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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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Here is a riddle(a question that needs careful thought to figure out the answer) for you: What goes up but never comes down? Your age!

Our age goes up (increases) all the time, but we count the increase in years on our birthday.

Not everyone celebrates their birthday. Some people don't celebrate their birthday for religious or personal reasons. Probably most people in the United States celebrate their birthday.

People started celebrating birthdays in ancient Egypt - in about  3,000 BCE (Before the Common Era , or Before the Current Era or Before Christian Era) or about 5,000 years ago. The Egyptians celebrated their ruler's, the pharaohs, birthday because  they thought of the pharaoh as a god.

The ancient Greeks ( people who lived in Greece) celebrated the birthdays of their gods. Artemis was the goddess of the moon.  The Greeks offered Artemis moon-shaped cakes with candles  to represent the light of the moon. Historians say that is where our tradition of birthday cakes with candles started.  Can you believe it?

Thousands of years later,  in the late 1700's people  in Germany began having children's parties to celebrate childrens birthdays. They celebrated with a cake decorated with a one candle for each year of the child's age.  These parties were only for people who where wealthy (rich) because the ingredients for the cakes were very expensive. Birthday parties became possible for "common people" in the late 1800's after the industrial revolution (the period of time when people started using machines to make products - from about  1760 to 1840).

Today people celebrate their  birthdays in many different ways - some simple and others very elaborate (done with great care or lots of detail).  But most birthday celebrations have some things in common.  There is  usually a cake with frosting or icing (a sweet coating) and candles. For kids there is one candle for each year of their age. For adults, there is maybe one candle for each decade (10 years).  We light (past - lit) the candles, people sing the "Happy birthday to you!" song, the birthday person makes a wish and blows (past - blew) out the candles. There are usually   presents (gifts) wrapped in colorful wrapping paper (gift wrap). Sometimes there are balloons or party hats.

The "Happy Birthday Song" has an interesting history. In 1893 sisters, Patty and Mildred Hill, two teachers who lived in the state of Kentucky, published (to print and make available to the public) a song called "Good Morning to All". It was a song to sing to kindergarten children at the start of the school day.   The tune (melody) of that song was what we now know as the "Birthday Song".  In 1924 a man published another book with a song that had the same melody but with different lyrics (the words to a song) . That song is the "Birthday Song" we sing today!

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you ... 🎶

How about you, dear listener, do you celebrate your birthday? If you do, how did you celebrate your last birthday?

Let us know at talcchats@ gmail.com

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In episode # 17 we shared a Valentine's Day story that had a lot of idioms about love. Today we tell a story with some more idioms  - a lot of the idioms in this story are about $$$$$  - money.

idioms are expressions or groups of words that have a special meaning that cannot be translated word by word. We use a lot of idioms in English.  Here's Tom's story. The idioms are in bold.

                                           In the Market for New Wheels

Tom isn’t a guy who likes to fork over (spend) lots of bacon (money) for expensive bawbles (showy or useless or worthless things)  at the drop of a hat (quickly), but he really needs new wheels (a car). Last week he was stopped at a traffic light and another car rear-ended (to be hit from behind) him. Thank goodness ( an expression of relief) that  no one was hurt!

Now Tom is in the market for (interested in buying)  a new car. He has some dough (money) from the insurance company, but to add insult to injury (to make things worse - an insult is an action that is offensive & an injury is a physical or mental hurt or wound)  his landlord just raised his rent $100 a month. So Tom doesn’t have money to throw away ( discard) . Tom is always careful with his money.  In fact, his friends call him a tightwad ( a person who doesn't like to spend money). He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth (to be born rich), and he knows that money doesn’t grow on trees (isn't easy to get). He really doesn’t want to fork out (spend) an arm and a leg (a lot of money) for a car. 

He went to a used car dealership and was doing some window shopping (just looking without wanting to buy). Of course, a salesman waltzed over (walked  in a casual & confident way) in a drop of the hat (quickly). The salesman showed him a 2015 BMW and told him it was a steal ( a bargain) for $35,000.  The salesman  twisted Tom’s arm (to try to force or make someone do something) to make a deal (come to an agreement). Tom told the guy he was barking up the wrong tree ( to be completely wrong about something).  Tom was not going to shell out (pay) 35,000 bucks (dollars) for a car. No way! (impossible) Not gonna happen (impossible)!

Tom was bummed out (feeling upset or disappointed). He still needed new wheels (a new car). He gave his  (friends) a jingle (a phone call) and put some feelers out ( to ask other people about something). His buddy Mark gave him a ring (called him) the next day and told him his aunt was selling her 2010 Toyota that had only 10,000 miles on it. It ran like a top (was in very good condition)…and she was selling it for a song (for very little money - cheaply). Tom said “That’s a no brainer (didn't have to think about it)! I don’t even need to sleep on it (he could decide immediately). Tell your aunt it’s a done deal (an agreement)!”

Did you hear all those idioms, dear listener? If you didn't, don't be bummed out!  You can always listen again! 

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Latonya and Diana talk about making small talk - those short conversations between people who usually don't know each other very well.   Small talk conversations are usually not about important things, but they are conversations that make connections between people. Small talk "breaks the ice" - it "melts" the cold, awkward silence  between people and makes them feel more comfortable. 

Some situations when we make small talk are:
               At work when we talk with coworkers at the start of the workday or on break

            In our neighborhood or apartment complex; When we meet neighbors on the street, in the parking lot, on the stairs, or at the mailbox

              At the grocery store – When we are waiting in line or chatting with the cashier when we are checking out

 There are some things that  most small talk conversations have in common.
           They are usually short.
          We use informal English: going to becomes “gonna”; going becomes "goin"
         We often  ask for agreement with  “Isn’t it?” or  “wasn’t it?”
         We try to be agreeable with our answers:  “Me too!”, “Same here!”, "That's right!"

Most small talk conversations have  three parts:  Greetings, Subject and Endings.                Greetings are informal: Hi! Hey! (Good) Morning ("Mornin"! How’s it going (goin)? What’s new? It’s good to see you. What’s up? How’s your (morning, afternoon, evening, day) going ("goin")

 The Subject (Topic) is usually safe.
      Weather  The weather is (great/amazing/beautiful/ wonderful/terrible/awful/miser-able), isn’t it?
       Observations: 
        It’s busy/crowded/quiet/crazy) here today, isn't it?                                         The traffic was (great/terrible/slow) today, wasn't it?

         Endings:  It was (nice/great) talking with you.
           Have a good one (day)                      Talk to you later!  or “later!”
           Enjoy the rest of  your day!
           Sorry!  Gotta (got to) run!

       Listen for those "building blocks" as Latonya and Diana make small talk.

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Today we are going to talk about using “going to” to talk about the future. In episode #13 we practiced using "will" + the base verb ( the verb without any endings: eat, work, run) to  talk about the future.  A review:

•       Mary will help me with my homework tomorrow. Offer/promise
•       I will (I’ll) answer the door.  Quick decision       
•       I will (I’ll) have a hamburger with fries, please. Quick decision
•       The sun will rise at 7 am tomorrow. Fact         
•       Will you be in class next week?  

 To make  a ” will sentence” negative we add not after the “will”:  They will not come to your birthday party.To  make a question, put "will" before the subject in the sentence: Will you be home  in the morning?  The  contraction of “will not” is "won’t":  Will I see you this evening?  No, you won’t see me this evening. No, you won’t. 

Can we always use "will" to talk about the future?
     Yes! You can! … and people will understand you!...But  there are other 3 other ways to talk about the future in English.

We are  are going to practice a one of those ways today: “be verb" (am/is/are -present)  + going to” +base verb. This way of talking about the future is very common, especially in spoken English.

          We usually use “be going to” talk about general plans for the future – plans we have made before (we’re not making the plans right now).

•   I am going to work tomorrow. My mom is going to visit next month.
•   We are going to take a walk this afternoon. They are going to get married in June.

Notice the pattern in those sentences?

•     Subject  (I ) + “to be” verb  (am + “going to + main (base) verb (work) tomorrow.
•     My mom + is + going to + visit next month.

Let’s practice!                                             

•  I am going to clean my kitchen on Saturday.      
•  We/they+ are + going to +  clean the kitchen on Saturday.
•  You + are + going to + clean the kitchen on Saturday.
•  He+ is + going to + clean the kitchen on Saturday.

Notice! Only the subject and the “be verb “ change

 To change that sentence to a negative, Add a “not” after the “be verb”.

•   I am (I’m) not going to clean the kitchen on Saturday.
•   You are (you’re) not going to clean the kitchen on Saturday. 
•    She is (she’s) not going to clean the kitchen on Saturday.

Questions? Put the “be verb” (am, is, are) before the subject.

•   Am I going to clean the kitchen on Saturday?
•   Are you going to clean the kitchen on Saturday?
•   Is she going to clean the kitchen on Saturday?

People use both "will" and "going to" to talk a bout weather predictions.

  Listen to our conversation as we use “be going to” to talk about future plans.

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What shall we have for breakfast? We are asking for suggestions or recommendations about what we will fix for breakfast. "Shall" is an old fashioned  word that we don't use very frequently. We still use it  when we ask questions that ask for suggestions or recommendations with "I" or "we": "What shall I do now?" "What time shall we go ?" We also see :"shall "in legal documents and contracts meaning "must" - an obligation  : "The buyer shall pay the seller $1000. "

Back to our question: "What shall we have for breakfast?" "Shall we have scrambled eggs?" "Scrambled" means mixed up or confused, we use it for scrambled eggs because we mix up the eggs. We can also say "My thoughts are scrambled" (mixed up).

What  tools or utensils ( tools or containers usually used for household/kitchen tasks).  We need a bowl, a frying (sauté) pan, a fork or whisk (wire utensil for mixing food) to mix the eggs, a spatula to stir the eggs while they cook, and a grater (a utensil used the shred food like cheese or potatoes).

What ingredients do we need?  The basic ingredients are eggs, cooking oil, salt and pepper.

Other optional ingredients are onions, green peppers, cooked ham or bacon, and other greens like spinach or kale and cheese.

First we need to turn on (opposite: "turn off") the stove element (the part that gets hot) on the stove top to medium temperature. We will put the pan on the element, add the oil and heat it up,  When the oil is heated up, we will add the vegetables and sauté them until they are tender.

While the vegetables are cooking, we will crack the eggs into a bowl. We usually use  two or three eggs for each person. Then we mix or scramble the egg whites and egg yolks (yellow parts) together. We will add a little salt and pepper.

After the eggs are mixed, we add them to the sautéed vegetables in the pan and scramble them with the spatula while they are cooking over medium heat. We will scrape the eggs from the bottom of the pan while they are cooking so they don't stick to the bottom of the pan. We don't  want the eggs to cook too much or they will be dry. 

When the eggs are almost done, we can add some chopped spinach or kale  and some shredded cheddar cheese or crumbled feta cheese if we want.

Some people like to add salsa, or ketchup/catsup to their eggs. Latonya likes to have some left over rice with her eggs. Diana likes a slice of whole wheat toast.

Breakfast is ready!  It smells delicious!  Let's eat!

How do you like to cook your scrambled eggs, dear listener?  What ingredients do you prefer? Please let us know at [email protected].

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In the last episode Latonya and Diana talked about the signs of spring that we see all around us. In this episode they talk about what people do in the spring.

When the bright springtime sun shines through our windows we see lots of things that we didn't see in the dark days of winter. We see that our windows are dirty!  We see smudges on the windows.  We see that we need to dust our furniture and clean our floors.

 We also see things that we don't need or  use anymore. We see clothes that don't fit (too big or too small) or clothes that are worn out  (used so much that they can't be fixed). We see toys that kids don't play with anymore. We see things that are broken.

What do we do with all those things?  We can fix some things that are broken. We can try to get rid of (dispose of) some things.   We can give them to someone who can use them.  We can donate them to a charity like Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Some things are just so worn out that no one can use them  and we have to recycle them or throw them away in the garbage.

Many people like to plant a garden in the spring. If they don't have enough space for a garden, they can plant flowers or vegetables in pots on their patio or balcony. Plant is used as a noun (a tomato plant) or a verb (to plant). We can say "I planted a tomato plant."

Some people sow seeds in the earth (ground).   We use "sow" for planting seeds.  "Sow" has the same pronunciation as  "sew" with needle and thread and "so"   that can mean "very".  Crazy English!

Here's a poem about what people do in the spring:
               Spring in New Hampshire (a state in the Northeastern US)

                                by Claude Mckay

Too green the springing April grass

Too blue the silver speckled (having small dots or specks) sky,

For me to linger (stay) here, alas (unfortunately)

While happy winds go laughing by,

Wasting (not using wisely) the golden hours washing windows and scrubbing (washing with a lot of effort)  floors.

What do you think we should do in the spring, dear listener? Should we wash our windows and scrub our floors?  Or...should we go outside  and enjoy the springing green grass and speckled sky? 

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Tuesday, March 19, was the first day of spring 🌱.  In this episode Latonya and Diana talk about the signs of spring in Western Washington.

Cherry trees  bloom 🌸🌸 in clouds of pink and white. The grass turns bright green. We need to mow (cut) the grass in our lawns. Dandelions are often the first flowers we see in the spring 🌼. People think of dandelions as "weeds" (plants we don't want in our yards and gardens), but they are pretty yellow flowers with leaves that are nutritious. Daffodils and tulips 🌷 also start to bloom in the spring. The  Puyallup area was famous for raising daffodils in the last century.  The Daffodil Festival and Parade began  in 1935.  There is still a Daffodil parade  every spring. This year the parade is April 6. Look on the Internet to find out where you can see the parade. It's lots of fun! There are bands from local schools, horses, the Daffodil Queen 👑and princesses, and of course, lots of daffodils!

In the spring we also see a lot of birds. Some birds are migrating through our area, others are returning from the south where they spent the winter. Robins are a sign of spring. Robins are about 8 to 11 inches long and have a reddish brown breast. They like to eat worms. In the spring  birds are looking for a mate (partner) and they start building nests where they will lay their eggs.

Bugs (insects) are also a sign of spring. When the outside temperature reaches about 55 degrees,  bees wake up and come out of their hives or nests, We also see flies and mosquitoes and we start to see some butterflies.

The world wakes up in the spring!

What signs of spring do you see and hear, dear listener?  us know at [email protected].

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