about Latin

Latin is considered a "dead" language because it has ceased to evolve, but millions of people study it in school. That's because Latin pops up in medicine and law and is the root of many words in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Romanian and English.

In the Same Boat

This is another great phrase which is used a lot in everyday English.

If two or more people are “in the same boat” it means they are in a very similar situation.  They are experiencing the same things and feelings.

Procrastinate

If you procrastinate doing something, it means that you plan on doing it, but keep delaying it for no real good reason.  You keep making stupid excuses to yourself.

If you have an exam tomorrow but you keep watching TV instead of starting to study, you are procrastinating.

Anxious or Eager?

Depending on how you feel, you may be anxious or eager for school to start.

To some people, "anxious" has more of a negative connotation than "eager." You're eager for school to start if you're looking forward to it. You're anxious for school to start if you feel nauseous every time you think about it.

"Anxious" comes from the same root as "anxiety." If you can remember that, you can remember that "anxious" isn't a good thing.

"Anxious" is evolving, though. The distinction between "anxious" and "eager" was much stronger in the seventeenth century. Today, many people use the words interchangeably.

• I'm eager to see my best friend again. (standard)
• I'm anxious to see the school bully. (standard)
• I'm anxious to get our new puppy. (acceptable, but sometimes disputed)

A life changing experience

SARAH:   Are you sure you're alright?

MARK:     Yeah.

SARAH:   I heard you talking to yourself.

MARK:     Yeah.

SARAH:   Mark, I'm glad we came to the desert.

Hypocrite

This is really an amazing word in spoken English.  When you say the word, the sound is like “Hipp 0h krit”

Anyway, a “hypocrite” is a person who tells someone never to do something but then they do it themselves.  It’s a terrible quality.

For example, if a father tells his son to never smoke, but he’s a smoker, then the father is ahypocrite.

The 50 most important English proverbs

Every culture has a collection of wise sayings that offer advice about how to live your life. These sayings are called "proverbs". It's good to know the really common English proverbs because you hear them come up in conversation all the time. Sometimes people say the entire proverb to give advice to a friend. More often, someone will say just part of a proverb like this: You know what they say: when the going gets tough...