Feeling blue!

It's been a grey day in Buenos Aires. Rainy days make me feel blue. No, don't worry! I haven't turned into a Smurf (or Smurfette). To "feel blue" is "to be sad" and is an instance of an idiom. What is an "idiom"? It's a combination of words that has a meaning which is different from the meaning of the individual words themselves. There are many colour idioms in English. Some are easy to translate because we have similar expressions in Spanish whereas some are more difficult to work out.

If you want to learn more idioms like this, you can watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A67e-isDR0

Or read some definitions before practising:
http://www.learn-english-today.com/idioms/idiom-categories/colour-idioms.htm
http://www.idiomconnection.com/color.html

For practice:
http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-64903.php
http://www.ihbristol.com/learn-online/exercise-general/advanced/vocabulary/colour-idioms/70/

By the way, you'll find 2 spellings for the word "colour/color". The spelling -our is used in British English and the spelling -or is used in American English. This rule applies to all the words with that ending (e.g behaviour, favour, neighbour, etc)

Learning English

After Joey speaks French, have fun with another video on learning languages. Inspector Clouseau has to learn the expression: "I would like to buy a hamburger". How difficult do you think this is? Here you'll see how hard it can be:

http://youtu.be/uvpikUEIaLI

Practice: listen to a conversation at a restaurant:

http://esl.about.com/library/listening/blrestorder.htm

Practice your vocabulary with this online game: http://www.learn-english-today.com/wordgames/hotpot-xwords/food.html

Breakfast!!

Doctors say it is very important to have a good breakfast. What do you usually have? Here are some options



Design your perfect breakfast!! You can learn more vocabulary and do the exercises:

http://www.learnenglish.be/voc1_breakfast_study.htm
http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topics/food/breakfast/breakmatch.html

More on Friends

"A friend in need is a friend indeed" What does this expression mean? Click on it and find out.

For more expressions with the word "Friend":

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/friend

A friend is...

A friend is someone who...

How would you complete this sentence?
While you think about it, listen and read the lyrics of this wonderful song. You can click on the words you find difficult.
Have a nice day!!

Another red letter day,
So the pound has dropped and the children are creating,
The other half ran away,
Taking all the cash and leaving you with the lumber,
Got a pain in the chest,
Doctors on strike what you need is a rest

It's not easy love, but you've got friends you can trust,
Friends will be friends,
When you're in need of love they give you care and attention,
Friends will be friends,
When you're through with life and all hope is lost,
Hold out your hand cos friends will be friends right till the end

Now it's a beautiful day,
The postman delivered a letter from your lover,
Only a phone call away,
You tried to track him down but somebody stole his number,
As a matter of fact,
You're getting used to life without him in your way

It's so easy now, cos you got friends you can trust,
Friends will be friends,
When you're in need of love they give you care and attention,
Friends will be friends,
When you're through with life and all hope is lost,
Hold out your hand cos friends will be friends (right till the end)

Joey speaks French

In this part of the sit-com Friends, Phoebe tries to teach French to Joey but fails. A funny part. By the way, do you sometimes feel like this?

Follow this link:
http://youtu.be/DqwzvtjeYBQ

Then, you can take this quiz

Friends » Create A Quiz

Shopping!!

How often do you go shopping? Where do you usually go? What's the most popular place in your neighbourhood/ city? Listen to this student's opinion. Do you agree?

They mention window- shopping, what is it? Click on the word and find out

For vocabulary on shopping, click onto:
http://www.learnenglish.de/vocabulary/shopping.htm