Friday, September 19, 2008

Confusing Words

AS ... AS ADVERBS / PREPOSITION



This structure is used to measure and compare things that are of similar proportion. In this construction, the first as functions as an adverb modifying the following adjective or adverb. The second as functions as a preposition when it relates to the following noun or pronoun.


Example



  1. The meal was as good as the conversation: spicy and invigorating!


  2. She spoke as slowly as she could.


  3. Has everybody eaten as much as they want?


  4. I hope you will agree that I am as imaginative a cook as my wife (is)!


Note from the above example that if there is an adjective and a noun after the first as, a / an must go between them. Note also that if we want to make a negative statement, we can use so…as instead of as…as:




  1. He is not so / as intelligent as his sister is.


  2. The cafeteria was not so / as crowded as it was earlier.

There are a large number of idiomatic expressions or fixed phrases which we use in informal English when we are making comparisons like this. Here are a few of them in context:




  1. He went as white as a sheet when he saw the ghost.


  2. My maths teacher is as deaf as a post and should have retired years ago.


  3. She sat there as quiet as a mouse and wouldn’t say anything.


  4. Electricity will be restored to our homes as soon as possible.


  5. All the children were as good as gold when they came to visit me.


  6. These stories are as old as the hills and have been passed down from generation to generation.


Remember that when we are measuring or comparing things that are of unequal proportion, we need to use the structure comparative + than:




  1. Let me finish the report. I can type much faster than you (can). He played the piece of music more slowly than I had ever heard it played before.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Entertainment Idioms

ENTERTAINMENT IDIOMS


Song lyrics and poems are often difficult to understand because the writer uses very few words to establish the context.

Send In The Clowns, comes from the Stephen Sondheim musical, A Little Night Music, first performed in 1973.

It's a lovely song to sing along with - and you can have a lot of fun improving stress and intonation patterns in your spoken English when you sing.

send in the clowns

The expression send in the clowns comes from the circus where, if there was an accident or some other problem, e.g. performers or animals not yet ready to go on, the clowns were sent out into the circus ring to entertain the audience.

Désirée would like the clowns to be sent in to provide some entertainment to cheer her up.
Send in the clowns is also a phrase which is said when something goes wrong, but there is a need to keep things going. It is similar in meaning to the show must go on.

More entertainment expressions

1. Can you guess the meaning of some of these expressions?
2. I'd love to be on the stage. I've always wanted to be in showbiz.
3. I can guarantee that at least eight of these numbers will be show stoppers.
4. Road shows used to be very popular during the summer months.
5. Don't worry. She'll organise everything while you're away. She's quite capable of running the show.
6. Glynis Johns as Désirée in the original production of Night Music stole the show.

on the stage - working as an actor or actress in the theatre

showbiz - show business

number - a song or musical and dance scene

show stopper - a song or number that provokes such a strong reaction from the audience it stops the show

road show - a radio broadcast live from different venues or towns around the country

to run the show - to take charge of any event or activity, not necessarily connected with entertainment or showbiz.

to steal the show - to win the greatest applause and to be better than all the other performers