Though at the end of a sentence

When you hear or read though at the end of a sentence, it means however. It indicates that there's a contradiction or condition relating to what has already been said. Here are a few examples:

You: Did your mom like the restaurant?

Your friend: Well, I'm not sure. She didn't seem to like the menu, and she had a hard time deciding what to order.

You: Oh. That's too bad.

Your friend: She finished everything, though!

***

Dear Bob,

Thanks for sending the presentation. I think it looks good in general, and I like the images you've added. We shouldn't be overconfident, though. What would you think about getting Janice's opinion before we meet with the client?

***

Your boyfriend: It's going to rain.

You: Yeah, I know.

Your boyfriend: I still want to go the park, though. What about you?

***

P.S. A warm thank you to Pal, who suggested a post about this!

See you soon

This is a special post dedicated to readers in Spain.

"Hasta ahora" is a common expression here. Sometimes people translate this into "see you now" in English.

The truth is that I really like the expression "see you now." The other truth is that we don't really say it this way in English. We say "see you soon" or "see you in a few minutes" or even "see you in a few."

So, your English will sound more idiomatic if you start using these expressions when you would say "hasta ahora."

Un fuerte abrazo,

Val

The long and short of it

People use this expression to summarize, to give the conclusion to a story, situation, or dilemma. Usually a person will be telling a story or presenting a situation, and when the conclusion is near, he or she will say, "so the long and short of it is..."

Here are a few examples:

You: "How are the wedding plans going?"

Your colleague: "Not very well, actually."

You: "Really? What's happening?"

Your colleague: "Well, we made all the reservations almost a year ago, and paid deposits, and then yesterday we got a call from the hotel saying that they're in the middle of renovations, and the project isn't going as quickly as they expected, so the long and short of it is that they're offering us a part of the building but not the part we wanted and paid for."

You: "Oh no!"

***

In a business presentation: "As you can see from last quarter's results, we're losing market share to our two biggest competitors. The long and short of it is that they're outspending us in marketing in all media."

No-brainer

A no-brainer is a dilemma which appears to have an obvious answer. If you're trying to make a decision, and you explain the options to someone else, they may tell you that it's a no-brainer, meaning that you don't need to use your brain to decide because the right choice is obvious.

This is very subjective; what may be a no-brainer for your colleague may not be for you. Here are a few examples of how to use this noun:

You: What do you think? Should I apply for the product director position?
Your colleague: That's a no-brainer! You're perfect for it and it would be a big promotion for you.

***

Your friend: I thought choosing a new tablet was going to be a no-brainer, but there are more options than I realized.

***

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