Did you resign or were you laid-off?

Did you leave that job because you wanted to, or because the company wanted you to?! Let’s get our definitions clear:

To resign means that you voluntarily choose to leave your job.
Laura resigned from her position as she had been offered a better job with another company.
The politician resigned over the expenses scandal.
Resignation (n) - a formal document giving notice of your intention to resign
Diane is leaving the company next month. She handed in her letter of resignation last Monday.

To be fired/ to be sacked* / to get the sack* means you were terminated for cause; dismissal from employment
Jane was fired for stealing company property.

John finally got the sack after a year of ineptitude.*

*informal/slang

To lay off / To be laid-off / To be made redundant from your job

means to be without a job because there is no more work available for you in a company;  the position was eliminated, without regard to employee performance, usually when a company is experiencing financial difficulties. 

The factory had to cut back production and lay off workers.
200 people were laid-off at the manufacturing plant in northern Spain.
Simon is looking for a new job because he was made redundant last month.

Click here to see how to write a resignation letter

Word of the week: witty

Witty (adjective) means clever and amusing.

A witty person can think of clever, funny remarks and comebacks, making people laugh.  (Not usually rude or offensive).

5 witty quotes:

• Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.
• Never interrupt your opponent while he's making a mistake.
• It may look like I'm doing nothing, but I'm actively waiting for my problems to go away.
• Confessions may be good for the soul, but they are bad for the reputation.
• If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.

Quotes from: www.witty-quotes.com

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.

Word of the week: SmallTalk

Smalltalk or small talk is an idiomatic expression. It is an informal discussion and serves two primary functions. 


The first is to fill in the gaps during awkward (uncomfortable) silences during conversations. 


The second function is to show and generate interest in having a conversation and start engaging the other person in order to start a deeper level of conversation.

Word of the week: Rude

adjective - rude 

The most common use of rude:

Meaning: Rude can be used to describe a person who is impolite, ill-mannered and discourteous, especially in an intentional way

Example: 

Sally didn't say hello to me this morning - she completely ignored me! How rude! 

The shop assistant ignored me when I walked into the shop and when I went to pay she carried on a conversation she was having with her colleague and barely acknowledged me. She was extremely rude.

Click for other meanings of rude:

or 

check out this clip: Mr Rude vs Mr Stubborn! 

(Don't be offended by the accents .... for some reason Mr Rude has a French accent!)

Word of the week: MISS

Miss means

*to fail to see:

"Perhaps I'm missing the point"
*to fail to catch
"I missed the train so I had to get a later one".
*to fail to attend
"I missed the English lesson"
*to feel or suffer from the lack of something
"I miss my friends from home".

We often use it with transport, appointments and opportunities.

Be careful!
We don't say:

He misses concentration >>> we say: He lacks concentration 

I miss the skills needed for the job >>> we say: I lack the skills needed for the job

Lack is used to say that someone or something hasn't got something.

Be careful! 

We don't say:

He lost the train >>> we say: He missed the train

Lose means not to have any more and we use it with money or objects

I lost my wallet.

The company lost lots of money in the merger.

Word of the week: LET

LET means allow or permit:

• Please let me in (Allow me to come in)
• They didn't let us board the plane because we were five minutes late. (They didn't permit us to get on the plane.)

LET is also used to make suggestions:

• Let's go! (Andiamo!)
• Let's begin the meeting.

LET is used in many expressions and also forms many phrasal verbs. Below are some common uses:

Let me know (Fammi sapere)
Don't let me down (don't disappoint me)
Don't let on that you know about the party - it's a surprise (rivelare)

Word of the week: Job (or work?!)

job ... or work???

JOB is countable and it means

• a paid occupation >> He's got a new job as a teacher.
• a task >> We've got lots of jobs to do today!
• a duty or responsibility >> Painting the house is a big job.

WORK is usually uncountable (we cannot say: I have a new work) and it means

• one's place of occupation >> Things aren't going to well at work at the moment.
• undefined tasks >> I've got a lot of work on right now.

They can be used with little or no change in meaning:

• Is your job/work interesting?
• What kind of job/work do you do?

Word of the week: DISCUSS

verb - to discuss

The verb DISCUSS means to talk about something and exchange opinions. It is not negative. When there is a real disagreement, we should use the verb ARGUE. 

Examples: 

DISCUSS -

• We need to discuss the next plans of the project.
• Yesterday, at the meeting, we discussed the new project plans.
• We had a very useful discussion about the next quarter.

ARGUE -

• Last night me and my boyfriend argued about which film to watch.
• Jane had a huge argument with her sister a couple of months ago, and they still aren't speaking to each other!

Word of the week: thick

Poor Dopey is just a bit thick

adjective - thick 

Thick has a variety of different meanings, depending on the context it is used. Today I want to look at the informal use of the word thick!

Meaning: Thick can mean to be stupid or slow

Example: I couldn't answer the question in class and felt really thick! 

Click for other meanings of thick: 

Word of the week: Rather

We use RATHER to say what we prefer:


A) Do you mind if I smoke?
B) I'd* rather you didn't. 


and to state a preference between two things:


A) Do you want to eat in tonight or go out?
B) I'd rather go out! 


We use RATHER THAN to express a better option:


You should read and listen to as much English as possible rather than just study grammar.


*(I'd=I would)


(Rather can also be used as an adverb http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rather) 

Word of the week: Actually

adverb - actually

Actually is often used wrongly by non-native speakers - it is a false friend!  It DOESN'T mean at the moment or currently (for all my Italian pals: it doesn't mean attualmente!) 

Meaning: Actually means in fact; as in actual fact; or really.

Example: What does 'going green' actually mean? - (really mean?)

It is also a useful and polite way to correct or contradict someone in spoken English. 


A How long have you been working for Microsoft?
B Actually, I work for Apple! 


A Where about in England are you from?
B Actually, I'm from Ireland!

Word of the week - CLUMSY!

adjective - clumsy

Do you often drop things? Or bump into things and hurt yourself?!! (Unfortunately - I do!) That's because I'm a bit clumsy ... 

Clumsy basically means awkward:

Meaning 1: awkward in movement or action (without skill or grace) 

Example: He is very clumsy and is always breaking things

Synonyms:  awkward, ungainly, gawky

Meaning 2:

awkwardly done or made; with some embarrassment

Example: He made a clumsy, embarrassed apology.

Synonyms: unwieldy, ill-chosen, inept, ill-contrived,


What does Fergie say about it?! Check out her video: CLUMSY 

Word of the week: adjective - GRUMPY

adjective - grumpy

Grumpy is one of my favourite words in English ... not only is it the name of one of the seven dwarfs, it is also commonly used by my husband to describe me before I’ve had my coffee in the morning... 

Meaning: Grumpy means to be in a bad mood; irritable;  unhappy and likely to respond in a negative way.

Synonyms:  cranky, ratty, crabby, grouchy, bad-tempered, ill-tempered

Example: I waited for the bus for 30 minutes and was frozen stiff, hungry and grumpy!

Example: ‘I’m tired. I want to stay home tonight!’

‘Go and get your shoes on you grumpy old sod! We’re going out!’

Italian Translation: burbero, scontroso, stizzito, irritato