ELISA ENGLISH's Blog 英語園地

Is it a fluke or is winter here to stay?  We had another snow this morning.  Rather unusual in this time of the year.  Though there was no accumulation from the snowfalls, it does make me wonder if winter is here to stay.  I know.  I have lived in Minneapolis for over 17 years, so I do know that we have a very long winter, and it starts in October and ends in April.  Still, I am reluctant to accept that fall is already over, since it was just here only a month ago.  I like spring and fall; however, these are the shortest two seasons in Minnesota, with each lasting only a month.  Luckily, we do have a 3-month summer. 

To watch my kids building a snowman, please read this article: "Two jack pots in a row". 

Commonly confused words

Complement vs. Compliment vs. Supplement

1.  Complement (v.): to complete, to bring to perfection, or to make up a whole, 補充, 補足, 互補

Something about aging

When you start to notice you are aging is when things start to look blurry to you, either visually or mentally.  Your memory starts to play tricks on you and magnifying glass becomes a reading tool.  You start to wonder if you have just eaten seasonings or a tiny bug.    They all look so much alike.

Two jackpots in a row

Wow!  Two jackpots in a row.  It does seem like it.  As an incentive to the employees to contribute to the 2009 giving campaign, our department set aside some prizes for the drawings.  I happened to win two prizes; one, a $20 Barnes and Noble gift card, another, a pair of handmade earrings.  It makes me feel a little bit better after discovering that I goofed up in my FSA.  I am probably on the road to lucky land.  Maybe, I will be able to win a lottery to cover my lost money. 

My way to recoup the lost $1,700 in my FSA.

All right, the money is gone because I failed to follow up with the claim I faxed earlier this year and there is no way to recover it, even though that was my money to begin with.  If you know how flexible spending account works, you will know that it is before tax money that was withdrawn from your payroll into a flexible spending account.  The most you can set aside your money is $5,000 a year.  We have 26 payroll periods, so you will see $192 withdrawing from my payroll to my FSA each pay period.  When the amount in your FSA accumulates to the amount that equals to your childcare tuition, you can then claim the money back.  If you do not the claim the money before the next tax return, the money will be gone.  So, why go to the trouble of setting up a FSA since it is your money to begin with?  That is because you can save roughly $1,666 since it is pre-tax money.  This is a benefit from Uncle Sam.  However, I do hate the “if you don’t use it, you will use it” policy.  I like the health savings account (HSA) better.  This account is for claims on healthcare expenditure.  The money unspent gets roll over to the next year, so you will not have the problem of losing the money if you don’t use it.  By the way, this is also your money to begin with.  All you save is the amount of tax you have to pay, and that is huge if you know how much Uncle Sam dips into our pockets.

Wow.  It snowed last night.  So, October 9, 2009 marked the first snow of this coming winter in Minnesota.  The snow wasn’t much, just enough to cover the entire ground.  I don't know if this is the earliest record of snow in Minnesota winter.   However, I do know that in Boise, Idaho, this is the earliest measurable snowfall since recordkeeping began in 1898.  1.7 inches of snow had fallen and winds across southwestern Idaho will gust up to 55 mph today.  Can you imagine a wind that strong? 

Oh, I just found out that the earliest measurable snowfall in Minnesota was 0.3 inches in International Falls, Minnesota on September, 14, 1964.

Anyway, our kids are really excited and they cannot wait to go out and taste the snow.  Did I say “taste”?  Yes, they do eat snow.  I told them that they could not lick anything off the ground but if they wanted to stick their tongues out, I really couldn't do much about it.  Since the snow does not touch the ground, I suppose that it is somewhat clean. 

Elisa 文法講解

1. Whether he comes tomorrow or not, we'll have the party. 這句子中是因為whether 和 or not連用，he comes tomorrow 為副詞子句嗎?　所以 comes 用現在式?

When the main clause verb is in the future tense, the verb in the subordinate adverbial

Differences in Word Usage.

I thought that it would be beneficial to list the differences in word usage of some.   I will continue to add the words to the list as they come to my mind.

    I am not here to talk about the difference between American English and British English.  Although, I grew up watching BBC programs (Little Women, Jane Eyre, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and etc.) and studied British English during elementary and high schools, I have been very much Americanized, considering the years I have spent living in the US.  You would think that there should be no trace of British English in my writing or daily conversation.  However, you will be surprised to find how deeply ingrained some of the early education has been in my brain.  I see this happening to my kids as well.  They will adopt whatever language introduced to them first.  For instance, if the word “duck” was introduced to them in English first, they will say duck in English and if it was introduced to them in Chinese first, they will say duck in Chinese instead. 

    Even though I only speak British English for a quarter of my life but American English for more than half of that, I am so used to pronouncing certain words in British English that I have hard time switching the pronunciation to American English.  As for my usage and grammar, they gear more towards American English.  That said, it does not mean that I would always use one and not the other. 

A Bones Scavenger Hunt

Yesterday afternoon, my neighbor came over and asked us to join them on a bones scavenger hunt.  We live next to a natural park so we have lots of wild animals.  We did manage to find some bone fragments.  We believe they were victims of the coyote(s).  I don’t know if there is more than one coyote or not.  To me, they look alike.  Anyway, it was fun and healthier to educate the kids in nature.