There are two words with the same pronunciation, but different spellings = check & cheque. To check on something e.g. do we have any milk? I’ll just checkin the fridge. OR You can pay by credit card, cash or by cheque. It is quite rare nowadays in the UK to pay by cheque or to receive a cheque in payment for something. A business can write a BILL or an INVOICE for services provided or products delivered. Americans use the word CHECKto mean the bill; so in a restaurant, an American will say to the waiter:
Sample Sentence:
“Can you bring me the check please?” An Englishman will say, “Waiter, can you bring me the bill please?“
“Did you get my December bill for our English lessons?“
“Here is a cheque for 15,000 pounds, which I have made payable to you and not to the company.” said the man from Saudi Arabia (“Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more!”)
Law English word of the Week:Gesetz Englisches Wort der Woche:
Deductions mean the action of deducting or subtracting something. An amount that is or may be deductedfrom something, especially from taxable income or tax to be paid.
Sample Sentence:
“The dividend will be paid without deduction of tax.”
Vocabulary for Contracts:Wortschatz für Verträge:
Complaints – Beschwerden
Sample Sentence:
“Within the contract, such issues as dealing with ‘complaints‘” are found in Appendix B, under paragraph 2A entitled “Staff Complaints“.
Vocabulary for Negotiations:Wortschatz für Verhandlungen:
The “Shop Steward” – Ladenwächter. He or she negotiates with the management on behalf of – A Union/worker’s Union.
Sample Sentence:
“The Shop Steward is now in negotiations with the management.”
Word of the day: Wort des Tages:
A Task = meaning Eine Aufgabe.
Open Task Managerwith your mouse, keyboard or a shortcut · Opening Task Manager with a shortcut · Start Task Manager from the “Run” dialogue window.
Sample Sentence:
“Opening Task Manager with a shortcut · Start Task Manager from the “Run” dialogue window.“
Phrase of the day: Satz des Tages:
“Danke, Guten Tag” = “Thanks Good Day.” This is wrong. We say “Good morning” or “Good afternoon”. Australians and New Zealanders (Kiwis) still today say as a greeting, “G’day!” to say, “Hello“.
“Old Hat” means something tediously familiar or outdated.
Sample Sentence:
“Last year’s laptops are already old hat.“
Idiom of the day: Redewendung des Tages:
“Blessed hand over fist.”
“Making money hand over fist.
phrase of hand – informal – very rapidly.
If you make or lose money hand over fist, you make or lose a lot of money very quickly: Business was good and we were making money hand over fist.
Sample Sentence:
“We were making money hand over fist.“
“The P.O. is losing money hand over fist, it amounts to one million pounds per day!”
British English (B.E.) = bespoke / made to measure.
American English (A.E.) = custom-made.
Sample Sentence:
“This business software tool has been custom-made to fit exactly the requirements of your company.” A. E.
“This computerised machine has been made to measureto suit precisely the requirements of your enterprise.” B. E.
Special Grammar tip of the week:
Spezieller Grammatik-Tipp der Woche:
Business communicationrequires us to talk about the past, present and future all the time.
In a single morning, you might talk about something that happened at a recent conference, report the current status of a project and brainstorm plans for next month with your team.
So you need to know your English verb tenses really well!
Simple Present
You are probably already familiar with the present simple, the most basic English present tense. Use this tense forinformation that does not change, such as facts about yourself and your work. You will need to speak about these facts during job interviews, at networking events, etc.
Sample Sentence:
“Hi, this is Helen. She delivers new projects for the whole of Southeast Asia.”
“Our organization works with local partners to ensure smooth, localized service to our customers.”
Pronunciation tip: Aussprachetipp:
Hirea car = Pronounced like the word “higher.
NOTE: Rent a car still sounds like RENT…
False Friends Tip of the Week:
Falsche Freunde Tipp der Woche:
GermanTranslationFalse Friend (F.F.)Meaning of F.F.
Dessert (B.E.) dessert desert Wüste
Wit, wit, wit
Witz, Witz, Witz
“We must remember that art is art. Still, on the other hand, water is water – and east is east and west is west, and if you take cranberries and stew them like apple sauce, they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does.”
Quote by Groucho Marx.
Slang word of the day: Slangwort des Tages:
“Chuffed“
If someone is “chuffed,” they are very happy or delighted.
Sample Sentence:
“Come on in Raphael Grandma will be chuffed to see you!”
Colloquial / Colloquialisms:
Umgangssprache / Umgangssprache:
Fiver = A five-pound note.
Tenner= A ten-pound note.
NOTE: Both these words are pretty much in common use throughout the UK. Therefore, it is worth learning them!
Sample Sentence:
“How much does it cost to hire that machine? A fiver? Wow, that’s cheap!”
“How much does it cost to hire that tool? A tenner? Wow, that’s cheap!”
Cockney rhyming slang: Cockney Reimender Slang:
China = china plate = mate.
Sample Sentence:
“‘ello, me ole China, long time no see!”
Means = “Hello mate, I have not seen you for a long time.”
Quote of the week: Zitat der Woche:
“Never try to impress a woman, because if you do she’ll expect you to keep up the standard for the rest of your life.” W. C. Fields.
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