Since spring is coming, here are some idioms and collocations containing the word green in different meanings. The examples used below were found in The Free Dictionary at https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com
Ex. Paraphrase the following sentences using the words in capital letters so that the meaning changes as little as possible. You should also use the word green.
1. Jack was promoted very quickly even though he's very inexperienced. GRASS
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2. After I got out of the roller coaster I was pale and sick. GILLS
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3. We can't start the project till the boss tells us we can. LIGHT
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4. Kate was very jealous when her friend showed her photos from Hawaii. ENVY
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5. Grandpa is very good at gardening. FINGERS
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6. The team needs good luck in order to win the next match. RUB
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7. If you criticise Lord Kensington for his fox hunting, he'll be enraged. WIGS
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8. Where ever did you get so dirty, Johnny? GOD'S
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9. Friends should have some privacy between them. [proverb] HEDGE
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10. The repair was very costly. [US English] FOLDING
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KEY
1. Jack was promoted very quickly even though he's (as) green as grass.
2. After I got out of the roller coaster I was green about/around the gills.
3. We can't start the project till the boss gives us the green light.
4. Kate was green with envy when her friend showed her photos from Hawaii.
5. Grandpa has green fingers. (also: a green thumb)
6. The team needs the rub of the green in order to win the next match.
7. ... hunting, there will be wigs on the green. (a reference to duels in the days when aristocrats wore wigs)
8. Where on God's green earth did you get so dirty, Johnny?
9. A hedge between keeps friendship green.
10. The repair cost a lot of green folding. (US dollars)
Tuesday 19 March 2019
Tuesday 12 March 2019
English voiceless plosives: aspiration 2
The English voiceless plosives are not aspirated in word-final position. Voiced plosives are not aspirated.
Ex. For each word beginning with an aspirated plosive find its minimal pair beginning with a voiced plosive and a phonetic (not spelling) anagram where the /p/, /t/ or /k/ comes at the end of the word.
e.g. [ph] pan - [b] ban - [p] nap
[ph] pack, pat, peak, pill, pin, post, pot
[th] tab, talk, tan, teal, teem, torn, tuck
[kh] cab, cap, coast, cot, curl, cut, Kate, kit
KEY
pack-back-cap, pat-bat-tap, peak-beak-keep, pill-bill/Bill-lip, pin-bin-nip, post-boast-stop, pot-bot-top
tab-dab-bat, talk-dork-caught/court, tan-Dan-gnat, teal-deal-lead (verb), teem-deem-meet/meat, torn-dawn-naught, tuck-duck-cut
cab-gab-back, cap-gap-pack, coast-ghost-Stoke (town name), cot-got-tock, curl-girl-lurk, cut-gut-tuck, Kate-gate/gait-take, kit-git-tick
Ex. For each word beginning with an aspirated plosive find its minimal pair beginning with a voiced plosive and a phonetic (not spelling) anagram where the /p/, /t/ or /k/ comes at the end of the word.
e.g. [ph] pan - [b] ban - [p] nap
[ph] pack, pat, peak, pill, pin, post, pot
[th] tab, talk, tan, teal, teem, torn, tuck
[kh] cab, cap, coast, cot, curl, cut, Kate, kit
KEY
pack-back-cap, pat-bat-tap, peak-beak-keep, pill-bill/Bill-lip, pin-bin-nip, post-boast-stop, pot-bot-top
tab-dab-bat, talk-dork-caught/court, tan-Dan-gnat, teal-deal-lead (verb), teem-deem-meet/meat, torn-dawn-naught, tuck-duck-cut
cab-gab-back, cap-gap-pack, coast-ghost-Stoke (town name), cot-got-tock, curl-girl-lurk, cut-gut-tuck, Kate-gate/gait-take, kit-git-tick
Sunday 10 March 2019
Reduplication-based idioms 3
The words used below can be found in Wiktionary at https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:English_reduplications
Ex. I Unscramble the letters of the following idioms, collocations or slang words. How are they pronounced?
a. yoko-kopsoy b. yintt-itgrty c. gygip wyggi d. ttperi-pttaer e. gurger burgeg f. eh idas ehs dias g. ylsli Bylil h. opipssll i. eetny-eenyw j. arew nad arte
Ex. II Fill in the gaps in the following sentences using the phrases from Exercise I.
1. The haunted house at the funfair was ............................ .
2. The student claimed Dr Jones had treated her unfairly, and Dr Jones claimed she hadn't come to his examination. ............................ - you can't really tell who was right.
3. Do you want to sleep with the blue bunny or with the pink ...............................?
4. I like it when a lecturer explains the ............................ instead of making a long introduction to the topic. In this way I know when to take notes.
5. On our holiday in Scotland we spent all days listening to the ............................. of rain on the windows instead of sunbathing.
6. Let's not invite Jane's boyfriend. He's a nasty ........................... who swears, drinks beer and talks about his rugby team all the time.
7. The writer's first essays were described as .......................... . That did not discourage him, however.
8. The machine isn't broken. Just push the red button, you .......................... .
9. The tourist took out a .......................... smartphone out of her pocket and started taking pictures. At first I thought that wasn't even a real phone.
10. Every car is subject to fair ................................. no matter how carefully you drive.
KEY
I. a. ooky-spooky, b. nitty-gritty, c. piggy wiggy, d. pitter-patter, e. rugger bugger, f. he said she said, g. silly Billy, h. slipslop, i. teeny weeny, j. wear and tear
a. /'uːki-ˈspuːki/, b. /ˈnɪti-ˈgrɪti/, c. /ˈpɪgi wɪgi/, d. /ˈpɪtə-ˈpætə/,e. /ˈrʌgə ˈbʌgə/, f. /hi sed ʃi sed/, g. /ˈsɪli ˈbɪli/, h. /ˈslɪpslɒp/, i. /'tiːni 'wːni/, j. /weər_ənd teə/ (linking /r/)
II. 1a, 2f 3c, 4b, 5d, 6e, 7h, 8g, 9i, 10j
Ex. I Unscramble the letters of the following idioms, collocations or slang words. How are they pronounced?
a. yoko-kopsoy b. yintt-itgrty c. gygip wyggi d. ttperi-pttaer e. gurger burgeg f. eh idas ehs dias g. ylsli Bylil h. opipssll i. eetny-eenyw j. arew nad arte
Ex. II Fill in the gaps in the following sentences using the phrases from Exercise I.
1. The haunted house at the funfair was ............................ .
2. The student claimed Dr Jones had treated her unfairly, and Dr Jones claimed she hadn't come to his examination. ............................ - you can't really tell who was right.
3. Do you want to sleep with the blue bunny or with the pink ...............................?
4. I like it when a lecturer explains the ............................ instead of making a long introduction to the topic. In this way I know when to take notes.
5. On our holiday in Scotland we spent all days listening to the ............................. of rain on the windows instead of sunbathing.
6. Let's not invite Jane's boyfriend. He's a nasty ........................... who swears, drinks beer and talks about his rugby team all the time.
7. The writer's first essays were described as .......................... . That did not discourage him, however.
8. The machine isn't broken. Just push the red button, you .......................... .
9. The tourist took out a .......................... smartphone out of her pocket and started taking pictures. At first I thought that wasn't even a real phone.
10. Every car is subject to fair ................................. no matter how carefully you drive.
KEY
I. a. ooky-spooky, b. nitty-gritty, c. piggy wiggy, d. pitter-patter, e. rugger bugger, f. he said she said, g. silly Billy, h. slipslop, i. teeny weeny, j. wear and tear
a. /'uːki-ˈspuːki/, b. /ˈnɪti-ˈgrɪti/, c. /ˈpɪgi wɪgi/, d. /ˈpɪtə-ˈpætə/,e. /ˈrʌgə ˈbʌgə/, f. /hi sed ʃi sed/, g. /ˈsɪli ˈbɪli/, h. /ˈslɪpslɒp/, i. /'tiːni 'wːni/, j. /weər_ənd teə/ (linking /r/)
II. 1a, 2f 3c, 4b, 5d, 6e, 7h, 8g, 9i, 10j
Monday 4 March 2019
English voiceless plosives: aspiration 1
When /p/, /t/ and /k/ appear on their own in word-initial position or at the beginning of a stressed syllable, they are aspirated, i.e. pronounced with more force applied than for example in consonant clusters, in other positions or in unstressed syllables. The spelling of these allophones (for they are not phonemes in English) is [ph], [th] and [kh].
Ex. The following words contain aspirated plosives. Find their counterparts that contain one more sound before them so that the plosives are unaspirated.
[ph] paid, pan, park, pat, pay, peck, pie, pill, pin, pit, pot, port
[th] tab, tack, tag, talk, tan, tart, Tate, team, tick, till, top, tuck
[kh] cam, can, cool, coop, cot, kale, Kate, key, kill, Kim, kin, kit
KEY
spade, span, spark, spat, spay, speck, spy, spill, spin, spit, spot, sport
stab, stack, stag, stalk, Stan, start, state, steam, stick, still, stop, stuck
scam, scan, school, scoop, Scot, scale, skate, ski, skill, skim, skin, skit,
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