Street and a Road?

Although both terms are often applied to the same thing, a Road is different from a Street, at least in theory.

Streets: paved roads lined with houses and other buildings. They are defined for the street life that comes with them.

Roads: run between two distant points - two towns, for example. You're not likely to find people walking their dogs, having lunch in a sidewalk cafe or waiting for a friend on the corner on Roads.

The term street, then, should be specifically applied to urban roadways. Streets connect people for interaction, while roads connect towns and cities for travel.

In the real world, though, these textbook distinctions aren't always made

OTHER PLACES ON THE MAP

Point: usually dead ends at a hill

Park: enclosed area of nature in a city

Branch: divides a road or area into multiple subdivisions

Crossing: where two roads meet

Highway: major public road, usually connecting multiple cities

via Mental_Floss       

By Luiza Gomes

FRUIT or FRUITS?

The noun FRUIT is na exception where it is both countable and uncountable. So its plural can be either FRUIT or FRUITS.

 (1) When fruit refers to a group in a non-specific way, we tend to use the noun in its singular form:

• You should eat fruit every day.
• Would you like some fruit?
• There isn't much fresh fruit available in winter.

(2) When we are emphasising the different kinds of fruit, we use the noun in its plural form:

• My favorite fruits are bananas, apples and strawberries.
• I love oranges and other citrus fruits.
• The juice is made from a variety of fresh fruits.

A piece of fruit: used ro refer to one fruit without specifying which one is it:

• She Always has a piece of fruit for her breakfast.

The fruit of something: expression meaning the good results that you obtain:

• The award she received is the fruit of her hardwork. 

By Luiza Gomes

 

How do you say DAR AS CARTAS in English?

Dar as cartas can have two different meanings, so it has also two different translations:

Meaning (1)  "to take the decision, detein the power"

Dar as cartas: TO CALL THE SHOTS

>> If you want to talk bussines, you have to see Jerry. He is the one who calls the shots around here.

      Se você quer falar de negócios, precisa se encontrar com Jerry. É ele quem da as cartas por aqui.

Meaning (2) "in a card's game"

Dar as cartas: TO DEAL THE CARDS

>> You're cheating, and I won't let you deal the cards again!

       Você está roubando, e não vou deixá-lo dar as cartas de novo!

Other card's game vocabulary:

Suit: naipe

To shuffle the cards: embaralhar as cartas

To have a good hand: ter uma boa mão (boas cartas)

The Deck: o baralho

By Luiza Gomes

American Slang

Slang: informal language consisting of words and expressions that are not considered appropriate for formal occasions. It's the characteristic language of a particular group.

As every country, Americans have also their own way of speaking, some of the common slangs are:

What's up: How are you?

To ace (test, exam): To pass an exam

A dime a dozen: something so easy to find that it don't have much value

As if: used to suggest that something is not likely to happen

Awesome (adjective): great, fantastic

A piece of cake: when something is really easy

Break a leg: to wish good luck, especially between actors

To cost an arm and a leg: to cost really expensive

You can check INFOSQUARES for more commonly-used American Slang
or Watch this video:

By Luiza Gomes

COMPARATIVE vs. SUPERLATIVE

COMPARATIVE
Is used to compare differences between two objects.

e.g.: Maria is smarter than Joana.

SUPERLATIVE

Is used to describe an object which is at the upper or lower limit of a quality. It's used in sentences where the subject is compared to a group of objects.

e.g.: Maria is the smartest of the class.

FORMING COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE

1 syllable adjectives: add -er (comparative)  or -est (superlative)

This bag is cheaper than the other.

This bag it the cheapest in the store.

1 syllable adjectives ending in consonant-vowel-consonant: double the last consonant and add -er (comparative)  or -est (superlative)

My house is bigger than Maria's.

My house is the biggest on the street.

2 syllable adjectives ending in -y: change the -y to -i and add -er (comparative) or -est (superlative)

Are you happier today?

My mom is the luckiest person I know.

Adjectives with 2 or more syllables: use more (comparative) or the most (superlative) with the unchanged adjective

My sister ir more careful with her writing than I am with mine.

She is the most careful person I know.

Yet, some adjectives are irregular and require other rules:

Examples:

My grades are better than yours, but Jo's is the best in our class.

Today might be the worst day in my life. At least it started worse than yesterday.

This store sells less than the others because it's the least known.

Let's practice? Click on Superlative or Comparative and download free exercises.

MAKE vs. DO

There aren't any restricted rules about the use of "make" or "do" but some tips may help!

 'MAKE' is used to create or construct something:

• Last night, we made a cake.
• He made me a cup of tea.
• Did she really make the dinner?

'DO' is used for general activities, often used with 'something', 'nothing', 'anything' or 'everything':

• She does her own clothes.
• Yesterday, my mom did all the work by herself.
• Did she do the dishes?
• Are you planning to do anything cool today?

Some games can be usefull to the learning process:

Click on Teachers Invaders and have fun!

By Luiza Gomes

A Day Made of Glass

Corning, one of the world's leading innovators in materials science, created videos showing how glass will shape the world. The company gives us a preview of what future technology may be like.

Inovations goes from simple transition windows (no more need for curtains!!) to medical appointments and treatments made all with the use of holograms.

Architecture, medicine, electronics and also the way people relate to each other will all be changed by one material: glass!

And the most incredible news: part of that technology (which seems too futuristic) already exists!! Obviously, it now costs an arm and a leg and it's privilege for rich countries, but knowing that it exists already gives the feeling of beeing each day closer to the future we've been waiting for.

by Luiza Gomes