To be an Indian Giver

The English slang expression to be an Indian giver is a pejorative (abwertend) expression used to describe a person who gives a “gift” and later wants it back or who expects something of equivalent worth in return for the item.

 

Business English Word of the Week:

Geschäftsenglisch Wort der Woche:

Multi-tasking

Multi-tasking – This means doing several tasks at the same time. Men are not noted for being good at Multi-tasking…..

Sample Sentence:

“My wife’s good at multitasking – I’m so impressed with the way she handles so many different tasks at the same time.”

 

Law English word of the Week:

Gesetz Englisches Wort der Woche:

Misdemeanour

Illegal behaviour that’s not considered extremely serious. Usually, the guilty party is charged a fine, or “let off with a caution.

Sample Sentence:

“Bankysie had to pay a fine for vandalism in the form of Graffiti, by painting on the wall of a local pub, which is a misdemeanour in this town.”

 

Vocabulary for Contracts:

Wortschatz für  Verträge:

On behalf of

For the interests of a group, a person (s) or a business/company.

Sample Sentence:

“The film studio sued the hospital on behalf of their injured actor.”

 

Vocabulary for Negotiations:

Wortschatz für Verhandlungen:

“If you could meet us in the middle at 200k, then we would be glad to sign you.”

 

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Translate the Text: Übersetzen:

Susann, Faten, Rico, Heike, Simone and Frank.

Translate from German to English:

Er hat einen Garten.

Haben wir einen Garten?

Die Brücke ist lang.

Diese Schule hat keine Bibliothek.

Sie Sieht die Bank nicht.

Die Bibliotheken sind Alt.

Die Schulen sind klein.

Die Ecke.

Das ist unsere Stadt.

Solange wir schnell sind, rennen wir.

Ich mag keine Orangen aber Ich mag Apfel.

Ich schreibe, dass Ich stark bin.

Ich esse die Kartoffel, denn ich mag Kartoffeln.

Wenn ich esse, laufe ich nicht.

Wenn sie kommt, essen wir.

Entweder ich oder sie.

Solange der Hund schläft, ist er suß.

Doch das ist nicht richtig.

 Aber wir brauchen sie.

Aber du siehst es.

Sie isst, sobald sie Essen hat.

Die Frauen trinken das Wasser nicht, denn es ist schmutzig.

Sobald (Once) sie Wasser hat, trinkt sie.

Es ist perfekt, denn es ist rund.

Solange er spielt, ist er gesund.

Wenn du willst.

Der Käse ist gut, obwohl er alt ist.

Er rennt, sobald er Wasser sieht.

Er hat Durst, doch er trinkt nicht.

Entweder gehst du oder ich gehe!

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Word of the day: Wort des Tages:

To Tender / a tender offer. (NOTE: not meaning – “Will you marry me, honey?“) 😀

What Is a Tender Offer?

A tender offer is a bid to purchase some or all of the shareholder’s stock in a corporation. Tender offers are typically made publicly and invite shareholders to sell their shares for a specified price and within a particular window of time. The price offered is usually at a premium to the market price and is often contingent upon a minimum or a maximum number of shares sold.

To tender is to invite bids for a project or accept a formal offer such as a takeover bid. An exchange offer is a specialized type of tender offer in which securities or other non-cash alternatives are offered in exchange for shares.

 

Phrase of the day: Satz des Tages:

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines an Indian giveras a person who gives something to another and then takes it back or expects an equivalent in return.” The term, the dictionary notes in italics, issometimes offensive.” I have no idea why the word ‘Indian’ is used, but I do know that it refers to a North American Indian – “White man speak with fork tongue!

 

Idiom of the day: Redewendung des Tages:

Lemon – a purchase that is unreliable and has many problems. You can be called a lemon, which means “do not be stupid!

Sample Sentence:

“Oh, darlin’ don’t be such a lemon and give the little girl her toy back!”

The Rock group U2 wrote a song with the title of “Lemon“. Did anyone find the lyrics????

 

British English (B.E.) / American English (A.E.) Vocabulary:

Britisches Englisch / Amerikanisches Englisch Wortschatz:

Petrol station (B.E.) Gas station (A.E.) (German = Tankstelle).

 

Pronunciation tip: Aussprachetipp:

Learn when to stress words and sounds

Besides how you pronounce words, the way you stress or emphasize them matters when speaking natural English.

Intonation is the rise and fall of your tone of voice when speaking. For example, when you ask a “yes” or “no” question, you should raise your tone somewhat at the end of your question.

When it comes to pronouncing words, sometimes it makes a difference if you put the emphasis on a certain syllable within that word. I’ll use the word “present” to show you how stressing words work.

If you stress the first syllable in present – “PRE sent” – you’re referring to a gift you bought for someone. When you stress the second syllable “pre SENT”, you mean you’re giving or making something known, such as presenting a report to your colleagues.

Stress isn’t only important with syllables, but also with whole words. Within a sentence, some words are stressed and some are unstressed in English.

So, how can you be sure which words to stress? You need to know the difference between function and content words.

Function words are those you use for everyday grammar. They include pronouns, conjunctions, articles, prepositions, and auxiliary verbs like have, be, and do.

Content words are adverbs, adjectives, verbs, and nouns. Adverbs are for describing the when, where, and how of something and adjectives for the thing, place, person, or object. A verb is a state or action and a noun is a thing, place, or person.

When determining whether to stress function or content words, it’s usually content words.

Let’s take a look at a sentence: “The fish listened intently to what the frogs had to say.

In that sentence, the function words are “the” and “to.” The content words are “fish,” “listened,” “intently,” “what,” “frogs,” and “say.”

Knowing when you’re reading a function word versus a content word will help your pronunciation sound more natural.

 

False Friends Tip of the Week:

Falsche Freunde Tipp der Woche:

German     Translation          False Friend (F.F.)   Meaning of F.F.

Annonce   advertisement    announcement        Ansage, Durchsage

 

Slang word of the day: Slangwort des Tages:

To sack off” (phrasal verb)

‘To sack off’ is to avoid doing something or to give up doing something – normally something that you didn’t want to do in the first place.

Sample Sentence:

Think I’m going to sack off work drinks later. I’m way too tired.(Americans talk about getting some ‘sack time‘ meaning having a sleep.)

To have some friendly Banter” (noun)

Banter is a word used to mean joking or teasing that is meant to be friendly, but often isn’t.

Sample Sentence:

Don’t get offended. It’s just a bit of banter.”

 

Wit, wit, wit – Drink and Other Drugs:

Witz, Witz, Witz – Trinken und andere Drogen:

“Whisky making is the art of making poison pleasant.” Quote by Samuel Jackson.

 

Colloquial / Colloquialisms:

Umgangssprache / Umgangssprache:

I get it – which means “I understand“.

Sample Sentence:

“oh right! I get it now! Thanks for making that clear to me.”

“Same here” – which means “I agree“.

Sample Sentence:

“I’m having a difficult time learning Japanese.”

Same here.

 

Cockney rhyming slang: Cockney Reimender Slang:

Bob Hope” = soap (Seife)

 

Quote of the week: Zitat der Woche:

Do something to help others before you go”. (3 verb version). Mark Ian Brislin

 

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