Vocabulary

Pizza isn’t free.

The world ‘libre’ in Spanish is usually translated as ‘free’ in English. ‘Free’ in English has a few meanings. One is ‘able to do what you want to do’ and another is ‘no cost’. Zero dollars, euros, yen, etc. This can cause some confusion. ‘Libre’ in Spanish, French and Italian (libero) does not mean that…

Expressions

Reading practice from our friends in Japan.

This is a long article but you can read it in three parts if you want to. Some vocabulary words: Abound, Abundance, Incantation. It’s not a hard article and it is very interesting. https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g01054/waneko-studies-a-journey-into-japan%E2%80%99s-cat-lore.html?fbclid=IwAR2Id9dmHD7gRTT0d2v8iuTidKX6ZroBt3vGTktrXV52VnX1ldStGW7XLKw

Assistant Grammar Cat

Can you hear me now?

Hey everyone. Just a reminder: In English, there’s a difference between the verbs “hear” and “listen”. “Listen” and “listening” are usually deliberate. You’re focused while you listen. You listen to music, for example. “Hear” is much more passive. In my apartment, I often hear noise from the street. I don’t want to, but the noise…

Vocabulary

Do’s and Don’ts.

When people talk about “do’s and don’ts”, they’re talking about the things you should do and things you should not do. Things that are allowed and things that aren’t allowed. Another way of expressing this is using “must” and “mustn’t”. You must do something, or you mustn’t do something. You mustn’t ignore the cat.

Expressions

I’m back.

Look what happened while I was on my break: A Flash sale! It actually has nothing to do with me. If something happens “in a flash” it means it happened quickly, or didn’t last long.

About Flash

They say…..

Dogs have owners. Cats have staff. Or maybe we have “personnel”. The difference between “personal” and “personnel” is not just spelling, it’s pronunciation as well. In “personnel”, remember it’s an ‘e’ sound at the end, and in “personal” it’s an ‘a’. Also, remember that the stress falls at the end of “personnel”. “Personnel” is used…

Vocabulary

Everyday and every day.

I sleep for many hours every day. An everyday activitiy of mine is sleeping. I’m a cat. See the difference? “Everyday” means it’s a normal activity or use. The guy I live with has dishes for everyday use, and he has some things he only uses on special occasions. He says he does that because…

Vocabulary

Right now.

Here’s a note for Spanish speakers: If you want to tell somebody about something that is true or is happening right now, don’t say “actually”. Say “Now”, or “at the moment” or “currently” or “at this time”. For example “At the moment, it’s not raining in Seattle”.

Assistant Grammar Cat

Singular “their”.

“The people forgot to feed their cat”. That’s a normal use for the word “their”. “Their cat sleeps a lot”. They have a cat. They cat sleeps. Sometimes we use their to refer to a singular. For example: “Somebody forgot their phone at my house”. We do that because we don’t know who left the…