Word of the week: Interested (or interesting)?

Do you sometimes confuse interestED with interestING? BorED with BorING? TirED with TirING?

Don't worry! A lot of people have difficulty with this this. First of all I should point out that these words are adjectives. The ED ending confuses some people because they think it is a past tense. And the ING ending looks like the continuous tense - no! Nothing to do with time. They are adjectives I promise.

Very simply:
ING adjectives are used to describe things:
The film was boring. 
The evening was really interesting.
I think the teacher is a bit annoying.

ED adjectives are used to describe our feelings:
I was bored (because I found the film boring).
I am interested in music.
I was annoyed because the train was late.

TEST:
Are these right or wrong?
1. The film was so confused I didn't understand anything.
2. I am very worried about the exam tomorrow.
3. He was embarrassed by the embarrassing situation.

There, their or they're?!!

My students have asked me to add a new category: SPELLING!!! Why didn't I think of that myself?!

So today, we'll look at: there, their and they're. Most native English speakers pronounce these the same way, but each spelling means a very different thing.

THERE = refers to a place.
The girl is over there near the red car.
It must be difficult living there.

THERE = with the verb BE (is, am, are, was, were) to indicate the existence of something, or to mention something for the first time.
There is a lot of people in the bar.
I see there are some new restaurants in town.

THEIR = is a possessive adjective and indicates that a particular noun belongs to them.
My friends have lost their tickets.
Their clothes were all over the floor.

THEY'RE = is a contraction of They are
They're so lazy.
If they don't hurry up, they're going to be late.


TEST:
Are these right or wrong?
1. Their is no one here.
2. I can't believe they're leaving their dog there, alone!

Stand your ground

Stand your ground is an idiomatic phrase meaning:

• to stand up for (defend) your rights; 


• resist attack; 


• to refuse to back down (or move back during a fight)

e.g. If someone is rude to you, stand your ground, but be polite.

e.g. The lawyer tried to confuse me during the testimony, but I managed to stand my ground.


Check out: How to: Respond to a rude email