The Organic English Blog

What does it mean if someone is down-to-earth? The idiom "down-to-earth" describes someone who is practical, realistic, and sensible. Someone who's not arrogant or pretentious, someone who's easy to talk to. Here are a couple of examples to illustrate: • Despite his fame and wealth, the movie star was surprisingly down-to-earth. He was chatting to his fans as if they were old friends. • She's beautiful. She's down-to-earth. She's fun. It's been forever since I've met someone I'm this excited about. • I really like my boss. She's really down-to-earth and always makes time to discuss any issues that we might have. You can also apply "down-to-earth" to things. For example: • I really appreciate my boss's down-to-earth advice. It's always helpful and realistic. So, this means that her advice is practical and sensible and based on real life. I hope that helps. Thanks for watching. See you next time. https://org...

Today's phrasal verb is "take back." Phrasal verbs have different meanings in different contexts. In this short video, we are going to look at the top two ways that we use "take back." Number one: "take back" means to return something or somebody to a place or a period of time. Here are a couple of example sentences: After the party, I need to take my friend back to her house. He took the book back to the library because it was overdue. Here, we're talking about returning something or somebody to a place. The smell of freshly baked bread takes me back to my childhood and my grandma's kitchen. Now, here the smell is taking me back to a time period, my childhood. Number two: "take back" also means to regain possession or control over something. For example: The king and his army fought bravely to take back control of the castle. Have you ever said something hurtful to somebody and wished you could take back your words? https://org...

Today's idiom is "knock on wood." What does it mean if someone says "knock on wood"? It's a pretty lighthearted, fun expression. We use it after we've said something positive and we want to avoid bad luck. Here are a couple of examples to illustrate: • The weather is supposed to be really good for our picnic this weekend, knock on wood. We generally accompany the expression with a knock on the head or on a wooden surface. • One of the things I hate about my success, and I'm knocking on wood because I don't want to jinx my successes… Another example: • The deal will be agreed on Wednesday, knock on wood. And you might have heard the expression "touch wood." This is a variation on the same theme, and you can use them interchangeably. • The deal will be agreed on Wednesday, touch wood. • My old car is running perfectly. Knock on wood. So there you go. I hope that helps. Thanks for watching. See you next time. https://organ...

Let's cut to the chase. What does it mean to 'cut to the chase'? Today's idiom is 'cut to the chase.' So, let's get straight to it: if you cut to the chase, it means you skip straight to the main point, cutting out all the unnecessary details. Let's look at a couple of example sentences: Say you're in a meeting that's just going on and on. Somebody might say: "We've spent a lot of time discussing different options, but let's cut to the chase. What's the final decision?" Someone's telling you a long story about their vacation. You might say: "I know you're excited to tell me all about your trip, but cut to the chase, did you have fun?" or, "Maybe I could cut to the chase and ask you about a broader question." You could use the phrase in an email. For example, you could write: "To cut to the chase, I need your approval on the budget by tomorrow." I hope that helps. Thanks for wat...

Today’s phrasal verb is 'line up.' I'm going to go through the top three ways we use 'line up.' One: we use 'line up' when we talk about arranging people or things in a row. For example: • The teacher asks the students to line up in order of height, from shortest to tallest. • Can you help me line up these chairs before the guests arrive, please? The second way we can use 'line up' is when we talk about organizing or scheduling an event. Here are a couple of examples: • We've lined up several great speakers for the conference next month. That means we've arranged for some great speakers to speak at the event next month. • Guess what? I've got three job interviews lined up tomorrow. And thirdly, you can use 'line up' to talk about supporting or opposing a group or a person. For example: • This company's values line up with my personal beliefs. That's why I'm really happy working here. • There are so...

Today's idiom is "speak of the devil." We use the idiom "speak of the devil" when the person we have just been talking about arrives unexpectedly. It's usually used in a fun way and doesn't imply that the person you're talking about is evil or bad. Here are a few example sentences: • Did you hear that Sarah got a promotion? Speak of the devil, there she is walking in right now! • No one would be obsessed with me. Speak of the devil. No, he’s not coming over here, is he? He literally stalks you. • I was just thinking about calling my sister, and speak of the devil, she's calling me now. So there you go, the idiom "speak of the devil." I hope that helps. Thanks for watching. https://organicenglish.club/resources ❖ Support the channel HERE 👋🏽: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organicenglish More from Organic English: Organic English Website: http://bit.ly/Organic-Web On Facebook: http://bit.ly/Organic-Facebook On Instagram: http://...

Today, I want to talk about the difference between "actual" and "actually." These are two words that often confuse learners. They look very similar, and they have the same root. Let's figure out how to use them correctly today. "Actual" is an adjective. We use it to describe something as being true or real. Here are a couple of example sentences: "We need to focus on the actual problem, not just the symptoms." "The actual cost of the project was much higher than we expected." "Actually" functions as an adverb. We often use it to add emphasis or to add a sense of surprise or contrast. Here are a couple of examples: "I thought the movie would be boring, but it was actually really good." "She looks very young, but she's actually in her 60s." A quick recap: hen we use "actual," we're talking about something real, something true. When we use "actually," we are contrasti...

Discover the crucial differences between "which" and "that" in English grammar in this quick and informative video! Whether you're learning English as a second language or just brushing up on your grammar skills, this guide will clarify when to use these often-confused terms correctly. Dive into examples and easy explanations to enhance your speaking and writing! Here is a transcript of the video to help you follow along: Today, I want to talk about the difference between "which" and "that." "Which" and "that" are both words that we use when we want to give more information about something in the sentence, but they're used in slightly different situations. We use "that" when the extra information is really important to understand the sentence. Here are some examples: • The book that you gave me is on the table. In this case, "that" tells me exactly which book we're talking about, the one ...