Not off the top of my head
A useful way to use this English phrase is to tell people that you can’t answer a question from memory.
Sample Sentence:
‘A‘ says: “Can you remember what time the football match starts on Saturday?“
‘B‘ says: “Not off the top of my head.”
NOTE: Business English etc.
can be found below the translation exercises.
Translate the Text into English: Übersetzen:
Susann, Faten, Rico, Heike, Simone and Frank.
ohne
Polnisch
Koffer
die Lebensmittel.
Du kaufst nie Lebensmittel!
Mach dein Bett, bitte!
Bitte, zahl die Miete.
Toto du bist brav aber zahl bitte die Miete.
Mach dein Bett Und zahl die Miete, bitte.
Kauf nächstes Mal Milch!
Ich esse kein Fleisch, kauf nächstes Mal nur Gemüse.
Was zahlst du diesen Monat?
Was zahlst du diesen Monat?
Badeanzug
Dort
Es
Sandalen
Sechzig
Du zahlst nie deine Rechnungen.
Ich zahle diesen Monat keine Rechnungen, du zahlst alles.
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English – English – English – English – English – English – English – English
Business English Word of the Week:
Geschäftsenglisch Wort der Woche:
A business word/phrase = Itemised – Aufgeschlüsset
Sample Sentence:
“We would prefer to have all of our future orders fully itemised so that we can cross off each item on our order list.”
Law English Word of the Week:
Gesetz Englisches Wort der Woche:
A law word/phrase = “Make a plea” = to plead.
Sample Sentence:
Judge to the defendant: “How do you plead, guilty or not guilty?”
Vocabulary for Contracts:
Wortschatz für Verträge:
A word/phrase for contracts = Bullying – Mobbing
Sample Sentence:
As is standard in all contracts it is the policy of the company to have a ‘Zero tolerance’ towards bullying of any kind or nature.”
Vocabulary for Negotiations:
Wortschatz für Verhandlungen:
A word/phrase for negotiations = “Den Mittelsmann ausschneide” – “to cut out the middle man.”
Sample Sentence:
“We’ve been for too long relying on our middlemen in East Asia and thus having to pay them high levels of commission. Therefore, now we have trained staff in their local languages we can finally cut out the middle man!”
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English – English – English – English – English – English – English – English
Word of the day: Wort des Tages:
A smidgen of = English SPECIAL WORD which means a small amount.
Sample Sentence:
Husband to his wife, “Oh darling please just add a smidgen of cayenne to our meal as I do not like it too spicy.”
Phrase of the day: Satz des Tages:
“To zip your lip!”
idiom. US, informal. : to stop talking immediately.
Sample Sentence:
“Heh, Bro! Tell your sister-in-law to zip her lip!”
Idiom of the day: Redewendung des Tages:
“to have done something for free” (etwas umsonst gemacht zu haben:) – this idiom means a person does have to be paid for their work!
What does it mean to do something for free?
phrase. If you do something or get something for free, you do it without being paid or get it without having to pay for it. [informal]
Sample Sentence:
“Do not worry Grandma, he will do the painting for free!”
British English / American English Vocabulary:
Britisches Englisch / Amerikanisches Englisch Wortschatz:
British English (B.E.) = queue
American English (A.E.) = line
The English word queue means to stand in a queue of people waiting for something- e.g. to pay at the check out in a supermarket, to buy tickets, to wait to get into the theatre.
In American English line means to “stand in line” waiting for something – supermarket, theatre, to board a plane etc.
Sample Sentence:
British English: “I was standing in the queue to pay at the check-out in a supermarket and someone jumped in front of me in the queue.”
American English: “OK Boys”, said the sergeant, “Stand in line for your food! ”
Special Grammar tip of the Week:
Spezieller Grammatik-Tipp der Woche:
Travel: go to, went to, travel to, travelled to, drive to, drove to, ride to, rode to, fly to, flew to, walk to, walked to, go to the theatre, went to the swimming pool, flew to the Ukraine, walked to the business meeting.
Irregular “Go Home”
At school, at work, at home. Only use AT, when you are in the building.
Pronunciation tip: Aussprachetipp:
Pier Pear Pair Peer
Try and say this sentence ten times quickly without a mistake.
Versuchen Sie, diesen Satz zehnmal schnell und fehlerfrei zu sagen.
False Friends Tip of the Week:
Falsche Freunde Tipp der Woche:
German Translation False Friend (F.F.) Meaning of F.F.
Ei an Egg Auge Eye
Ei and Eye sound the same, but have different meanings.
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English – English – English – English – English – English – English – English
Wit, wit, wit – Drink and Other Drugs:
Witz, Witz, Witz – Trinken und andere Drogen:
“There are two kinds of people in the world – normal human beings with an aversion to telling outright lies while staring directly into people’s faces, and tobacco lobbyists”
Quote by Will Durst.
Slang word of the day:
Slangwort des Tages:
“To make a fast buck” (American saying/phrase) schnelles Geld Machen.
When someone makes a fast buck or makes a quick buck, they earn a lot of money quickly and easily, often by doing something which is considered to be dishonest. [informal]
Sample Sentence:
“Her life is definitely governed by looking for a fast buck. She can much more easily let a man pay for what she wants!”
Colloquial / Colloquialisms:
Umgangssprache / Umgangssprache:
To be Namby- Pamby /nambɪˈpambi/
adjective: namby-pamby
-
lacking energy, strength, or courage; feeble, timid, or ineffectual.
Sample Sentence:
The old soldier speaking to his nurse; “I certainly didn’t need any affection—namby-pamby nonsense.”
Cockney Rhyming Slang:
Cockney Reimender Slang:
Chalk Farm = arm
Sample Sentence:
“Did you hear about Rocco? He has broken his Chalk Farm whilst lifting his beer glass.”
NOTE: Do not ask me why they chose the two English words Chalk (Kalk) and arm!
Quote of the week: Zitat der Woche:
“One of my sons even had an exam in Frisbee throwing.”
Quote taken from an article in an English paper of a Brit who had lived in France.
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