Vocabulary: household groups

Here are some categories for household items.

furniture

Examples: chair, table, bed, sofa, cupboard, cabinet

appliances

Examples: toaster, kettle, blender

(Appliances are usually electric items.)

homeware

Examples: vase, lamp, cushion, candle, cup, bowl, dish

(Homewares can include things for decoration, and also kitchen items.)

cutlery

Examples: knife, fork, spoon

Use 'cutlery' to describe items you use to put food in your mouth.

crockery

Examples: plate, bowl

Use 'crockery' to describe items you put food on.

Vocabulary: stereotype

I'll start with some examples.

'All Americans like to eat hamburgers.'
'Japanese people are very polite.'
'Teenagers are all addicted to technology.'
'Models are not intelligent.'

These are stereotypes - popular ideas or beliefs that a lot of people have. However, they are too simple, and not completely true. Not all Americans like to eat hamburgers. A lot of Japanese people are polite, but not everyone. And a lot of models are highly intelligent.

I'm from Australia. A lot of people think Australians love barbecues... Australians are very casual... Australians like drinking beer...

These are stereotypes. Of course, a lot of Australians are casual people who love barbecues and beer, but not everyone fits that stereotype.

What are some stereotypes about your country? And do you fit the stereotype?

Vocabulary: intelligent

There are several words that mean 'intelligent'. You might already know 'clever' and 'smart. Here are some more.

If someone is bright, they are intelligent, clever.

If someone is quick, they are quick to understand, learn or think.

If someone is quick-witted, they can think and respond quickly. Being quick-witted often means you are funny - you can quickly think of a funny or clever answer to give someone.

If someone is wise, they have a good understanding and good sense. A wise person might not be super intelligent, but they know a lot about life, and they can give good advice and do the right thing. For example, an older person, or a religious leader, might be wise.

If someone is knowledgeable, they know a lot of different things. They have a lot of information in their brain.

How about you? Are you quick, or quick-witted? Are you wise or knowledgeable? Or are you none of these things...?

Language: adverbs

You might know, adverbs are often formed with 'ly'.

He walked quickly.
He looked hungrily at the hamburger.
She felt quietly confident.

However, there are many exceptions, and here are two important ones:

X I worked lately.
X I worked hardly.

The adverb of 'late' is 'late. 'I worked late' is correct. 'Lately' is a different word and means 'recently'.

The adverb of 'hard' is 'hard'. 'I worked hard' is correct. 'Hardly' is a different word and means 'not much; very little'. In fact, 'I worked hard' and 'I hardly worked' have opposite meanings!

Vocabulary: multitude

A multitude is a large number.

It can mean 'a huge group of people':

The President spoke to the multitude.

Or just 'a lot', 'very many':

This project has a multitude of problems.

She came to my house, bringing a multitude of friends.

After the party, there was a multitude of empty bottles in the recycling bin.

This word is more common in writing than in speaking. It's a rather formal word. If you use it in casual conversation, it can sometimes sound a little humorous - just saying 'a lot' is not enough - you are making it clear that it was really a LOT.

How about you? When was the last time you were out in a multitude of people?

Vocabulary: ambiguous, clear-cut

If something is ambiguous, it is not clear. Two people could understand it in different ways. An ambiguous statement could have two or three different meanings.

Here is an example:
"I am sure that no person would be better for the job."
This sentence could be recommending someone for a job - there is nobody better, this person is the best. Or, it could be saying someone is bad for a job - it's better to have *nobody* than hire this person!

Another example is a newspaper headline:
'Stolen Painting Found by Tree'.
Does this mean the painting was next to a tree? Or does it mean the tree found this painting?!

The opposite of ambiguous is unambiguous, or clear-cut. If something is clear-cut, it is well-defined, clear and easy to understand.

Vocabulary: way, far, much

I drank way too much.

I drank far too much.

I drank much too much.

These sentences all have the same meaning. You can use them with 'too ___' to make it stronger. It's not just a little too much, it's a *lot*.

Yesterday I wasted far too much time. I didn't finish enough of my assignments. So today, my job was way too busy. I had far too many tasks to finish.

You can also use this with comparatives.

He is way better than her.

I work far harder than they do.

It's much bigger than my last house.

'way' is slang and sounds way more casual than the other two. ^_^

Okay, so how about you? Is there something you're way better at than someone else? Is there something do far too much of? For me, I drink way too much coffee. I am addicted. ^^;