We’ve had a few questions about punctuation, so I thought I would provide a list below of some of the most common ones used in standard writing.  It would take a long time to talk about the uses of each one.  Instead, I’ve provided an example of how they can be used in context (in an actual situation)  in the paragraphs below.

Period [ . ]
Question mark [ ? ]
Exclamation point [ ! ]
Comma [ , ]
Quotation mark [ "  " ]
Colon [ : ]
Semi-colon [ ; ]
Parentheses [ (  ) ]
Ellipsis [ ... ]
…

Using punctuation helps readers better understand what we write. It would be very difficult to read this paragraph without any punctuation at all, don’t you think? There are several American writers who don’t like to use punctuation when they write, and when I see some of their writings, I say to myself, “Wow, this is hard to understand!” Their writings include: books, essays, short stories, and poetry.

Style is important; comprehension is important, too.  My brother likes to write emails without punctuation and I think they are difficult to understand.  (Of course I would never tell him that to his face! The last time I gave him advice, well…)
…

You’ll notice that although I used one kind of punctuation in a sentence, another type may have worked just as well.  Punctuation, like our choice of words, is often arbitrary (made for no definite reason).

Traditionally, people put two spaces after punctuation at the end of a sentence.  In the days of the typewriter, it was easier to see where a sentence ended and another began with two spaces separating each one.  Today, that’s changing.  With fonts that show more clearly the end of sentences, people are beginning to use just one space at the end of sentences.  For this reason, you will see it both ways.

~ Lucy

Several months ago Lucy explained an old saying (expression) in English, “Nice guys finish last.” The idea behind this saying is that in order to be a “winner” and to have power in a situation, you shouldn’t be nice to other people.  If you are nice, other people will beat you by cheating or doing things that hurt you and their other competitors (the people they are trying to beat).  But is this really true?  A recent article in the Wall Street Journal discussed some research on leaders and those in power (those who have power in an organization), and the results may surprise you.

“People give authority to people they genuinely (really; honestly) like,” according to a psychologist at the University of California, Berkeley.  In most social and business settings (situations), people who are agreeable (don’t argue with others) and extroverted (open to talking to others; friendly) are the most respected and typically the most powerful.  In other words, nice guys tend to (usually) finished first, not last.  However, something happens after they have gained power, what psychologists call the “paradox of power.”  A paradox is something that is self-contradictory, that is, something that contains two or more things that are opposite of each other, that don’t seem to agree or that work against each other.  The paradox of power is that in order to be powerful, you must be kind, but once you are powerful, you change into someone who is no longer “nice.”

People in power or with authority are often less sympathetic to (understanding of) other people’s concerns and emotions.  Now that they have power, it doesn’t seem important to them to be considerate (nice; careful to not harm) to other people.  Why should they?  They now have control of the situation and can do whatever they want.  People who believe they are powerful are also more likely to believe that the normal rules of life and society don’t apply to (have to be followed by) them.  For example, rich and powerful people (the two are often associated (connected)) may believe that everyone should follow the traffic laws (rules for driving) except them — they are important people, with important things to do, so they don’t need to follow the rules.  Another word for this concept is arrogance, the idea that you are better than everyone else.

Is there a cure (solution; fix) for the paradox of power?  Some psychologists argue that the only way to keep powerful people from abusing (misusing) their power is to have some sort of oversight.  Oversight is when other people are watching what leaders are doing and criticize or correct them when they do something wrong.  (The verb is to oversee, which is similar to the verb to supervise.)  The problem with this solution, however, is that people in power often don’t think that they need any oversight, and use their authority to prevent other people from criticizing them!

~Jeff

Photo credit (Steve Jobs and Bill Gates): Wikipedia/Flickr CC

ON MONDAY
ESL Podcast 610 – Preparing to Travel

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “to suspend” and “to water.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Services for Travelers.”
“Americans often travel for “pleasure” (vacation) or “business” (work), leaving their home “vacant” (empty; without people staying in a place) for days, weeks, or even months “at a time” (at once). Fortunately, many services are available to help these people “maintain”…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 256
Topics: Ask an American – Chocolate; dispute versus disagreement versus conflict; using “times” in comparing amounts; use of infinitive “to” phrases as adjective, adverb, or noun

In the Learning Guide:  Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a popular children’s book that was written in 1964 by a British author named Roald Dahl. In the book, a man named Willy Wonka owns a large chocolate factory and is very “secretive” (does not give others information)…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON FRIDAY
ESL Podcast 611 – Having an Overbearing Father

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “grown” and “to live by.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “The Level of Freedom U.S. Teenagers Have.”
“Most American teenagers have “significant” (a lot of) “freedom” (the ability to do what one wants) to choose how they spend their time, and with whom. Although the “level” (amount) of freedom “varies” (is different) among families…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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It’s hot. In some places, it’s really hot. We often refer to the hot days between early July and early September as the dog days of summer.

Why “dog” and not “cat” or some other animal? In ancient times (very long time ago), people associated (connected in their minds) hot summer weather with one of the brightest stars in the night sky, Sirius, which is also called the Dog Star.  People believed that because Sirius was close to the sun during the summer months, that caused the sweltering (feeling uncomfortably hot) temperatures.

I grew up in Arizona, as many of you know, so for me, this is the best part of the year.  I like it hot, as long as it isn’t too humid (with moisture in the air). When other people are complaining and sweating (with moisture coming out of their skin), I’m loving life (enjoying the situation).

Not surprisingly, comedians (people whose job is to make people laugh) like to make jokes about the hot weather.  A very common type of joke goes like this:

Comedian: “It’s hot outside.”
Audience:  “How hot is it?” (with the entire audience shouting it at the comedian in unison (at the same time))
Comedian:  “It’s so hot that + [punchline, the funny part of a joke]…

Here are a few punchlines from popular comedians that may make you laugh or at least chuckle (laugh a little; laugh quietly), and help you get through these dog days of summer.

- “It’s so hot that I saw a chicken lay a fried egg.”
- “It’s so hot that I saw two trees fighting over (competing for) a dog.”
- “It’s so hot that I discovered that I need only two fingers to drive my car.”
- “It’s so hot that hot water now comes out of both taps (faucets).”
- “It’s so hot that when it falls below 95 (35 degrees Celsius), I feel chilly (a little cold).”
- “It’s so hot that the four seasons are now: tolerable (uncomfortable, but you can endure it), hot, really hot, and ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!”

Are you sweltering where you are?  If so, how are you keeping cool?

~ Lucy

When I think about change, I almost always think of my grandfather – or as I knew him, Grandpa. Grandpa lived almost 100 years. As he got older his eyes got worse, so he had trouble seeing, but the last time I talked to him – when he was 98 – he still had a sharp (able to think and understand) mind and a long memory.

It was always fun to talk to Grandpa about change because he had seen a lot of it. The list of things that didn’t exist when he was born but had become an integral (necessary) part of life when he died is very long – things like cars, telephones, airplanes, radio, television, movies, computers, satellites, men on the moon, and space stations.

Grandpa wasn’t threatened by change (didn’t believe it would hurt him). In fact, I think he enjoyed it. I know he enjoyed talking about it. He read a lot and always seemed to be aware of (know) what was happening in the world around him. However, not everyone is as comfortable with change as he was.

Forty years ago, writer Alvin Toffler worried about the speed of change in a book he wrote called Future Shock. He defined future shock as too much change in too short a period of time.

Toffler was afraid that change would overwhelm people (be too difficult for them), and that the speed of change would cause them to feel like they weren’t connected to the world they lived in. He feared that people would suffer from stress (feelings of worry) and disorientation (confusion). In other words, they would be “future shocked.”

Rapid (fast) change has become a constant (happening all the time) in our world. A recent article in Newsweek magazine used an interesting infographic (a picture or image of facts) to illustrate some of the changes that have taken place since 2000. Here are some of the changes you’ll find in the infographic:

• Daily letters mailed – 208 billion in 2000 | 175 billion in 2010
• Daily e-mails – 12 billion in 2000 | 247 billion in 2010
• Text messages – 400,000 in 2000 | 4.5 billion in 2010
• Books published – 282,242 in 2000 | 1,052,803 in 2010 (Are you surprised?)
• Daily newspapers – 1,480 in 2000 | 1,302 in 2010
• CD sales – $943 million in 2000 | $427.9 million in 2010
• iTunes downloads – 0 in 2000 | 10 billion in 2010
• Time spent online – 2.7 hours per week in 2000 | 18 hours per week in 2010

Do you feel like you have future shock?  If so, what do you do about it?

~ Warren Ediger – ESL tutor and coach; creator of Successful English where you can always learn more about how to improve your English.

photo by w. ediger

QUESTION:
A listener, Carles, had the following question: “I’d like to know the meaning of the word “jeopardy”. I’ve heard this word in some television shows about police and crime investigation. I think this word means “to put something or somebody in danger” but in what context can I use it? Can I use this word in everyday speech or only as police jargon?”

ANSWER:
Carles is right that “to put someone/something in jeopardy” means to put someone or something in danger.  It is often used in TV shows and movies because people are often “in jeopardy” or in danger.  We can say:
- “The baby’s parents put her in jeopardy when they left her alone for hours.”
- “Testifying (giving evidence in a legal case) about major criminals in court sometimes put witnesses (people who saw, heard, or know something) in jeopardy.”

In court or on TV shows about the law, you may also hear the term “double jeopardy.”  Double refers to two things that are the same or very similar.  Double jeopardy occurs when the court system tries to prosecute (put on trial) the same person twice for the same crime.  This is not legal in the United States.  For example, if I am arrested (officially taken by the police for committing (doing) a crime) and go to court and I am found not guilty (not having committed the crime), then I cannot later be arrested again and brought to court for the same crime, even if the police has more or better evidence against me.  This is why I am still free and why  the police tries to make sure they have enough evidence to convict (to have a person found guilty) before they arrest someone for a crime.

Although “jeopardy” is used a lot by the police and in talking about the law, we can also use it in daily life.  Because it is associated (connected) with the law and the police, we use it more for official or formal situations, but not always.  Here are some examples of how it can be used:
- “If you don’t stop drinking (alcohol) at work, you’re in jeopardy of losing your job.”
- “We’re in jeopardy of losing our house if we don’t pay our monthly payments on time.”
- “The teacher left dangerous equipment for the students to play on, putting the children’s safety in jeopardy.”

There is also a long-running (been showing for a long time) TV show called “Jeopardy!”, which was first shown on American television in 1964. It’s a quiz show, where contestants (players) answer questions about history, literature, the arts, popular culture, sports, and more, competing to win money.  The questions are often very difficult and only people who know a lot about these topics do well.  I hope one day to see our own Dr. Jeff McQuillan on the show, since he’s one of the smartest people I know.  He would no doubt do well and win a lot of money.  Maybe he’d share.

Thanks, Carles, for your question and I hope this helps.

~ Lucy

ON MONDAY
ESL Podcast 608 – Formatting Text

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “shading” and “bullet.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Types of Fonts.”
“Most “word processing programs” (software programs that allow users to create and format documents, like Microsoft Word and WordPerfect) have “dozens” (groups of 12) or even hundreds of “fonts” (styles of letters) “installed” (included in a computer program). These fonts can be divided into three categories:…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 255
Topics:  Famous Authors: Laura Ingalls Wilder; college secret societies; no one versus nobody versus anybody; Do you feel as though…?; rent versus lease

In the Learning Guide:  Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about “Farmers’ Almanac.”
“In the time of Laura Ingalls Wilder, it was very helpful for farmers to have information that would help them grow crops.  If you were a farmer and you were lucky, you would have access to a copy of the Farmers’ Almanac…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON FRIDAY
ESL Podcast 609 – Types of Cars and Vehicles

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “just about” and “to seat.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Trends in Car Buying.”
“SUVs and other large cars were very popular among American “consumers” (buyers; shoppers) in the 1990s and early 2000s. Most people believed that SUVs were safer, because they had a larger, “sturdier” (stronger) “frame”…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
…

We appreciate you listening. Please consider supporting ESL Podcast by becoming a Basic or Premium Member!

I usually return at least once a year to my home state (place where I was born) of Minnesota. Although I love living in beautiful Los Angeles, California, there are things that only Minnesota can offer (can give you; can provide). One thing is great-tasting corn. August is a wonderful time for sweet corn in the Midwest (the middle, central part of the U.S.), and if you are lucky as I was yesterday to be driving out near the farming areas in the country (outside of the city where few people live), you can stop at a roadside stand (a small place where food is sold next to the highway or street) to buy some freshly (newly; recently) picked (removed from the plant) corn.

I stopped and bought some corn that had been picked only a few hours earlier. As you may know, sweet corn is best eaten (will taste the best) when it is cooked soon after it is picked. Naturally (of course), I went immediately to the place where I was staying back in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul, the main cities in the state) and cooked it. It was perhaps the best corn on the cob I’ve ever eaten. (The cob is the hard, round, long part of the plant that holds the corn, as in the photo above.)

Another thing Minnesota is famous for is its particular vocabulary and pronunciation. (I’ve lost almost all of my “Minnesota accent” in the past 20 years since moving to California.) Minnesotans have a very distinct (unusual; noticeable) accent compared to other places in the U.S., especially when they pronounce their “o’s.” The “o” in Minnesotan (the language of the people in Minnesota) is long (like the “o” in “soda” or “toe”) and drawn out (pronounced for a long time), so the word “Minnesota” sounds like “Minnesoooooota.” To hear a good example of Minnesotan, watch the movie Fargo, which is about people living in northern Minnesota. (Fargo is actually a city in North Dakota, a state to the west of Minnesota, but don’t worry about that).

Minnesotans also have certain terms or words they use that are different from what people in other states say. They say “pop” instead of “soda” for drinks like Coke and Pepsi. They call a casserole (a kind of thick stew cooked slowly in the oven) a “hotdish.” And they like to use the phrase, “You betcha!” (or simply, “You bet!”). You betcha (the “cha” is a combination of the “t” sound of “bet” and the word “you”) can mean “You’re welcome,” so if you thank a Minnesotan for helping you with something, he or she would say “You betcha!” You betcha can also mean “Of course,” “You’re right,” or indicate you completely agree with the other person. If you said, “Lucy Tse is a wonderful writer,” a Minnesotan who knew Lucy would say, “You betcha!”

So am I going to have some more corn today for dinner?  You betcha!

-Jeff

Photo credit: Wikipedia PD-US

A couple of months ago, I received some good news from a former university student of mine. This student had not only been accepted into a good Ph.D. program to get her doctorate degree, she had received a fellowship, which meant she didn’t have to pay any tuition (money paid to attend a school) and she also received a stipend (money given to students, usually for their living expenses) for one year.  As a teacher, it is nice to see former students succeed and do well in life.

Then, at about the same time, I read some shocking (very surprising, usually in a bad way) news.  A few years ago, I found out that  a former university student of mine had been elected (selected by voters) as mayor of a city in Southern California, a very high-level job for someone so young.  In fact, he was among the youngest mayors ever, and I was glad for his achievement.

Unfortunately, a few weeks ago, I read that he had failed to report campaign contributions (how much money people and groups give to politicians) and expenditures (how money is spent). By law, politicians have to report to the government their campaign contributions and expenditures, and these disclosures (information reports) are made public to voters.  He had failed to do that.  Worse, he had lied about it, which means he was guilty of perjury, the crime of lying to the court.  Sadly, he had to submit his resignation (formal notice given when leaving a job) as city mayor, and even worse, he has been barred from (prevented from) holding elected office (job given by voters) for life.

Though we probably have little or nothing to do with the outcome of our students’ lives, we still feel good when they do well and feel bad when they don’t. So, if you must get into the news, please let it be for something commendable (worthy of praise) and not because you’ve been caught with your pants down (discovered doing something wrong).  Think of your poor teachers, who lead (live)  boring lives and who live vicariously (experiencing in one’s imagination the feelings or actions of another person) through you.

~ Lucy

ON MONDAY
ESL Podcast 606 – Reading a Bus Schedule

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “peak” and “board.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Etiquette on Public Transportation.”
“People who ride buses, trains, and subways in the United States should be aware of the expected “etiquette” (polite ways of behaving). Some of the rules of etiquette are written on the walls of the stops and vehicles…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
…

ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 254
Topics: Famous Americans – Scott Joplin; American Cities: Memphis; picture versus image versus photo; a versus an

In the Learning Guide:  Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about “Elvis and the Memphis Mafia.”
“Most people know who Elvis Presley was and are familiar with a few of his many hits songs. But how many people know about Elvis’ Memphis Mafia? At the age of 13, Elvis’ family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and Memphis became Elvis’ “adopted” (not original, but recognized now as) hometown…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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ON FRIDAY
ESL Podcast 607 – Being Pestered on the Phone

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “off the hook” and “to take (one’s) calls.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Common Telephone Service Features.”
“Telephone companies now offer many “optional” (can be chosen or rejected) “features” (special characteristics or services) beyond basic calling. As discussed in this episode, people can add voicemail and caller ID to their “phone line”…” – READ MORE in the Learning Guide
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