Learn English | Vocabularies

Daily English Conversation

✳️Can you break a twenty-dollar bill?

👉 Jackie has a 20-dollar bill and wants to break it so that she may have some smaller bills and change for the laundry.

🔹Cashier: How can I help you, Miss?

🔸Jackie: Could you break a 20 for me?

🔹Cashier: Sure.  How do you want it?

🔸Jackie: Could I have two 5's and the rest in ones?

🔹Cashier: Well, I have some 5's, but I don't have enough 1's.  Are quarters fine with you?

🔸Jackie: Oh, that's even better!  In that case, I won't have to worry about the small change for the laundry.

🔹Cashier: Here you go!

🔸Jackie: Thanks a million!
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖

📔 a race against time




📋Meaning
  A situation where someone has to finish something quickly, in a short or limited amount of time.



🤔For example ⬇️

🗣 Last night we were racing against time to put the packets together before the conference started today.

🗣  It's a real race against the clock to prevent the spread of the Zika virus.

🍏


Always choose . . .

to heal, not to hurt.

To forgive, not to despise.

To persevere,not to quit.

To smile,not to frown.

And to love,not to hate.

💯 Common Phrases and Idioms for IELTS Speaking 💯

🗣 Topic: Work

1. To be called for an interview - to be invited to attend an interview

Example: Although he has been called for an interview, he hasn’t got a job yet.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

2. To be your own boss/run your business/be self-employed -  to have your own business

Example: It has been my dream to be my own boss because I can do everything in my way if I run my own business.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

3. A nine-to-five job - a normal job that consists of an 8 hour a day

Example: The idea of doing a nine-to-five job is quite arduous for a few people.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

4. To be stuck behind a desk - to be unhappy in an office job

Example: Working full-time in an office can lead to being stuck behind a desk.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

5. One of the perks of the job - an extra benefit you get from a job

Example - Extra meal is one of the perks of the job, which make employees more satisfied
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

6. Job satisfaction: the feeling of enjoying a job

Example: Job satisfaction is the most important factor when a person chooses a job.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

7. Manual work -  work that requires physical activities

Example: Many people have manual work that requires them to work in a dangerous environment.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

8. Temporary work - work done for a limited time only

Example: Taxi driving is just my temporary work, I am applying for a better job.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

9. Voluntary work - to work without pay

Example: In my free time, I join in voluntary work to help society.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

10. To be well paid - to earn a good salary

Example: Working in the auditing area will be well paid.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

11. Working conditions - the hours, salary and other entitlements that come with the job

Example: Employer should spend more money on improving the working conditions.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

12. To meet a deadline - to finish a job on time

Example: Last week she was really stressed because she had to work too hard to meet the deadlines.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

13. To take early retirement - to retire early

Example: Recently, a large number of older worker tend to take early retirement, then they will have more time to travel.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

14. A heavy workload -  to have a lot of work to do

Example: Many workers are complaining about the heavy workload, and they asking for a higher salary.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

15. Shift work -  a system in which different groups of workers work somewhere at different times of the day and night

Example: Many industries rely heavily on shift work, and millions of people work in jobs that require shift schedules.

#idiom

To be between jobs

if someone is between jobs, they do not have a job at the moment but are actively looking for one


🌀A: "I'm just between jobs right now."
B: "OK, you've been out of work for six months.

🌀It's time to start looking for a new job."Just tell the recruiter that you're between jobs. She doesn't need to know that you got fired!

🌀A: Tell me about your current position.
B: I'm between jobs right now. 

#idiom

To have a lot of nerve

Rude, impertinent, or brazen audacity.
Can be positive or negative.


🌀You've got a lot of nerve walking in here after the way you spoke to me last time.

🌀I've given him chance after chance, but he keeps on betraying my trust. What a lot of nerve.

🌀Did you seriously steal my prom date ? Oh, you've got a lot of nerve!

🌀You've got a lot of nerve, kid. You're hired.

📔 be put out of business



📋Meaning
To be caused or forced to cease carrying on commercial trading or transactions.


🤔For example ⬇️

🗣Our bookstore has been a part of the neighborhood for nearly 50 years, but we're being put out of business by these new electronic books that you can download.

🗣I hear that Mike's company has been put out of business due to allegations of insider trading.

🤔 Expanding Your Vocabulary: Different Ways to Say 'I Don't Know' 🤷‍♂️

Hey, English learners! Let's boost your conversational skills with various ways to express uncertainty. "I don't know" can be quite limiting, so here are some alternatives:

1. I have no idea: This is a stronger way of saying you have no knowledge about something. Example: "I have no idea how to fix a car."

2. Beats me: A casual and relaxed way to admit you don't know. Example: "Who won the game? Beats me."

3. I'm not sure: This shows mild uncertainty. Example: "I'm not sure if the meeting is at 3 or 4."

4. Your guess is as good as mine: Indicates that the other person's guess is as valid as yours. Example: "What's causing the issue? Your guess is as good as mine."

5. I haven't the foggiest: This is a humorous way to say you have no clue. Example: "I haven't the foggiest idea where I left my keys."

What is Concise Writing, and why it matters?

Have you ever lost interest while reading something long-winded and rambling? You aren’t alone.

Concise writing means using the fewest words possible to convey an idea clearly. There’s a reason why writing concisely is recommended so often—it’s excellent advice.

Reading sprawling sentences can feel overwhelming, confusing, or boring. It can confuse readers by making it harder for them to quickly identify the main point of what you’re trying to communicate. After all, they have to sift through the extra verbiage and hunt for the key points of your message. Making readers do unnecessary work can make them grumpy, and grumpy readers are less receptive to what you have to say.

Whether you’re sending a text message, writing an email, or updating your resume, wordy writing dilutes the impact of your message. Concise writing, instead, helps grab and hold your reader’s attention. It’s also likely to be more memorable and make a lasting impact on your reader.

But brevity doesn’t come naturally to everyone, and concise writing takes effort. Here are some tips to help you identify the extra words weighing down your writing and tighten up unwieldy sentences.

Eliminate Redundant Words

Cutting redundant words like tautologies can help create stronger, more direct sentences. Tautologies are expressions or phrases that repeat the same information. They take up unnecessary space and can distract your reader. Getting rid of them simplifies sentences and gets your point across faster.

Wordy: In my opinion, I think that’s a problem.

Concise: In my opinion, that’s a problem.

Wordy: The course had several necessary requirements.

Concise: The course had several requirements.

Strengthen Weak Adjectives

Using strong, descriptive adjectives helps trim down sentence length. Look for places where you’ve used two words to describe something when one would do. Strengthening your vocabulary can help you ensure that you’re using the best word for the situation and that all of your words deserve to be in your sentence. Plus, strong adjectives make your writing more vibrant!
Join :  @WordCzar
Wordy: Brunch was very good.

Concise: Brunch was superb.

Wordy: She struggled to sit through his really boring speech.

Concise: She struggled to sit through his tedious speech.

Remove Vague Nouns

Do all of your nouns actually move your point forward? If not, it may be time to say goodbye. Eliminating these unnecessary words will help make your writing more direct and clear.

Wordy: Career growth was an important factor in why I decided to join.

Concise: I joined to advance my career.

Wordy: I’m interested in the areas of history and biology.

Concise: I’m interested in history and biology.

Eliminate Filler Words

Filler words are words that add no meaning or value to a sentence and simply “fill” the space. They can be easily removed or replaced, but often inadvertently creep up in writing since we’re so used to using them in our speech.

Wordy: For all intents and purposes, this project will be outsourced. @Grammarian

Concise: This project will be outsourced.

Wordy: Needless to say, I think we should get grilled cheese.

Concise: We should get grilled cheese.

Construct Active Sentences

Some sentence structures tend to be wordier than others. Although the passive voice isn’t incorrect and is completely fine to use in moderation, it’s often a weaker type of sentence construction. If you find yourself trending towards using the passive voice because you think it sounds a bit fancier or softens something unpleasant, remember that active voice sets a stronger and more direct tone. Keep most of your sentences in active voice—you’ll find that they also tend to be more concise.

Wordy: If this was something caused on our end, it might be something to be aware of.

Concise: We should be aware of this in case something on our end caused it.

Wordy: The error message was written by robots.

Concise: Robots wrote the error message.

It’s easy to fill up sentences with extra words, especially when you’re ex

"Have had" is using the verb have in the present perfect tense.

Consider the present tense sentence:

I have a lot of homework.

This means that I have a lot of homework now.

On the other hand, we use the present perfect tense to describe an event from the past that has some connection to the present. Compare the following two sentences:

I had a lot of homework this week.

I have had a lot of homework this week.

If I only say had, this means that "having a lot of homework this week" is a completed event, either because there is no expectation of more homework, or because the week is over.

If I say "have had", I connect the event to the present, so it is possible that I might have more homework, and I could say something like this on, e.g., a Wednesday (in the middle of the week).

Another example will illustrate the importance of the connection to now:

I had a lot of homework last year.

*I have had a lot of homework last year. (this sentence is bad!)

In the first sentence here, using had, the sentence is fine. But using "have had", the sentence is ungrammatical, because "last year" is always a completed event that is notconnected to the present.

But, as we know, the present perfect tense means that there is a connection to the present. So, the sentence sounds wrong, because the verb and the time are contradicting each other.

What is Concise Writing, and why it matters?

Have you ever lost interest while reading something long-winded and rambling? You aren’t alone.

Concise writing means using the fewest words possible to convey an idea clearly. There’s a reason why writing concisely is recommended so often—it’s excellent advice.

Reading sprawling sentences can feel overwhelming, confusing, or boring. It can confuse readers by making it harder for them to quickly identify the main point of what you’re trying to communicate. After all, they have to sift through the extra verbiage and hunt for the key points of your message. Making readers do unnecessary work can make them grumpy, and grumpy readers are less receptive to what you have to say.

Whether you’re sending a text message, writing an email, or updating your resume, wordy writing dilutes the impact of your message. Concise writing, instead, helps grab and hold your reader’s attention. It’s also likely to be more memorable and make a lasting impact on your reader.

But brevity doesn’t come naturally to everyone, and concise writing takes effort. Here are some tips to help you identify the extra words weighing down your writing and tighten up unwieldy sentences.

Eliminate Redundant Words

Cutting redundant words like tautologies can help create stronger, more direct sentences. Tautologies are expressions or phrases that repeat the same information. They take up unnecessary space and can distract your reader. Getting rid of them simplifies sentences and gets your point across faster.

Wordy: In my opinion, I think that’s a problem.

Concise: In my opinion, that’s a problem.

Wordy: The course had several necessary requirements.

Concise: The course had several requirements.

Strengthen Weak Adjectives

Using strong, descriptive adjectives helps trim down sentence length. Look for places where you’ve used two words to describe something when one would do. Strengthening your vocabulary can help you ensure that you’re using the best word for the situation and that all of your words deserve to be in your sentence. Plus, strong adjectives make your writing more vibrant!
Join :  @WordCzar
Wordy: Brunch was very good.

Concise: Brunch was superb.

Wordy: She struggled to sit through his really boring speech.

Concise: She struggled to sit through his tedious speech.

Remove Vague Nouns

Do all of your nouns actually move your point forward? If not, it may be time to say goodbye. Eliminating these unnecessary words will help make your writing more direct and clear.

Wordy: Career growth was an important factor in why I decided to join.

Concise: I joined to advance my career.

Wordy: I’m interested in the areas of history and biology.

Concise: I’m interested in history and biology.

Eliminate Filler Words

Filler words are words that add no meaning or value to a sentence and simply “fill” the space. They can be easily removed or replaced, but often inadvertently creep up in writing since we’re so used to using them in our speech.

Wordy: For all intents and purposes, this project will be outsourced. @Grammarian

Concise: This project will be outsourced.

Wordy: Needless to say, I think we should get grilled cheese.

Concise: We should get grilled cheese.

Construct Active Sentences

Some sentence structures tend to be wordier than others. Although the passive voice isn’t incorrect and is completely fine to use in moderation, it’s often a weaker type of sentence construction. If you find yourself trending towards using the passive voice because you think it sounds a bit fancier or softens something unpleasant, remember that active voice sets a stronger and more direct tone. Keep most of your sentences in active voice—you’ll find that they also tend to be more concise.

Wordy: If this was something caused on our end, it might be something to be aware of.

Concise: We should be aware of this in case something on our end caused it.

Wordy: The error message was written by robots.

Concise: Robots wrote the error message.

It’s easy to fill up sentences with extra words, especially when you’re ex

#idiom

Mark my words

Pay attention to and remember what I am saying, because it will happen.


🌀Mark my words, Penny will be glad she made this decision one day.

🌀Mark my word, Jonah, I will get even with you if it's the last thing I do.

🌀Pay attention to what I say, as in Mark my words, that man is not to be trusted.

🔰warts and all

☑️Meaning: If you show something warts and all, you show it exactly as it is without trying to hide any of its faults or weaknesses.

✨For example:

🔹Are you sure you want to read the first draft? You'll see it warts and all, with all the mistakes and all the bad writing still there.

🔹People don't want to see an idealised version of his life. They want to know the real story, warts and all.

🍏


Always choose . . .

to heal, not to hurt.

To forgive, not to despise.

To persevere,not to quit.

To smile,not to frown.

And to love,not to hate.

🤔 Expanding Your Vocabulary: Different Ways to Say 'I Don't Know' 🤷‍♂️

Hey, English learners! Let's boost your conversational skills with various ways to express uncertainty. "I don't know" can be quite limiting, so here are some alternatives:

1. I have no idea: This is a stronger way of saying you have no knowledge about something. Example: "I have no idea how to fix a car."

2. Beats me: A casual and relaxed way to admit you don't know. Example: "Who won the game? Beats me."

3. I'm not sure: This shows mild uncertainty. Example: "I'm not sure if the meeting is at 3 or 4."

4. Your guess is as good as mine: Indicates that the other person's guess is as valid as yours. Example: "What's causing the issue? Your guess is as good as mine."

5. I haven't the foggiest: This is a humorous way to say you have no clue. Example: "I haven't the foggiest idea where I left my keys."

💯 Common Phrases and Idioms for IELTS Speaking 💯

🗣 Topic: Work

1. To be called for an interview - to be invited to attend an interview

Example: Although he has been called for an interview, he hasn’t got a job yet.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

2. To be your own boss/run your business/be self-employed -  to have your own business

Example: It has been my dream to be my own boss because I can do everything in my way if I run my own business.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

3. A nine-to-five job - a normal job that consists of an 8 hour a day

Example: The idea of doing a nine-to-five job is quite arduous for a few people.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

4. To be stuck behind a desk - to be unhappy in an office job

Example: Working full-time in an office can lead to being stuck behind a desk.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

5. One of the perks of the job - an extra benefit you get from a job

Example - Extra meal is one of the perks of the job, which make employees more satisfied
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

6. Job satisfaction: the feeling of enjoying a job

Example: Job satisfaction is the most important factor when a person chooses a job.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

7. Manual work -  work that requires physical activities

Example: Many people have manual work that requires them to work in a dangerous environment.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

8. Temporary work - work done for a limited time only

Example: Taxi driving is just my temporary work, I am applying for a better job.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

9. Voluntary work - to work without pay

Example: In my free time, I join in voluntary work to help society.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

10. To be well paid - to earn a good salary

Example: Working in the auditing area will be well paid.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

11. Working conditions - the hours, salary and other entitlements that come with the job

Example: Employer should spend more money on improving the working conditions.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

12. To meet a deadline - to finish a job on time

Example: Last week she was really stressed because she had to work too hard to meet the deadlines.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

13. To take early retirement - to retire early

Example: Recently, a large number of older worker tend to take early retirement, then they will have more time to travel.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

14. A heavy workload -  to have a lot of work to do

Example: Many workers are complaining about the heavy workload, and they asking for a higher salary.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

15. Shift work -  a system in which different groups of workers work somewhere at different times of the day and night

Example: Many industries rely heavily on shift work, and millions of people work in jobs that require shift schedules.

#idiom

To have a lot of nerve

Rude, impertinent, or brazen audacity.
Can be positive or negative.


🌀You've got a lot of nerve walking in here after the way you spoke to me last time.

🌀I've given him chance after chance, but he keeps on betraying my trust. What a lot of nerve.

🌀Did you seriously steal my prom date ? Oh, you've got a lot of nerve!

🌀You've got a lot of nerve, kid. You're hired.

📔 a race against time




📋Meaning
  A situation where someone has to finish something quickly, in a short or limited amount of time.



🤔For example ⬇️

🗣 Last night we were racing against time to put the packets together before the conference started today.

🗣  It's a real race against the clock to prevent the spread of the Zika virus.

📔 a race against time




📋Meaning
  A situation where someone has to finish something quickly, in a short or limited amount of time.



🤔For example ⬇️

🗣 Last night we were racing against time to put the packets together before the conference started today.

🗣  It's a real race against the clock to prevent the spread of the Zika virus.

🤔 Expanding Your Vocabulary: Different Ways to Say 'I Don't Know' 🤷‍♂️

Hey, English learners! Let's boost your conversational skills with various ways to express uncertainty. "I don't know" can be quite limiting, so here are some alternatives:

1. I have no idea: This is a stronger way of saying you have no knowledge about something. Example: "I have no idea how to fix a car."

2. Beats me: A casual and relaxed way to admit you don't know. Example: "Who won the game? Beats me."

3. I'm not sure: This shows mild uncertainty. Example: "I'm not sure if the meeting is at 3 or 4."

4. Your guess is as good as mine: Indicates that the other person's guess is as valid as yours. Example: "What's causing the issue? Your guess is as good as mine."

5. I haven't the foggiest: This is a humorous way to say you have no clue. Example: "I haven't the foggiest idea where I left my keys."