Strewth! It's almost the end of the year already. Where does the time go? It's as much of a surprise to you as it is to us. And just like that, we have an Australian expression we use when we are surprised, or shocked by something.

But where did this word come from? It is actually a contraction of God's Truth. But as English speakers, and especially Australians are inclined to do, we shortened this and simplified this over time to become "strewth".

Speaking of contractions, a method for making spoken English easier and faster, they also pose a challenge for English learners (and English natives alike). Pesky apostrophes (another French word, pardon our French), signify contractions and possession and are hard to identify when listening.

So, as always, we give you guys some tips to confront this challenge. Oriana and I also discuss how we can use contractions and conjunctions in different ways, and when to use them.

We also give you guys some tips about how to improve your writing.

Strewth! There's a bit in this episode for everyone. Let us know if these tips help you!