sometime or sometimes?
1. _____ she’s in a bad mood.
2. I’ll see you _____ tomorrow afternoon.
3. There is still _____ before the bank opens.
4. _____ when come home, I can’t even cook dinner. I’m so tired!
5. The registration starts _____ next spring.
6. I’m very busy. But I want to find ____ to cook for my family.
7. _____ this phone rings off the hook!
8. The new movie will be released _____ this summer.
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- Answer Key:
(1) sometimes (2) sometime (3) some time (4) sometimes (5) sometime (6) some time (7) sometimes (8) sometime
POSTED BY Olga Galperin AT 6:54 PM
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Saturday, November 01, 2008
- Short forms of verbs are very common in informal English. We say: “I’d like” instead of “I would like” and “gonna go” instead of “going to go”.
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- But it seems that more and more nouns can be added to the list of common contracted forms as used in today’s colloquial English. These are not only words we use when talking to friends ("hey, bro"; bro – brother, meaning ‘friend’), family ("hi sis"; sis – sister) or coworkers ("I have a lot of prep for tomorrow"; prep –preparation), but the ones that became completely acceptable in work emails and even newspaper articles. Here is a partial list:
temps – temperatures
congrats – congratulations
Dems – Democrats
pics – pictures
celeb – celebrity
rep – representative or reputation
meds – medications
apps – applications
legit – legitimate (adjective)
grads – graduates
stats – statistics
mic (pronounced /maik/) – microphone
Remember, short forms set an informal tone in both speaking and writing and full forms are required in formal situations.
POSTED BY Olga Galperin AT 6:53 PM
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