English with Lucie

🌦️The spring equinox is here! 🌱
In the northern hemisphere the spring equinox always happens between 19 and 21 March. This year it will be on 20 March at 14:45.

The date is determined by the Earth's tilt on its axis as it travels around the Sun and it happens twice a year - in March and in September.

It occurs at the same moment wherever you are on the planet and for those south of the equator, where the seasons are reversed, the event will mark the first day of autumn.

Source: BBC Weather

☘️ℍ𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕪 𝕊𝕥. ℙ𝕒𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕔𝕜'𝕤 𝔻𝕒𝕪☘️
Every March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day commemorates Ireland’s patron saint through vibrant nationwide celebrations, featuring parades, traditional music, and dancing, particularly in Dublin and Armagh. Originally a religious feast day, it has evolved into a global celebration of Irish culture, characterized by wearing green, shamrocks, and community festivals.

1. Why 17 March?
The date marks the saint’s death. Patrick died in 461 in Saul, County Down. He is buried in the grounds of Down Cathedral in Downpatrick, County Down.

2. When was the first parade?
The first St Patrick’s Day parade actually took place in Boston in the United States in 1737. Ireland’s first parade was held in Waterford in 1903.

3. Was St Patrick Irish?
No, he wasn’t born here. St Patrick was thought to have originally come from either Wales or Scotland.

4. Why do people wear green?
The colour green is now synonymous with St Patrick’s Day and Irish pride but until the 19th century, the colour associated with St Patrick was actually blue.

5. Why is St Patrick associated with shamrocks?
According to legend, St Patrick used the shamrock as a metaphor for the Holy Trinity when he first introduced Christianity to Ireland.

𝓢𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓬𝓮: 𝓘𝓻𝓮𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓭.𝓬𝓸𝓶
☘️

🐦💡🅸🅳🅸🅾🅼 🆃🅸🅼🅴💡🐦‍⬛
The early bird gets the worm
= the person who arrives first is the one who is successful

For example:
✅ We’ll want to be at the theater early for the best seats – the early bird gets the worm!
✅ I started studying two weeks before the exam because the early bird gets the worm.

𝓢𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓬𝓮: 𝓒𝓪𝓶𝓫𝓻𝓲𝓭𝓰𝓮 𝓭𝓲𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓻𝔂

💡Fast and quick mean moving with great speed.
𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁 is both an adjective and an adverb.
𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 is an adjective and the adverb form is quickly.

We usually use quick to refer to something happening in a short time, or a shorter than expected time:

✅We stopped for a quick snack.
🚫Not: … a fast snack.

✅I just need a quick answer.
🚫Not: … a fast answer.

💡Fast refers to things that happen or go at high speed, e.g. a train, a person running:

✅She loves fast cars.
🚫Not: She loves quick cars.

Note the common expression fast food to refer to food such as hamburgers, which are cooked and served in a very short time in restaurants:

✅You shouldn’t eat so much fast food. It’s not good for you.



🤔You walk very

🐎🅸🅳🅸🅾🅼 🆃🅸🅼🅴🏮 In the spirit of the Fiery Horse this Lunar New Year 🔥🐎, here’s a timeless idiom to keep in mind: Don’t put the cart before the horse - patience and order matter.

𝗣𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 = to do things in the wrong order

For example:
✅ With exams coming up, remember - don’t put the cart before the horse. Revision first, panic later 😜
✅ Aren't you putting the cart before the horse by deciding what to wear for the wedding before you've even been invited to it?
✅ In a race, if you sprint before the starting gun, you’re putting the cart before the horse!

𝓢𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓬𝓮: 𝓒𝓪𝓶𝓫𝓻𝓲𝓭𝓰𝓮 𝓭𝓲𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓻𝔂

💡🅸🅳🅸🅾🅼 🆃🅸🅼🅴💡
Give something your best shot
= to do something as well as you can

This idiom is infomal and widely used among English speakers 💯

For example:
✅ I've been preparing for my exam and I'll give it my best shot today.
✅ If I were you, I'd give it my best shot. You've been training so hard and you can win a medal!

𝓢𝓸𝓾𝓻𝓬𝓮: 𝓒𝓪𝓶𝓫𝓻𝓲𝓭𝓰𝓮 𝓭𝓲𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓪𝓻𝔂

☘️One step closer to spring!☘️
How has your January been? Have you kept your New Year's resolutions?

📊 31st January audit:
🎯Resolutions: in progress
🌊Motivation: fluctuating
💪Commitment: still here

💖Not chasing perfection - choosing progress.
See you in February. 💖

A new adjective for your advanced vocabulary list?
🆉🅴🅰🅻🅾🆄🆂 - not to be confused with "jealous"
Zealous= enthusiastic and eager:

🟣 Use:
- a zealous supporter of the government's policies

🟣 Synonyms:
avid
eager

Do you know any adjectives starting with a Z? Tell me in the comments section 👇

🆂🅸🆃 🅾🅽 🆃🅷🅴 🅵🅴🅽🅲🅴
💡To sit on the fence = to delay making a decision

_.••´¯``•.¸¸.•` For example `•.¸¸.•´´¯`••._.•
🔺You can't sit on the fence any longer - you have to decide whose side you're on.

Sitting on the fence is a common idiom used in English to describe a person's lack of decisiveness, their neutrality or hesitance to choose between two sides in an argument or a competition, or inability to decide due to lack of courage.

✨🎊Happy new year, dear students and English language enthusiasts ✨🎊
👇Have you ever heard this idiom❓
🆃🆄🆁🅽 🅾🆅🅴🆁 🅰 🅽🅴🆆 🅻🅴🅰🅵

💡Turn over a new leaf (CEFR C2) = to start behaving in a better way

_.••´¯``•.¸¸.•` For example `•.¸¸.•´´¯`••._.•
🔺Apparently he's turned over a new leaf and he's not smoking any more.
🔺Martina has turned over a new leaf and she's starting to enjoy the single life.

🎉🎉How about you? Any resolutions? Any new leaves for 2026? 💥💥

✨ Happy New Year! ✨
As we step into a brand new year, I want to say a huge thank you to all my wonderful students for your hard work, trust, and progress over the past year ♥️

If improving your English confidence, fluency, or exam results is one of your goals for this year, I’d love to help you achieve it. Whether it’s:

🎯 Speaking more naturally
🎯 Preparing for exams
🎯 Improving grammar and writing
🎯 Using English confidently at work
📚New year, new goals, new opportunities⭐

Best of luck,
Lucie ☘️

🎄 Merry Christmas everyone 🎄

🎉 See you all in 2026! 🎉