14 Expressions Even Native English Speakers Get Wrong

1o/1o :D
Thanks a lot,Mr.Adam
I wish you New Year’s wishes come true

Jannyl

Thank you, Janyl. To you as well :)

Adam

Thanks a lot Mr. Adam,
Have a nice day

SonyLouis

Thank you Adam and my best wishes for the new year!

Lalananana

To you as well, Lalananana :) Thank you.

Adam

I am trying to be a good student

Stirlyng

Hi Adam! Ii was hard for understanding, but I really like that type of lessons. My quiz score was 80%. I’m going to repeat this lesson, I think those idioms will help to encrease my English. Thanks a lot, bye!

Rosewell

“Encrease my English” -> Probably better to say improve my English.

rokaly

I am better at saying them, rather than using them correctly. Thanks for the much needed lesson.

Darlene Boyd

Thank you Adam and my best wishes for the new year!

beernaard

Thank you, Beernaard. To you as well :)

Adam

Hello Adam
Happy New Year!
First of all, thank you so much for all your great lessons.
I have two questions:
1. In your recent lesson,“ 20 expressions about secrets”, you named “Snitch” and “ Whistle- blower” as expression. Sometimes Emma also names a single word, which is a noun, adjective or adverb, as an expression, but for those two words dictionaries name them nouns.
Some other examples that you mentioned as expression but dictionaries call them as conjunction, preposition, pronoun, adjective,etc. are: otherwise, each other, one another,regardless, self-deprecating,
hunger pangs and expatriate.
As you know, an expression or idiom is a group of words, not a single word. So, is it possible to name a single word, which is a noun or an adjective, as an expression or idiom?
It’s more logical to name “whistle-blower” as an expression because its meaning is different from the two words individually but the word “Snitch” has just two meanings ( 1. to tell secretly 2. to steal). It’s a new word like “ Marvelous” that we should know its meaning and it doesn’t have figurative meaning like “whistle-blower”.
Am I right?

2. Dictionaries almost always use idiom instead of expression for naming a phrase. For example, they name “Let in on” as idiom and phrasal verb. You named it as an expression. Also, you first said, “ the next expression is “spill the beans” but then you said this idiom means… .”. There is a little difference between idiom and expression. So, how should we correctly name these phrases and put them in the right category? Is it necessary to be accurate in naming them as an expression or idiom?

Arvin.S

Hi Arvin,

An expression is just a particular word or phrase people commonly use for a particular situation.

I don’t think we normally distinguish between idiom and expression too seriously. The main thing to consider is that we only use them in certain situations.

Also, technically, every word or phrase is an expression as it expresses an idea. Snitch has one meaning in terms of secret, but the dictionary meaning doesn’t add the idea that it is a negative, even insulting word to use to refer to someone. If you call someone “a snitch” you are insulting him/her by suggesting he/she is a coward, has no integrity, etc.

An idiom is mainly used to suggest the words in combination have a meaning other than the words themselves individually.

I hope this helps a bit.

Adam

Hi Adam. Have a joyful new year!
I’ve sent my questions to your different emails several times, but I’ve not received any responses yet. If I’ve any questions, how can I communicate with you in order to ask them?
Thank You Kindly!

Johnforest

Hi John,

I usually answer questions here. Feel free to post your questions and I’ll do my best to provide an answer.

Adam

Hello Adam,
I appreciate you taking the time to make another useful lesson.
I want to ask you some questions about functions of prepositional phrases. I would appreciate it if you could help me.
Prepositional phrases have different functions. They can act as an adjective modifying a noun, as an adverb modifying a verb, or as an introduction. Also, we can introduce them as a complement to the sentence.

The questions are:

A. In the following sentences, the prepositional phrases don’t have any of the three functions (adverb, adjective, introduction). So, do they act as a complement? We can’t say they act as object of the verb in two first examples, can we?

“Tom talked to Sam?” ( I think the p.p is giving us more information about the verb by showing who the speech directed at)(Sam is object of to, not talk)

“Do these keys belong to you?” ( you is object of to, not belong)

“It’s a present from her.” (I think the p.p is giving us more information about the present by stating who has sent it)

B. Can a prepositional phrase function as a “direct” or “indirect” object? In which situations?

In the example, “Nalini gave her brother a laptop.” the direct object is “a laptop” and the indirect object is “her brother”. The alternative of this sentence is “Nalini gave a laptop to her brother.” Can we say the prepositional phrase “to her brother” or only “her brother” act as “indirect object”?

C. Objects answer the questions (Who(m), What) about the verb. In prepositional phrase that we have object after the preposition, sometimes like the example, “He slept until noon.”, which the object of the preposition is “noon”, we cannot say, “He slept until what?” and it’s better to say, “He slept until when?”. There are other examples like, “I live near the stadium.” that it’s more logical to ask “Where” than “What or Who(m)”. What is the reason?

D. If the prepositional phrase acts as adverb or adjective, we say they modify verb and noun. If they don’t have these functions, should we say that they are complement? Is it wrong to say they are completing the meaning of verb and noun? Is there any difference between complement and modification in this case?
Thank you for your consideration.

Sarah-kaviy

Hi Sarah-Kaviy,

Tom talked to Sam?” Tom talked is a complete clause, so to Sam is a complement to talked.

“Do these keys belong to you?” Merriam-Webster lists belong to as a phrasal verb. In other words it’s a collocation. You can’t use belong, in terms of possession, without the to and an object.

“It’s a present from her.” adjective complement to present (it’s a present is a complete clause)

B. Can a prepositional phrase function as a “direct” or “indirect” object? In which situations?
I want to see you — direct object (I want what?)
I gave the book to Jill. indirect

He slept well modify (how he slept)
He slept until noon – clarify (complete meaning) (when he slept)

Hope this helps

Adam

hello adam .i want to learning the english from zero could you please to give me advice

sla

Check the following for some advices:
https://www.engvid.com/how-not-to-learn-a-language/

rokaly

Hi Sla,

The main thing is to practice as often as you can.

But, at the beginning, build your vocabulary. Without words, grammar and other things won’t help.

Good luck.

Adam

Happy new year!

ChrisKings

To you as well Chris :). Thanks.

Adam

Excellent video, I’ve learned a lot, thanks.

Conal6619

Hi Adam, I would like to thank you for your always interesting lessons and for your amazing pronunciation that makes English easy and completely understandable. As a native Italian speaker, lessons concerning idiomatic phrases or academic and sophisticated words often come easy to me because of the frequent Latin roots of the vocabulary. Phrasal verbs, on the other hand, drive me crazy,random exceptions turned into rules.