I’m not a professional English teacher, but English is my native language. If you have a question about English that isn’t covered in one of the blogs, please leave it here. I’ll try my best to help you.
Hello David.
i am very happy that i can ask a foreigner for some question.so do you know that what will the DJ say when he introduce the players, like in the beginning of the nba game.
PS:my English is poor ,so if you cann’t understand what i say ,please tell me .Thank U!!
PLESE WRITE TO ME SOON!! Thank you again!!
BEST WISHES!!!
A “DJ” is a “Disk Jockey”. Someone who plays music on a radio station or at a party. What you mean is a “sports announcer”. They have totally different jobs.
A sports announcer might provide statistics about a player. Their percentage of shots made, number of years in basketball, where they played in college, etc.
all right ,i remember that! thank u!! and i want to ask do you know what is the “WC” means. DO you have a Chinese neighboorhood? What do you think the Chinese people?)
A “WC” is a “water closet” which is a British term for toilet. I heard an interesting story that some American tourists went to China and asked where the “bathroom” was.
The Chinese people took them literally and looked for a place for them to bathe. After some initial confusion, the Chinese people figured out the Americans needed at
WC. The Americans never heard the term “WC” (I’ve known the term since Jr. High!
Really no Chinese neighborhoods where I live. I have neighbors of all sorts of nationalities and I do have a next door neighbor from PRC. We say that America
is a “melting pot”, meaning that people from all over the world come here to live.
I like Chinese people and culture. Of course, there are some people who are more likable than others, but I don’t attribute that to their nationality, but to their
personality.
Hi,my friend.
Thank u a lot for invite me to join in ur china connection blog.
Only one question i want to ask is how i be close to be friend with foreigner for learning more english. Thank u.
hello David
I’m sorry to trouble, I have a lot of questions,maybe a little bit more,
1”’ about the word “him”
a watched a short English video, here’s the dialogue.
Mary said—hello Marco, Look! That’s my picture.It’s good,is it? Can you pay for him? I don’t have any euro.
what does “him” mean in this dialogue? I asked my teacher, he said “him” means the person who drew the picture to Mary.” but I don’t think so, because if “him” referred to the painter,Mary had to say “can you pay him” pay sb. & pay for sth. so I think here the word ” him ” refers to the picture itself. but my teacher said that I was wrong,because “him” can only used on creatures, the alive things. but I insist I’m right. In my obesevation, when people take so many emotions into an object, they may think it’s alive. for example I’v had a old car with me for many years, the car is always be my side. I take so many emotions into the car, so I can call the car “him”.
so David, you’re the native. can you tell me the correct answer? Am I right?
————————————————————————————————-
2”’about the word smart , elegant , terrific
I learned them yesterday, in a short video in my English leason.
Ling is a seller, who sells women’s clothing, she said to the buyer “The cloth are smart, elegant and not expensive”
the buyer answered ” yes, they’re terrific”
I had never seen these words before, so I guess they’re all means good looking, the clothing are beautiful in appearance. as I known smart can aslo be used to describe a person who is very clever.
can you tell me the differences between them? or you can give me the exact definitions, thanks.
————————————————————————————-
3”’about the word apparel
apparel means garment, cloth, clothing,
I know that people use “apparel” in written not in spoken, is it right?
does the word only be used for women’s clothing? what about men’s clothing? ,baby’s and chirden’s clothing?
thanks!
————————————————————————————–
4”’ can’t / don’t
is there any different between the two sentences
I can’t understand!
I don’t understand!
@enterblue
Great questions! For the benefit of the other readers (and myself too! ) I would request that you have one question per post. I don’t mind multiple questions, but it will make it easier for me to manage. (Thanks for understanding)
I’ll start with your fourth question
“I can’t understand” means that I do not have the ability to understand at all.
“I don’t understand” means that there is something that is preventing me from understanding. It is possible that something can change to make me understand.
Example: “I don’t understand you. Would you please write that down?”
I would say “apparel” is a more formal way of saying clothing. You might refer to apparel when you are at a department store.
“Where can I find men’s apparel?”
Since I haven’t seen the video, I am going to have to make some assumptions. In this case, I think “him” would be better said as “it”.
“Can you pay for it?”
English is simpler than languages such as French and German because there is typically no gender for nouns. One exception that quickly comes
to mind is a ship. We refer to ships as “she” rather than “it”. I think what you heard was a rare case of “him” being used as “it”. I personally would
never refer to a picture as “him”, but would understand the meaning, but think it a bit odd.
Words can have multiple meanings and “smart” is no different. Check out http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smart.
When used as an adjective, “smart” means “sharp” or very attractive in appearance. The sixth usage in Merriam Webster applies here.
The seller is using smart to mean “elegant 优美”, or fashionable in appearance. Then uses the synonym elegant to repeat for emphasis.
oh,David, Thanks so much for your help! I know them more clearly now! And I will separate my questions one per post next time! sorry to trouble you ^_^
Both last for a limited time. I believe the subtle difference is that provisional carries the idea of service:
We could say “the drug’s effect is temporary” but saying “the drug’s effect is provisional” might sound a bit odd.
We could say “the new government is temporary until a permanent one is in place” as well as say
“the new government is provisional until a permanent one is in place”.
Hi , Dave.I have some questions to ask you. DO you know Allen Iverson, a famous player.How do your Amercian evaluate him? And what do you think the Chris Paul ,the leader of Hornets?Thank u.
hi dawei.
I read this sentence “I was in the mood for something American” in that blog on Starbucks. but i don’t understand what it means exactly. please help .!
@tastwell,
I was in China for nine days and had nothing but Chinese food. It was very good and I have no complaints.
But I am an American, and I did see an opportunity to have some American food, so my desire to eat
American food took over! Even if it was McDonalds. Chinese food is still better.
Does that answer your question?
hello, David, I’m coming to trouble you again!^_^
today’s question is about a phrase ” God help us “.
when I heard the phrase , I was confused with the grammar, why there’s “help” not “helps”.
when the subject are “I” or plural, we use “do”
when the subject is singular, we use”does”
so how about God, I think God is singular, why we don’t use “helps” there.
is it because “God” is/are special? so God always “do”?
–can I change the word ” help ” to some others verbs? such us ” God want to..” ; ” God love you… ” “God is/are coming..” and so on.
–and can we change “God” to some others word with the same “do” rule? such us ” Lord ” ; “Jesus” ; “Alar ” ;
“Lord help us” ; “Jesus love you ” ; ” Alar want you to…”
I hope I say it clearly. thanks!
hi, David! I visit your blog at the first time you told me. I’m glad that you are intreseted in Chinese Idioms and Folk Customs. Those idioms are very vivid and generated from real story!
“you want a piece of me”
on baidu, someone asked what the above sentence means. there are many different answers to it. please give a correct answer and explain it briefly, David. thanks.
I’m a little bit confused by the phrase’find one’s missing puzzle piece’. i.e, when someone says he has finally found his missing puzzle piece, does it mean he has finally find the one he loves? or just mean directly what it seem to mean? haha I know this question is a little bit funny but it means a lot to me, and thanks in advance for your answer!
If you find the “missing puzzle piece” it means that it is the last piece of information to solve some sort of mystery or problem.
It has nothing to do with finding a lover. I hope that answers your question.
Dave/大卫
Hi,David,
I read the phrase “cast oil on the troubled water” on the web,I can guess what it means roughly,but will you please explain it in detail? Thanks!
@landawei
I think 四海之内皆兄弟 means that “all people live within the bound of the four seas are brothers” (The ancient Chinese concept of 四海 consists of 北海 渤海 东海 南海)
So the use of “on” might not be the best choice. What do you think it should be?
My first advice is to never give up. Be persistent. Devote a certain amount of time every day to learning English and over time you will see improvement.
Try to read as much as possible. The internet is a wonderful source for you and I hope you make “My China Connection” part of your regular reading.
Also, try to write. I encourage people to leave comments to explain how you say an English idiom in Chinese or to try to use the English idiom in their own words. That gives you some practice.
For listening, I would recommend watching some English TV programs. That way you can see what people are doing, listen to what they say, and you would probably have Chinese subtitles. I do this with Chinese TV and pick up things that way.
I want to invest an english training center in a city which is near to Shanghai(130kilometers away). So we need several English teachers who are from USA ,we need them to teach Chinese students pure English.Can you introduce someone to me.Thank u very much.
Hi, landawei
I know you from douban.com, and I have read your blog and saw some messages people left to you. Here, I want to ask you a question. I hope you can help me.
I want to know if a student go to American what he or she can learn just through doing part-time job. Absolutely, pronunciation can be much better and more standder.
Thank you. : )
@Jacquenline.
Well, if you wanted to work part-time in the US as a Chinese, student, I would think one thing would be to work in a Chinese restaurant if possible. You would have some connections with Chinese and Chinese food is popular in the US.
Another possibility is to tutor Americans on campus who are learning Chinese. Writing is a bit of a challenge, so some coaching on the side might be something to look into.
Also, finding just any job on campus might be another option. I worked in a library when I attended university, kept me on campus and I could fit work hours around my classes.
Having said that, I am not familiar with immigration laws that might apply.
Good question. I think may be a difference between British and American English.
I am not inclined to say “at one fell swoop”, but rather “in one fell swoop”.
The important thing to remember is that it means that something which happened suddenly
and usually without any warning.
Hey,David. there is a question haunting me for a long time. why do we use different prepositions in the situation below:
IN a car; ON the bus? Why do we use different prepositions here? They are both vehicles.
That’s a very good question. I’ve never thought of that before. When you enter a car, you enter from the side and really don’t change your elevation.
When you enter a bus, you go up several steps, so that’s probably why their is the idea on being “on” the bus.
One enters a car, hence “in”. One board a bus or a ship, hence “on”.
I’m just taking a stab at this. In the end, it may just be something which you have to memorize.
I would say it is legend. I would consider 1000 words survival and it would depend on which 1000 words you knew.
I would suggest doing an internet search on the most common 3000 words in English and learn those.
How advanced is your English? I might be able to recommend some resources.
In spain it was broadcasting on TV a course saying it could be possible to learn english only using a 1000 common words. I know that english has a vast vocabulary, but it uses a lot of phrasal verbs, making it simpler by adding a preposition to a verb ( up, down, out, in etc ).
Well, about my english level, I am not fairly sure. I never finished up any internet assessment. How to know my current english level? I read everyday and watching movies in english, sometimes subtitled. As well as I watch a TV english program you can find in this website http://www.grupovaughan.com/. But I do not chat or talk in english on daily basis. I can make an examn to know my english level but I cannot afford it right now.
I would suggest that you get a free subscription to English Class 101. Also, check out their video series. I use the same video series to learn
Chinese. They have pictures for the vocabulary, then sentences to practice. The sentences aren’t too difficult, but cover a wide range of
situations. You can also see the videos on YouTube.
Hi~
This is Tiffany.
A song from Jennifer Lopez called “Hold you down”
Does hold you down means stay with you/ stand behind you when you are down?
I’m not sure what it means.
Best,
@Tiffany
I looked up the lyrics and they confuse me too! At first glance, it appears that she said that “Fat Joe” is keeping her back from moving on.
If someone said “You are holding me down” I would take that to mean that I was preventing them from progressing
“Now you’ve been holding me down”
For such a long time now
From back then
To now in my story
Straight from the hood
You’ve always been there for me
And ya had my back
(When they) Back when everybody said
I wasn’t anything
It was you who had me holdin’ on
No matter what was goin’ on
So no whatever ya need I got you
I’ll have to find out more about the context of the song to give you a better answer.
Thanks for asking!
What does means “get to the choppa”. I see this expression sometimes in non military context. It is a kid of joke or parody? I know this sentence is used in the film predator. Is this an idiom?
The phrase originated in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie “Predator”. According to this link, http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/get-to-the-choppa, it is now used as slang to indicate
that there is a problem that requires people to leave quickly. Used largely in jest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMS9Nw0-ozw I saw it here time ago and I had read it sometimes on internet but I got the “real meaning” when I saw Predator in original version… LOL! Arnold’s accents is quite innocent. It is funny how films can influence the nature of a language. In spain young people,mainly from the peninsula, they got many expressions from american films previously dubbed into spanish. Also there is a big interjection of spanish expressions coming from southamerica that is sometimes a direct transliteration of english language. Southamerican use a lot the form “no más” that here we never use; It is a directly translation of sentence ending with “no more”.
“Get fired” or simply “fired” has been part of normal English usages for as long as I can remember. It has nothing to do with the movies.
Having said that, Donald Trump has popularized the words “You’re fired!” on his “Apprentice” television programs.
Hi,David.Long time no talk I have a question to ask.
I can find it in many American tv series that many American parents will ground their kids if the kids has done something bad. But what if the kids don’t give a damn to their parents’ ground issues,they keep doing what they like to do as usual. what will their parents do?
That’s a good question. Then find something that they value. Privacy is one. I’ve heard more than one parent of a teenager remove their bedroom door. That changes their attitude very quickly!!
Hi Dave, I’v just read an article, in which there is a sentence “Mr Cook said ambulance ramping had a flow-on effect on paramedics’ ability to respond to emergencies”, but I have no idea what is “flow-on effect”? it seems have something to do with water flowing…thanks
I can’t find anything about “flow-on effect” from an Internet search.
I imagine that it is referring to an ambulance on a ramp making it difficult for a paramedic to work
because the ambulance is not flat. But since I can’t find a definition, I can’t be 100% certain.
hi, landwei,
i have a question.
how to learn the Liaison?
any tips for that ?
my oral english is really bad ,sometimes i donno how to read two words together ,i mean Liaison.?
That is something which takes practice. I would suggest listening to recordings of native speakers
and trying to repeat it. I have some podcasts on this blog that could help you.
Also, I do have students who I work with on a fee basis. If you have Skype we could have
lessons. I bill students by PayPal.com
Hi Dave,
We’re thrown completely off guard when unexpected roadblocks occur on our way back home. I am not sure if “throw” here mean “confused” or what? thanks
many thanks Dave, but I still confused what circumstance how should we use “thrown off guard” in? it seems that someone is behaving cautiously or guardedly and then suddenly get confused by something…
I would need to know more about the context.
It would seem to me that it the person is stating their loyalty to some sort
of organization whose colors are blue and gold.
I have joked in the past, that if one cut me, I’ld bleed “red, white, and blue”.
That means I love my country, whose colors of course are red, white, and blue.
Thanks Dave,Ah! that accounts for it, it was used to describe a veteran and her patriotism in a figurative way. in that case I would be red and yellow if I was split open, LOL
She is US citizen too, but she served US Navy for 14 years and now she is homeless, jobless single mom, struggling to find a job to raise her daughters. to make sure my guess is right,I goggled US Navy, which indeed uses the colors blue and gold.the BLUE of the Seven Seas, the GOLD of God’s Sun.
a small question comes up, I said in my last reply:”I goggled US Navy to make sure….” if I want to add an adv in it to express “,特地，特意”，what appropriate words or phrases I should use here. I tried several words but feel they are too strong…
-I deliberately goggled US Navy to make sure it is right..
-I goggled US Navy on purpose to make sure it is right..
could you let me know your thoughts? thanks
Hi Dave,are there any differences between “last hurrah” and ” home stretch” ? and how to use them properly?it seems that they have the same meaning, could you let me know the subtle difference between them? thanks
Pretty much the same thing. It seems to me that “last hurrah” has more of a final effort
whereas “home stretch” means that something is concluding, but that one could try it
again later.
Hi Dave, when it comes to parenting, normally one parent is required to play the heavy in the family,who is strict with their kids, the other tends to act very nice to the kids. it is kind of tactics.I am not sure if there is any English expresses or idiom for the opposite of “play the heavy” ? play the soft or nice? thanks
Apart from “drill it into me” and “drum it into me”, are there any words or expresses that mean “force (someone) to remember (something) by constantly repeating it”? thanks
sorry,I forgot to interpret the meaning of 踏破铁鞋无觅处，得来全不费工夫, which means ” after having tried to pursue for something for a long time, you found it accidently”
I did some google research and didn’t find anything in addition to “drum it into” or “drill it into”
and didn’t find another way to convey the same idea. That is not to say that there isn’t another
way to say this. If I come across something, I’ll let you know.
Hi Dave, could you let me know the different among “wag,waggle,wiggle”? when I see something moving from side to side,they all come to my mind….. thanks
“wag” is used to describe the motion of a dog moving his tail when he’s happy about something.
“wiggle” is used to describe how worms move when you dig them up from the ground or
children when they won’t sit still.
HI Dave,I just saw some cooking show,some chefs say:Then I cooks up some Smothered Cabbage for a great side.and some say:I cooked off the vegetables, and added tomato paste…
it seems that cook off and cook up are both OK?what is the subtle difference between them?Thanks
“Cook off” would mean that one would cook something for a period of time. Say that you were cooking something in a liquid and
and the recipe called for cooking it until the liquid was gone or almost gone.
Thanks Dave,exactly,if we cook soup,sometimes we need to cook off excess water(or soups may be reduced or boiled down).
but when it comes to”the first thing we did was we cooked off some carrot…” it seems people from different areas have different versions and understandings.
people form AU might think it is wrong to use “off” here,they use “cook up” or barely “cook”instead; guys from UK might associate “Cooking off” with something related to explosives, they use cook up rather than cook off.people from US or Canada will tell the difference(maybe it is used very often in an American cooking show),I was told that cook off implies quickly, simply cooked, may require additional cooking with other ingredients,when we cooked completely to the desired state, we would say”cook up”. maybe my question was a little bit hair-splitting:-)
{ 105 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello David.
i am very happy that i can ask a foreigner for some question.so do you know that what will the DJ say when he introduce the players, like in the beginning of the nba game.
PS:my English is poor ,so if you cann’t understand what i say ,please tell me .Thank U!!
PLESE WRITE TO ME SOON!! Thank you again!!
BEST WISHES!!!
A “DJ” is a “Disk Jockey”. Someone who plays music on a radio station or at a party. What you mean is a “sports announcer”. They have totally different jobs.
A sports announcer might provide statistics about a player. Their percentage of shots made, number of years in basketball, where they played in college, etc.
Hope that helps.
all right ,i remember that! thank u!! and i want to ask do you know what is the “WC” means. DO you have a Chinese neighboorhood? What do you think the Chinese people?)
A “WC” is a “water closet” which is a British term for toilet. I heard an interesting story that some American tourists went to China and asked where the “bathroom” was.
After some initial confusion, the Chinese people figured out the Americans needed at
The Chinese people took them literally and looked for a place for them to bathe.
WC. The Americans never heard the term “WC” (I’ve known the term since Jr. High!
Really no Chinese neighborhoods where I live. I have neighbors of all sorts of nationalities and I do have a next door neighbor from PRC. We say that America
is a “melting pot”, meaning that people from all over the world come here to live.
I like Chinese people and culture. Of course, there are some people who are more likable than others, but I don’t attribute that to their nationality, but to their
personality.
Do you know many Americans or Westerners?
Hi,my friend.
Thank u a lot for invite me to join in ur china connection blog.
Only one question i want to ask is how i be close to be friend with foreigner for learning more english. Thank u.
hello David
I’m sorry to trouble, I have a lot of questions,maybe a little bit more,
1”’ about the word “him”
a watched a short English video, here’s the dialogue.
Mary said—hello Marco, Look! That’s my picture.It’s good,is it? Can you pay for him? I don’t have any euro.
what does “him” mean in this dialogue? I asked my teacher, he said “him” means the person who drew the picture to Mary.” but I don’t think so, because if “him” referred to the painter,Mary had to say “can you pay him” pay sb. & pay for sth. so I think here the word ” him ” refers to the picture itself. but my teacher said that I was wrong,because “him” can only used on creatures, the alive things. but I insist I’m right. In my obesevation, when people take so many emotions into an object, they may think it’s alive. for example I’v had a old car with me for many years, the car is always be my side. I take so many emotions into the car, so I can call the car “him”.
so David, you’re the native. can you tell me the correct answer? Am I right?
————————————————————————————————-
2”’about the word smart , elegant , terrific
I learned them yesterday, in a short video in my English leason.
Ling is a seller, who sells women’s clothing, she said to the buyer “The cloth are smart, elegant and not expensive”
the buyer answered ” yes, they’re terrific”
I had never seen these words before, so I guess they’re all means good looking, the clothing are beautiful in appearance. as I known smart can aslo be used to describe a person who is very clever.
can you tell me the differences between them? or you can give me the exact definitions, thanks.
————————————————————————————-
3”’about the word apparel
apparel means garment, cloth, clothing,
I know that people use “apparel” in written not in spoken, is it right?
does the word only be used for women’s clothing? what about men’s clothing? ,baby’s and chirden’s clothing?
thanks!
————————————————————————————–
4”’ can’t / don’t
is there any different between the two sentences
I can’t understand!
I don’t understand!
thanks a million!!!!
@KaiY
I suppose that depends where you live in China. Do you see many of us 老外 where you live?
Are you near a University? A business district with foreigners?
What are your language goals with English?
@enterblue
) I would request that you have one question per post. I don’t mind multiple questions, but it will make it easier for me to manage. (Thanks for understanding)
Great questions! For the benefit of the other readers (and myself too!
I’ll start with your fourth question
“I can’t understand” means that I do not have the ability to understand at all.
“I don’t understand” means that there is something that is preventing me from understanding. It is possible that something can change to make me understand.
Example: “I don’t understand you. Would you please write that down?”
Does that help?
Apparel is not used as often as clothing. But they are synonyms. http://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apparel
I would say “apparel” is a more formal way of saying clothing. You might refer to apparel when you are at a department store.
“Where can I find men’s apparel?”
“Apparel” isn’t reserved for written English.
I hope that helps.
Since I haven’t seen the video, I am going to have to make some assumptions. In this case, I think “him” would be better said as “it”.
“Can you pay for it?”
English is simpler than languages such as French and German because there is typically no gender for nouns. One exception that quickly comes
to mind is a ship. We refer to ships as “she” rather than “it”. I think what you heard was a rare case of “him” being used as “it”. I personally would
never refer to a picture as “him”, but would understand the meaning, but think it a bit odd.
Words can have multiple meanings and “smart” is no different. Check out http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smart.
When used as an adjective, “smart” means “sharp” or very attractive in appearance. The sixth usage in Merriam Webster applies here.
The seller is using smart to mean “elegant 优美”, or fashionable in appearance. Then uses the synonym elegant to repeat for emphasis.
Does this help?
I don’t know many Americans or westerners, you are the frist foreigner person who communicate with me .
oh,David, Thanks so much for your help! I know them more clearly now! And I will separate my questions one per post next time! sorry to trouble you ^_^
hello david.
what’s the difference between “temporary” and “provisonal”? I think both are the same.
Both last for a limited time. I believe the subtle difference is that provisional carries the idea of service:
We could say “the drug’s effect is temporary” but saying “the drug’s effect is provisional” might sound a bit odd.
We could say “the new government is temporary until a permanent one is in place” as well as say
“the new government is provisional until a permanent one is in place”.
I hope this helps!
thanks !
Hi , Dave.I have some questions to ask you. DO you know Allen Iverson, a famous player.How do your Amercian evaluate him? And what do you think the Chris Paul ,the leader of Hornets?Thank u.
Sorry, C.RAN
I’m afraid I’m not really big on NBA basketball, so I can’t give you a good answer.
How do Americans evaluate a player? He has to be a good shot, get lots of rebounds and stay out of trouble! (probably the most important thing.)
dawei, i want to practice english with you,thanks your help @@
Marjorie,
No problem. Questions are welcome! We can all learn together.
hi dawei.
I read this sentence “I was in the mood for something American” in that blog on Starbucks. but i don’t understand what it means exactly. please help .!
“on the four seas, all are brothers”.
why is “on” used in thst sentence but “in” ?
@tastwell,
I was in China for nine days and had nothing but Chinese food. It was very good and I have no complaints.
But I am an American, and I did see an opportunity to have some American food, so my desire to eat
American food took over! Even if it was McDonalds. Chinese food is still better.
Does that answer your question?
@tastwell.
I used “on” because people normally they would be on the surface. “In” has the concept of
being “inside” or in the case of the ocean “under”.
I hope this answers your question.
I got it. thanks!
“the names “John” and “Jane” are very generic. ”
Is it correct to replace “generic” with “common” or “general”?
hello, David, I’m coming to trouble you again!^_^
today’s question is about a phrase ” God help us “.
when I heard the phrase , I was confused with the grammar, why there’s “help” not “helps”.
when the subject are “I” or plural, we use “do”
when the subject is singular, we use”does”
so how about God, I think God is singular, why we don’t use “helps” there.
is it because “God” is/are special? so God always “do”?
–can I change the word ” help ” to some others verbs? such us ” God want to..” ; ” God love you… ” “God is/are coming..” and so on.
–and can we change “God” to some others word with the same “do” rule? such us ” Lord ” ; “Jesus” ; “Alar ” ;
“Lord help us” ; “Jesus love you ” ; ” Alar want you to…”
I hope I say it clearly. thanks!
hi, David! I visit your blog at the first time you told me. I’m glad that you are intreseted in Chinese Idioms and Folk Customs. Those idioms are very vivid and generated from real story!
@Elina.
Hope you keep coming back. I hope that I write well enough to keep your interest.
Please tell your friends about My China Connection!
“you want a piece of me”
on baidu, someone asked what the above sentence means. there are many different answers to it. please give a correct answer and explain it briefly, David. thanks.
Hi David,
I’m a little bit confused by the phrase’find one’s missing puzzle piece’. i.e, when someone says he has finally found his missing puzzle piece, does it mean he has finally find the one he loves? or just mean directly what it seem to mean? haha I know this question is a little bit funny but it means a lot to me, and thanks in advance for your answer!
Grace
@Grace.
If you find the “missing puzzle piece” it means that it is the last piece of information to solve some sort of mystery or problem.
It has nothing to do with finding a lover. I hope that answers your question.
Dave/大卫
Hey david, thanks a lot for the explanation! That really helps a lot~
Grace.
@Grace,
No problem! Thank you for visiting “My China Connection”. I hope we chat again!
just say hi
@sara
Hello! Questions and comments are welcome!
Hi,David,
I read the phrase “cast oil on the troubled water” on the web,I can guess what it means roughly,but will you please explain it in detail? Thanks!
@landawei
I think 四海之内皆兄弟 means that “all people live within the bound of the four seas are brothers” (The ancient Chinese concept of 四海 consists of 北海 渤海 东海 南海)
So the use of “on” might not be the best choice. What do you think it should be?
hello,david,
I am a Middle School student,I am not good at English .So i want you give me some advice toimporve my English.(thank you!)
Wait for your message!
My first advice is to never give up. Be persistent. Devote a certain amount of time every day to learning English and over time you will see improvement.
Try to read as much as possible. The internet is a wonderful source for you and I hope you make “My China Connection” part of your regular reading.
Also, try to write. I encourage people to leave comments to explain how you say an English idiom in Chinese or to try to use the English idiom in their own words. That gives you some practice.
For listening, I would recommend watching some English TV programs. That way you can see what people are doing, listen to what they say, and you would probably have Chinese subtitles. I do this with Chinese TV and pick up things that way.
Hope that helps, Joanne!
hi,Dawei,
long time no see your blog,i am really sorry for that.
i was study for my final test earlier,so i hadn’t more time to read it.
@Rachel.
No problem. I hope that you did well on your final exams!
I want to invest an english training center in a city which is near to Shanghai(130kilometers away). So we need several English teachers who are from USA ,we need them to teach Chinese students pure English.Can you introduce someone to me.Thank u very much.
Hello, Eric.
Sorry, I’m not able to help you. I’m in the States. But if someone sees this post and can help, I wish you the best!
Hi, landawei
I know you from douban.com, and I have read your blog and saw some messages people left to you. Here, I want to ask you a question. I hope you can help me.
I want to know if a student go to American what he or she can learn just through doing part-time job. Absolutely, pronunciation can be much better and more standder.
Thank you. : )
@Jacquenline.
Well, if you wanted to work part-time in the US as a Chinese, student, I would think one thing would be to work in a Chinese restaurant if possible. You would have some connections with Chinese and Chinese food is popular in the US.
Another possibility is to tutor Americans on campus who are learning Chinese. Writing is a bit of a challenge, so some coaching on the side might be something to look into.
Also, finding just any job on campus might be another option. I worked in a library when I attended university, kept me on campus and I could fit work hours around my classes.
Having said that, I am not familiar with immigration laws that might apply.
Hope that helps!
Hi,David.Can you tell me what’s the difference between AT one fell swoop and IN one fell swoop?
@Barry.
Good question. I think may be a difference between British and American English.
I am not inclined to say “at one fell swoop”, but rather “in one fell swoop”.
The important thing to remember is that it means that something which happened suddenly
and usually without any warning.
Hope that helps.
Dave
I got it.
Glad to hear it!
Hey,David. there is a question haunting me for a long time. why do we use different prepositions in the situation below:
IN a car; ON the bus? Why do we use different prepositions here? They are both vehicles.
@Berry.
That’s a very good question. I’ve never thought of that before. When you enter a car, you enter from the side and really don’t change your elevation.
When you enter a bus, you go up several steps, so that’s probably why their is the idea on being “on” the bus.
One enters a car, hence “in”. One board a bus or a ship, hence “on”.
I’m just taking a stab at this. In the end, it may just be something which you have to memorize.
I hope that helps.
Dave
Yeah.It really helps.Thanks,Dave.
Hi landawei,
It is true or legend that to talk in english you only need to know 1000 words?
@Jim
I would say it is legend. I would consider 1000 words survival and it would depend on which 1000 words you knew.
I would suggest doing an internet search on the most common 3000 words in English and learn those.
How advanced is your English? I might be able to recommend some resources.
In spain it was broadcasting on TV a course saying it could be possible to learn english only using a 1000 common words. I know that english has a vast vocabulary, but it uses a lot of phrasal verbs, making it simpler by adding a preposition to a verb ( up, down, out, in etc ).
Well, about my english level, I am not fairly sure. I never finished up any internet assessment. How to know my current english level? I read everyday and watching movies in english, sometimes subtitled. As well as I watch a TV english program you can find in this website http://www.grupovaughan.com/. But I do not chat or talk in english on daily basis. I can make an examn to know my english level but I cannot afford it right now.
I would suggest that you get a free subscription to English Class 101. Also, check out their video series. I use the same video series to learn
Chinese. They have pictures for the vocabulary, then sentences to practice. The sentences aren’t too difficult, but cover a wide range of
situations. You can also see the videos on YouTube.
Can’t beat the price!
Hi~
This is Tiffany.
A song from Jennifer Lopez called “Hold you down”
Does hold you down means stay with you/ stand behind you when you are down?
I’m not sure what it means.
Best,
@Tiffany
I looked up the lyrics and they confuse me too! At first glance, it appears that she said that “Fat Joe” is keeping her back from moving on.
If someone said “You are holding me down” I would take that to mean that I was preventing them from progressing
“Now you’ve been holding me down”
For such a long time now
From back then
To now in my story
Straight from the hood
You’ve always been there for me
And ya had my back
(When they) Back when everybody said
I wasn’t anything
It was you who had me holdin’ on
No matter what was goin’ on
So no whatever ya need I got you
I’ll have to find out more about the context of the song to give you a better answer.
Thanks for asking!
What does means “get to the choppa”. I see this expression sometimes in non military context. It is a kid of joke or parody? I know this sentence is used in the film predator. Is this an idiom?
The phrase originated in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie “Predator”. According to this link,
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/get-to-the-choppa, it is now used as slang to indicate
that there is a problem that requires people to leave quickly. Used largely in jest.
This one’s new to me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMS9Nw0-ozw I saw it here time ago and I had read it sometimes on internet but I got the “real meaning” when I saw Predator in original version… LOL! Arnold’s accents is quite innocent. It is funny how films can influence the nature of a language. In spain young people,mainly from the peninsula, they got many expressions from american films previously dubbed into spanish. Also there is a big interjection of spanish expressions coming from southamerica that is sometimes a direct transliteration of english language. Southamerican use a lot the form “no más” that here we never use; It is a directly translation of sentence ending with “no more”.
And what about “get fired”, it is also coming from Arnold film?
@Jim.
“Get fired” or simply “fired” has been part of normal English usages for as long as I can remember. It has nothing to do with the movies.
Having said that, Donald Trump has popularized the words “You’re fired!” on his “Apprentice” television programs.
What does “It’s been a ride” mean?
@Jim.
I mostly likely means that it was an awesome, fun, or very good experience.
Hi,David.Long time no talk
I have a question to ask.
I can find it in many American tv series that many American parents will ground their kids if the kids has done something bad. But what if the kids don’t give a damn to their parents’ ground issues,they keep doing what they like to do as usual. what will their parents do?
@Berry,
That’s a good question. Then find something that they value. Privacy is one. I’ve heard more than one parent of a teenager remove their bedroom door. That changes their attitude very quickly!!
Hi Dave, I’v just read an article, in which there is a sentence “Mr Cook said ambulance ramping had a flow-on effect on paramedics’ ability to respond to emergencies”, but I have no idea what is “flow-on effect”? it seems have something to do with water flowing…thanks
@frank panda
I can’t find anything about “flow-on effect” from an Internet search.
I imagine that it is referring to an ambulance on a ramp making it difficult for a paramedic to work
because the ambulance is not flat. But since I can’t find a definition, I can’t be 100% certain.
hi, landwei,
i have a question.
how to learn the Liaison?
any tips for that ?
my oral english is really bad ,sometimes i donno how to read two words together ,i mean Liaison.?
thanks
martin
@martin
That is something which takes practice. I would suggest listening to recordings of native speakers
and trying to repeat it. I have some podcasts on this blog that could help you.
Also, I do have students who I work with on a fee basis. If you have Skype we could have
lessons. I bill students by PayPal.com
Hi Dave,
We’re thrown completely off guard when unexpected roadblocks occur on our way back home. I am not sure if “throw” here mean “confused” or what? thanks
@Frank
You can’t take “thrown” in isolation from “thrown off guard”. “Thrown off guard” is a phrase which means surprised or confused.
Does that answer your question?
Best regard,
Dave/蓝大卫
many thanks Dave, but I still confused what circumstance how should we use “thrown off guard” in? it seems that someone is behaving cautiously or guardedly and then suddenly get confused by something…
@frank panda
It is simply a idiomatic way of saying that something surprised you, it is unexpected.
It was a quite Sunday morning in 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. The Americans stationed there were thrown off guard by the attack.
We also say “caught off guard” to mean the same thing.
Hope that helps.
Dave
Hi Dave, I am puzzled with the sentence below, could you let me know what it mean?
“If you split me open, I’m blue and gold.” thanks
I would need to know more about the context.
It would seem to me that it the person is stating their loyalty to some sort
of organization whose colors are blue and gold.
I have joked in the past, that if one cut me, I’ld bleed “red, white, and blue”.
That means I love my country, whose colors of course are red, white, and blue.
Thanks Dave,Ah! that accounts for it, it was used to describe a veteran and her patriotism in a figurative way. in that case I would be red and yellow if I was split open, LOL
Which nationality is this woman you described as “blue and gold”?
She is US citizen too, but she served US Navy for 14 years and now she is homeless, jobless single mom, struggling to find a job to raise her daughters. to make sure my guess is right,I goggled US Navy, which indeed uses the colors blue and gold.the BLUE of the Seven Seas, the GOLD of God’s Sun.
a small question comes up, I said in my last reply:”I goggled US Navy to make sure….” if I want to add an adv in it to express “,特地，特意”，what appropriate words or phrases I should use here. I tried several words but feel they are too strong…
-I deliberately goggled US Navy to make sure it is right..
-I goggled US Navy on purpose to make sure it is right..
could you let me know your thoughts? thanks
Yes, this makes a lot of sense now. Those are the colors of the US Navy.
@frank panda
Either would be correct.
Hi Dave,are there any differences between “last hurrah” and ” home stretch” ? and how to use them properly?it seems that they have the same meaning, could you let me know the subtle difference between them? thanks
Pretty much the same thing. It seems to me that “last hurrah” has more of a final effort
whereas “home stretch” means that something is concluding, but that one could try it
again later.
Hi Dave, when it comes to parenting, normally one parent is required to play the heavy in the family,who is strict with their kids, the other tends to act very nice to the kids. it is kind of tactics.I am not sure if there is any English expresses or idiom for the opposite of “play the heavy” ? play the soft or nice? thanks
We call it “Good Cop, Bad Cop”.
http://mychinaconnection.com/english-slang/good-cop-bad-cop/
踏破铁鞋无觅处，得来全不费工夫:-)
????
Apart from “drill it into me” and “drum it into me”, are there any words or expresses that mean “force (someone) to remember (something) by constantly repeating it”? thanks
@frank panda.
That’s a good question. Let me think about it and get back to you!
sorry,I forgot to interpret the meaning of 踏破铁鞋无觅处，得来全不费工夫, which means ” after having tried to pursue for something for a long time, you found it accidently”
I did some google research and didn’t find anything in addition to “drum it into” or “drill it into”
and didn’t find another way to convey the same idea. That is not to say that there isn’t another
way to say this. If I come across something, I’ll let you know.
thanks,I might be too greedy, these two phrases are OK for me to use in daily conversation…hope we will get an unexpected windfall
Oh, not greedy at all! The thirst for learning should never end!
Hi Dave, could you let me know the different among “wag,waggle,wiggle”? when I see something moving from side to side,they all come to my mind….. thanks
I’m not familiar with “waggle”.
“wag” is used to describe the motion of a dog moving his tail when he’s happy about something.
“wiggle” is used to describe how worms move when you dig them up from the ground or
children when they won’t sit still.
thanks, it seems there is a word “wiggle-waggle”…
Oh, yes. I overlooked them in combination. “wiggle-waggle” means to squirm. Very appropriate
for little kids.
HI Dave,I just saw some cooking show,some chefs say:Then I cooks up some Smothered Cabbage for a great side.and some say:I cooked off the vegetables, and added tomato paste…
it seems that cook off and cook up are both OK?what is the subtle difference between them?Thanks
Hi Dave,please ignore my question, I got it
“Cook off” would mean that one would cook something for a period of time. Say that you were cooking something in a liquid and
and the recipe called for cooking it until the liquid was gone or almost gone.
“Cook up” is another way to say “prepare”.
Does that answer your question?
Oh, OK, I see your comment now, but I left my answer.
Thanks Dave,exactly,if we cook soup,sometimes we need to cook off excess water(or soups may be reduced or boiled down).
but when it comes to”the first thing we did was we cooked off some carrot…” it seems people from different areas have different versions and understandings.
people form AU might think it is wrong to use “off” here,they use “cook up” or barely “cook”instead; guys from UK might associate “Cooking off” with something related to explosives, they use cook up rather than cook off.people from US or Canada will tell the difference(maybe it is used very often in an American cooking show),I was told that cook off implies quickly, simply cooked, may require additional cooking with other ingredients,when we cooked completely to the desired state, we would say”cook up”. maybe my question was a little bit hair-splitting:-)