Thank God!

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WHAT DOES TGIF MEAN?

TGIF stands for “Thank God It’s Friday” or “Thank Goodness It’s Friday“.

TGIF is a commonly used expression, especially in casual or informal conversations. People often use it to express excitement or relief that the workweek is over and the weekend is about to begin.

You might hear or see it in social media posts, workplace chats, or among friends making weekend plans.

Look at this dialogue:

  • A: TGIF!
  • B: Yeah!
  • A: Do you want to go out tonight?
  • B: That’s great!
  • A: How about going to the movies?
  • B: I’d love to! I’ll book the tickets.
  • A: Perfect! Let’s relax!

But do we say “Thank God” or “Thanks God“? Here is a simple but very effective demonstration that shows you how to use these phrases and fixes a very common and recurrent English mistake.

Listen carefully to the video. Make notes and use them.

Next, a few more examples:

  • Thank God I found you!
  • Thank God you’re here! 
  • Thank God I read this tip!

Nice to meet you or nice to see you?

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I tell my students, “It’s nice to see you” every time we meet.
And that is a speaking problem many students have.
So when do we use “Nice to meet you” or “Nice to see you”?

Listen carefully and make/take notes.

WHEN YOU MEET A NEW PERSON FOR THE FIRST TIME :

“It’s nice to meet you!”

WHEN IT IS NOT THE FIRST TIME YOU ARE MEETING SOMEONE:

“It’s nice to see you!”

In everyday life, “It was nice to meet you” is used the same way as “It was nice meeting you.”
As well as “It was nice to see you” and “It was nice seeing you.”

Na vida cotidiana, “It was nice to meet you” é usado da mesma forma que “It was nice meeting you.”
Assim como “It was nice to see you” e “It was nice seeing you.”

They are used interchangeably and have nearly the same meaning. Both forms are polite ways to express that you enjoyed meeting or seeing someone:

Elas são usadas de forma intercambiável e têm quase o mesmo significado. Ambas as formas são maneiras educadas de expressar que você gostou de conhecer ou rever alguém:

1. “It was nice to meet/see you”

  • This version feels a bit more formal or standard. It’s often used in business settings or when you meet someone for the first time.
    • Example: “It was nice to meet you at the conference today.”

Essa versão parece um pouco mais formal ou padrão. É frequentemente usada em ambientes de negócios ou quando você encontra alguém pela primeira vez. Exemplo: Foi um prazer conhecê-lo na conferência hoje.

2. “It was nice meeting/seeing you”

  • This version sounds slightly more casual. It’s often used in informal situations or when you want to express a more relaxed or personal tone.
    • Example: “It was nice meeting you at the party last night.”

Essa versão soa um pouco mais casual. É frequentemente usada em situações informais ou quando você quer expressar um tom mais descontraído ou pessoal.
Exemplo: Foi bom te conhecer na festa de ontem à noite.

Which future? Will, going to or present progressive?

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There are some differences between these three ways of talking about the future. The differences are not always important; often we can use two or three different forms to talk about the same thing.

PREDICTIONS

Going to: we can see the future in the present; we see things coming or starting:

Look out! You’re going to break that glass! (I can see it now.)

Will: we think or believe things about the future:

Don’t give him a watch – he‘ll break it. (I think so, because I know him.)

Practice I: What’s the best form?

  1. Perhaps we are going to / will meet again one day.
  2. Look! Andy is going to / will fall off his bike!
  3. I think you are going to / will love Paris.
  4. Look at those clouds: it‘s going to / will rain.

DECISIONS

Will: we are making decisions; spontaneous decisions made at the time of speaking:

‘We’ve got a letter from Jan.’ ‘Ok, I‘ll answer it.‘

Going to: decisions are already made; decision made before the time of speaking:

‘There are a lot of letters to answer.’ ‘I know. ‘I‘m going to do them all on Tuesday.’

Practice II: Which one: I’ll or I’m going to?

  1. I’ve decided (that) ……………… stop smoking.
  2. ‘I don’t want to cook tonight.’ ‘All right, then. ……..cook.’
  3. ‘I haven’t got any money.’ ‘No? OK. ………….. pay.’
  4. ‘Do you want to go out tonight?’ ‘No, ………….. study English.’
  5. ‘These pants are dirty.’ ‘Really? Oh, yes, they are. …………. wash them.’
  6. ‘Is Ann eating with us?’ ‘Wait a minute. ………….. ask her.’

PLANS AND ARRANGEMENTS

Going to and the present progressive are often both possible when we talk about plans.

We use the present progressive mostly for fixed plans with a definite time and/or place:

I‘m going to see Ann sometime soon.

I‘m meeting Ann at the theater at 8 pm.

Sarah‘s starting university on September 17.

Practice III: In three of these sentences, the present progressive is possible. Which three?

  1. Jack is going to arrive at 4 pm.
  2. I’m going to learn French one of these days.
  3. I’m going to fly to Paris next year.
  4. Mom’s going to tell me about her problems.
  5. We’re all going to spend this month in Brazil.
  6. Are you going to answer all those emails?

ANSWERS:

PRACTICE I: 1. will; 2. is going to; 3. will; 4. is going to

PRACTICE II: 1. I’m going to; 2. I’ll; 3. I’ll; 4. I’m going to; 5. I’ll; 6. I’ll

PRACTICE III: 1. Jack is arriving at 4.00.; 3. I’m flying to Paris next year.; 5. We’re all spending this month in Brazil.

Here is a clear, simple, focused, and entertaining video that supports what we’ve learned.

Now practice will and going to a little more. In which sentences the present progressive is possible?

Lesson from The Good Grammar Book, Michael Swan and video transcript.

Corpus Christi: the Body of Christ we receive and are called to become. Is it a long weekend for you?

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Carefully listen to the beautiful message below. Take notes of the new words or the entire sentences, and notice pronunciation.

Então, Corpus Christi será um feriadão, um feriado prolongado para você? Sabe como dizer isso em inglês?

Quando um feriado cai próximo ao final de semana, e empresas ou escolas fazem um recesso na quinta e sexta, ou segunda e terça, chamamos em inglês de long weekend.

Você pode dizer também, a three-day weekend, quando o feriado é na sexta ou na segunda, ou a four-day weekend, se é na quinta, com recesso na sexta. 

E as perguntas mais comuns antes de um feriado prolongado são: 

Como será seu feriadão? Como/Onde você passará o feriadão? O que você fará neste feriado prolongado? Você tem planos para o feriado?

  • How is your long weekend going to be?
  • How/Where are you going to spend your three-day weekend?
  • What are you going to do this long weekend?
  • Do you have any plans for the holiday?

Agora que tal usar estas perguntas juntamente com o vocabulário para este feriado de Corpus Christi?

Então complete as frases com as palavras ou expressões que faltam:

1- Thursday is a__________________.  It’s _____________________. (Quinta-feira é feriado. É…).

2- It’s _________________________ for me.  (É/não é um feriadão/feriado de quatro dias para mim.)

3- There are many_______________________in Brazil.  (Há muitos feriados cristãos no Brasil.)

4- Corpus Christi always __________________ a Thursday.  (Corpus Christi sempre cai em uma   quinta-feira.)

5- I’m in a__________________.  (Estou em clima de feriado.)

6- We’re ____________________ Corpus Christi at/in _____________________.  (Passaremos Corpus Christi……)

Confira suas respostas: 1 – holiday/Corpus Christi; 2 – long weekend/a four-day weekend; 3 – Christian holidays; 4- falls on; 5 – holiday mood; 6 – spend.

Então:

  • Enjoy your holiday! Aproveite/curta seu feriado!
  • Have a great holiday! Tenha um ótimo feriado!

Quer mais? Clique aqui.

Comparatives and superlatives

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We use comparatives to compare two things, places or people.

She is taller than her husband.

Superlatives are used, however, to show the difference between more than two things, places or people.

Paris is the biggest city in France.

Now watch the following video and make/take notes.

So, to form comparatives and superlatives, you need to know the number of syllables in the adjective. Syllables are like “sound beats.”

For instance:

  • “find” contains one syllable,
  • but “finding” contains two — find and ing.

Rules to form comparatives and superlatives

1. One syllable adjective ending in a silent ‘e’ — nice

  • Comparative — add ‘r’ — nicer
  • Superlative — add ‘st’ — nicest

2. One syllable adjective ending in a consonant, a vowel and another consonant — big

  • Comparative — the consonant is doubled and ‘er’ is added —bigger
  • Superlative — the consonant is doubled and ‘est’ is added—biggest

3. One syllable adjective ending in more than one consonant or more than a vowel — high, cheap, soft.

  • Comparative — ‘er’ is added — higher, cheaper, softer.
  • Superlative — ‘est is added — highest, cheapest , softest.

4. A two syllable adjective ending in ‘y’ — happy

  • Comparative — ‘y’ becomes ‘i’ and ‘er’ is added — happier
  • Superlative — ‘y’ becomes ‘i’ and ‘est’ is added — happiest

5. Two syllable or more adjectives without ‘y’ at the end — exciting

  • Comparative — more + the adjective + than — more exciting than
  • Superlative — more + the adjective + than — the most exciting

Examples:

  • The Nile River is longer and more famous than the Thames.
  • Egypt is hotter than Sweden.
  • Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
  • This is one of the most exciting films I have ever seen.

Irregular comparatives and superlatives

AdjectivesComparativesSuperlatives
badworseworst
far(distance)fartherfarthest
far(extent)furtherfurthest
goodbetterbest
little  lessleast
manymoremost
muchmoremost

Similarities

To express similarities use the following structure:

… as + adjective + as …

Examples:

  • Mike is as intelligent as Nancy.
  • Larry is as popular as Oprah.

Comparative and superlative exercises

Complete the sentences with the most appropriate comparative or superlative phrase of the adjective given.

1. Mary is  ____________________ (lazy) student in the class.

2. Rob’s apartment is  _________________ (nice) mine.

3. Elephants are  ____________________ (fat) camels.

4. Kim is   _______________________ (small) of all my friends.

5. I think tornadoes are _______________________ (bad) hurricanes because they occur more often and are much more unpredictable.

6. Laura speaks English  ______________________ (good) Susan.

More exercises on comparatives and superlatives.

And now the funniest practice ever! With songs! Listen and complete. 😉