Ask Canguro 004
This week’s questions:
GRAMMAR QUESTION
- “Verbing” and “nouning”: How do nouns become verbs in English?
VOCABULARY QUESTIONS
- What’s the difference between “take in”, “soak up”, and “absorb”?
- How can I use the word “mound”?
- What’s the difference between “historic” and “historical”?
.THE BIG QUESTION
- Why is English spelling so irregular, and can it be replaced with a better system?
List of Highlighted Vocabulary
Note: The following words were mentioned in our podcast conversation.
Extra:
- praying mantis: a large insect with long front legs that look like they are praying
- trimming shears: large scissors used for cutting bushes and plants
- devastating: extremely upsetting or damaging
- brutal: extremely harsh, violent, or unpleasant
- for the record: used to make your opinion or position clear
- look something up: to search for information about something
- entry: an individual word or item listed in a dictionary
- lexicographer: a person who writes or edits dictionaries
- inflected: having word endings that change to show grammatical meaning
- all the way back: as far back as a particular time in the past
- parts of speech: grammatical categories such as nouns, verbs and adjectives
- put something to the test: to try something to see if it really works
- eye someone: to look at someone carefully, often with suspicion or interest
- cave in: to collapse, or to finally stop resisting pressure
- bottle something: to put a liquid into bottles
- bottle it: to lose your courage and decide not to do something
- chicken out: to decide not to do something because you are afraid
- bottle up: to hide or control emotions instead of expressing them
- push back: to resist, oppose or criticize an idea or change
- substitute: something used instead of another thing
- variation: a different form or version of something
- stare at: to look at someone or something continuously for a long time
- give up: to stop trying
- show off: to deliberately try to impress other people
- obscure: not well known or familiar
- go off topic: to start talking about something unrelated to the main subject
- couldn’t care less: to have absolutely no interest or concern about something
- take it all in: to carefully observe and experience everything around you
- soak something up: to fully enjoy or experience something
- absorb: to take in and understand information
- mound: a rounded pile or small hill of something
- pile: a collection of things placed on top of one another
- heap: a large, usually messy pile of things
- bury: to put something or someone under the ground
- historic: important or significant in history
- historical: related to history or the past
- mix something up: to confuse one thing with another
- annoy: to make someone slightly angry or irritated
- inefficient: wasting time, energy or resources
- working memory: the information your brain temporarily holds while doing something
- frustrating: making you feel annoyed because something is difficult
- predictable: behaving or happening in a way that can be expected
- dramatically: in a very large, noticeable or sudden way
- standardize: to make things follow the same agreed system or rules
- evolve: to gradually develop or change over time
- preserve: to keep something in its original or existing condition
- borrow: to take a word or expression from another language
- back something: to publicly support a person, plan or idea
- get over something: to recover from or stop being affected by something
- highlight: to draw attention to something important
Contact us
Send a voice message: Go to canguroenglish.com/ask-canguro/ to record your question for the podcast.
Send an email: For comments, questions, and suggestions, write to us at podcast@canguroenglish.com.
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