JOKE OF THE MONTH – Idiom Danger
A friend of mine recently told me a story about a former student who had become a police officer. One day, he was attending a young man who had fainted. Since the young man was unconscious, the officer called an ambulance which whisked him away to the hospital. The...
INTONATION – Uptalk!
Have you noticed that some people sound less authoritative than others? It could be because they are unsure, hesitant or speaking too quietly for the context. But commonly the reason is the intonation being used – what we call “uptalk.” Also known as “upspeak,”...
VOCABULARY – The real meanings of “of course!”
I was on the phone recently getting some tech support. As is often the case, I was talking with someone from India. I wanted to know whether I was doing something correctly and, after explaining it to the technician, I asked if I was doing it in the right way. “Of...