Learning Slang

Learning a language takes time and effort due to its complexity. Language is forever changing. What is currently popular may be replaced by something else in years to come, and the use of slang is a strong testament to that. Colloquial expressions are often acceptable in informal writing. The more you learn, the more you will know when to use them or not to use them in your writing or speaking. 

Power of: a great deal of.

e.g. Surely he can do anything: he has power of money.

Hold your horse: delay taking action.

e.g. Come on, hold your horse, and just take it easy!

Right you are: I agree.

e.g. "I think I'm going to accept this job." "Right you are."

All at sea: confused.

e.g. "What do you think of the proposal?" "I'm all at sea; I'm completely clueless."

Give someone a piece of one's mind: scold.

e.g. He was rude, and I would like to give him a piece of my mind.

Pop the question: propose marriage.

e.g. Did he pop the question on Valentine's Day?

All hot and bothered: agitated, confused, or excited.

e.g. She was all hot and bothered when she heard the news of their divorce.

Poorly: sick or unwell.

e.g. What's the matter with you today? I say, you look poorly!

Easy on the eye: good looking.

e.g. I say, your girlfriend is easy on the eye.

Pooped: exhausted.

e.g. I was pooped after working for nine hours in the yard.

Say one's piece: say what one ought to say.

e.g. I must say my piece: that was not a nice thing to say to your parents.

Give someone a break: leave me alone.

e.g. Come on, give me a break; I don't want to hear this from you.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

The Use of Tenses

Verbs form tenses. Tenses indicate time and sequence of events or actions. To write effectively, you must know how to form tenses and use them correctly. Some of the tenses most commonly used in writing are as follows:

Present tense indicates a present action or a fact.

e.g. The book is on the table. (a present action)

e.g. The sun rises in the east. (a fact)

e.g. They are my children. (a fact)

e.g. She sings like a bird. (a fact)

Present continuous tense indicates an action going on right now.

e.g. I am cooking my dinner.

e.g. You are reading this book right now.

e.g. Now she is singing like a bird. (At this very moment, she is singing beautifully like a bird, but it does not necessarily mean it is a fact that she always sings like a bird.)

The present tense may also indicate an imminent future event.

e.g. I am leaving for New York tomorrow.

e.g. I shall leave for New York next month. (the future more remote)

Present perfect tense indicates an action in the past as well as in the present; a past action with a present result.

e.g. I have been a student in this college for more than five years. (Five years ago I was a student, and now I am still a student in this college.)

e.g. I have spent all my money. (a past action with a present result: I spent my money yesterday, and now I have no more money left.)

Compare the following to have a better understanding of the difference between the present perfect tense and the past tense:

e.g. I have told him. (I told him sometime in the past, and therefore I don’t need to tell him now, or he should know it by now because I already told him some time ago.)

e.g. I told him yesterday. (an action in the past with no present consequence)

Past tense indicates an action in the past.

e.g. We left for San Francisco yesterday.

Past perfect tense indicates an action in the past in relation to another action in past time.

e.g. The student had finished his assignment before the teacher returned. (The student finished his assignment first, and then the teacher returned.)

e.g. When the doctor arrived, the man had breathed his last. (The man died before the doctor arrived.)

e.g. When he came to see us last night, our son had left for New York. (He just missed our son.)

Future tense indicates an action in the future.

e.g. I will see you next week (Compare: I am seeing you tomorrow).

Future perfect tense indicates an action in the future in relation to another action further in the future.

e.g. By noon tomorrow, I will have finished painting my room. (Most probably, I will finish painting my room in the morning. By noon, my room will look clean and fresh.)

e.g. When he arrives tomorrow, I will have completed the project for him to examine. (When he comes tomorrow, my project will be ready for him to examine.)

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Prepositional Phrases

ARGUE

Argue back: answer back.

e.g. I wish he would not argue back so much.

Argue down: defeat someone in a debate.

e.g. He tries to argue down everyone who has opposite views.

Argue for: make a case for someone.

e.g. My lawyer will argue for me in court.

Argue into: convince someone to do something.

e.g. I could not argue myself into helping you in this project.

Argue with: challenge someone or something.

e.g. I won’t argue with what you do; after all, it is your choice.

CLOSE

Close down: close permanently; out of business.

e.g. The factory closed down last month due to the economy.

Close in: encircle and threaten.

e.g. We are now closing in on our enemies.

Close up: close temporarily.

e.g. Come back tomorrow; we're now closing up.

FIND

Find out: discover; learn.

e.g. The police eventually found out the truth of the murder case.

e.g. Sooner or later you will find out all the facts.

ACCOMMODATE

Accommodate to: adapt to.

e.g. I have to accommodate myself to the new routine.

Accommodate with: provide something special for something.

e.g. We will accommodate you with a new car.

FOLLOW

Follow on: die at a date later than someone.

e.g. He followed on after his wife a few months later.

Follow through: continue to supervise.

e.g. I hope someone would follow through on this project until its completion.

Follow something up:  check something out.

e.g. Please follow up this lead.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau