Vocabulary

1  Oftenly (instead of ‘often’)

• Student’s sentence: People who smoke oftenly are more prone to lung cancer.
• Get it right: People who smoke often are more prone to lung cancer. (‘Often’ and ‘frequently’ are synonyms, BUT unlike ‘frequently’, ‘often’ DOES NOT end with ‘ly’.)

2  Oning (instead of ‘switching on’ or ‘turning on’)

• Student’s sentence: I was oning the TV when the phone rang. 
• Get it right: I was switching on the TV when the phone rang. (‘On’ is NOT a verb! Use phrasal verbs like ‘switch on’ or ‘turn on’.)

3  Betterer (instead of ‘better’)

• Student’s sentence: She is betterer at science than her sister.
• Get it right: She is better at science than her sister. (There’s no such word as ‘betterer’. The correct comparative adjective is ‘better’.)

4  More worse (instead of ‘worse’)

• Student’s sentence: My results are more worse this time.
• Get it right: My results are worse this time. (‘Worse’ is a comparative adjective, so there’s NO NEED for ‘more’.)

5  Agreeded (instead of ‘agreed’)

• Student’s sentence: Everyone agreeded that it was a good plan.
• Get it right: Everyone agreed that it was a good plan. (‘Agreed’ is the past tense of ‘agree’. There’s no such word as ‘agreeded’.)

🤣  🤣  🤣  🤣  🤣

Sponge ME, English Tuition (Singapore)

The subject of breakfast came up in class recently when the students were discussing the advantages and disadvantages of studying abroad.

Student A: Not everyone can adapt to the new environment. Everything is different from the weather to the food.

Student B: Ya lor, I don’t like to eat ‘ang-moh’ food, especially ‘ang-moh’ breakfast, so if I go ‘ang-moh’ country, sure die. 😝

Tutor Adeline: Interesting. Student B, what do you mean by ‘ang-moh’ breakfast?  (asking the obvious)

Student B: The bacon, ham and all that lah.

Tutor Adeline: And you don’t like them.

Student B: Yah, cos’ they are very unhealthy.

Tutor Adeline: I have to agree with you that a typical Western-style breakfast is a heart attack on a plate. *laughter* 🤣   Since we are on the subject of breakfast, does anyone know the difference between a continental breakfast and an English breakfast?

The entire class: *blank look* 😕

Tutor Adeline: Okay, here’s the difference:

Continental Breakfast

a light breakfast, usually consisting of tea or coffee, bread rolls, croissants and pastries

English Breakfast

a large or full breakfast, usually consisting of tea or coffee, bacon, ham, sausages, eggs and a variety of other cooked foods

Student B: What about American breakfast?

Tutor Adeline: Good question!

American Breakfast

a variant of English breakfast, often consisting of the same stuff; hash browns, pancakes and waffles are common in American breakfast

Student B: That’s why it is a heart attack on a plate! *laughter* 🤣

Tutor Adeline: Everything in moderation. It’s okay to indulge once in a while. I do love bacon and pancakes, so don’t curse me. Final question. What’s a power breakfast?

Student C: After eating will become very powerful? *seriously loud laughter* 🤣  🤣

Tutor Adeline: Very funny, Student C! 😏

Power Breakfast

a meeting that business people have early in the morning while they eat breakfast

Sponge ME, English Tuition (Singapore)