Blog

  • U.S. Time:
    In the U.S., we use a 12-hour clock. Many other countries use a 24-hour clock.   In the U.S., each day has two (2) twelve (12) hour shifts.
    • Midnight 12:00am
    • 12:01am-11:59am (this is the morning)
    • Noon 12:00pm
    • 12:01pm-11:59pm (this includes the afternoon, evening, & night)
    am (before noon) = morning pm (after noon) = afternoon, evening, & night Some of the countries that use a 12-hour clock: Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Columbia, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Egypt, Bangladesh, India, Jordan, Pakistan, Philippines, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.
  • Irregular Verbs:
    Most verb (action word) tenses go by the same rule. Future tense: word Present tense: word+ing Past tense: word+ed   Let’s look at the verb walk. Future tense: walk Present tense: walking Past tense: walked   There are some exceptions to this rule, the exceptions are called irregular verbs.   Irregular Verbs The rule still works for the future and present tenses, but the past tenses are different. Here is a list of common irregular verbs.  
  • Make a Decision
    In English, we used the verb MAKE when talking about a decision. (In the Spanish language they use the verb take to talk about a decision.) Future Tense: make a decision Present Tense: making a decision Past Tense: made a decision Examples: I will make a decision today. I am making a decision right now. I made a decision on that yesterday. Let’s make the decision tomorrow. We are making the decision now. We already made the decision. They can’t make a decision. She needs to make a decision.
  • Writing Phone Numbers

    I see this mistake often with many people new to the United States.

    In the U.S., our phone numbers follow a specific format.

    1-__ __ __ – __ __ __ – __ __ __ __

    1. Write 1
    2. – (hyphen)
    3. Write the area code
    4. – (hyphen)
    5. Write 1st three numbers  
    6. – (hyphen)
    7. Write the last four numbers

  • Speaking/Saying Phone Numbers

    1-__ __ __ – __ __ __ – __ __ __ __

    You start with the number 1, then you say the area code, then say the 1st three numbers, pause and the last four.

    When you say the last four numbers, you say 1st two numbers and pause and say last 2.

    Say…

    1. 1
    2.   __ ___ __ area code
    3. __ __ __ 1st three numbers  
    4. __ __, pause __ __

    Say…

    1. 1
    2. 203 (area code)
    3. 795 (1st three numbers)  
    4. 81 (pause) 52 (last four numbers)