ESL and GED Learning New Mexico

Today’s Idiomatic Expression:
“to have a mind of its own”
Meaning: if a machine, a device or an object doesn’t function properly and seems to be controlling itself as opposed to the person who is using it, we can say that it has a mind of its own; this idiom is often used humorously to joke about something that malfunctions or isn’t working as it is supposed to; in this context, this idiom is used for objects, not people or animals:
-The alarm clock on my phone has a mind of its own. It uses a different ringtone every morning even though I set the ringtone to beep.
-The remote-controlled car that John bought for his nephew has a mind of its own.
-The computer in the library has a mind of its own. No matter what you type into the search engine, it directs you to the science department’s new website.
-“I know that they were being blown by the wind, but the shopping carts in the parking lot looked like they had minds of their own. They seemed to be doing a synchronized dance! It was pretty cool!”
-“Don’t use the copy machine in the bookstore. It has a mind of its own! Yesterday I tried to make five black and white copies of my exam, but it printed out twenty color copies!”
-Maria’s hair seems to have a mind of its own. No matter how she combs it in the morning, and no matter how much gel or mouse she uses, half of it is always sticking straight up by lunchtime. Poor girl!
-The vending machine in the cafeteria has a mind of its own. The last time I used it, I pushed the button for a bag of pretzels, and five candy bars came out!
*Can you write an example sentence?

Pass this on to your kids!

Greetings from Santa Fe, New Mexico! I hope you had a good week. As summer begins to wind down, I am starting to get very busy with work. The fall semester of adult ESL classes at the community college where I teach and help administer the program begins on Monday, August 17th. I am going to teach four classes this upcoming semester. Our new-student registration and orientation sessions start on Monday. It is going to be a very busy week for our administrative team. We hope to register a lot of new students. I hope you have a peaceful weekend. As always, thank you for supporting my page. -Jeff 😎

Today’s Vocabulary:
“to have a falling-out”
Meaning: a disagreement, argument or quarrel that causes two people or groups not to be friendly anymore; something that leads to two people ending their friendship or cordial relationship:
-“Professor Trouthead and Doctor Shankman used to be very good friends. They stopped speaking to each other about three years ago. They had a falling-out when Shankman accused Professor Trouthead of plagiarism.”
-“I am so happy to hear that Monica and Miranda are friends again. They got over their falling-out.”
-“Uncle Bilbo and Mike Balmer were good friends when they were boys. They had a falling out over a girl when they were in high school. They haven’t spoken with each other since then.”
-“President Naranjo’s hardline immigration tactics caused a falling-out between his country and some other countries,”
-“I thought that Johnny and Nick were good friends, but from the way they were avoiding one another at the party, it was obvious they had a falling-out.”
-“Mario bought the tomatoes for his restaurant from Romero Farms for many years. Their business relationship abruptly ended last summer. They had a falling-out when Javier Romero raised the price of his tomatoes without giving Mario any notice.”
-“The band broke up over a falling-out between the drummer and the keyboard player.”
-“My neighbor and I had a falling-out last week. I am not going to speak with her until she apologizes to me for running over my rosebushes with her car.”
*Can you write an example sentence?

Today’s Idiomatic Expression:
“to go easy on something”
Meaning: to use something sparingly; to be cautious about the consumption or use of something; to use a small or limited quantity of something; not use or take too much of something; *this is a follow-up to yesterday’s idiom; it is very common when talking about food; *note the use of ‘the’ before the objects:
-“The doctor told me that I have symptoms of gastritis. He told me to go easy on the spicy and acidic foods.”
-“You need to go easy on the cheese! It is fattening and high in cholesterol.”
-“We only have two reams of copy paper. It needs to last us the entire semester. Please go easy on it!”
-“If you are having trouble falling asleep at night, you should go easy on the caffeinated beverages.”
-“Bill and his buddies need to go easy on the beer! The party started forty-five minutes ago and they have already consumed two six-packs!”
-“Girls, go easy on the potato chips!”
-“I asked the waitress to have the cook go easy on the salt, but these potatoes are really bland. I don’t think that he seasoned them at all.”
-“Boys, go easy on the water. If you drink too much, we are going to have to take a lot of bathroom breaks.”
-“Please let her finish her presentation so we can go home. Go easy on the interruptions and questions.”
-“Go easy on the firewood! I don’t want to have to collect more this evening.”
-“Monica’s daughter needs to go easy on the make-up. She uses way too much mascara!”
-“My parents like Mexican food, but please go easy on the salsa. Don’t make their tacos real spicy.”
*Can you write an example sentence?

Today’s Idiomatic Expression:
“to go easy on someone”
Meaning: to be lenient with someone when they have done something that deserves punishment; not be overly critical of someone who did something wrong or made a mistake; not punish or criticize someone severely:
-“You need to be stricter with your children. You have to stop spoiling them. Hold them accountable for their actions. Don’t go easy on them when they misbehave.”
-“Professor Trouthead went easy on Miranda when he caught her plagiarizing. He allowed her to rewrite her essay for full credit. He could have suspended her from school or given her a failing grade for the semester.”
-“The judge could have given Jon a six-month sentence in the county jail for drinking and driving. For some reason, she went easy on him. She fined him five hundred dollars and suspended his license for ninety days.”
-“President Naranjo claims that his administration will not go easy on people who are involved in corruption, but he has yet to punish many of his appointees who are involved in scandals.”
-“Go easy on her! She’s a child. She didn’t mean to do anything wrong.”
-“Coach Dennison has a reputation for not going easy on his players. He is known to be a strict disciplinarian.”
-“Go easy on your little brother, Monica! Stop criticizing him! He’s doing the best that can!”
_”I hated it when I was a kid, but looking back on my childhood, I am happy that my parents didn’t go easy on me. They always held me accountable for my actions.”
*Can you write an example sentence?

Today’s Phrase:
“from now on”
Meaning: starting now and forever into the future; beginning now; in the future; *this phrase is often used to introduce a change of future action due to something bad happening in the past:
-“I can’t believe that one of my students stole the box of pens I left on my desk. From now on, I am going to have to lock up my things in a drawer.”
-“From now on, I am going to call ahead to see if they are open. I won’t trust the hours they post on their website anymore. I can’t believe that we drove all the way across town and they are closed again!”
-“I told you that she is a great tutor. From now one, you should take lessons with her instead of overpaying for online classes.”
-“From now on, your older sister is going to be your babysitter.”
-“Miranda told me that from now on, she isn’t going to go to parties if John is invited too.”
-“We are going to take the shuttle bus to the airport instead of driving from now on. I can’t believe that they raised the parking lot prices again!”
-“I realize that you didn’t mean to insult her, but from now on, you need to be more careful about what you say to her. She is a very sensitive person.”
-“I feel fortunate that I didn’t get seriously hurt! From now on, I am always going to wear a helmet when I ride my bicycle on city streets.”
-“I didn’t know about this page until today. I am going to visit it every day from now on!”
-“Last night he told us that from now on he wasn’t going to drink alcohol on weeknights. He is obviously an alcoholic. I saw doing shots of tequila at a bar two hours ago.”
-“The boss finally changed the formal dress code for our office. From now on, I don’t have to wear a coat and tie to work!”
-“From now on, you need to get my permission before you use one of the computers in the classroom.”
*Can you write an example sentence?

Today’s Idioms:
“to keep (one’s) cool / to lose (one’s) cool”
Meanings: Keep - to remain calm in a stressful situation; to keep your composure; Lose-to lose control of your composure, temper or nerve in a particular situation; to suddenly get angry and behave in an uncontrolled way:
-“The mayor kept his cool while the reporters were asking him some difficult questions about the corruption scandal.”
-“I thought that I was going to lose my cool and yell at my neighbor when his dog pooped in my yard, but I remained calm.”
-“Martin is an experienced police officer. He is able to keep his cool in difficult and dangerous situations.”
-“I am sorry I raised my voice. I lost my cool. I promise it won’t happen again. Please accept my apology.”
-“I am very proud of Jorge. He always keeps his cool when the other kids tease him about his accent.”
-“John lost his cool at the bar last night. He tried to pick a fight with a man who accidentally spilled a drink on John’s girlfriend’s jacket.”
-“Keep your cool and concentrate on the road! We have to drive through this dust storm.”
-“The interview was going well until they asked me about my personal weaknesses. I got nervous and gave them a nonsensical answer to the question. I completely lost my cool.”
-“I am surprised that you were able to keep your cool when she insulted you. I probably would have screamed at her!”
-“President Naranjo always loses his cool when reporters ask him about the Epstein Files.”
-“Whatever you do, keep cool! If you lose your temper, you might get fired from your job.”
-“They lost their cool and started arguing in front of the children.”
*Can you write an example sentence?

I hope you have a peaceful weekend.

Today’s Idiom:
“to hit the books”
Meaning: to study hard, to begin to study:
-“I need to hit the books if I am going to pass my history final exam. I haven’t studied much all semester.”
-“If you are not going to hit the books, don’t waste your time enrolling in this class. It requires a lot of reading.”
-“The other students laughed at Elmo because he hit the books every weekend while they went out partying. Now Elmo is the one who is laughing. He just earned a full scholarship to Faber College thanks to his excellent grade-point average (GPA).”
-“Professor Trouthead assigned us a twenty-page essay. It is due in three weeks. We need to hit the books.”
-“I would love to go camping with you this weekend, but I can’t. I need to hit the books. I have two exams next week.”
*Can you write an example sentence?