Category Archives: Word of the Day

Word of the Day: By Phone or On The Phone

Word of the Day, ,

Two things I need to say:

1. I am not a native speaker. Well, I know anyone reading this blog has already guessed that.

2. Sometimes I feel like a broken record posting on quick Word(s) of the Day but hey, guys, are you sure they aren’t helpful?

I don’t know about you, but sometimes and because English is not my first language I tend to neglect the use of some expressions and then, naturally and as a result of never using them, I often can’t say whether they are right or wrong. If you are a student…… relax! ;), nobody is asking you to know everything, in fact, I ‘ve always detested know-all students. They give me the creeps!But, if like me, you are a teacher, then you are supposed to know every single thing  about the English language. Unfortunately, this is not my case 🙁

So, can you say  which of these is expressions is correct?

She’s talking to me by phone or she’s talking to me on the phone?

If you should ask me, the one I ‘ve always used  is on the phone but the fact that I never use the expression by phone doesn’t mean it is wrong. On the contrary, it is just perfect! So, both, are ok .

Can I just add that  “over the phone ” is also correct? Some examples for you to read:

  • Today she’s talking to me by phone from the middle of Sudan
  • Last night we were able to talk by phone with my Australian relatives
  • You can discuss your complaint in person or by phone
  • Is he talking on the phone just now?
  • Doctors should not  prescribe medicine over the phone


Word of the Day: to Be Good at Something/ Doing something

Word of the Day

Have you ever asked yourself what you are good at?

If you are a bit like me, as old as I am I cannot say with certainty what I am good at, though I’ve always believed it is hardly a matter for me to decide. I’ve always believed it is up to the rest of the world to determine if someone is good at something so I can only, with some level of uncertainty, claim that I am good at making Spanish omelettes; and…. I can only say that because I once won a Spanish omelette contest where I beat all the restaurants of my village… they even gave a trophy which I proudly display on the shelf of my kitchen secretly wishing my guests would notice :)…. and that’s all about everything I am good at !


On the other hand, I can certainly enumerate a number of things I am really really bad at -the list is long but I promise I won’t get carried away- like ironing fitted sheets, cooking meals I don’t like (I never taste them so they are either very salty, insipid or burnt and given that I don’t eat any meat you can only begin to imagine, dealing with figures, texting, walking in heels, finding my keys, folding clothes neatly, remembering dates (that can be a problem , trust me!) remembering wedding dresses ( my mother always wants to know) and of course, makes and models of cars -but listen, don’t get me wrong here, I don’t necessarily think being bad at these things is really a bad thing or makes me a bad person.On the contrary, I am quite nice! And as Marilyn Monroe once said :I ‘m selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I’m out of control, and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.

One last thing I need to confess is that I am very bad at drawing and it is a pity because if when you are a teacher this is an ability that comes in very handy especially to illustrate something but I’ve given up trying to draw things on the board. My students don’t understand my art. A five-year-old child can  certainly draw  a house better than me but what some people are bad at, some others are good  at; don’t they say there must be a bit of everything in the Lord’s vineyard? Chema Pérez Fernández, one of my students, is certainly good at drawing and he has kindly drawn one of the role plays we performed in class. I really appreciate his contribution the blog .

Word of the Day: Selfie

Word of the Day

Did you know that the English language doesn’t have a Real Academia de la Lengua? Well, if you don’t know, it might be an excellent idea to read a post I published about four years ago on this subject. Here.

The word “selfie” has been chosen as WORD OF THE YEAR by Oxford Dictionaries. The word, research shows, has increased its frequency by 17,000% in the last year and it was added to the Oxford Dictionaries Online in August although you might not find it in any printed dictionary right now.

I am going to share a little secret with you. It was my birthday yesterday. I am not going to tell you how long I’ve been around (that’s a most private matter) but I feel good. I feeeel goood!!! Whoa-oa-oa!! Well, there might be “some” things ( to be honest, the word “some” falls somehow short) I’d like to change about me but, all in all, I am not complaining.
Now, to commemorate my birthday I wanted to upload a new selfie to my social networking site. I took like ten pictures with my mobile only to realize ( I was utterly devastated!!!  🙁 ) that even  though I might feel as fit as a teenager -in an adult’s body- sadly, my age shows on my face. As wisdom comes with age,  I have decided to stick to the one I uploaded in the summer. I know, I know … not so long ago but there’s a huge difference between a fresh image enjoying the warm open air and one taken under the freezing air of December. I am sure you’ll agree!

So, what’s a selfie?

Selfie is defined by Oxford Dictionaries as “a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website”.

Now, how often do you change your selfie ?

Word of the Day: Sick vs Ill ♦Toothache vs A Toothache ♦ Ache vs Hurt

Speaking, Word of the Day, , ,

Every time time I need to write something related to Medicine I cannot but think my father is smiling at me from up above. He wanted me to be a doctor  but  even though I might have done  it, just to please him, the truth is that I would have made an awful physician as  , unfortunately, my knees still go weak whenever I see blood or someone happens to mention the gory details of an accident or operation. Well, that’s me!, the proud daughter of the best doctor ever, who cannot even stand the sight of a needle!

So, daddy, here it is, another post in your memory!!

Sick vs Ill

♥Ill is often used to mean ‘unwell‘ in British English. In American English ill is unusual except in a formal style. Note that we use ill after a verb.

She is ill.
♥In Attributive position (before a noun), many British people prefer to use sick. Sick is also the normal informal American word for unwell.

The President is sick.
♥Be sick can mean ‘vomit‘.

I was ___ three times during the night

sick

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The problems faced by mentally ___people need to be dealt with

ill

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She is never sea-__

sick

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His mother is seriously ___ in hospital

ill

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Toothache vs  A Toothache

♥ Illnesses are usually uncountable in English, including those ending in -s : measles, flu…

But some more common minor ailments such as: a cold, a headache, a sore throat, a nose bleed, a cough, a rash… are countable, ie, they take the indefinite article (a,an)

♥While in British English, toothache, earache, stomach-ache and backache are uncountable. ( I have earache) in American English , they are generally countable if they refer to particular attacks of pain.

Compare:

I have toothache (BrE)  //  I have a toothache (Am E)

(Source Practical English Usage – Micheal Swan)

Ache vs Hurt

♥ What ‘s the difference between My leg hurts and My leg aches?

If your leg aches you have a continuous, dull (not intense) pain.

If your leg hurts, it is often stronger and sudden. Ex. Ouch! My leg hurts!

♥On the other hand, ache is used both as a noun and as a verb whereas hurt is only used as a noun.

I have a(n) ___ in my stomach

ache

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The pain in the small of his back was worse and there was a dull __ in his arms

ache

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I ___my hand on that broken glass

hurt

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He ___ my feelings by ignoring me

hurt

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And, now that we are on the subject, how do you fancy answering some questions about this issue? If you need to revise the vocabulary , click here

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Word of the Day: To Fall Back

Word of the Day, ,

Yeah! Once again it’s this time of the year when it finally dawns on me that winter is coming. There is no way I can keep on pretending this hot weather is going to last. On Sunday 27th October , our clocks will fall back, and we’ll gain??? one extra hour

This practice, called Daylight Saving Time (DST) is done as a way of making better use of the daylight by setting the clocks forward one hour during the summer, and back again in the autumn. But, in Spain, some people are beginning to ask the government to end this time change practice and keep daylight saving time all year.
A bit of history is due: In Spain Daylight Saving Time was first introduced in 1918 but it was introduced and abolished several times throughout the years. But since 1974 , after the 1973 oil crisis, daily saving time has been observed every year. What do you think? Should we end this practice or keep it?

Anyway, don’t forget to fall back this Sunday! Saturday night will be one hour longer!