Learn Some Prepositional Words and Phrases

MUDDLE

Muddle along: continue in confusion.

e.g. Without clear instructions, some employees simply muddled along.

Muddle around: work inefficiently.

e.g. Many employees were laid off because they were muddling around.

SCREW

Screw around with: play around with, usually not doing anything positive (slang).

e.g. Don’t screw around with that guy and waste your time!

Screw up: mess up; spoil.

e.g. See, you’ve screwed up my plan! I wish you hadn’t come.

TOUCH

Touch on: mention briefly.

e.g. The professor barely touched on the subject of Civil War.

Touch up: repair.

e.g. Can you touch up the scratches on the door?

APPEAL

Appeal against: ask a court to cancel something.

e.g. The lawyer appealed against the court’s decision.

Appeal for: demand as a right.

e.g. I think we should appeal for justice.

e.g. They are appealing for our help.

Appeal to: attract or please someone.

e.g. The proposal appealed to many of us.

e.g. Her personality appeals to everybody around her.

e.g. Does this food appeal to your taste?

GOUGE

Gouge out: cheat someone out of something.

e.g. Don’t try to gouge some money out of that poor old man.

ANSWER

Answer for: be responsible for.

e.g. You will have to answer for your mistakes.

Answer to: explain or justify for.

e.g. You will have to answer to the judge for what you did.

INCH

Inch across: creep slowly across.

e.g. The injured dog inched across the bridge.

Inch back: go back slowly.

e.g. The army inched back as we fired our guns.

Inch over: move back a little.

e.g. Can you inch over a little? I can’t get in

GROUND

Ground in: instruct.

e.g. We should ground our children in love and values as they grow up.

Ground on: form a foundation for.

e.g. His intelligence was grounded on reading books on wisdom.

LET

Let down: disappoint.

e.g. I put my hope on you; don't let me down.

Let out: release.

e.g. Don't let out your anger on me!

e.g. He was let out of prison after he was found not guilty of the crime.

Let up: decrease in intensity.

e.g After a while, the rain let up.

HAND

Hand down: deliver; leave as an inheritance.

e.g. We have handed down all the information to our associates.

e.g. When he dies, he will hand down his business to his family, and not before.

Hand in: submit.

e.g. I have handed in my resignation; tomorrow will be my last day in the office.

Hand over: yield control of.

e.g. The manager has handed over the human resources section to the assistant manager.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© 2018 by Stephen Lau

Learn Some Idiomatic Expressions

Learn Some Idiomatic Expressions

Late in life: in old age

e.g. It was only late in life that he became a famous writer.

Afraid of one’s own shadow: easily frightened.

e.g. Don’t tell him that this is an unsafe neighborhood; he is even afraid of his own shadow.

Abide by: accept and follow

e.g. If you wish to become a citizen of the United States, you must abide by U.S. immigration laws.

Take to one’s heels: run away

e.g. Before the police could come, the thief took to his heels.

Feel like: have a desire for something

e.g. I feel like eating a hamburger.

After a fashion: somehow or somewhat

e.g. I play the piano after a fashion—well, not a concert pianist.

Keep abreast of: keep up with; keep updated

e.g. As a politician, you must keep abreast of what is happening around the world.

Put the finger on someone: accuse someone of some wrong-doing; inform the police

e.g. You think I took your money? Don’t try to put the finger on me!

Under a cloud: under suspicion

e.g. He has been under a cloud; the police has been investigating him for some time.

Paddle one's own canoe: do something by oneself

e.g. You're now a young adult; you should learn to paddle your own canoe.

Open a Pandora’s box: uncover a lot of previously unsuspected problems

e.g. If I were you, I would not look into his past; you might be opening a Pandora’s box.

Hit like a ton of bricks: surprise or shock

e.g. The sudden resignation of the President hit the people like a ton of bricks.

Go the distance: do the whole thing

e.g. This is a long, complicated project. To succeed, you must go the distance.

For a song: inexpensive

e.g. You can get this on the Internet for a song.

Hit the nail on the head: do exactly the right thing

e.g. Your remark hit the nail on the head; that was precisely the solution to the problem.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© 2018 by Stephen Lau

2 FREE Books for You

These two books are FREE for download on AMAZON from May 29 to June 2, 2018.

The Happiness Wisdom

By Stephen Lau

Many are unhappy not because of what they have experienced throughout their life journeys, but because they don't have the human wisdom to perceive and process what they've experienced.

Happiness is a state of mind, due to the the perceptions of the human mind. Change your perceptions to change your so-called realities. Empower your mind with human wisdom -- ancient wisdom from the East and the West, conventional wisdom, and spiritual wisdom -- to think differently to have totally different perspectives of what may have made you happy or unhappy.

To get your FREE digital copy, click here.

TAO The Way to Biblical Wisdom

by Stephen Lau

A complete translation of Lao Tzu's immortal classic Tao Te Ching with respect to the Holy Bible.

Learn and understand the ancient human wisdom from China in order to attain Biblical wisdom.

To get your FREE digital copy, click here.

Learn Some Common Everyday Expressions

Learning a language takes time and effort, especially if it is not your first language. Even if it is your mother tongue, you still need time and effort to master it because almost every language has its own everyday colloquial expressions, and the English language is no exception.

Ask me another: I don't know.

e.g. "Does your daughter want a baby?" "Ask me another!"

Fork out: pay

e.g. Well, everybody has to fork out $30 for the farewell present to the boss.

In the picture: informed.

e.g. Thank you for putting me in the picture; now I know what's really going on.

Beat: broke, no money.

e.g. Without a job, we are beat, no copper and no bread.

Go: attempt.

e.g. Have a go at doing this on your own.

All the rage: fashionable.

e.g. Wearing a big hat will be all the rage this summer.

Answer is a lemon: no!

e.g. "Can I come with you? "The answer is a lemon!"

How goes it?: what has happened lately?

e.g. “How goes it?” “I just got married!”

In the same boat: in the same difficult situation.

e.g. I just got fired from my job; now we're in the same boat.

e.g. We're now in the same boat: flat broke (meaning having no money).

In the same boat: in the same difficult situation.

e.g. I just got fired from my job; now we're in the same boat.

e.g. We're now in the same boat: flat broke (meaning having no money).

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Know the Difference

Precede and Proceed

Precede: go before

e.g. The speech is going to precede the performance.

Proceed: keep on going

e.g. Proceed with the plan until you receive instruction to stop.

Amused and Bemused

Amused: entertain

e.g. We were amused by your wonderful performance.

Bemused; bewildered or confused

e.g. The reporters were totally bemused by that contradictory information from the White House.

Allude and Elude

Allude: refer to

e.g. The witness was trying to allude to what another witness had said.

Elude: escape

e.g. The defendant was trying to elude the question from the prosecutor.

Farther and Further

Farther: at a greater physical distance

e.g. This place is farther away from your parents’ home.

Further: at a greater figurative distance

e.g. His explanation is further from the truth.

Ascent and Assent

Ascent: rise to

e.g. The dictator’s ascent to power was sudden and swift.

Assent: agreement

e.g. There was little assent between the Democrats and the Republicans on this issue.

Formally and Formerly

Formally: officially

e.g. The manager formally announced your promotion.

Formerly: previously

e.g. He was formerly the President of this company.

Stephen Lau

Copyright©2018 by Stephen Lau

Learn American Idioms

As different as day and night: very different

e.g. My brother and I are twins, but we are as different as day and night.

More than meets the eye: there is a hidden meaning

e.g. What the Mayor mentioned in the speech implied more than meets the eye.

Down and out: very poor

e.g. He is down and out without a job and a roof over his head.

No flies on: very alert, smart

e.g. You cannot trick her; there are no flies on her.

In fine feather: in good condition; in good health

e.g. With a good night sleep, I am in fine feather today.

All of it: the best

e.g. From the way he presented him at the debate, he was all of it.

Name of the game: the main goal

e.g. The name of the game is winning; we must win this election no matter what.

As easy as pie: very easy

e.g. Cooking a turkey is as easy as pie.

Face the music: confront danger; accept a bad situation

e.g. There are many circumstances in life in which you have to face the music.

Feel like: have a desire for something

e.g. I feel like eating a hamburger.

All in a day’s work: part of daily work

e.g. I don’t like to cook, but it’s all in a day’s work.

All systems are go: everything is good and ready as planned

e.g. Everything is in order, and all systems are go. We can now launch the rocket.

Dance to another tune: change to a different attitude or behavior

e.g. If your parents were here, you would dance to another tune.

A little bird told me: somehow I knew

e.g. “How did you know what I did?” “Well, a little bird told me.”

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

Use Tenses Correctly

To write well, you need to know how to use English tenses correctly. Tenses are difficult to many because in many languages tenses are not used to express "time" or the "relationship of sequence"; instead, adverbs, such as "yesterday", "tomorrow", "soon" etc. are used.

To learn how to use English tenses correctly, you must have a perception of the "time" element.

Let's take a looks at present tense, present continuous tense, present perfect tense, past tense, and past perfect tense with the following examples:

PAST<----------------------------------------------------->PRESENT

I lived in Texas.   *                            

I had lived in Texas for more than 20 years.  *****       

I moved to Ohio 5 years ago.  *                                  Now, I live in Ohio.

                                                                                     I am living in Ohio. **

                                                                     I have lived in Ohio for 5 years. *****

"I lived in Texas" (past tense): an action in the past; it was a fact. (*)

"I had lived in Texas for more than 20 years." (past perfect tense): an action that "continued" (****)for some time in the past.

"I moved to Ohio 5 years ago" (past tense): an action in the past; it was a fact (*)

"Now I live in Ohio." (present tense): an action in the present; it is a fact. (*)

"I am living in Ohio." (present continuous tense): an action in the present, and it may continue for some time into the near future.**

"I have lived in Ohio for 5 years." (present perfect tense): an action in the past that has continued into the present, and will probably continue into the near future. *****

Hopefully, the above examples have demonstrated how you should use some of the English tenses correctly.

Stephen Lau

Read my book Effective Writing Made Simple. Click here for the digital, and here for the paperback edition.

Learn Some American Idioms

Idioms are words and phrases in a language that have come into existence for a variety of reasons, some obvious enough, some inexplicable, but most of them appropriately and delightfully characteristic of the race that created them. American idioms are no exception; they reflect American culture at every social level. They are used in everyday life, in speaking and in writing, in movies and on television, and by people from all walks of life.

Through thick and thin: through good times as well as bad times

e.g. Don’t worry! I’ll stick by you through thick and thin.

Meet someone halfway: compromise

e.g. He settled the agreement with her by meeting her halfway.

Name of the game: the main goal

e.g. The name of the game is winning; we must win this election no matter what.

Dog in the manger: a very selfish person

e.g. Don’t be a dog in the manger! You no longer need this; why don’t you give it to us?

Act one’s age: behave maturely

e.g. Stop behaving like a teenager! Act your age.

Lead someone astray: cause someone to do something wrong or illegal

e.g. If you are always in the company of lawbreakers, you  may be easily be led astray.

Late in the day: kind of late
e.g. Don’t you think it’s late in the day to change your tactics?

First and last: above all; under all circumstances

e.g. She was an accomplished pianist first and last.

Hit like a ton of bricks: surprise or shock

e.g. The sudden resignation of the President hit the people like a ton of bricks.

Go the distance: do the whole thing

e.g. This is a long, complicated project. To succeed, you must go the distance.

For a song: inexpensive

e.g. You can get this on the Internet for a song.

Pull the wool over someone’s eyes: deceive

e.g. Don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes: I wasn’t born yesterday.

Take som

 ething on the chin: get a direct blow

e.g. The bad news was a shock to me; I took it on the chin.

Hold one’s end up: do one’s part; reliable

e.g. I know I can count on you; you always hold your end up.

Hit the nail on the head: do exactly the right thing

e.g. Your remark hit the nail on the head; that was precisely the solution to the problem.

Visit my website: Health and Wisdom Tips 

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau

My Newly Published Book: The Happiness Wisdom

I have just published my book: “The Happiness Wisdom”, which is a 161-page book on human wisdom based on ancient wisdom from the East and the West, conventional wisdom, and spiritual wisdom, which may all provide guidelines for choosing the happiness ingredients for your own happiness recipe. In addition, the book also provides real examples taken from real life, illustrating how these real people perceive their realities, and thus leading to their happiness or unhappiness.

Human happiness or unhappiness is no more than a perception of the human mind, based on an individual's own life experiences. You think, and your perceptions then become your "realities"; with profound wisdom, you can change how your mind processes your perceptions. Change your mind to change your realities, and live your life as if everything is a miracle! Your life journey is uniquely yours. Make your own happiness recipe from the happiness ingredients of ancient wisdom, conventional wisdom, and spiritual wisdom. Continue your life journey with your own happiness recipe.

Click here to find out more about the book.

Click here to get your digital copy, and here to get your paperback copy.

Stephen Lau