Tag Archives: vocabularies

English, vocabulary, WOTD, writing

#WOTD: Cast

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Hi, fellas, how are you today? I hope your Monday went well.

Today, we are going to discuss the word ‘cast’ on #WOTD. What do you have in mind every time you read or hear this word, fellas?

For me, the word ‘cast’ is always associated with an actor or actress being chosen to play a specific role in a movie.

E.g.: “When I heard that Joaquin Phoenix was cast as the Joker, I really couldn’t wait to see the movie.”

Clapper

 

However, aside of that meaning, there are also other meaning of the word ‘cast.’ Let’s start on how it functions as a verb.

The verb ‘to cast’ means to set or throw something aside, especially with force.
E.g.: “He cast the newspaper aside when he found a misleading article written about him.”

It can also mean to cause a light or a shadow to appear on a certain surface.
E.g.: “The morning sun cast an orange shade over the empty field.”

‘To cast’ can also mean to shape or to mould something (usually of metal) in its molten form and let it cool until it becomes solid.
E.g.: “The ring was cast in Mordor.”

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If we ‘cast a look/glance/smile, etc.’ towards something, it means that we throw a look, a glance, a smile, etc. to a specific direction.
E.g.: “As she wasn’t prepared, she couldn’t help casting nervous glances towards her classmates during the quiz.”

There are also ‘to cast a vote,’ which means to vote, and ‘to cast a spell/curse,’ which means to put a spell or a curse on someone.

In past tense and participle tense, the word ‘cast’ retains its form. So, the past form, the participle form, and the passive form of ‘cast’ are still ‘cast.’

As a noun, ‘cast’ generally refers to an object made in a mould. For example, an accident just happened to someone causing his ankle to sprain, so he needs to wear a cast.

 

Written and compiled by @alicesaraswati for @EnglishTips4U on Monday, 9 September 2019.

 

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#EngQuiz : Words in the News

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Fellas, do you like to read the news? We can get many information from the news. The sources we can read the news from vary. We can read the news on the newspaper, magazine, or online news portals. Reading the news in English can also improve our vocabulary.

On today’s session, we will start with this paragraph:

It’s the temple that brought Londonderry together. On Saturday they burnt it down.

Catholics and Protestants have a long history of conflict in this Northern Irish city.

But volunteers from both communities came together to build the structure. Thousands left personal messages of peace inside.

Organisers say the fire symbolises letting go of the past.

From the paragraph, we can find some vocabularies like:

  • Temple = a building used to pray
  • To burn something down = to destroy it with fire
  • Conflict = a serious disagreement or argument between two people or more
  • Volunteers = people who offer to work without being paid
  • Symbolise = to represent an idea

Fellas, let’s start the quiz! Fill in the blank with vocabularies that we found from the news that I shared previously. Use hashtag #EngQuiz to share your answer.


1. Since the last train left in 1998, the once regal station has come to (…..) Detroit.

2. Whatever the issue was, the (….) between Rachel and Soga remained.

3. The camp ground was manned on a (….) basis.

4. She was worried that the house might (….) while they were away.

5. This year, the date on which Gandhi was murdered was marked by attempts by right-wing Hindus to build a (….) to honour the Gods.

The answer are:

  1. Symbolise
  2. Conflict
  3. Volunteer
  4. Burn down
  5. Temple

Source from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/features/witn/ep-150325

Thats all for today fellas, see you tomorrow!!

Compiled and written by @2013happyy for @englishtipsforyou on Wednesday, July 17, 2019

English, vocabulary

#EngVocab: Homophones start with “W”

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Good evening, Fellas! It’s midweek already. Did your day go as well as mine? I hope it did! Today is Wednesday, so I want to talk about some words that start with a “W.”

The words I’m going to talk about sound similar, but have different meanings. They are: “waist” and “waste”; “whoever” and “whomever”; “while” and “whilst”; “whether,” “weather,” and “wether.”

Here are some explanations about the differences:

“Waist” and “waste”

“Waist” (n) is the part of the body between the ribs and hips. Meanwhile “waste” can be a noun, a verb, or an adjective. As a noun, it means useless materials left over from another activity (i.e., rubbish (UK) or  garbage (US)). As a verb, “waste” means to expend materials or resources without reason. For example, “Do not waste drinking water.” Lastly, as an adjective, “waste” means uninhabited or uncultivated (usually of land).

“Whoever” and “whomever”

“Whoever” (just like he) is the subject of a verb.

Example:

  • “Whoever finds me wins a cake.” (Whoever is the subject of finds)

“Whomever” (just like him) is never the subject of a verb, tt is an object.

Example:

  • “Whomever I find loses a cake.” (Whomever is the direct object of I find.)

“While” and “whilst”

“While” and “whilst” have a similar meaning when we use them as conjunctions. They both mean ‘during the time that something else happens’, or ‘in contrast with something else’. “While” is frequently used in daily communication than “whilst.” Besides, “whilst” sounds more formal.

“While” can be either a noun or a verb, while “whilst” doesn’t have the same trait. As a noun, “while” means a period of time. As a verb, it means an activity to spend the time (usually at a leisurely pace).

Example:

  • “I lived there for a while.” (while as a noun).
  • “She used to while away the hours in the meadow.” (while as a verb)

“Whether,” “weather,” and “wether”

“Whether” is a conjunction with a similar meaning to “if.”

Example:

  • “I wonder whether it will rain.”

“Weather “refers to the state of the atmosphere, e.g., temperature, wind, clouds, rain).

Lastly, a “wether” is a castrated ram (male sheep).

Compiled and written by @EnglishTips4U for @EnglishTips4U on Wednesday, 23 September, 2015.

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English, vocabulary

#EngVocab: Swenglish

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So, to fill in your evening I will be sharing some #EngVocab from Swenglish. Okay, does anyone here can guess what Swenglish is?

“Switching english ?Lol no urm is it sort of english slang?” – @iamnadiiaa

“Swedish” English :)” – @KeziaParakitri

According to @TheLocalSweden, Swenglish is “a peculiar little language phenomenon,” not only from making mistakes, but it is from “the result of speaking English but playing by the rules of Swedish.” As previously discussed in the past’s session, it doesn’t mean that the Swedes can’t speak English well. Some Swedish are still found to mix up their languages. So, what’s Swenglish like? Here are several vocabularies that give a taste of it :)

  1. “Potato moose.” Meaning: mashed potatoes. In Swedish it’s “potatismos,” so they seem to keep it so.
  2. “Leg.” Meaning: short for legitimation. When a Swedish bartender asked “show me your leg”, it doesn’t mean your real leg, it means your ID or proof of identity to confirm your age.
  1. “Bear.” Meaning: beer while “Beer” means “bear.” You might find that beer is sold or stated as bear while the animal bear is a beer.
  1. “Eating medicine.” Meaning: take medicine. The Swedish tend to say they have “eaten” pills instead of “taken” or “drank” pills while they are ill.
  1. “J.” Meaning: Y, the letter “J” is read as “Y.”
    • Example:
      • Jew is You,
      • Jail is Yale
  1. “V” Meaning: W, the letter “V” is read as “W.” “Swedish doesn’t have much use for the humble double-u, as a V almost always suffices”
    • Example:
      • Viking is Wiking,
      • Vampires is Wampires
  1. “Kock.” Meaning: cook (chef).
    • Example:
      • “Waiter, give my complementary to the kock”
  1. “Half past.” Meaning: half to. When it comes to time, “half past to” is half hour before.
    • Example:
      • Instead of 8:30 AM it’s 7:30 AM. Confusing, eh?

So, that’s it for today’s #Swenglish #EngVocab! Hope it gives another dimension how English have been absorbed by other countries.

Source:

Compiled and written by @daedonghae at @EnglishTips4u on September 27, 2014

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English, picture

#EngPic: 20 Things About Autumn?

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Hiya Fellas, I hope you have a great day so far. Autumn approaches in the northern side of the earth. Do you know what autumn is? I found this #EngPic once and it does reflect Autumn quite well.

autumn

(Source: Found in Facebook/Tumblr)

See if you recognise any of the vocabularies. Do you know what they mean?

Autumn is….

“Season after summer and before winter a.k.a fall season” – @melvamelpuss

Try answer these next questions to test your knowledge on these vocabs!

QUESTIONS

  1. No. 18 says “crunchy leaves,” does that mean you can eat it?
  2. No. 2 says “no sweat, no frost bite” does that mean you will not be sweating or get frozen?
  3. No. 4 is about the “brisk breeze,” is that about the wind?
  4. No. 3 says “colourful leaves,” does it mean they are not green?
  5. “Bon fires,” what are they?

ANSWERS

1. “noooo haha.” – @miekenafff

“Daun kering…” = @Djachsan

2. “It’s warm.” – @betharihani

3. “Brisk breeze is talking about the wind, i.e. in Indonesian ‘angin sepoi.'” – @rizky_paramitha

4. “Most of them turn red, orange and yellow.” – @betharihani

5. “Api unggun.“ – @Djachsan

“A fire when we’re do camping.” – @Yusuke3192:

That’s it for the answers! Thank you for the contributions! I hope you had fun!

Compiled and written by @daedonghae at @EnglishTips4u on September 13, 2014

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English, vocabulary

#EngVocab: Singlish vocabularies

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Following up on a previous post about Singlish or Singaporean English, this time we will talk about some Singlish words and expressions. Anyone up for it?

As a reminder, here’s what Singlish is to a fella:

“it’s English mix with some Chinese and Malay words :)) and the grammar doesnt have to be correct” – @laurenhxh

Believe it or not, my interviewees were struggling on how to actually write these Singlish. Of course, different people might write it differently. So, if you happen to know how to write them, share your version.

So, here they are!

  1. Wah Lau Eh/Weh. Meaning: “Oh my God,” an expression when you are surprised. In Indonesian it would be like “ya ampun.”
  2. Boh Liao. Meaning: nothing better to do, feeling bored.
  3. Cheem/Cham. Meaning: difficult, complicated, complex. This expression is usually used by students when they find their studies hard to understand.
  4. Ah/Leh/Meh/Lah. Meaning: expressive words in Singlish.
  5. Relak one corner. Meaning: go sit at one corner to do your own thing, nothing better to do, anti-social. As an example, telling someone to just go relax and maybe play guitar on the corner.
  6. Wan. Meaning: referring to an object/person. It is used at the end of a sentence.
    • Example:
      • “Zhen Min is very smart wan, lah!” (notice: an expressive word from no.4 is used in the end as well)
  1. Makan. Meaning: eating. It has the same meaning in Indonesian, but in Singapore and Singlish it is used by any race there to say “eat”
  2. Jalan-jalan. Meaning: walking around, traveling. It has the same meaning in Bahasa Indonesia
  3. Got? or Got meh? Meaning: “is it true?” or “is it?” In Indonesian would be “iya gitu?” or “ada gitu?“
  4. Auntie or Uncle. Meaning: it is usually used to refer to shop owners or food stall owners.
    • Example:
      • “Auntie, what’s the price for….?”
      • “Uncle, what do you have in store?” and so on

Here is an additional expression from a Fella”

“Bo jio. Meaning: ajak ajak dong. Why you didn’t invite me?” @jiank38

Remember, that these are Singlish (Singapore/Singaporean English). So, don’t mix it up with English. Of course, this session wouldn’t be possible without @della_angelina, Zhen Min and Mithun’s common Singlish vocabs contribution, in London, 14th July 2014.

Compiled and written by @daedonghae at @EnglishTips4u on August 27, 2014

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