Idiom: SAFE AND SOUND

Do You Feel ‘Safe and Sound’?

This idiom is an adjective in English that is used to describe a noun in more detail.

‘Safe’ is an adjective = safe or secure from harm, injury, danger, liability, and risk.



‘Sound’, in this expression, is also an adjective = in good condition, safe, and free from damage.

The expression ‘safe and sound’ originated from the old days when people still traveled a lot by boat. When the crews got back from a long journey without getting sick or injured, people would say, ‘They’re safe’. Likewise, they would use ‘the boat is sound’ to describe a boat that had not been damaged during the voyage.

At the present time, not only do people use this when they travel by boat, but they also use this expression to describe anywhere or anything that makes them feels safe and secure.

The song below is called ‘Safe and Sound’ by the music band Capital Cities. It is a great example of how to use the expression in a variety of different circumstances. In the lyrics, they are singing about two people who are deeply in love with each other. The couple in the song believes that nothing can hurt them or take them apart as long as they have each other. The song is very fun to listen to because many different instruments are used to compose the rhythm, which is very lively and romantic.

Grammar - QUESTION TAGS

Question tags ou tag questions são pequenas perguntas que vêm no final das frases com o intuito de questionar/confirmar algo. São regras gerais:

* Os question tags devem vir sempre após vírgulas;

* Para defini-los é necessário antes de tudo perceber em que tempo verbal se encontra a oração principal, para assim saber qual auxiliar deverá ser usado no question tag.

* A tag question é usada para confirmar o que foi dito anteriormente em uma oração ou sentença. Na maioria das linguagens, elas são mais comuns no uso coloquial oral do que no uso escrito formal, podendo ser um indicador de polidez, ênfase ou ironia. Elas podem sugerir a confiança ou a falta de confiança, que pode ser de confronto, defensiva ou provisório. Geralmente é uma interrogação.

* Se a oração principal estiver na afirmativa, o question tag deverá vir na forma negativa. Mas se a oração principal estiver na negativa o question tag deverá vir na forma afirmativa.

You like to dance, don’t you? (Você gosta de dançar, não gosta)?
oração principal question tag
No exemplo acima, a frase se encontra no presente simples, na forma afirmativa. Sabe-se que os auxiliares do presente são: do/does. Como o sujeito da frase é “you” devemos utilizar o “do” no question tag.

They didn’t send us letters, did they? (Eles não nos enviaram cartas, enviaram?).
She loves pizza, doesn’t she? (Ela ama pizza, não ama?).
Anne called you last week, didn’t she? (Anne te ligou semana passada, não ligou?).
Bob is going to travel to Japan next year, isn’t he? (Bob irá viajar para o Japão no próximo ano, não irá?).
Janet will buy a car this year, won’t she? (Janet comprará um carro este ano, não comprará?).

Quando houver verbos anômalos (can, could, might) na oração principal, esses verbos também deverão ser utilizados na construção dos question tags.
You can speak French, can’t you? (Você pode/consegue falar Francês, não pode/consegue)?
He couldn’t swim when he was 5 years old, could he? (Ele não podia/conseguia nadar quando ele tinha 5 anos de idade, podia/conseguia)?

Prepositions of Place - In/At/On/Onto/Out of

Prepositions of Place - In / At / On / Onto/Out of

Prepositions are used to show relationships between objects, people, and places. The prepositions 'in', 'on' and 'at' are often used to express these relationships. Here are explanations of when to use each each preposition along with example sentences to help you understand.

In
Use 'in' with indoor and outdoor spaces.
⦁ in a room / in a building
⦁ in a garden / in a park
I have two TVs in my house.
They live in that building over there.

Use 'in' with bodies of water:
⦁ in the water
⦁ in the sea
⦁ in a river
I like swimming in lakes when the weather is hot.
You can catch fish in the river.

Use 'in' with lines:
⦁ in a row / in a line
⦁ in a queue
Let's stand in line and get a ticket to the concert.
We had to wait in a queue to get into the bank.

Use 'in' with cities, counties, states, regions and countries:
Peter lives in Chicago.
Helen is in France this month. Next month she'll be in Germany.

At
Use 'at' with places:
⦁ at the bus-stop
⦁ at the door
⦁ at the cinema
⦁ at the end of the street
I'll meet you at the movie theater at six o'clock.
He lives in the house at the end of the street.

Use 'at' with places on a page:
The name of the chapter is at the top of the page.
The page number can be found at the bottom of the page.

Use 'at' in groups of people:
⦁ at the back of the class
⦁ at the front of the class
Tim sits at the back of the class.
Please come and sit down at the front of the class.

On
Use 'on' with surfaces:
⦁ on the ceiling / on the wall / on the floor
⦁ on the table
I put the magazine on the table.
That's a beautiful painting on the wall.

Use 'on' with small islands:
I stayed on Maui last year. It was great!
We visited friends who live on an island in the Bahamas.

Use 'on' with directions:
⦁ on the left
⦁ on the right
⦁ straight on
Take the first street on the left and continue to the end of the road.
Drive straight on until you come to a gate.

Important Notes:

In / at / on the corner
We say 'in the corner of a room', but 'at the corner (or 'on the corner') of a street'.
I put the chair in the corner of the bedroom of the house on the corner of 52nd Street.
I live at the corner of 2nd Avenue.

In / at / on the front
We say 'in the front / in the back' of a car
I get to sit in the front Dad!
You can lay down and sleep in the back of the car.

We say 'at the front / at the back' of buildings/groups of people
The entrance door is at the front of the building.
We say 'on the front / on the back' of a piece of paper
Write your name on the front of the paper.
You'll find the grade on the back of the page.

Into
Use 'into' to express movement from one area into another:
I drove into the garage and parked the car.
Peter walked into the living room and turned on the TV.

Onto
Use 'onto' to show that someone puts something onto a surface.
He put the magazines onto the table.
Alice put the plates onto the shelf in the cupboard.

Out of
Use 'out of' when moving something towards you or when leaving a room:
I took the clothes out of the washer.
He drove out of the garage.

Try this quiz to check your understanding. Check your answers below.

1. My friend now lives _____ Arizona.
2. Go down the street and take the first street _____ the right.
3. That's a beautiful pictures _____ the wall.
4. My friend lives _____ the island of Sardinia.
5. He's the man _____ the front of the room.
6. He drove the car _____ the garage.
7. I'll meet you _____ the shopping mall.
8. I like to sit _____ the back of the room.
9. Tom went swimming _____ the lake.
10. Let's stand _____ the line to see the movie.




Answers
1. in
2. on
3. on
4. on
5. at
6. into/out of
7. at
8. in
9. in
10. in

By Kenneth Beare - ThoughtCo.

AFFECT - EFFECT: CONFUSED WORDS

AFFECT, verbo = afetar, e EFFECT, substantivo = efeito, são consideradas 'palavras confusas' porque pode ser difícil de distinguir qual das duas palavras estão sendo faladas pois muitas pessoas as pronunciam de forma semelhante. Elas são chamadas 'homophones', em português 'homófonas', que são palavras que tem a mesma pronúncia mas significados, origens ou escrita diferentes, como 'ear/year', 'new/knew', 'hear/here', e muitas outras. Visite a página do Facebbok para mais dicas de inglês. Visit Facebook (click) page for more English tips, Assista o vídeo abaixo:

DIMINUTIVO E AUMENTATIVO EM INGLÊS

Será que existe essa coisa de diminutivo e aumentativo em inglês?

De modo geral, não há como formarmos diminutivo e aumentativo em inglês acrescentado um sufixo às palavras. Ou seja, não tem como acrescentar algo parecido a -inho e -ão aos substantivos da mesma forma como fazemos em português.

A ideia de diminutivo e aumentativo em inglês só dá certo usando um adjetivo para expressar a ideia.
Para entender melhor, veja os exemplos abaixo:

- big house, enormous house (casa grande, casa enorme, casarão)

- small house, little house, tiny house (casa pequena, casinha, casa minúscula, casa miudinha)

- big car, gigantic car (carro grande, carrão, carraço)

- small car, little car, tiny car (carro pequeno, carrinho, carro minúsculo, carro miudinho)

- enormous book, ginormous book, big book (livro grande, livro gigante, livrão)

- small book, little book, tiny book (livrinho, livro pequeno, livro minúsculo)

- little sister (irmãzinha), little brother (irmãozinho)

- small table (mesinha, mesa pequena) [não confundir com coffee table, mesa de centro, mesinha de centro]

Mas, curiosamente, há em inglês algumas palavras que possuem uma forma própria para expressar o diminutivo. São apenas algumas palavras e não uma regra geral. São casos “raros” e você fará bem se as aprender como palavras novas e não como algo gramatical.

cigarette (diminituvo de cigar, charuto, em português dizemos apenas cigarro; esse final -ette vem do francês e serve para indicar o diminutivo)

diskette

kitchenette

doggy (cachorrinho)

kitty, kitten (gatinho)

mini-cab (táxi pequeno, mini-táxi)

booklet (livreto, livro pequeno)

WHAT´S YOUR LANGUAGE LEVEL? EFRL

                            

                  

What's your language level?

A guide for self-assessment, based on the European Framework of Reference for Languages.

ENGLISH AT WORK - EPISODE 4 - DOING LUNCH

                                    ENGLISH AT WORK - EPISODE 4 - DOING LUNCH

Anna is determined to be friendly with her new colleagues and to make a good impression. Unfortunately, a slight misunderstanding leads her to make an embarrassing mistake.

INTRODUCING YOURSELF:

This episode explores expressions you can use to introduce yourself and make small talk in the office.

Phrases from the programme:

⦁ Hello, I don't think we've met.
⦁ You must be Tom.
⦁ I've just joined the team.
⦁ Nice to meet you!
⦁ Have you worked here long?

Listening Challenge:

What is Tom's job title at Tip Top Trading?
The answer is at the bottom of the transcript below:

TRANSCRIPT:

Narrator: Last week, Anna got the job of sales executive at Tip Top Trading, thanks to her quick-thinking in an office crisis. Today it's her first day in the office. How are you feeling now, Anna?

Anna: Excited, but a bit worried. I really want to make a good first impression.

Narrator: Well, you're going to need some phrases to introduce yourself politely, such as:
Hello, I don't think we've met.
You must be – and say the person's name.
I've just joined the team.
Nice to meet you.
Have you worked here long?
Why don't you start by saying hello to Tom Darcy, the Senior Account Manager?

Tom: (On the phone) Yah, yah, no, yah, yah, OK, yah. I'll seal the deal, yah, no worries. OK, see ya mate, bye! (Hangs up)

Anna: Hello, I don't think we've met.

Tom: No.

Anna: You must be Tom. I'm Anna. I've just joined the team.

Tom: Uh huh.

Anna: Nice to meet you. Have you worked here long?

Tom: Sorry, I'm quite busy right now – I've got a big deal just coming through. But let's get together sometime. Um... can you do lunch tomorrow?

Anna: You want me to do lunch? Well, I'm not very -
(Telephone rings)

Tom: Sorry, important client. Lunch tomorrow at 12.30 then?

(On the phone) Tom speaking. Yah! Frankie! So what's the latest, are we on?

Anna: Well, OK then.

Narrator: Great Anna! You used some nice phrases to introduce yourself. It's a shame Tom thinks he's too important to do the same.

Anna: I'm sure he's just busy. But I'm a bit worried about tomorrow!

(The next day…)
Anna: (Struggling into the office carrying cooking implements) Good morning Paul!

Paul: Good morning Anna, are you OK?

Anna: Fine, the kitchen's through there, isn't it?

Paul: Er, yes.
(Kitchen noises as Anna starts preparing lunch)
Denise: Anna!

Anna: Oh hi, Denise!

Denise: What are you doing?

Anna: Cooking lunch for Tom.

Denise: You what?

Anna: Tom asked me to have lunch ready for 12.30.

Denise: Did he indeed?

Tom: Er, Anna.

Anna: Hi Tom!

Tom: What are you doing?

Anna: Spring rolls, followed by crispy duck in black bean sauce.

Tom: No, I mean, why are you cooking?

Anna: Well, if I don't start now, it won't be ready for you by 12.30.

Tom: Oh, you misunderstood me, Anna. When I said "Can you do lunch?" it didn't mean "Can you make lunch?" It meant "Are you available to come to lunch with me?" In a cafe or something.

Anna: Oh!

Paul: Mmm... something smells good, but what's going on here?

Denise: Anna thinks it's her job to cook for people!

Anna: No, no, I misunderstood!

Tom: Anna just got a bit confused.

Paul: Well, never mind, it looks tasty.

Anna: There's enough for everyone if you want some.

Paul: I think that's a splendid idea, we can have an office picnic!

Anna: Yes!

Paul: Mmm, that sauce looks delicious.

Anna: Yes, it's my favourite.

Narrator: Well, once again everything has worked out well for Anna! Before we go, a reminder of the phrases she used:
Hello, I don't think we've met.
You must be Tom.
I've just joined the team.
Nice to meet you.
Have you worked here long?
Just remember - if somebody says "Would you like to do lunch?" they're not usually expecting you to cook for them! Goodbye.

Listening Challenge - Answer

What is Tom’s job title at Tip Top Trading?
Senior Account Manager.