Phrasal verb: ramp up

To ramp up something is to increase it. For example: Police are ramping up security for the president's visit. Or, we're ramping up our efforts to make people aware of this program. Here's a sentence from an article about the situation in Egypt: "American and other world leaders were also ramping up pressure for an orderly transition to a democratic system."

Verb tenses and time

One of the challenges in learning a foreign language is remembering the verb tenses. For me, there are two primary issues: remembering how to form each tense, and knowing when to use it. The first issue is probably best addressed with repetition, until it's easy to remember the form. But the second issue can be more problematic. When two languages, like Spanish and English, have similar structures, it's easy to imagine that the use of tenses is the same in both, but this isn't the case. So making "direct translations" from one to the other isn't always successful. From a more philosophical perspective, one of the questions here relates to time. When is now? When is the past? Is there a difference between the near future and the distant future? It could be that it makes sense to think about concepts of time when trying to master verb tense usage, and to be clear where the differences are between your native language and the one you're trying to learn... What do you think? Aside from memorization, do you have any tips or habits that have helped you learn the verb tenses?

Iffy and -ish

Iffy is an adjective that comes from the word if. It means that something is uncertain. Here's an example:

Bob: Will you have that report ready for the meeting tomorrow?
Mary: Well, to be honest, it's a bit iffy right now because I'm still waiting for the sales figures.

Mary uses iffy to say that she's not sure.

We use -ish as a suffix to make a time or date less certain and exact.

Bob: How's it going?
Mary: Better. I have the numbers and I should finish on time.
Bob: Great! Do you want to have lunch?
Mary: Sure! What time?
Bob: 1:30ish? I have to be back by 3:00
Mary: Okay, see you then.

Bob says 1:30ish to mean around that time; 1:30 more or less.

State of the Union Address

Last night, President Obama gave his State of the Union Address for 2011. This is a speech that the president gives every year to give his view of the state or situation of the country. Address is another word for speech.
You can watch some or all of the address here, and you can visit the White House Website to learn more, and also to ask questions. When I visited the site, I found it interesting that the White House offers an iPhone application, so people can receive updates.

Can-do vs. Naysayer

Can-do is an adjective and we often see it combined with attitude. A person with a can-do (or can do) attitude is one who remains positive in the face of challenges, one who believes that things can be done with effort, and that obstacles can be overcome. This is the kind of person who responds positively to ideas and makes things happen. A can-do person is the opposite of a naysayer. "Nay" is an archaic form of "no," so this word means a person who says no to things routinely, even things that have a lot of potential. In other words, a naysayer is generally negative about new ideas, while a can-do person is generally positive. As you might expect, a can-do attitude is considered valuable in professional life, and some job descriptions include it explicitly.
The image here is of the famous Rosie the Riveter, an iconic figure from WWII America.

Things are looking up

Things are looking up is an expression which means that a situation is improving. You can use it by itself or add a person or organization, like "Things are looking up for Marcel... He got a wonderful review in the newspaper and some major galleries are interested in his paintings."

The Godfather: "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse."

Recently, I watched The Godfather again. When I say again, you have to understand that I've see this movie many, many times, really too many to count. It's a brilliant film, and every time I see it, I find something new. I always love the acting, the script, the photography, and the great soundtrack by Nino Rota. But this time I noticed something else: there are a lot of characters, including Vito Corleone, who are not native speakers of English. This is very authentic and very American. America is fundamentally a country of immigrants. Immigrants from Europe and China were the most numerous in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and throughout the 2oth and 21st centuries, people have come from other parts of Asia, the Middle East, Mexico and Latin America. One of the effects of this is that there are a lot of Americans who speak English as a second or third language. When I reflect on this, I remember one of my favorite bosses and people, Ali. He came to the US from Iran in the 1970s and stayed to live, work, marry and have a family. His native language is Farsi and he also speaks Arabic, and English is his third language; it's possible that he also speaks French or German. I don't know how much formal study he has had, but I know that his communication in English is fantastic, filled with his personality, way of thinking, and wonderful sense of humor. Watching The Godfather reminded me of him, and of all the people speaking English in America. If you haven't seen it, or haven't seen it recently, I highly recommend the film. You'll hear a lot of accents and some classic expressions, like "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse."