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Do you want to take a short trip? A little vacation?

In episode # 33 ‘That Summertime Feeling”, we talked about activities that people do in the summer. Something that a lot of people do in the summer is take a vacation or
“go on vacation” or “take a trip”. Do you go on vacation every summer? Do you prefer to take long vacations or short vacations? Do you like to travel to a location (spot) nearby or far away? Do you like to go camping or stay in motels, or hotels or maybe a resort? A resort is a vacation spot that includes lodging (a room), food, and recreation.

Whatever kind of vacation you like to take, getting ready for a vacation is a big job.  Camping trips probably require the most preparation. When you go camping you need a tent, sleeping bags, food  and a way to cook it.

Let’s take a pretend trip. (We’re not really going to go on a trip.  We’ll just imagine that we are going.) Let’s pretend we are going to stay in a cabin at the beach for 2 nights and three days.  What do we need to do? First,  we need to make reservations. We can either call or make the reservation online. If we call, we will say “I would like to make a reservation for a room with a double bed/two double beds/a cabin for xxxx people. Do you require a deposit (money charged on your credit card to “hold”  (reserve) room.)

We have to decide if we are going to eat in restaurants or cook our meals in the little kitchen (kitchenette) in the cabin? Do we need to pack food and  dishes…or is food included in the kitchenette?

What are we going to pack in our suitcases (bags) (luggage). We want to pack enough clothes, but not too many clothes. We don’t want to overpack or under pack. We want to just take what we will need. But we’re going to the beach on western Washington. It can be warm.  It can be cool, It can be rainy. It can be windy. We need to be prepared for all kinds of weather! Let’s pack swimming suits & shorts, a sweatshirt, jacket and jeans.  What about toiletries? (personal care or hygiene products) . We’ll need toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant and sunscreen. 

 Do we need a map? It’s 2024! We’ll use the GPS on our phones or car! Let’s see… are we all ready ?

                Reservations – check!  Bags are packed – check!

Let’s put the luggage in the car (load the car) and get on the road!

OK! Let’s get in the car!

Whoops! There’s a slight problem!

What? The gas gauge says “empty”!

OK – the first stop is the gas station to fill up the tank…and then we’ll get on the road.

We’ll see you when we get back, dear listener!

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In episode # 34 we talked about using that chameleon verb “get” as a phrasal verb   A phrase is two or more words used together, so a phrasal verb is combining a verb with other words. Together they have a different meaning –  a meaning that is not a direct translation of each of the words. Guess how many ways we use “get” as a phrasal verb in English. Get ready for it! There are 177 different ways we use “get” in combination with other words and each of those has a different meaning. Hey! We just used one:  “Get ready!”

Here is a review of the 5 uses of get as a phrasal verb that we practiced in episode #34:
1.      To get up – to stand up from a sitting or lying position.: I  get up early in the summertime. (present) She fell on the floor, and she can’t get up.
2.      To get along with somebody – to have a friendly relationship with them.  Her daughter and son get along. They don’t fight.
3.      To get on – to enter a means pf public transportation like a bus, plane or train.  She got on the plane on Seattle.
4.      To get off – to leave a means of public transportation. We got off the train in Portland.
5.      To get in  - to enter a vehicle (car, taxi, Uber, truck). To get out of – to leave a vehicle (car, taxi, Uber, truck). Get in the car, everyone! It’s time to go! I got out of the car to get my book.

So those are the 5 uses of “get” as a phrasal verb that we practiced before.  In this episode we’ll practice 4 more common uses. 

1.    To get over – it means to recover from a difficult experience  - like an illness…or a bad relationship…or some other bad experience. I had a bad cold last month. It took me weeks to get over it. Her boyfriend broke up with her and she can’t get over it. If I want to tell you that you need to forget a bad experience continue with your life, I can say;  “Get oer it!”
2.    to get rid of something – meaning throw something away or free yourself from something or somebody. Every spring I get rid of the clothes that I don’t wear anymore. My mom got rid of her old car.Sharon got rid of her boyfriend.
3.   to get out of – to avoid doing something especially an obligation. My son said he was sick so he could get out of going to school. You have to pay your taxes. You can’t get out of it.
4.    to get away with – to escape consequences or punishment for a crime or an action. The thief got away with stealing the woman’s purse. That guy thinks he can get away with murder. (He thinks he can do anything and he won’t have any consequences.)

Listen for “get “and past tense “got” in this  conversation between two kids at school. We’ll have the conversation first in slow English then a little faster: 

Sam: This morning, I tried to get out of coming to school today because of the math test. I told my mom that I couldn’t get up for school because I got sick during the night.
Tom: What did she say?
Sam: Well, she got suspicious right away because she knew about the test – oh, and she saw the empty bag of Oreo cookies under my bed.
Tom: Man! If you eat Oreo cookies in bed you have to get rid of the bag!!
Sam:Yeah! I know! I just got careless!
Tom: Well you are here in school, so obviously you didn’t get away with it.
Sam: You’re right about that. I just can’t get over it - my little brother gets away with murder, but I never get away with anything.
Tom: I get it, man! It’s the same with me.

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We are lucky to live in a place where there are so many bodies of water.
 We usually use body to mean the physical structure of a living creature, but we also use "body" to talk about a significant accumulation (gathering) of water on the surface of the earth – or other planet. Oceans, rivers and lakes are bodies of water.

The biggest bodies of water are the oceans or the seas. we usually use "oceans". Trick question: How many oceans are on the earth?
                It’s really only one body of water that is divided onto 5 areas: the           Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic and Southern oceans.
70% of the earth is covered by the oceans! How can you tell if water is ocean water?  It is saline or salty.
The ocean that is nearest to us in Western Washington is the Pacific Ocean.   Pacific means  peaceful, but the Pacific Ocean is often not peaceful. It is the biggest and deepest ocean in the world. Sometimes it can be vary rough with high waves.  All the earth’s continents could fit in the Pacific Ocean.
We live near a long squiggly finger of the Pacific Ocean called the Puget Sound. It  is an estuary. An estuary is a body of water that has one or more rivers that flow into it and  is connected to the ocean. Puget Sound is connected to the Straits of Juan de Fuca which connects to the Pacific Ocean. Puget sound is 95 miles long and continues south to Olympia, the capital city of the state of Washington.
Why is it called Puget Sound?  In 1792 the British explored this area where we live and Captain George Vancouver led an exploration of the body of water we now call Puget Sound. Peter Puget was one of the lieutenants on his ship. Peter Puget explored the waters of the area and met many native people who lived along the Sound. Captain Vancouver called the body of water Puget Sound to honor Peter Puget.
So we learned that Puget sound is an estuary … what is a “sound“? A sound is  valley that is filled with water has inlets from the ocean and has large islands.
So you can say it’s an estuary and a sound.
The water in Puget Sound is saline. it is salt water. It is about 83% seawater. It isn't t 100% ocean water because 19 rivers flow into the Sound from the Cascade and Olympic Mountains. The fresh water from the rivers  mixes with the ocean water. Just like the open ocean, Puget Sound has tides. The  water rises and falls and falls two times a day.
Many groups or tribes of people are native to the Puget Sound. One name that is used for these peoples is the Lushootseed peoples. The name means "saltwater people" and  comes from the common language that the people spoke. There were and still are many tribal nations in the Puget Sound area. We  hear some of those tribal names a lot  because they are the names of  places and communities, like Snoqualmie, Stillaguamish, Suquamish, Tulalip, and Puyallup.
The Puget Sound is part of a larger body of water called the Salish Sea. The Salish sea is the large body of water that includes all the waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound and the waters around the Canadian island of Vancouver. It is called the Salish Sea to honor the Coast Salish people who  lived in this area for thousands of years  before the Europeans arrived.  Now 4 million people live along the Sound. The biggest cites are Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Olympia and Bremerton. And we, dear listener are some of those lucky people who live near beautiful Puget Sound!

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We use that little verb “to get” a lot! We use it in more than 50 ways. That’s we called it the “chameleon verb” in  Podcast 30. In that Podcast, we practiced 4 common ways we use the verb “to get” when we use it alone – as a single word.
1. We use “to get” to mean “to arrive”. I get home early on Mondays. – present       I got home late yesterday. - past  2. We use “to get “ when we talk about a change in condition or situation:   It (the weather) gets hot in July. (present) We get tired when we work 10 hour days. (present).     She got married last year. (past)
3. We use “to get” to mean to receive or obtain: Tanya gets a new phone every year. (present)  Max got a new job last week. past 4. We use “to get” to mean “to understand”. I never get your jokes. (present). The students got the grammar rule after the teacher explained it again. (past)
In this episode we will practice using “to get” as a phrasal verb. A phrasal verb is two or more words that make a new verb when we use them together. Let’s practice a few of the most common phrasal verb uses of “get “today.
1. Let’s start with a use that many people already know and use- to get up: to stand up from a lying or sitting position.
    When we talk about standing up after lying in our bed, we say:  I get up at 7 o’clock every morning. (present)  We got up late on Saturday morning. (Past)
   When we talk about standing up after sitting in a chair we say:The older man gets up from his chair without help. (present) I got up from the floor after I fell.         
2.   If I “get along with” someone it means I have a friendly relationship with them.  You get along well with your roommate. (present) I always got along with my sister. (past) Her two dogs never got along. (past)  Notice that we use get along “with”
3. Let’s practice  2 more uses that are similar:
      To talk about entering a public means of transportation like a train, plane or bus,  we say “get on”. The people get on the train one at a time. (present)  I got on the plane in Las Angeles. (past) When we leave a public means of transportation, we say “get off”.  I got on the train in Seattle and I got off in Portland. (past)
  When we enter a car/ taxi/Uber/Lyft we say “get in”. Hurry up and get in the car. We have to go!  We got in the car together.
When we leave the car or taxi/Uber or Lyft (vehicle), we say get out of.  She forgot her books when she got out of the car.
Listen for those “get” verbs in our conversation. Some are phrasal and some are using “get” alone:
L: Hi. When did you get home from your trip to Montana?
D: We got home yesterday. We got up early yesterday morning because we had to get on the train in Spokane at 6:30 am.
L: How was your visit with your sister’s family?
D: It was wonderful! The kids got along well with their cousins, and everyone had a good time.
D:  Yes, it’s great when everyone gets along, isn’t it? I’m glad the trip went well.
D: Me too! There was a problem when the train got to Tacoma, though.
L: What happened?
D: An older man who was sitting next to us fell when he was getting off the train. He got up and his friend helped him get in his car.  I hope he got home OK.
L: Me too!

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June 20th was the first day of summer on the calendar. When does summer begin for you? What gives you that summertime feeling? .... Maybe the long days? Or the warm sunshine?

What is that summertime feeling? What do you want to do in the summer?     

Do you want to relax? Here are some expressions we use for "relax":
    “kick back”
     “take it easy”
     “chill”
     “hang out” with friends & family
     Do you want to go to the beach, river or lake and hang out and chill?
     Do you want to take it easy -  lie on a blanket in the shade and read a good book?

Or are you a "busy  bee" during the summer and want to “make hay while the sun shines”? Maybe you like to go camping or backpacking (hiking in the mountains with a backpack, sleeping bag and food for several days). Do you like to plant a vegetable garden or work on painting or building projects?

A lot of people take a vacation or go on a vacation in the summer. Families with school aged children “take advantage” of the summer to go on vacation. Some people  travel far by car or take a road trip. Other people take a plane and fly somewhere.  A lot of families just take a "staycation”? They stay at home and take day trips close to home. 

Summer is our hottest season and it has been hot recently! Here are some expressions or idioms we use for hot weather:

        a heat wave - a wave of heat like a wave of water from the tide on the ocean "washes"  over an area.

       a scorcher – to scorch is to burn, like if you leave an iron on your clothes too long, you scorch your clothes. We call a hot day a scorcher.

      We also say "It’s so hot you can fry an egg on the sidewalk!"

The dog days of summer are those hot days in the middle of the summer when the weather is hot  day after day. We want to be lazy and lie around like a dog in the sun.    
How hot is too hot for you?

What can you to stay cool (beat the heat) on hot days? You can go swimming or just be lazy and sit in the shade. You can stay inside and turn on the fans or air conditioning -  if you have it. We all should drink lots of liquids like water, lemonade or iced tea.

What gives you that summertime feeling, dear listener?

Do you like to kick back and chill or are you a busy bee during the summer?

We hope you find some ways to beat the heat during these dog days of summer! 

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Today is July 3rd and tomorrow we will have a big holiday in the USA - the 4th of July! Let’s have a little 4th of July Trivia Quiz! The dictionary definition of trivia is "unimportant information or facts". It is very popular now to have trivia quizzes – games in which people try to answer questions about fun facts or information. A quiz is a  short informal test. The teacher says “We’re going to have a “pop quiz.” – an unexpected little test. Our 4th of July trivia quiz has some questions about trivia but most of the questions are about actual United States history. How many answers will you know, dear listener?
1.  What is another name for the 4th of July holiday?  Independence Day.   Yes, the 4th of July celebrates the signing of the Declaration (announcement) of the Independence of the United States.
2.  What country did the United States (at that time the “colonies”) announce their independence from?  Great Britain (England)
 3.   What year was the Declaration of Independence written & signed?  In 1776
4.   How many states (colonies) were in the original United States?  13  - all were on the Atlantic coast  - from New Hampshire in the North to  Georgia in the South.
  5. How many people lived in the United States in 1776? About 2 ½ million people– about the same number of people who live in Chicago today.
6. Who wrote the  Declaration of Independence? A committee of 5 white men including John Adams, Benjamin Franklin & Thomas Jefferson
7.  The famous words in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident (obvious), that all men are created equal”… did not apply to a large number of people who lived in the  United States in 1776? Who were those people? About 500,000 enslaved black people living in the United States in 1776 – about 20% of the population. Those people were not considered equal. Slavery was legal in all the original states in 1776. 89 years later in 1865, near the end of the Civil War, the 13th Amendment to the US constitution made slavery illegal throughout the United States. There are many black people in the United States today who do not consider the 4th of July their Independence Day.
8. Who signed the Declaration of Independence?  55 white men representing the 13 states/colonies - the “Founding Fathers” (to found something means to start it. "He founded his company in 2020”.)
9. Who are some of the names that we still recognize today? JOHN HANCOCK – was the first signature. We now use “John Hancock” to talk about a signature or name : “Put your John Hancock at the bottom of the page.” Benjamin Franklin – diplomat & inventor,Thomas Jefferson – He wrote much of the Declaration of Independence & became the 3rd president. John Adams – He was the 2nd president. Alexander Hamilton – Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote an amazing musical about him.  10. Did the United States become independent immediately after the Declaration of independence was signed?  No, the newly declared 13 United States fought the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783.
11. Who was the general who led the United States in the Revolutionary War?          General George Washington 11. Who was the first president of the United States? George Washington!  12. Who is Washington State named after? George Washington! 13. Whose face is on the one dollar bill?  George Washington!
A Joke: How are George Washington and a duck different?  George Washington has his face on a bill and a duck has a bill on his face. HaHa!
14. What is the most popular food to eat on the 4th of July? Hot dogs!

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We spend a lot of time in our kitchens.  We prepare food, cook and clean up in the kitchen. When when we have "get togethers" (when friends and family come to share a meal) people often gather in the the kitchen to help with food preparation, or just to "chew the fat" ( talk) or "catch up" (learn what is new).
In this episode we take a tour of this important room.
Let's go into the kitchen. Most kitchens don't have a door that you can open and close. Some kitchens have a doorway (entrance without an actual door) into a separate room. Some kitchens are part of a  larger room that includes the living room and maybe a dining room.
There are some things that all kitchens have in common.  All kitchens have cabinets (cupboards). Most people use both words to talk about the "boxes" with doors that are connected to the wall or "built in".  We store or keep food and pots and pans in  them. Cupboard is a word that was used more in the the past. but people still use it today. We say "cubberd".   There are bottom cabinets or cupboards and top cabinets or cupboards. The bottom cabinets usually have drawers ("dro erz") where we keep silverware (knives and forks and spoons) and kitchen utensils (tools), dish towels, potholders (to pick up hot dishes and pans), plastic wrap,  and  ziplock bags. Many people have a "junk drawer". where they keep  a mixed collection of things" like rubber bands, bread ties, bandaids and batteries.
The lower cabinets have a flat surface on the top called a counter. Many years ago people started calling the flat surfaces used to count money in  banks, or stores "counters", and we still use "counters" to talk about the area in the store where we pay for merchandise. "Pay at the counter, please". Some small restaurants have counters where people can sit on stools ( high chairs) and eat.
And we use "counter" to talk about the flat surfaces in the kitchen where we mix, chop, and prepare our food. Many people keep (store) things on their kitchen counters.  Maybe they have canisters (sealed containers), where they keep flour, sugar or tea. Some people like to keep small appliances like their toaster or blender on the counter. Other people like to have their counters uncluttered (without anything stored on them).
Somewhere on the kitchen counter we find the sink. The sink is a large bowl-shaped fixture (something that is permanently installed - or a permanent part of the kitchen). The bowl is called the basin. Some sinks have one basin and others have two basins.  Most sinks have a hot and cold water taps and a faucet where the water comes out. At the bottom of the basin there is  a drain, where the water drains out into a pipe.  Many sinks are below a kitchen window so people can look out the window when they are doing the dishes.
"Sink" is also a verb that means to go down below the surface of something. "The boat is sinking!" (Present: sink; past sank) . 
Correction: In this podcast, Diana said that the past tense of "sink" is "sunk". That isn't correct. The past of sink is sank.  So you see, dear listener, even native English speakers make mistakes!   (-;
Here's an interesting expression: "everything but the kitchen sink". It means everything possible. If I  say "My sister packed everything but the kitchen sink in her suitcase,"  I mean she packed a lot -  too much!!

We have talked about a lot of things in the kitchen, but we haven't talked about appliances - big and small.  So, watch for "A tour of the kitchen part 2", dear listener. 
 

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A  chameleon is a lizard that is famous for changing its color to match its surroundings. The verb "to get" is like a chameleon because it changes its meaning like a chameleon changes colors.  In this episode we will practice some of the most common ways we use "to get".
Here are the "forms" (the conjugation) of "to get":
  Present:         I get   we get   they get   you get   he/she/it gets
  Past:   I/we/they/you/he/she/it got
Sometimes “get” is used with  other words  & together the words have a special meaning. We will practice those ”phrasal" "to get”  verbs in another episode. Here are some of the most common ways we use the verb "to get" when we use it alone.
1.   We use  “get” to  mean “to arrive”
          Present: Tom usually gets home at 5:30.
               What time does your plane get to New York?
          Past:  I got to work late yesterday.
              The teachers got to school before the students last week.
 2.  We use  “get” to mean to receive/buy/obtain.
           Present: The children get lots of presents at Christmas time.
               Mary always gets good grades.
               We get our groceries at Safeway.
          Past: Sam got a raise at work last month.
               I got a package from Amazon this morning.
             They got a new car last year.
3.  We use “get” to mean become or to change a state or condition.
       “Get” is like a bridge between two conditions.       
         For example: not sick ---& ----sick :  “get “ is the bridge between sick and not sick:                    She gets sick when she travels.
      not tired--& ---tired: I get tired when I work all day. 
     not cold---& ---cold:  It (the weather ) gets cold in the fall.
     not dark---&---dark: it gets dark later in the summer
Here are some examples when we talk about the past:
Mary got scared when she saw the spider.
The kids got hungry at the park.
They got married last year.
4. One more common use of “to get” is “to understand”:  Oh, now I get it! The students finally got the new math problem.
Listen for the different uses of “get” in our conversation:
D: Hi Latonya. Did you just get home?
L:   Yeah, I got home about an hour ago. It got real busy at work today, so I got home late.
D:  I get it, Latonya. I got home late too. Did you get my message about Wendy?
L: No, I didn’t get it. Did she get back from California?
D: Yes, she got back yesterday.  She got sick on her way home. She got very tired when she was on the plane and when she got home she got right in bed.
L: Wow! That’s too bad! Did she get that job in California?
D: Yes, she got it! 
L: That’s great! Well, I hope she gets better soon!
D: Me too!
L: Well, I’ve got to go!
That "got to go" is using "got to"as a phrasal verb. We will practice using "get" as a phrasal verb in a future episode.
Gotta go! See you soon!

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Are you having allergy symptoms right now, dear listener?  A lot of people are!
Allergies are an over-reaction of our immune system to something in our environment - something that usually isn't really dangerous, but our immune system reacts like it is dangerous. Our immune system, says "Hey! This is a problem and we need to put up a fight against it."

That "fight" causes the allergy symptoms that some people have.

People can be allergic to almost anything.  (Notice that we say allergic to.)_Some common things that people are allergic to  are dust, animal dander (little pieces or flakes of skin) or fur, foods (seafood and nuts are common food allergies), medications, and pollen.  We call pollen allergies environmental allergies because they are caused by our environment - the world we live in. We also call them seasonal allergies because they are most common during certain seasons of the year.
Pollen allergies are common this time of the year - in the spring and early summer.  Pollen is a fine powder that is made by certain plants as part of their reproductive  process. Pollen is carried by the wind, so it is everywhere! It irritates or bothers our mucous membranes (the slippery linings of our nose, mouth, throat and eyes).

The symptoms of environmental or pollen allergies are caused by that irritation to the mucous membranes. The irritation to our nose makes us sneeze and our nose run. Our nose isn't going anywhere. We say our nose is running when a clear liquid  - or mucous is coming from our nose and we need to wipe our nose with  tissues or Kleenex. When this happens we say we have runny nose. The irritation to our eyes makes our eyes red and watery. The irritation to our throat makes us cough. For some people, the irritation to the lining of the lungs causes asthma symptoms that can be serious.

Fortunately for most people environmental allergies are not dangerous. They are just an annoying nuisance (we say "nu sens".)

What can we do if we are allergic to pollen? We can try to avoid pollen, but that's not easy. We can't stay indoors all spring and summer! We can take antihistamine medicine - pills or eye drops.  Antihistamine medication is usually available over the counter or OTC. We can buy  OTC medicine without a prescription (written order) from the doctor.

So, those of us who have environmental allergies can take OTC medicine and  "grin and bear it." A grin is noun meaning a big smile and to bear is a verb that means to tolerate or accept something. So to grin and bear it means to accept a difficult situation without complaining. Notice that "bear" is the same word as the noun that means a large animal that lives in the woods.  Crazy English!

So, dear listener, if you have seasonal environmental allergies like we do, let's grin and bear it and enjoy this amazing time of the year!  

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In episode #16 we practiced using the verb "to be" in present tense. Today we are practicing  using "to be" in the past. Here is a quick review of the forms of "to be" in the present:
      I am (I'm- contraction)    you are (you're        they are (they're)     we are (we're)
      she is (she's)                           he is (he's)                   it is (it's)
Here are the forms (conjugation) of "to be" in the past:
      I was                                           he was                            it was
      you were                                  we were                         they were   
Notice:
    for all single subjects we use "was" (except "you" that can be single or plural)
     for all plural subjects we use "were" (including  "you" that can be single or plural)
What about contractions?
     There are no contractions for positive past tense "to be" forms 
Here are some practice sentences:
       I was busy last night.
     You were at work yesterday.
      We were hungry last night.
     They were sick last week.
      She was in class last Wednesday.
      He was tired yesterday.
     It was a nice day last Monday.
How will we make each of these sentences negative?
     We add a “not” after the “be verb”: Notice that we can use contractions with the “be” verb and not.
            I was not (wasn’t) busy last night.
           You were not (weren’t) at work yesterday.
            We were not (weren’t) hungry this morning.
           They were not (weren’t) sick last week.
           She was not (wasn’t) in class last Wednesday.
            He was not (wasn’t) tired yesterday.
            It was not (wasn’t) a nice day last Monday.
And how do we make questions?
      Just like we always do, we put the verb before the subject.
What's the subject? The person or thing performing the action:
       I was busy last night. The subject is “I”
Here are the practice sentences in question form:
        Was I busy last night?
        Were you at work yesterday?
        Were we hungry this morning?
        Were they sick last week?
        Was she in class last Wednesday?
        Was he tired yesterday?
        Was it a nice day last Monday?
Remember when you are writing a question, put a question mark (?) at the end of the question! We put question words first in the question.
Listen for the past tense forms of "to be" in our conversation. 

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