Steven Gold, English Language Services, HCMC

The new Me Cafe - Da Kao is fabulous. It is beautiful, spacious, comfortable, cool, and quiet. Here are some photos from opening night. ❤️

Phrasal verbs often have meanings which we cannot easily guess from their individual parts. (The meanings are in brackets.)

The book first came out in 1997. (was published)

The plane took off an hour late. (flew into the air)

The lecture went on till 6.30. (continued)

It’s difficult to make out what she’s saying. (hear/understand)

Phrasal verbs and multi-word verbs
Grammar > Verbs > Phrasal verbs and multi-word verbs
from English Grammar Today
Multi-word verbs are verbs which consist of a verb and one or two particles or prepositions (e.g. up, over, in, down). There are three types of multi-word verbs: phrasal verbs, prepositional verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs. Sometimes, the name ‘phrasal verb’ is used to refer to all three types.

Note: native English speakers often say mop the floors, do the vacuuming, take a walk, wash the dishes,

Merry Christmas everyone.
I hope Santa brings you whatever you are dreaming for.
Here is a short video with some English/Vietnamese vocabulary for Christmas. ❤️❤️❤️

https://youtube.com/shorts/PuXiaZbKNPg?si=TSLV2DUUx9gGutEy

Thanks to GK English. ❤️

Lately, I have been teaching my students about idioms. Idioms are groups of words that cannot be translated literally, taken together they are a poetic description of something. For example: It is raining cats and dogs. This means it is raining hard, there certainly are no cats and dogs falling from the sky.

Here are a few common idioms used in everyday English for you to learn.
A Lemon is something that is no good or doesn’t work properly. Example – The car salesman sold me a lemon. I had to spend $2000 dollars to fix it a month after I bought it.

The fruit idiom “Life is a bowl of cherries” is used to say that life is good and everything is going well. Example – We just bought a new house on the beach for summer, life is a bowl of cherries.

A Peach is something that is very good. Example – Have you seen Tony’s new car? It is a peach.

The phrase “the apple never falls far from the tree” is used to describe people who are similar to their parents. Example – He decided to work as an engineer just like his father, the apple never falls far from the tree.

The Big Apple is another name for the city of New York in the United States of America. Example – He is planning to move to The Big Apple next month and start a new job.

To use your coconut is to use your head or brain. Example – Don’t give up so easily, use your coconut and find a solution.

The expression “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” means that when you have problems in life you should try to find some good things in bad situations. Example – I know that you are sad that can’t go on holiday but you can use that free time to learn a new skill. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

If someone says “You’re a peach” they are thanking you for being either kind or helpful. Example – Thank you for making me dinner last night, you’re a peach!

You may have noticed that all of these idioms use fruit in them.

Good luck!
Steven

EVERYDAY vs EVERY DAY

Everyday vs. Every day–What's the Difference?

Everyday is an adjective, so if you are looking to modify a noun, you will want to use everyday.
“His everyday suit was black with white pin-stripes.” “Martha’s everyday conversation was not appropriate for the fancy dinner party with prospective clients.”

Every day is synonymous with the phrase each day. If you can replace every day with the words each day and it still makes sense, then the two-word phrase is probably correct.
”I brush my teeth every day.” “Every day I wake up to the sound of birds singing in the trees.”

There's no difference in pronunciation, but using the wrong one when writing is a mistake in the “everyday” English you use “every day.” Everyday is an adjective that means commonplace, ordinary, or normal. “You shouldn't wear an everyday outfit to the wedding.”

“Even after fifty years of writing English, I still make lots of everyday mistakes. But my pronunciation is almost perfect every day.”

I hope this is clear to you students of English now. Good luck, Steven 😊

If you have never watched Topnotch Travel Agency Videos before, check it out. It is like Friends with English Lessons. Very funny and practical. 🤣🤣🤣🤣❤️❤️❤️❤️

English Conversation at the TOPNOTCH 1 travel agency Very Funny english conversationenglish movieamerican accentamerican movieleaning englishleaning american accentfunny conversation

Dear Students and Friends,
I have some extra time for private online lessons. If you are free at 1pm on Mondays, Thursdays, or Fridays in October, PM me and let me know. The fee is 245k vnd for one hour on Zoom. You can improve your speaking, listening, or writing.
Steven Gold, English Professor

Remember, it is okay to write short sentences. Break up a long, complicated, run on sentence into two or three shorter sentences. You will be clearly understood and make fewer mistakes. Steven😀

Lately, many of my students are working on improving their email writing skills. The best way is to practice, practice, practice. If you post your email in the comment section, I will correct it for you.

Here are some ideas for practice emails

1.Set up a meeting with a friend or colleague by email.
2.The copy machine broke down in your office. Write an email to the repairman asking for help.
3.Request an application to Oxford University.
4.Some unexpected exams have come up. Write an email to your dentist requesting a change in your appointment.
5. Write a Formal Email to your boss asking for help because there has been a breakdown in your business deal with a customer and you received an email of complaint.
6. Write an Informal email to a friend. Your friend lent you something and you didn’t return it on time. You still have it. What do you email to your friend?

IMPROVE YOUR WRITING
WRITING A SHORT ESSAY
Here is an easy guide to writing a 5 paragraph essay for those of you who need help with organizing the format.

How to write a perfect 5 Paragraph Essay: A Complete Guide Master the 5 paragraph essay with this complete guide for students and teachers. Understand the essay format, paragraph format and 5 paragraph essay outline.

https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/education/20230704/vietnamese-education-among-best-in-world-the-economist/74186.html

Vietnamese education among best in world: The Economist 'Vietnamese students not only outperform their counterparts in Malaysia and Thailand but also those from the UK and Canada'

🎶 THURSDAY LIVE SESSION🎶

🎵 STEVEN GOLD & KOBE THUY TRIO
Fly me to the croon
Live at CỘI Saigon

• Kobe Thuy (piano)
• Eldar Bikmetov (bass)
• Andy Duc (drums)
• Steven Gold (vocals)

🕣 8.30 PM - Thursday 01.06.23

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INTONATION

"Once again I am teaching my Vietnamese students how to sound like native English speakers. Native English speakers (people born and raised in English speaking countries) tend to go down at the end of most words and sentences. Vietnamese tend to go up at the end of words. Native speakers usually go up at the end of short questions like: "What?" "Really" etc. Normally let your tone drop down at the end of words, phrases, and sentences." --Skg

I strongly agree with Gia Ky that English phrases or groups of words that go together should be memorized in the context of a correct sentence. Here is one of her examples.

Poor Ricky! He is having trouble pronouncing "through, rough, cough, and bough," because they have different sounds although they are spelled similarly. https://youtu.be/uZV40f0cXF4 🤣😂🤣

I love Lucy english Pronunciation

WE'VE and WE'RE

Lately I've noticed several students having difficulty with contractions such as We've, We're, and I've.
When it is written like this you don't pronounce the full words like We have, We are, and I have. You pronounce the contraction as a shorter combined sound. We have becomes we've, the same sound as weave or "wee vvv." We are becomes we're, like "weir." And I have becomes I've, like "eye vv."

So when you read out loud do not say the two words but make the correct sound of the contraction.

Good Luck, Steven

Last night, Saturday February 4, at Me Cafe -Nguyen Hue, I led the Intermediate English Class from 6PM to 7:30PM. The topic for last night was INTERVIEWING, so we talked about our experiences at job interviews and learned pronunciation and vocabulary for improving our job interview skills and talking about ourselves. There is room for more students in this class. If you are interested in joining contact Mr. Tuan at Me Cafe for more information.

I have resumed my individual one to one lessons online. Also, I am teaching classes at Me Cafe-Nguyen Hue. Classes are small, 5-7 students, Mon. Tues. and Sat. nights.