“come what may”

No matter what will/might happen.

Examples:

“I will continue to work this job, come what may, because I am loyal to my company.”

“There was recently a crime in this neighborhood, and some fear for their safety. However, I believe that it was one incident and not a trend, we will stay in this house come what may.”

“be that it may”

Use this expression when you understand a piece of information, and this piece of information might be able to change your opinion, but it doesn’t. In more simple terms, it can often be substituted for “however.”

Examples:

“I understand that you were late for work because of a flat tire; be that it may, you must still stay late tonight to work your full shift.”

“It is too bad that your computer stopped working. Be that it may, your paper is now late.”

Want to learn some more idioms? Check out some of our other blogs on this subject:

 Animal idioms and vocabulary

Idioms with “green”

Various helpful idiomatic expressions

Many students groan when they hear the words “phrasal verb.” We understand why: there are hundreds of phrasal verbs in the English language, and the only way to learn them is to memorize them. There is no “quick fix” when it comes to learning phrasal verbs!

Or is there? Take the “30-Day Phrasal Verb Challenge” with us and find out! Here is how it works: read the list of phrasal verbs listed below. Each day for the month of May, learn a new phrasal verb. CISL will provide worksheets for you to practice these phrasal verbs each week in order to test your memory. Who knows? It could be…. fun? Yep, FUN!

What IS a phrasal verb? Check out our post on Phrasal Verbs to learn more.

Converse International School of Languages 30-Day Phrasal Verb Challenge

1. Go on – continue

Student: “Teacher, I have something to tell you… I… I…”

Teacher: “Go on.”

Student: “I didn’t do my homework!”

2. Set up – to establish something

We set up the party by putting up decorations and putting out the food.

3. Pick up – to clean

This room was filthy so I had to pick it up.

4. Pick up – to give a ride to someone

I have to pick up my little brother at eight.

5. Go out – to date someone.

We have been going out for three months.

6. Find out – discover; learn of

I just found out that my great-grandmother was from Japan! That means I am part Japanese!

7. Come up – to happen unexpectedly. (Also literal.)

I wanted to visit my friend, but something came up and I couldn’t go.

8. Make up – to create a story

I made up a story about how I was lost at sea… and my nephew believed it!

9. Take over –to take control

The country took over the other country after the war.

10. Work out – to solve a problem

We need to work this out before we go home, or we will have a lot of work to do tomorrow!

11. Take up – to start a new hobby

I took up snorkeling when I moved to San Diego.

12. Turn out – to end happily

I was so worried that I would burn my dinner, but it turned out great!

13. Take on – to start a new project or challenge

I took on a new job at work and I am so busy!

14. Give up – to quit;

I gave up on playing the guitar. I was no good!

15. Look up – to search for information

I looked up my boss on the internet, and he has an impressive resume!

16. Take out – to take someone on a date

Can I take you out sometime?

17. Jot down – to write quickly

Jot down your shopping list before you go to the grocery store.

18. Turn up – to appear

I had been looking for my glasses all day. They turned up under the sofa.

19. Bring up – to mention a person or thing;

I shouldn’t have brought up Sarah’s ex-boyfriend. I didn’t realize that they had broken up!

20. Bring up – to raise a child

I was brought up by my grandparents after my parents passed away.
21. Bring back – to return

That song brought back memories of high school!

22. Break down – to fall apart; to have a physical or mental collapse

I broke down after I heard that my dog needed surgery.

23. Take off – to begin to fly

My plane takes off at ten.

24. Take back – to cancel a statement

I take back what I said about your sister being so nice. She was rude to me today!

25. Go in – pay a part of

Do you want to go in on a new camera with me for Mom’s birthday?

26. Set off – make angry

Getting an expensive bill really set James off!

27. Bring about – make something happen

To bring about change, you must first educate people on the problem.

28. Put off – postpone

I put off writing my paper and now it is due in two hours!

29. Make up – to forgive and stop fighting

We made up after a big fight.

30. Break up – to end a relationship

After we made up, we fought again and we broke up.

You can’t change the past. This we know! But don’t we sometimes look back and think “what if?” We all do this from time to time, which is why we need the Third Conditional.

Third Conditional

[if + subject + had + past participle] + [subject + would + have + past participle]

The Third Conditional looks back and wonders how things would be different if we could change the past. Have you ever thought about what your life would be like if you dated a different person, chose a different university, or picked a different career? We all do! We use the Third Conditional to express these thoughts.

• If I had majored in engineering, I would have made a lot of money.
• If I had been born in Spain, I would have grown up speaking Spanish.
• If she had known she was going to be fired from her job, she wouldn’t have bought that new car.
• If I had practiced the violin every day, I would have done much better at the performance.
• If I had studied more, I would have scored better on the test.

Honestly, the Third Conditional can be a little depressing! Don’t you think? But this sentence structure is incredibly important. Every language needs to be able to express this scenario. What can we learn from this conditional? As Buddha once said, “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” Wise words!

Are you ready to practice the Third Conditional? Answer these questions:

1. What would you have done if you had not come to CISL?

(If I hadn’t come to CISL, I would have… + past participle)

2. What language would you have spoken if you had been born in Indonesia?

(If I had been born in Indonesia, I would have… + past participle)

3. What would you have done differently with your life if your parent had been a famous celebrity?

(If my parent had been a famous celebrity, I would have …)

4. What would have happened if you hadn’t worn sunscreen at the beach?

(If I hadn’t worn sunscreen, I would have …)

Complete these sentences:

1.) Use the word: begin
If the class _____________________________ at 10:00 we would have been on time.

2.) Use the word: call
If you _____________________________  earlier I would have invited you to the movies too.

3.) Use the word: fix
If you had told us of these problems by 8:00 a.m. we _____________________________ them this morning.

4.) Use the word: increase
If you had studied harder your test score would _____________________________  dramatically.

5.) Use the word: learn
You _____________________________  everything about conditionals if you had read the other two Grammar Lesson of the Month posts on conditionals.

6.) Use the words: meet & give
If I _____________________________  with Andrea yesterday I _____________________________  her your present.

7.) Use the words: do & complete
You_____________________________  better on your evaluation if you _____________________________  all of the presentation requirements.

8.) Use the words: see & visit
We _____________________________  Sarah if we _____________________________  to her party last week.

English has borrowed a lot of words from different languages, and sometimes from languages you might not expect!

What languages do you think the following come from?

1. ALCATRAZ (The island prison off the coast of San Francisco)
2. SOIREE (A very elegant evening party)
3. SIESTA ( a short afternoon sleep or nap)
4. KINDERGARTEN (The first year of school for very small children)
5. ALCOHOL (Vodka, wine, whiskey, sake etcetera)
6. UMBRELLA (It’s what you hold above your head when it’s raining.)
7. GESUNDHEIT (Many Americans use this instead of “Bless you!” when someone sneezes.)
8. HIBACHI (A small, portable grill for barbequing)
9. RENDEZVOUS (A romantic meeting)
10. O.K. or OKAY (I think everyone knows what this means, but I bet you can’t guess where it probably comes from! – It was a surprise to me!)

Most of you have found yourselves studying the Passive at one time or another in your CISL classes. Like many other concepts, how you construct it is not as confusing as why or when you should use it. We’re going to mention this month just one common use of the passive, and we’ll add a delicious example of it for you!

Forming the passive is easy – TO BE (present, future, any tense you like) + the PAST PARTICIPLE (speak/spoke/spoken; write/wrote/written, etc.) So we get sentences like “That book was written by Barbara Kingsolver;” and “The water should be boiled before you drink it.” That last sentence gives you an example of that common use of the passive we mentioned: we use it to GIVE INSTRUCTIONS. And what better place to find instructions than in a cookbook! For those of you who enjoy spicy hot Szechwan Chinese dishes, this will be a real bonus, but don’t forget the passive examples throughout!

SZECHWAN ORANGE BEEF

Ingredients:

• 1 pound (1/2 kilo) sliced beef
• 2 chopped green onions (scallions)
• 2 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• The peel (skin) of ½ fresh orange, chopped
• Dried red chili peppers, chopped into small pieces
• minced garlic and minced ginger
• corn starch mixed with water

First, the beef is sliced into bite-sized pieces. Then it is mixed with the ginger, garlic and soy sauce and covered and left for about 25 minutes. While the meat mixture is being marinated, the green onions and the chili peppers can be chopped and the ½ orange peel needs to be cut up into small pieces.

After the 25 minutes, the beef slices are removed from the marinade and drained (THE MARINADE MUST BE SAVED. IT WILL BE ADDED TO THE SAUCE!)

The beef slices must be cooked in the oil over very high heat; when they are browned, then the green onions, chili peppers and orange peel are added. After about 3 minutes, the soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil should be added to the meat and everything should be stirred and fried rapidly for another minute, then the marinade must be added and stirred in. When the mixture is heated, the toasted sesame seeds are quickly added and the meal is finished and should be served immediately! This is one of my favorite recipes and it should be eaten with plain white rice. Be careful – it is very spicy!

GRAMMAR: In each of the following sentences, there is ONE error. Find it and fix it!

1. The streets are icy, so walk slowly and no fall down!

2. Turn left at the next corner and you don’t forget to signal!

3. The wind is blowing, it snows, and the sky looks very gray.

4. I’m usually shopping after school, but today I’m going swimming.

5. Marcia arrives usually early, but today she’s late.

6. Water is boiling at 212 º Fahrenheit.

7. Those flowers are smelling very sweet!

8. It’s raining so hard that I’m happy I haven’t to go out this afternoon.

ANSWERS:

1. The streets are icy, so walk slowly and don’t fall down!
2. Turn left at the next corner and you don’t forget to signal!
3. The wind is blowing, it’s snowing, and the sky looks very gray.
4. I usually shop after school, but today I’m going swimming.
5. Marcia usually arrives early, but today she’s late.
6. Water boils at 212 º Fahrenheit.
7. Those flowers smell very sweet!
8. It’s raining so hard that I’m happy I don’t have to go out this afternoon.

Here are 3 different ways of making suggestions or invitations. The grammar is a little different in each one, so watch the verb!

Why don’t we go to that new Italian restaurant for lunch today?
Let’s go to that new Italian restaurant for lunch today.
How about going to that new Italian restaurant for lunch today?

Note: With WHY DON’T…you must use a person (we, you…) + simple verb
With LET’S, all you need is the simple verb.
With HOW ABOUT, use the ING form of the verb.

Easy, right? Now for a little practice! Change these statements into suggestions with the expression in parentheses.

1. I want to see that new movie with Leonardo DiCaprio (How about)
2. We should drive up the coast to San Francisco. (Let’s)
3. I want to order to pizza tonight. (How about)
4. You and I should take a trip to Las Vegas this summer. (Why don’t)
5. You should get a new car. (Why don’t)
6. We should learn how to ice skate. (Let’s)

ANSWERS:

1. How about seeing that new movie with…?
2. Let’s drive up the coast…
3. How about ordering a pizza…?
4. Why don’t you and I take a trip…? (Or: Why don’t we take…?)
5. Why don’t you get…?
6. Let’s learn how…

One of the most interesting ways to learn vocabulary is by DOMAIN- a group of different words that are associated with the same concept. The words last month were all in the WALK domain. This month, we have a few examples of the big SPEAK domain. See how many of these verbs you already know:

1. YELL: To speak or shout very loudly because you are angry or you are trying to speak to someone at a distance. His father yelled at him because he broke the window.
2. WHISPER: Speak very softly because you don’t want other people to hear you. “Close the door quietly,” Mark whispered, “so we don’t wake the baby.”
3. WHINE: This is the high-pitched, sing-song and very annoying way that children talk when they are complaining about something. Sometimes adults do it too, and then it’s even more annoying. “Why do I always have to watch my baby brother?” the little girl whined.
4. SOB: Talk and cry at the same time. After the car accident, Julia sobbed out her story to the police officer.
5. SCREAM: To shout, but in a very high voice, usually because you are very frightened. When I saw the mouse run across the room, I screamed for help.
6. BABBLE: To talk nonsense. Small children babble before they learn to speak properly. Sometimes adults babble if they are confused or very excited. I know you’re upset, but you need to stop babbling, calm down, and tell me exactly what happened!
7. GRUMBLE: Complain, usually in a low voice. Some people grumble about the weather here in June – it’s usually very cloudy.
8. YAK: To talk a lot, too much, and about things that are of little importance. My children spend hours yakking on the telephone.

Using verbs like this instead of the usual say/tell/speak/talk will give your speaking and your writing more impact and more life!

A. WHICH VERB FITS BEST? Remember, the meaning of the sentence is very important! (Answers at end of page)

1.When I saw the child begin to run out into the street, I __________, “Stop!”
2. Sometimes it’s nice to just sit around the coffee shop and ___________ with your friends.
3. When Michael won the lottery last month, he phoned me, but he was ___________like a crazy person, and it took me a few minutes to understand what he was saying.
4. I know you’re really angry, but please don’t ___________at me like that!
5. “The movie has already started,” I ____________to my friend as we walked down the aisle looking for our seats.
6. The children were hungry and tired and all during the long drive, they ___________, “When are we going to get home!”
7. “My new puppy is lost,” Mary __________to her mother.
8. It doesn’t make much sense to _____________about the cold weather – there’s nothing we can do about it!

ANSWERS: DOMAINS: 1.yelled OR screamed; 2. yak; 3. babbling; 4. yell OR scream
5. whispered ; 6. whined OR were whining; 7. sobbed; 8. grumble OR whine – depends on the tone of voice!

This month we have five pairs of idiomatic expressions – and, to make it interesting, they are pairs of opposites:

1. MORNING, NOON AND NIGHT = Very often, frequently. My sister complains that her husband talks about sports morning, noon and night.
2. ONCE IN A BLUE MOON = Almost never, very rarely. During most of the year in Southern California, it only rains once in a blue moon.

3. TO RUN OFF AT THE MOUTH = Talk too much. You’ll be sorry if you ask Rene about politics – she really runs off at the mouth on that subject!
4. TO CLAM UP = To refuse to talk at all. When the police asked him if he had stolen the car, he just clammed up and stared at the table. (Note: I suggest you look up “clam” in your dictionary – it’s a kind of marine animal and you’ll understand why it is used in this expression!)

5. TO BURN THE MIDNIGHT OIL: To stay awake all night working or studying. He’s got an important report due tomorrow, so I guess he’ll be burning the midnight oil tonight.
6. TO HIT THE HAY = TO GO TO BED: To go to bed. I’m too tired to go to the movies; I think I’ll just hit the hay instead. (Note: Think about the use of oil and hay in these expressions. Do you think they originated a long or a short time ago?)

GRAMMAR: What do apostrophes (‘) do?

Apostrophes have two main jobs in English:

• They help nouns show possession or ownership, for example John’s car or my sister’s home. Apostrophes have been doing this job for more than 300 years and they do it very nicely and don’t usually cause anybody any trouble.
• They indicate that there is a letter or letters  missing in the word, that it is a contraction. Apostrophes have been doing this job for a lot less time; things sometimes get a little tricky and people start making mistakes, especially in writing English.

YOUR and YOU’RE: The first of these is the one that shows possession –YOUR car, YOUR brother.  The second is the contraction of YOU ARE  – missing letter A.  jealous of your brother, aren’t you?

THEIR AND THEY’RE: Again, THEIR is possessive:  THEIR house is in Coronado. The second – letter A missing again! – is THEY ARE.  They’re happy in their house in Coronado.

ITS AND IT’S: This is a really nasty one! Considering phrases like “my sister’s house,” you would expect IT’S to show possession, but – ha ha! -it doesn’t!  It always means IT IS. For example: I bought a new car and it’s parked across the street. The one that shows possession is always ITS. I love my new car but I need to have its brakes checked.

WHO’S / WHOSE:

WHO’S = WHO IS: I don’t know who’s hanging out in Coronado today.

WHOSE is a possessive – I don’t know  whose car that is across the street.

HAS AND IS = ‘S too! John’s in class right now.  The Coronado Ferry’s taking off! Both of these = IS.  She’s gone to the Brigantine SeafoodRestaurant.  He’s already spoken to me.  Both of these indicate HAS.  You can tell the difference very easily.  If the apostrophe indicates HAS, a past participle will follow (i.e. gone, spoken etc.)

Fill in the blanks:
Answers at end of lesson!

1. I know __________house is the nicest on the block because __________always fixing it up!  (YOU’RE/YOUR)
2. _________always funny to watch a dog chase ___________tail. (IT’S/ITS)
3. _________ the man ___________car is parked in front of the Hotel Del? (WHOSE/WHO’S)
4. He’s taken a taxi every day this week means ____________(HE IS/HE HAS)
5. The limo’s waiting means _______________(THE LIMO IS/THE LIMO HAS)
6. _____________ angry because __________fish tacos were taking too long. (THEIR/THEY’RE)

ANSWERS:

1. YOUR/YOU’RE; 2. IT’S/ ITS; 3. WHO’S/WHOSE; 4. HE HAS;

5. THE LIMO IS; 6. THEY’RE/THEIR