The English Factory

20/09/2019

Hi Guys!
How have you been?
We are back with a new list of military English expressions :)
I know what you are thinking ...Why on Earth would you need to study military slang if you have zero desire to become a soldier?
It turns out some of the army expressions got so popular that people started using them at work, school, playgrounds, doctors offices - pretty much everywhere.
Don't worry we got your back!
Here are six common military expressions. Oh...have we mentioned that you might also hear them while watching action films?

1. Do you read me?
(słyszysz mnie?)
"We need those boxes delivered by 3 PM sharp, do you read me? Don't be late!"

2. Do you copy me?
(słyszysz mnie?)
"Bob, do you copy me? What is the situation with our overseas factory in China?"

3. Roger that.
(zrozumiałem/am)
A: "I'll meet you there at 2 o'clock."
B: "Roger that."

4. Will comply /Wilco
(zostanie zrobione, będzie zrobione)
A: "The report must be corrected and sent by tomorrow."
B: "Will comply."

5. AWOL
absent without official leave
(nieobecny nieusprawiedliwiony, nieobecny bez pozwolenia)
"I know I've been AWOL., but... I felt really sick this morning."

6. M.I.A.
missing in action
(zaginął/ zagineła)
" I got a huge deal with a buyer that needs to close, and my business partner is M.I.A."

20/09/2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=50&v=IhxGpsvBs9I

kids will be kids Kids behave childishly or immaturely by nature, so it is unrealistic to expect otherwise. A: "I just can't seem to get Billy to stop pickin...

11/04/2018

Are there any changes you’d like to make in your life? If so, today is a great day to turn over a new leaf and get started!

30/08/2017

Hi, everybody!

Are you back from your holidays?
Have you visited mountains or the seaside?
Do you prefer hiking or swimming in the ocean?
We opted for the Tatra mountains this year and it was really beautiful and strenuous at some trails.

While admiring the landscape, we thought about some common idioms that contain the word mountains, ocean, and sea.
Let's take a look at some of the most popular ones.

1. OCEAN

A DROP IN THE OCEAN
a very small amount in comparison to the amount that is needed ( kropla w morzu);

A hundred thousand may seem a lot but it's a drop in the ocean compared to the millions that need to renovate building.

BOIL THE OCEAN
to waste one’s time attempting to do the impossible (marnować czas robiąc coś niemożliwego);

You’re wasting my time. You might as well be boiling the ocean.

OCEANS OF SOMETHING
a very large amount of something (bardzo duża ilość czegoś);

After a week of vacation, there was an ocean of work to do.

2. MOUNTAINS

A MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB
something that is very difficult to do (coś bardzo trudnego do wykonania);

After a bad start to the season, the team has a mountain to climb if they want to win the league.

MOVE MOUNTAINS
to achieve something difficult (przenosić góry);

He'd move mountains for her but she doesn't want to be with him.

MAKE A MOUNTAIN OUT OF A MOLEHILL
to make a major issue out of a minor one; to exaggerate the importance of something (robić z igły widły);

My father is always making mountains out of molehills.

3. SEA

ALL AT SEA
Puzzled, perplexed, or completely confused (about a subject or some task) (być zupełnie zdezorientowanym);

I tried to do well in my chemistry class, but I've been all at sea since we started.

SEA CHANGE
a major change or transformation (całkowita przemiana);

This is not the time for a sea change in our department.

THERE ARE PLENTY MORE FISH IN THE SEA
there are many other people or possibilities, especially when one person or thing has been unsuitable or unsuccessful (świat nie kończy się na czymś/kimś);

Don't cry over Jerry. He broke up with you but there are plenty more fish in the sea.

10/08/2017

Hi, everybody!

How is your summer?
Have you been to any music festivals?

There are so many music events in Poland during the summer.

You might have already enjoyed Audioriver Festival, Przystanek Woodstock - Woodstock Festival, and OFF Festival.

Our friends have also been to and recommended less popular Goa D**a Arts & Music Open Air festival in Bieszczady.

If you haven't begun your summer music festival adventure yet, then maybe you could set off for Ostróda Reggae Festival the next weekend, or Kraków Live Music Festival like some of our students.

Inspired by those beautiful festivals, we thought we could prepare a list of popular music idioms.
Check them out!

TO FACE THE MUSIC - to accept punishment and confront consequences of one's errors (wypić piwo, którego się nawarzyło, ponieść konsekwencje swoich czynów).

You know mom is going to find out that you were skipping school. You better tell her and face the music before the teacher calls.

TO BE MUSIC TO SOMEONE'S EARS - something is very pleasing information, excellent news (muzyka dla moich uszu).

The news about my boss' resignation was music to my ears.

TO BLOW ONE'S OWN TRUMPET - to boast about your achievements or talents (chełpić się, przechwalać się).

I don't mean to blow my own trumpet, but this curry I made is quite delicious!

TO CHANGE ONE'S TUNE / TO SING A DIFFERENT TUNE - to change one's opinion or manner completely (zmienić zdanie, sposób zachowania).

When she realized I was the bank president, she quickly changed her tune.
When she learned that I was the bank president, she quickly began to sing a different tune.

TO GO FOR A SONG - to be sold for a very and perhaps surprisingly low price (sprzedać lub kupić coś bardzo tanio).

I had to sell my boat for a song because I needed the money in a hurry.

Have a great summer full of music and positive people!

26/07/2017

How to describe our ways of walking or moving? There are tons of words we use to describe movement. We use different words while discussing the way kids, animals or the elderly walk. Not to mention various attitudes people adopt when walking. Check the videos below and discover 8 verbs for movement (first video) and 100 styles of walking (second video - hilarious!)

https://www.engvid.com/8-verbs-to-talk-about-movement/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLb9vhdA72w

How do you walk? Which walk are you?

You probably know the words walk and run, but do you know shuffle, stroll, or tiptoe? In this lesson, youll learn eight words native English speakers use to talk about moving. Having a broad vocabulary will help you understand more English, and will make your speech more fluent. In this video, youll...

07/07/2017

Hi, there!

Have you already booked your summer holidays?
Wherever you decide to go, we hope you will have a chance to practice your English.
Maybe while traveling abroad you will need to ask for directions or maybe some foreign tourists will ask you to show them the way in your city.

To make talking about your holidays a bit easier, we prepared a list of verbs that are commonly used with the word HOLIDAY.

Take a look and have a wonderful HOLIDAYS!

TO GO ON HOLIDAYS - jechać na wakacje
She WENT ON HOLIDAYS to Spain last year.

TO TAKE HOLIDAYS - wziąć urlop
I think I will TAKE the rest of my HOLIDAYS in November.

TO BE ENTITLED TO HOLIDAYS - mieć prawo do wakacji
All employees ARE ENTITLED TO 3 weeks' paid HOLIDAYS.

TO SPEND HOLIDAYS (doing sth) - spędzać wakacje (robiąc coś)
We have just bought a new house so we are going to SPEND our HOLIDAYS decoratING it.

TO BOOK HOLIDAYS - rezerwować wakacje
My parents haven't BOOKED their HOLIDAYS yet. They always wait till the last moment.

TO CANCEL HOLIDAYS - odwołać, anulować wakacje
I don't have any money, so I will have to CANCEL my HOLIDAYS this year.

PS. You might also hear the word HOLIDAYS in the context of Christmas break.
That's because in American English the word holidays means ŚWIĘTA. More popular for the summer break is the word VACATION. You can use all of the above verbs with the word vacation too - GO ON VACATION, TAKE VACATION, BE ENTITLED TO VACATION, SPEND VACATION, BOOK VACATION, AND CANCEL VACATION.

*If you would like to check who to pronounce those expresions , you can listen to the recordings on our blog ->
http://tef.edu.pl/1149-2/

30/06/2017

We highly recommend! https://www.facebook.com/AmericanEnglishatState/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED

American English is a resource center for teaching and learning about American English language.

14/06/2017

Do you sometimes think about quitting your job?
Do you have a terrible boss or colleagues who try to make your life miserable?
Is your job boring and mundane?
Are you sometimes swamped with work or have so much on your plate that you don't know what to start with?
Or would you like just to leave it all and move to an exotic island?

If you answered yes to one of the above questions, you are not alone!

Unfortunately, we can't help you with making the right life choices. However, we can provide you with a list of expressions that are useful while leaving your job.

EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT - a legal document that you have to sign when starting a new job
"They all signed the employment contracts before their first day at work."

EXIT INTERVIEW - a situation where you are officially asked why you are leaving the company
"Please inform Jerry that he needs to do an exit interview so we can find out exactly why he's leaving us."

LETTER OF RESIGNATION - written document that says you want to leave your job
TO HAND IN A LETTER OF RESIGNATION
"Mary Jenkins, who works for the RD department, has handed in her letter of resignation."

NOTICE - the period of time between announcing your resignation and actually leaving the job
TO GIVE NOTICE
TO GIVE THREE MONTHS' NOTICE
"Lisa gave notice today."
"I didn't know I had to give 3 months' notice. Nobody has informed me about that."

REFERENCE - a formal opinion from an ex-employer/manager about your attitude and ability
"I need to ask my previous boss for a reference."

REPLACEMENT- a person who takes over the job of somebody else when they leave
TO FIND A REPLACEMENT
"We might find it very difficult to find a replacement for Mark."

TO BURN BRIDGES - when somebody leaves a job after an argument or their company is very angry with them
"If you get angry and quit your job, you'll be burning your bridges behind you."

TO QUIT - an informal way to say 'resign'
"I'm not at all surprised Martin is quitting his job here."

PS. Have a wonderful long weekend :) Hope you do not need to worry about your job!

23/05/2017

Hi, everybody!

We are back after a long-awaited and needed break.
While getting a bit lazy, we thought about the word break.
As a noun and as a verb (not to mention phrasal verbs!), it has many different meanings and so it might be really confusing.

Thus, we are BREAKING THE SILENCE with the WORD OF THE WEEK - BREAK.

Take a look at some examples of sentences with BREAK.

A BREAK - an interval or a pause for example from work (przerwa)
"a coffee break"; "We have been working for 4 hours. Let's take a short break."

A BREAKDOWN - the act or process of failing to function or collapse in physical or mental health (awaria, załamanie)
"There was a power breakdown"; "I call it a nervous breakdown while my therapist calls it a spiritual awakening. "

TO BREAK - to damage something (psuć, łamać, niszczyć)
"She broke my watch!"

TO BE BROKEN - to be fractured, damaged, ruined, not functioning, out of order (złamany, popsuty, potłuczony)
"a broken arm"; "My car is broken."; "There is a lot of broken glass on the floor."

TO BREAK DOWN - to fail to function, fail to be useful or effective ((psuć się, łamać się)
"The elevator broke down yesterday."; "My car broke down last week."

TO BREAK IN(TO) - to enter illegally e.g. a house (włamać się):
"Somebody broke in(to) my house when we were on vacation. "

TO BREAK WITH - to separate from (kończyć z):
"She broke with her family." "I am glad we broke with those traditions."

TO BREAK UP - to separate or be separated into pieces, to stop functioning as a unit or group (łamać, zrywać):
"John broke up a chocolate bar into five pieces."; "After a five-year engagement, they broke up."

TO BREAK ONE'S NECK - to make the utmost possible effort:
"I broke my neck to finish the project on time."

PS. Have you already started planning your SUMMER BREAK?

18/04/2017

USE YOUR DICTIONARY WISELY! :D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GC83w0z0ec

Anne Hathaway and Jimmy take turns singing songs, like P!nk and Nate Ruess' "Just Give Me a Reason," after running the lyrics through Google Translate. Subsc...

06/04/2017

Have you ever had to talk over the phone in English?
It can be a pretty difficult task.
You don't see the person and the body language doesn't help.
Thus, we thought it might be useful to collect some of the most popular phone expressions. Check if they could help you.

TO CALL SOMEBODY (zadzwonić) - I need to call my parents.

TO PHONE SOMEBODY (zadzwonić) - I tried to phone you but the line was busy.

TO GIVE SOMEBODY A RING/ A CALL (zadzwonić) - Could you give me a ring/ a call tomorrow?

TO RING SOMEBODY UP (zadzwonić) - Ring me up if you get a chance.

TO BREAK UP (przerywać - o połączeniu) - Danny you are breaking up. I can't hear you.

TO HANG UP (odkładać słuchawkę) - I will hang up and call you back.

TO CALL BACK (oddzwonić)- I'm busy right now. Can I call you back in few minutes?

TO GET THROUGH (dodzwonić się) - I was trying to reaching you at the office but I couldn't get trough. The lines were busy the whole time.

TO GET A CALL FROM SOMEBODY (otrzymać telefon) - I got a call from Peter an hour ago.

TO PICK UP THE PHONE (odbierać telefon) - Can you pick up my phone? My hands are dirty.

TO ANSWER THE PHONE (odbierać)- Don't answer the phone!

TO BE ON THE PHONE (prowadzić rozmowę) - She can't help you now. She is on the phone with her boss.

*Useful expressions:
Danny: May I ask who's calling?
Joanne: This is Joanne calling for Danny. / May I please speak to Danny?
Danny: Danny speaking. How can I help you?..
Danny: Hold on a moment. Let me grab a pen and a piece of paper....
Joanne: You can also reach me at my private phone number.