It's time to clean up...but first play this fun game!

Unless you are a neat freak (someone who is obsessed with cleanliness), you probably do not enjoy cleaning your house.  Yet, it is something we all have to do.  That's why this post is dedicated to cleaning vocabulary.  Please read this post as a way to procrastinate from really cleaning your house!


Before we look at some of the vocabulary, play this extremely fun and addictive cleaning game from The Learning Channel!
In the game, you have to clean the living room, kitchen and bathroom before your guests arrive at 6 o'clock.

Warning: I think it is impossible to clean the whole house in this game.  I was only able to get the house 52% clean!  oops!

Click here to play game now!

Then, answer this question:
Why is it so much fun to clean the house in this game, but extremely painful to clean my own house?

Now, onto the cleaning vocabulary:
Adjectives
- Synonyms for clean: tidy, neat, in order, well-kept

- Synonyms for extremely clean: immaculate, spotless, spic and span, squeaky clean (so clean it makes a squeaky sound), sparkling

And some of the materials we use to clean (nouns in blue, verbs in green)
broom and dustpan used to sweep (remove dirt from the floor, without water)

mop and bucket used to mop (washing with water)

dust cloth used to dust surfaces

Trick or treat?

Halloween is just around the corner.  Do you know how this holiday is celebrated?


1. Go trick-or-treating: Many children go trick-or-treating on Halloween.  They dress up in costumes and knock on people's doors asking for candy.  They say "trick-or-treat" as a threat that they will play a trick if they do not receive any candy.




2. Carve pumpkins: People cut the top of the pumpkin and empty it.  Then they carve a face on the pumpkin.  Finally, they place a candle or light inside so that light can be seen through the eyes, nose, and mouth.  This is called a jack o'lantern.
Learn how to carve a pumpkin!

3. Go bobbing for apples: This is a popular Halloween game.  Apples are placed in a bucket of water.  They float.  People try to pick up the apples with their teeth, without using their hands.  Not easy!

4. Visit a haunted house: People often visit amusement parks that have haunted houses for Halloween. These are houses which are believed to have ghosts in them.  People walk through the dark houses and usually get very scared!

5. Eat candy corn: the most popular candy of Halloween! Warning: Extremely sweet!!

Happy Halloween!!

Is it fun or funny?

Many people confuse the words "fun" and "funny".
Let's learn the difference by looking at comics.  Comics are both fun and funny, as we will see.

It is actually quite simple:

fun (noun): something that you enjoy, that makes you happy
    Fun can also be used as an adjective 
    meaning enjoyable.


In this comic by Dan Gordon, the cat is having fun.  The cat thinks it is fun hiding from the dog.  He is having a great time! 

Some other things that are fun:
- Eating lots of ice cream
- Going to the park
- Doodling in class


funny (adjective): something that makes you laugh
    Funny cannot be used as a noun. 

In this comic, also by Dan Gordon, the people are all laughing.  They saw something that was very, very funny! 

What do you think they saw??

One man says, "funniest thing I've ever seen!"
Funniest = superlative of funny, meaning it is the most funny thing he has ever seen.

Another man says "It's killing me!"
There is an expression in English: to die of laughter. 

Some things that are funny:
- tripping over a banana peel
- jokes


 Comics are fun, because they are enjoyable to read, and funny, because they make you laugh.

What are some things you find fun?  What do you find funny?

Why children's books are not just for children

You want to read a book in English for the first time, but the idea of bringing your 500-page dictionary with you as you read in bed does not sound appealing or comfortable.  Don't be ashamed - there is nothing wrong with reading children's books! Children's books are great because they let your imagination fly but also can be surprisingly informative.

Take Richard Scarry for example.  Scarry was an American author and illustrator from the 1950s to the 1990s.  His works are loved by young children for their anthropomorphic animals (animals that act like humans).  As I child, I loved reading his books over and over.  I remembered them being very simple but when I saw this page from one of his books, I realized they were actually complex and very informative.  Even adults can learn from his books.

So take a break from reading a difficult book and have fun learning about how electricity is made with Richard Scarry!  Enjoy!

Vocabulary:
     Coal, Boiler, Turbine, Steam, Windmill, Electric current

After studying the picture and the text, see if you can explain how electricity works in your own words.

To make, to do, and to make do

Welcome to EFLM, a blog for English language learners! 

Since we just made this blog and we want to do a good job, we decided to make our first post about the verbs make and do.  Many people confuse these two verbs, so hopefully this post will help sort it out for you.

So, what's the difference?  Let's start with do.  Here are some sentences with the verb do:
   
     I cannot do my homework because I am busy eating chocolate.
     I'll do the dishes in the morning because I am lazy.
     It's time to do the laundry because I have no more clean socks!

You may notice that none of these actions with do are much fun!  That's because we use do when we refer to a duty or responsibility, or when the action is something we must do over and over again.

Now, let's look at make:
      It is time to make a delicious chocolate cake!
      I made plans to travel to the moon on Saturday.
      I made a list of the best ice cream shops in Rome.

See the difference?  We use make when we are creating something. 

Finally, there is a phrasal verb in English:  "to make do".
To make do (with something) means to be able to survive with what you have, even if it is inconvenient.

The picture on the left is the cover of a book made during World War II.  It was part of the "make do and mend" movement.  Because of the shortage of supplies during the war, women were encouraged to fix, or mend, old clothes, and even make new clothes out of old clothes.   They had to "make do" with these conditions.


Can you think of some other examples with the words do, make, or make do? Post them, or any questions you have, in the comment section below!


Now, instead of doing my work, I think I will make some cookies! Yummy!