It is a short form of have got to. Gotta is a way of writing got to that shows how these words are pronounced in the expression have got to in casual speech: have gotta. Have gotta is an informal way of saying that something is necessary or must be true. In very informal language, gotta is sometimes written and spoken without have. Examples: I gotta go now. […]
Continue Reading“gonna” meaning
It is an informal for going to. A way of writing ‘going to’ that shows how it sounds in informal conversation. Examples: What are you gonna do? It’s not gonna be easy. I think I’m gonna need some help. More: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/gonna
Continue Reading“under” vs “below”
The prepositions under and below are interchangeable. Under is used much more widely. When you’re not sure which word to use, use under. It is more likely to be correct. Both below and under can mean ‘lower than’. Below All the common uses of below are related to the idea of “lower or less than,” as in these examples: The game is suitable for children below the age […]
Continue ReadingSynonyms
A synonym is a word that shares the same or very similar meaning with another word. These words are not spelled the same or pronounced the same way, they just have a similar meaning and can be interchangeable without significantly changing the meaning or tone of conversation. A dictionary of synonyms is called Thesaurus, and […]
Continue Reading“as useful as a chocolate teapot”
It is idiom and means that it is totally useless. Also used “as useful as a chocolate fireguard” Examples: A car in a heavy traffic jam is as useful as a chocolate teapot. That umbrella is stuck inside out, so it’s about as useful as a chocolate teapot right now. If the referee gives the opponents a penalty, he yells, ‘When they circumcised you they threw away the wrong part.’ If […]
Continue Reading“sell out” and “sell off” meaning
If a supply of something sells out, there is no more of that thing to buy. If a shop sells out of something, it sells all its stocks of it, so that there is no longer any left for people to buy. In the US it is used as “sellout“. Very simmilar si: sell off: The company is selling off the less profitable parts of its business. “sell […]
Continue Reading“Dunno” meaning
Dunno is used in written English to represent an informal way of saying ‘don’t know‘. Examples: I dunno, maybe he was just trying to ensure the job was well done. His friend asked, “What happened?” to which Mr Kennedy replied “dunno, must have been [too many] and run out of air”. Instead of talking about, ohhh, I dunno, fixing our damaged public health infrastructure, or putting people back to work, Trump produced a veritable cornucopia of […]
Continue ReadingIDIOMS: Donkey’s years
Years and years. A very long time. And that’s basically it! It is believed that this expression originated from “donkey’s ears” in the early 20th century and referred to the considerable length of the animal’s ears, on top of that donkeys are believed to live a long time. Ears rhymes with years and there you […]
Continue ReadingFell a Tree
ne look at the title, and you may say: “Hey, that’s incorrect!” Yesterday, a friend of mine saw an advertisement that read: “A termite can fell a tree“, and criticised that it’s grammatically wrong to say “can fell“. She said that it should be “can fall“. I disagreed with her. Here’s the reason: “fell” can […]
Continue Reading“interested” vs. “interesting”
Try and guess if these two sentences mean the same. “You look so interested.” “You look so interesting.” They’re not. interested (adj.) – wanting to give attention to something or someone interesting (adj.) – keeps your interest Examples: Many men are interested in getting to know Paula. You go ahead with you plan; I’m not interested. Many men find Paula interesting, so they try […]
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