Using “The” When You’re a Member of an Institution

Posted on October 11, 2016

Is your English teacher always telling you to add or remove “the”? “The” is also called “the definite article” in English. Here’s our quick guide on how to use the definite article for institutions. It depends on whether you’re a member of the institution or not. Today we will look at universities, hospitals, churches and prisons.

How to use the definite article for institutions: University

Should we say “I’m going to university” or “I’m going to the university”? It depends. Do you go to university regularly as a student, or as a visitor? “I’m going to university” sounds like you are a student of that university. “I’m going to the university” seems like you are visiting as an academic or as a prospective student. Perhaps you’re going to “the university” as a one-off to make a presentation there. It depends on whether you are a member of that institution or not.

Definite article: Hospital

Likewise, we say we are going to “hospital” if we are a patient, or “the hospital” if we are a visitor or if we work at the hospital. Americans may use “the” in both cases in this example here.

Church

If I say “I went to church” you may assume I have a religious reason for going, and I am a member of that church. “If I say “I went to the church” perhaps I visited the church for a fair or as a tourist.

Prison

“Prison” is another example of an institution. Next time you read about a crime in the paper, note whether the criminals are are “going to prison” where they will be members of that institution. Perhaps their families will “go to the prison” to visit them.

So in summary, here’s how to use the definite article for institutions:

• Use “the” if it’s not your usual institution.
• Don’t use “the” if it’s an institution you are a member of or go to regularly.

Using “the” in English can be a real pain – you’ll get there! It’s easier to learn the rules bit by bit like this. 

For excellent English classes at your company in London send us a quick email today! 

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How to start and finish professional emails in English

Posted on September 13, 2016

By Emily Stallard, owner and trainer at Orchid English

 

Do you struggle with formality in business writing? Even native English speakers sometimes wonder which form to address to use, and which sign off is best. Here are some of our tips on how to start and finish professional emails in English.

 

How to Start Emails

Hi Donna,

When emailing colleagues I usually start “Hi” and their first name. This may look too casual to some people from other cultures but it’s “business casual” in the UK. It’s still more formal than using “Hi” or “Hey” with no name, as you may write to a friend.

Hello Jane,

If I am emailing a potential client or someone else I don’t know well I might start “Hi”, “Hello” or “Dear” and their first name. How do I decide? Sometimes I check how they have addressed me and I use the same form!

Dear Ms Sandberg,

Some people use “Dear” with a title and surname and this is a question of personal preference. I often use this if I’m emailing for the first time, or addressing someone from a culture which uses more formal forms of address. In British business culture this is generally considered over-formal with people who you have already met.

 

How to Finish Emails

British professionals tend to sign off emails using these words and phrases. Here they are in approximate order of least formal to most formal:

• Thanks,
• Best wishes,
• Best regards,
• Kind regards,
• Regards,

You may have seen “Yours sincerely” or “Yours faithfully” and these are generally used in letter writing.

 

So now you know how to start and finish professional emails in English. What style do you prefer? How does this compare to email writing in your culture?

How to use -ware and -wear in English

Posted on September 6, 2016

By Emily Stallard, Owner and Trainer at Orchid English

 

Do you know to use the word endings “ware” and “wear”? Had you ever considered that they were different? Recently I saw a student’s written work and I realised that she didn’t use the word endings -ware and -ware correctly. She is a very high level and I wondered how many other people confuse these endings. In spoken English it doesn’t matter because they sound the same. This is how to use “ware” and “wear”:

 

Clothes

If you’re talking about clothing, the spelling at the end of the word should be “wear“:

• Formalwear
• Menswear
• Sportswear
• Swimwear
• Womenswear

Note that you cannot just say “wear” as an alternative noun for “clothing”. I have heard people learning English say “I like your wear” but this should be “I like your outfit” or “I like your suit” etc. If you want to use the word “wear” you could say “I like what you’re wearing”.

 

Material or Use

If you are talking about items made from a particular material or items for a particular use, the spelling at the end should be “ware“:

Items made from a particular material

• Glassware
• Lacquerware
• Leatherware

Items for a particular use

• Giftware
• Kitchenware
• Tableware

 

So now you know! It’s menswear not mensware and tableware not tablewear.

Thanks for reading and please let us know suggestions for future blog posts on Facebook or Twitter!

How to use “Good” and “Nice” in English

Posted on June 14, 2016

When you think of the words “good” and “nice”, what springs to mind for each? Do you see them as different?

The words “good” and “nice” can be tricky to get right and there is a lot of overlap in the meaning. Students in our company English classes say things like “We had a nice meeting”. This sounds rather strange.

How to use good and nice: an overview

“Nice” is more from the heart. Food, people and holidays can be “nice” if you just want to say that you had a pleasant experience. “Good” has more substance and sounds like it rates well according to a particular standard. “Good food” is more like food with quality ingredients that is prepared to a high standard, not just food that you enjoyed eating. Junk food can be “nice” to eat but it’s not “good” for our bodies!

Likewise a “good” person is a moral person, whereas a “nice” person is someone who is pleasant to be around.

Using good and nice: natural English

“Did you have a nice English class?” is alright but “Did you have a good English class?” is slightly more natural. What’s the difference? The main reason you take English classes is to improve your English, right? A “nice” class sounds like you have a good relationship with your teacher, and that you and your classmates found the subjects covered interesting or fun. Maybe you didn’t learn much, though! A “good” class sounds like it was useful, the subjects were relevant to your professional development and so on.

So in the example at the beginning, we should say “we had a good meeting” because meetings are for a particular function rather than enjoyment.

Now you know how to use good and nice in English! Get in touch today for fantastic private or group English classes at your company in London.

5 Great Sites for Business English

Posted on April 20, 2016

Do you use the internet to learn English as well as having classes? It can be fun and educational to listen to different accents and learn from different teachers by studying online. What do you think are the best English learning sites? Here is a selection of some of my favourite websites for learning business English.

1. Saundz has some fascinating blog posts for those interested in learning English as well as those with a general interest in the English language. This is a great post about English for job interviews.
2. Business English Site is perfect for students of business English who want to study by themselves in a fun and interactive way. There are lots of learning resources specific to different industries.
3. Business Spotlight is a good blog about business and intercultural topics, especially for German speakers who can click on the highlighted words for a German translation.
4. A classic for excellent content, the British Council has a wealth of material for people learning business English.
5. Finally, for English teachers (or interested learners) Karl Dean writes an engaging blog from his perspective as an English teacher for adults in Germany.

Do you want to learn business English at your company in London? Send us a quick message today and set up your free trial class.

The Same Sounds: How to Learn Pronunciation from Strange Spellings

Posted on April 5, 2016

By Emily Stallard

This week I thought it would be useful to present some words that are commonly mispronounced by learners of English as a second language because of strange spellings. Often, a word used to be pronounced in a certain way and this has changed over time.

Typical vowel pronunciation mistakes

In the list below are some words that I regularly hear mispronounced in our company English classes. As there are many vowel sounds and many strange spellings in English I will only talk about 5 short vowel sounds in this blog post.

The IPA

I reference the International Phonetic Alphabet, or IPA, which is a very useful way to write sounds. There is a good introduction to the IPA from the phonetics department at UCL where I went here.

I have taught many students who have taught themselves this system and it is very useful to them in learning new pronunciations of words. In fact, it tends to be the advanced students who know the IPA.

The following pronunciations are correct for a standard southern British accent:

Words with the sound /æ/ in IPA like in the word “sat”

Reality (but not in Real) National (but not in Nation)

Words with the sound /e/ in IPA like in the word “let”

Bury Cleanliness and Cleanse (but not in Clean) Deaf Debt (the “b” is silent) Jeopardy Leisure

Words with the sound /ɪ/ in IPA like in the word “bit”

Cynical Build Busy Circuit Women Rhythm Syllable Syringe System Gym

Words with the sound /ɒ/ in IPA like in the word “hot”

Acknowledge and Knowledge (but not in Know) Bureaucracy Cough Honest Wallet Want

Words with the sound /ʌ/ in IPA like in the word “up”

Among Cover Comfortable Enough Front Money Love London Button Rough Touch Southern (but not in South) Won Worry

Which of these pronunciations were new to you? Go back and read them aloud to remember them.

An extra tip

Now for a spelling tip. I recommend writing words with other words that share the same sound to develop “spelling families” of words that refer to the same sound. This is how I learned to spell as a child and you will start to see patterns.

Do you live in London?

I can’t count the number of times I have heard students pronounce “London” with the same first vowel as “of”. But when you consider that “London” is in the same spelling family as “front”, “money”, “love”, “won” and “worry”, it starts to seem more intuitive.

Good luck! Let us know your experience learning pronunciation from strange spellings too.

Get in touch on 020 8150 7239 for engaging English speaking classes at your company in London, or online.

How to Use Business Idioms for Time

Posted on March 29, 2016

Have you ever had a moment of confusion in the morning? Where the time on your phone doesn’t match the time on your watch or clock? Then you realise the clocks have gone forward or back by an hour! On the same theme, here are some popular and useful business idioms for time.

Top business idiom for time: To beat the clock
This means to have to complete something fast before the deadline. You could also say it’s a race against time. In our presentations courses the students have to create a presentation before the deadline, so they have to beat the clock.

To watch the clock
When you are bored and keen for time to pass you may keep looking at the clock. In the university summer holidays I had some temporary admin jobs which were very repetitive and boring. I certainly used to watch the clock a lot.

Time to kill
If you have time to kill you have some time before your next appointment and you would like to do something in that time. I had meetings with different clients 2 hours apart so in the middle I had time to kill.

To have time on one’s side
If you have time on your side this is a good thing. Perhaps you have to make a speech but you have a month to prepare. Then you have time on your side. It can also be said about people who are young to say they have their whole lives ahead of them.

There is a popular saying to remember which way the clocks turn in the spring and autumn. We say “Spring forwards, fall back”. You can imagine someone jumping (or springing) forwards in the spring and then falling backwards in the “fall”. Americans say “fall” for what in the UK is called “autumn”. You can visit this government page to see when UK clocks change.

Conclusion

So now you know some great business idioms for time: try to use them this week! In our face to face classes around London we are often asked for business English idioms. These can be a lot of fun to learn as well as great for making your English more precise and natural.

Looking at business English idioms as a way to improve your English? Get in contact to set up your first free English class at your London company.

How to Use Adjectives in the Right Order

Posted on March 15, 2016

By Emily Stallard

 

Did you know there is a particular order for adjectives in English? Using adjectives in the right order can be tricky. It sounds rather unnatural to say “my client is a Swedish, 40 year old tall man” because the adjectives are in the wrong order. The good news for people learning English is that it’s rare to have more than about three adjectives in one sequence.

While there are certainly exceptions to what you can say, the following is a good guide to adjective order:

 

1. General Opinion
Nice, great, terrible

2. Specific Opinion
Thought-provoking, intriguing, reliable

3. Size
500 metre, tall, medium

4. Shape
Angular, flat, circular

5. Age
Up-to-date, new, 10 year old

6. Colour
Cream, navy, silver

7. Nationality
British, Swedish, French

8. Material
Steel, acrylic, glass

 

So with these adjectives in the right order you can make:

 

• An angular steel component
• An up to date, cream office chair
• A reliable French car

 

In the example given in the introduction, you can see the description should be “my client is a tall, 40 year old Swedish man”.

 

Feeling confident you know how to use adjectives in the right order? Try this English Club quiz and see how you get on!

How to Get Good Service in London

Posted on March 8, 2016

By Emily Stallard

 

This is more of a cultural post because I have heard many of our students, especially from outside Europe, complain about London service in bars and restaurants. Of course ideas about what makes good service and how you can get it vary wildly across cultures.

 

When I lived abroad took quite a while for me to get used to very hierarchical, loud Japanese service, and the formal way in which waiters and customers should speak to each other in France. In London I have been surprised to see students speak to service staff in a way that is considered rude in the UK. Then they didn’t get particularly good service, but I did from the same person, at the same time.

 

In Britain, the general idea of good service is calm, friendly and non-invasive. Except for in very upmarket places, British customers tend to prefer to be spoken to in a casual, friendly way rather than being addressed as “Sir” or “Madam”.

 

Importantly, there also may not be a strict obligation for staff to act warmly towards customers who are dismissive or abrupt.

 

If you adapt your behaviour to suit this culture you will experience much better overall customer service. Have you ever seen the American TV series Sex and the City? The main character Carrie always stuck in my mind as someone who spoke to waiters and waitresses exceptionally well. This is Carrie’s approach, and this is how to get good service in London:

 

• Smile
• Make eye contact
• Say “Hi” or “Hello”
• Ask for what you would like as a question, not an order, with “please”
• Say “Thank you”
• Have a calm, friendly demeanour

 

I have experienced progressively better service in bars, cafés, restaurants and so on by following the above rules. I hope you do too!

Do you work in the service industry in London? Learn about English specific to your job here.

Business Phrasal Verbs and Compounds with “Down”

Posted on March 1, 2016

By Emily Stallard

 

What phrasal verbs with “down” do you know already? Phrasal verbs can really make your English sound natural and native-like. It’s also important to be able to understand what your colleagues are saying! In my experience, with phrasal verbs it’s good to develop an image in your head of how a situation might look and why that particular verb is used.

 

Phrasal verbs with “down” usually have the idea of negativity, reducing or physically going down.

 

Calm down
Most of you will have heard this one, I have the image of someone standing up in anger then sitting down calmly as they calm down.

 

Back down
If someone backs down they have finally accepted the other person’s position. Think of someone walking backwards to their seat and sitting down.

 

Turn down
To reject. You could say “They offered their services but we turned them down.”
This is not to be confused with a “downturn” which is an economic decline. 2008 was the beginning of the global economic downturn.

 

Play down
To say that something is not so bad or not so important. A chairperson might play down the threat of redundancy.

 

To go down well or To go down badly
To be received. Think of eating something delicious and it “goes down” well, so can information or proposals. “That new idea went down well with the investors”.

 

To take something down or to note something down
This means to write it down. It seems like something very short. If you were writing a blog post or a book you wouldn’t use “down”.

 

Next time you hear new phrasals verb with “down”, consider whether it includes the idea of negativity, reducing or physically going down. This will help you work out the meaning of new phrasal verbs.