Got or Gotten? How to Speak North American

Someone should write a book on all the uses of “get” in the English language. This post is for a select audience of grammar-nerds and advanced English language learners already familiar with “get” in everyday speech. Sorry, but this is not where you are going to learn 500 new idiomatic phrases with “get.” I’m going to attempt to focus on when to use “got” and when to use “gotten.”

Got it?

Okay, let’s go!

Here’s the lowdown:

Most of those handy PDFs that list commonly used irregular verbs have two past participles listed for the verb “get.” Those past participles are “got” and “gotten.” Which one is correct?

Some lists break it down by classifying “got” as British English and “gotten” as American English, but that’s not helpful. In North America(US and Canada) we use both “got” and “gotten” and we use them for different things. (more…)

Handy Phrases: With Hands (Part I)

handsAll languages have phrases and saying involving parts of the body. English has a lot of them! I’m only going to write about a few of the more common uses of the word “hand” here. If you would like more, please let me know in the comment section below.

Let’s start with the use of  hand as a verb. Hand is a regular verb. (It takes “ed” in the past and perfect tenses.) In its simplest form it means to pass or give something to someone. (more…)

How Americans Elect a President (An Explanation for English Language Learners)

(I have had conversations with all of my students – even the beginners – about the coming election. Here is a post explaining as simply as I can how the United States elects a president.)

hillary-and-donaldEvery four years the United States holds an election for president. The major parties (Democratic and Republican) each choose a candidate. Both parties have a series of primary elections. These are contests between candidates in the same political party who are trying to get the nomination of that party. How primaries work varies from state to state. Not all states have primaries. Primaries do not take place on the same day, but happen over a period of months. The first one is usually in February. The final primary might not be until June. This is why our campaigns seem to go on forever. The voters choose between candidates when they are in the voting booth, but they are not actually voting directly for their choice. In reality, the candidate with the most votes wins delegates  to send to his or her party’s convention. The delegates all go to their party’s convention where they nominate their choice. The conventions take place during the summer.

Months before candidates start running (campaigning) in the primaries, they announce that they will run. This is because they need to start fundraising for their campaigns. This is another reason the process feels so long! (more…)

Halloween — American Style

halloween-stockThis week ALL of my students have been asking me about Halloween, so I thought it was worthy of a post.

Halloween or “All Hallow’s Eve” is a holiday celebrated in a number of countries.You can read more about the origins and history here. In the US, Halloween is celebrated as a secular holiday. There are religious people who DON’T celebrate Halloween because they feel it violates their religious beliefs,  but most Americans don’t associate Halloween with any religious tradition. (more…)