English language spoken by Americans. "Michael McIntyre"

British humour is a term for some types of comedy from the United Kingdom. Many UK comedy TV shows typical of British humour have become popular all round the world, and, for good or bad, are a representation of British culture to an international audience.
But Michael explains the American vocabulary in his British humour.

Hilarious! Click and laugh.

During, for, or since?

The prepositions during, for, since and while are often used with time expressions; they are used to say how long something took. However, we use them with different time words. Let's take a look at the difference in usage between the prepositions.


How to use during

During is a preposition, which is used before a noun (during + noun) to say when something happens. Sometimes it means for all the time, and sometimes it means for just a part of the time. It does not tell us how long it happened.

For example:

· "Nobody spoke during the presentation."

· "We get plenty of snow here during the winter."

· “My grandmother worked in the USA during the war.”

· “I heard a strange noise during the night.”


How to use while

When is used to talk about two things that are happening at the same time. The length of time is not important. Remember that while is used with a subject and a verb (while + subject + verb).

For example:

· "The phone rang while I was watching TV."

· "I met him while we were studying in the library."


How to use for
For is a preposition which is used with a period to say how long something goes on. This preposition is mainly used when we say the number of hours, days, months, etc. We also use it in expressions like “for ages” and “for a long time”.

For example:

· "Simon has been sleeping for 8 hours."

· "We waited for 30 minutes outside your house."

· “I’m going to live in France for 2 years.”

· “I sat down for 5 minutes.”

· “I’ve worked here for 3 months.”



How to use since
We use since when we say when something started (for instance when stating the starting point: Tuesday, 2008, midnight). We only use since with perfect tenses – when something started in the past and is still true now.

For example:

· I've lived here since October.

· I'd known Sam since 1999.

· I’ve been working here for 6 years.

· I’ve been working here since I left university.



Practice
Read and correct those sentences with mistakes:

1. We were waiting during five hours.

2. What are you doing in the weekend?

3. I’ve been whiling my time away.

4. It’s so beautiful in the park on summer.

5. We woke up on dawn because of all the mosquitoes!

6. I always go out Friday nights, for its the weekend.

7. During the holidays I’ll likely forget what I’ve learned since I won’t be studying.

8. It’s very noisy on the night in this street.

9. I’ll see you next Friday, in the festival.

10. What in the world is that for?



Choose the best preposition to complete these sentences:

1. I've been meaning to call you ___ some time.



2. He fell asleep ___ the meeting.



3.We all stayed inside ___ the storm.



4. Someone stole my bag ___ I was riding on the train.



5. The dog was barking ___ she was trying to watch TV.



6. Please don't smoke ___ I'm eating.



7. Bats sleep ___ the day.



8.They've been out of the office ___ ages.

9. He kept talking to me ___ I was trying to read.



10. His mobile-phone rang twice ___ the film.



11. I’m going to get my hair but ___ the summer holidays.



12. I’m going on holiday ___ two weeks.



13.I’ve been studying English ___ 4 years.



14. I’ve been studying Japanese ___ 2009.



15. I slept ___ the film.



16. I slept ___ 7 hours last night.



17. I’ve known Sarah ___ last September.



18.I’ve known Sarah ___ a long time.



19. I got a phone call ___ the meeting.



20. It rained ___ hours last night.



21. I was born ___ a thunderstorm.



22. I saw 3 film ___ the flight to Poland.



23.I haven’t seen Andrew ___ yesterday.



For answers, scroll on down...no cheating though!





















































































Answer Key
1. We were waiting during five hours. FOR

2. What are you doing in the weekend? FOR

3. I’ve been whiling my time away. CORRECT

4. It’s so beautiful in the park on summer. DURING

5. We woke up on dawn because of all the mosquitoes! DURING

6. I always go out Friday nights, for its the weekend. SINCE

7. During the holidays I’ll likely forget what I’ve learned since I won’t be studying. CORRECT

8. It’s very noisy on the night in this street. DURING

9. I’ll see you next Friday, in for the festival. FOR

10. What in the world is that for? CORRECT



1. I've been meaning to call you FOR some time.

2. He fell asleep DURING the meeting.

3.We all stayed inside DURING the storm.

4. Someone stole my bag WHILE I was riding on the train.

5. The dog was barking WHILE she was trying to watch TV.

6. Please don't smoke WHILE I'm eating.

7. Bats sleep DURING the day.

8.They've been out of the office FOR ages.

9. He kept talking to me WHILE I was trying to read.

10. His mobile-phone rang twice DURING the film.

11. I’m going to get my hair done FOR the summer holidays.

12. I’m going on holiday FOR two weeks.

13.I’ve been studying English FOR 4 years.

14. I’ve been studying Japanese SINCE 2009.

15. I slept DURING the film.

16. I slept FOR 7 hours last night.

17. I’ve known Sarah SINCE last September.

18.I’ve known Sarah FOR a long time.

19. I got a phone call DURING the meeting.

20. It rained FOR hours last night.

21. I was born DURING a thunderstorm.

22. I saw 3 films DURING the flight to Poland.

23.I haven’t seen Andrew SINCE yesterday.

Valentines Day Facts

The name Valentine comes from the Latin word valor, meaning worthy.  Valentine's Day was named for two men, both Christian martyrs named Valentine who were associated with romantic love in the middle ages.St. Valentine's Day was declared an official holiday in 1537 when England's King Henry VIII declared it for the first time.

A saying for today

TWO WRONGS DO NOT MAKE A RIGHT

Possible interpretation: If somebody does something bad to you, it will not make things ok if you do something bad to them in return.

Note: wrong (noun) = an injustice; an unjust or immoral action | right (noun) = justice; something that is just or moral

Quick Quiz:

If "two wrongs do not make a right", we should counter one injustice with

another injustice two more injustices justice The answer is c.

Word of the Month

Vibrant 

[vī′brənt]   

adjective

Someone or something full of energy, colour and life.        

 

 1. An example of something that would be described as vibrant is a bright, cheery and colourful yellow.

 

Adding the new wall hangings and the colourful pillows to the living room makes it more friendly and vibrant.

 

2. An example of someone who would be described as vibrant is a smart, lively and engaging person who always gets the most out of life.

She is such a vibrant person; always ready and willing with a smile on her face.

Hugh Laurie: the British slang vs the American