Study Point

Slang
pain in the neck = someone who causes trouble; a bothersome annoying person
[ro] bătaie de cap, calamitate, chin, pacoste (d. cineva sau ceva), pedeapsa, supărare, persoana infamă, sarcină dezagreabilă

Proverb
A barking dog never bites. = Many people talk without any action.
[ro] Câinele care latră nu muscă. Oamenii guralivi nu sunt de temut.

Tongue Twister
Bobby Bippy bought a bat.
Bobby Bippy bought a ball.
With his bat Bob banged the ball
Banged it bump against the wall
But so boldly Bobby banged it
That he burst his rubber ball
“”Boo!”" cried Bobby
Bad luck ball
Bad luck Bobby, bad luck ball
Now to drown his many troubles
Bobby Bippy’s blowing bubbles.

Quote
Wish not so much to live long as to live well. – Benjamin Franklin

Word of the Day
overdraft = the amount by which withdrawals exceed deposits, or the extension of credit by a lending institution to allow for such a situation
[ro] sumă cu care s-a depăşit contul în bancă, neacoperire (a unui mandat de plată), depăşire a contului în bancă

Abbreviation

What does the abbreviation CFO stand for?
e.g. You should talk to the CFO before approving that credit.
= Chief Financial Officer

Idiom

catch on – E.g. He is a smart child he catches on very fast.
= to begin to understand something.
[ro] a înţelege (o gluma, sensul spuselor cuiva), a pricepe

Cummingtonite / Comming tonight

Cummingtonite este un mineral !!!

Verbele Frazale/Phrasal Verbs

Verbul frazal este un verb care este urmat de un adverb sau de o ppropoziție, ambii acționând ca o unitate semantică.
Adverbul sau prepoziția care urmează verbul se numește particulă (particle).
Verbul frazal într-o propoziție are aceiași funcție ca și un verb simplu, dar sensul lui este idiomatic:
That’s an offer he can’t turn down. Este o ofertă pe care n-o putem refuza.

Verbe frazale sunt
Separabile:
She added up the numbers.
She added the numbers up.

Inseparabile:
He broke into the conversation.

Cel mai dificil este că nu există regula când un verb frazal este separabil și când nu.

Horse idioms

It’s neck and neck = este la egalitate;
On the home straight/stretch = la ultima sută de metri;
Down to the wire = a nu ajunge la un consesens.

Omofone și Omonime / Homophones and Homonyms

Omofone și Omonime sunt cuvintele care sunt confundate dese ori.

Omofon / Homophone

Un omofon este un cuvânt care se pronunță la fel ca și un alt cuvânt, dar se scriu diferit sau au sensuri diferite.

meet – meat (a întâlni – carne)
It’s nice to meet you!
Did you know that bolognese sauce is a tomato based meat sauce?

ate – eight (a mâncat – opt)
Henry ate a sandwich for lunch yesterday.
I’ll see you at eight o’clock tonight.

Omonime – Homonyms

Omonime sunt cuvinte care se scriu la fel dar au un sens complet diferit.

fly – fly (a zbura – muscă)
Mary doesn’t want to fly there. She’ll drive.
That fly is driving me crazy!

left – left (a lăsat – stâng)
I need to go back to the store. I think I left my wallet there.
Take the next left and then continue on down that road.

Alte Omofone:

affect – effect
affect = verb: a schimba, a influența
Good study habits will positively affect your grades.
effect = substantiv: rezultat, efect
I hope that new law has the desired effect.

break – brake
break = verb: a deteriora, a distruge
Oh no! You broke my daughter’s doll!
brake = substantiv: frâna
I hit the brakes with both feet trying to stop the car.

close – clothes
close = verb: a închide
We close at nine p.m.
clothes = substantiv: îmbrăcăminte
She wears very expensive clothes.

flour – flower
flour = substantiv: făină
Use two cups of flour and one cup of water.
flower = substantiv: floare
What a beautiful flower. Is it a rose?

hear – here
hear = verb: a auzi
Can you hear me?
here = adverb: aici
He lives here.

knight – night
knight = substantiv: cavaler
The knights of the round table were very powerful.
night = substantiv: noapte
Did you sleep well last night?

missed – mist
missed = verb: a pierde, a scăpa
Unfortunately, I missed my flight and have to stay the night.
mist = substantiv: ceaţă
Ireland is famous for its mist.

patience – patients
patience = substantiv: răbdare
It’s important to have a lot of patience if you want to teach kindergarten.
patients = substantiv: pacienți
There are ten patients waiting to be examined.

sole – soul
sole = substantiv: talpă (la încălţăminte)
My soles are burning!
soul = substantiv: suflet
What does your church believe about souls?

threw – through
threw = verb: a aruncat
I threw the ball to the first baseman.
through = prepoziție: prin
Tom walked through the room.

Alte Omonime

batter – batter
batter = substantiv: jucător care lovește mingea
The batter hit a home run out of the park!
batter = substantiv: aluat (nefermentat)
Add some water to soften the batter.

bug – bug
bug = substantiv: insectă
I hate bugs!
bug = verb: a plictisi pe cineva
He doesn’t want to bother you.

coach – coach
coach = substantiv: autocar
We took a coach through the countryside.
coach = verb: a antrena
Would you like to ask him to coach the team?

down – down
down = preposition: în jos
Set the book down and come here.
down = substantiv: puf
I bought a down pillow last month.

felt – felt
felt = verb: a simțit
He felt sick and stayed home for the day.
felt = substantiv: fetru, flanelă
We need to get new felt for the pool table.

groom – groom
groom = noun: mire
The groom looks very nervous!
groom = substantiv: a pregăti
We usually groom the players to become the very best.

last – last
last = adverb: ultimul
I saw him last Saturday.
last = verb: a continua, a dura
How long does the film last?

net – net
net = substantiv: plasă
The ball went into the net and the home team won.
net = verb: a aduce câștig
How much did you net last quarter?

organ – organ
organ = substantiv: partea corpului
The heart is considered the most important organ.
organ = substantiv: instrument muzical
Bach’s works are best heard on an organ.

Telling the Time

Take care of the minutes, for hours will take care of themselves …

Asking What Time It Is:

What time is it?
Have you got the time?
What’s the time?
What time do you make it?
Do you have the exact time?
Could you tell me the time?

Saying What Time It Is:

9.00 – nine o’clock
9.05 – nine (oh) five or five past nine
9.10 – nine ten or ten past nine
9.15 – nine fifteen or a quarter past nine
9.25 – nine twenty-five or twenty-five past nine
9.30 – nine thirty or half past nine
9.45 – nine forty-five or a quarter to ten
9.50 – nine fifty or ten to ten
9.58 – nine fifty eight or nearly ten o’clock

Timpul este precedat de The time is… sau, It’s…

Un dialog tipic:
Question: What time is it, please?
Answer: It’s nine o’clock.

Americanii deseori folosesc două puncte între ore și minute: 9:50.

Expresia o’clock se folosește doar la ora exactă – Let’s meet at eight (o’clock).

Day and Night

There are 24 hours in a day.
The day is divided into daytime and nighttime.
Every day starts at midnight.
Times can be distinguished by using in the morning, afternoon or evening.
In the more formal style we use am (= Latin – ante meridiem = before noon) and pm (= Latin – post meridiem = after noon).

The twenty-four clock is used mainly in timetables and official announcements. In ordinary speech, people usually use the twelve-hour clock.

Some useful expression:

The clock is five minutes fast or slow.
at exactly five o’clock – Exact la orele cinci.
at five o’clock sharp – Fix la ora cinci.
by five o’clock at the latest – cel târziu la ora cinci.
at midnight – la miezul nopții.
about five o’clock – pe la orele cinci.
until ten o’clock – până la ora unsprezece.
before noon – până la ora douăsprezece (amiază).

Quote of the day

“Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.”

“Timpul este gratuit, dar este de neprețuit. Nu-l poţi avea, dar îl poţi utiliza. Nu-l poţi economisi, dar îl poți cheltui. Odată ce l-aţi pierdut, niciodată nu-l vei putea recupera.”

BALL idioms

Keep your eye on the ball – A nu pierde din vedere scopul;
It’s a whole new ball game – Este o situaţie complet diferită;
on the ball – activ, ager, cu gândire clară, eficient, isteţ, prompt, alert.