The Early Bird Gets the Worm: What Does This Mean?
This idiom and proverb simply means the person who is early is successful.
If you want something, it’s better to be early and organized.
Its meaning is applied to everyday life and human activities, but to understand the meaning deeply, let’s take the example of a bird.
Birds eat worms. Simple enough.
There is a worm on the ground.
The first (early) bird will get the worm and enjoy a nice meal.
If the other birds are sleeping or being lazy, they won’t get the worm.
So, the early bird gets the worm.
You can also say the early bird catches the worm. It’s the same meaning.
Now, you can say this with confidence.
Or if you hear it someone say it, you can understand them fully.
It’s a good saying for English motivation.
But first, let me ask you a question about your English instincts: When you read “peaches and cream”, do you think it has a good (positive) meaning or a bad (negative meaning)?
Of course it has a good (positive) meaning.
So now, what does it specifically mean?
What does the Phrase “Peaches and Cream” Mean?
It can be a dessert. It can be used to describe someone’s complexion.
Being an actress is not all peaches and creme; you cannot go outside without being asked for a picture or an autograph.
Our trip was peaches and cream! It was the best vacation ever.
Try using “peaches and cream” in a sentence in the comments and I will correct your grammar in the comments as well.
This week’s phrase of the week has nothing to do with rising and shining or getting what you pay for.
It has a lot to do with patience and order.
Put the cart before the horse: What does it mean?
This week’s English phrase of the week is the idiom phrase “put the cart before the horse”.
This phrase means doing things in the wrong order.
Think about a horse-powered cart. The horse is first, and pulls the cart.
That’s the idea behind this phrase.
Leave things in proper order. The horse goes before the cart. Horse first, cart second.
Jimmy: Don’t put the cart before the horse, Joe! You didn’t even have the interview yet, so don’t plan on getting the job offer already; you might get disappointed!
Did you find this phrase useful? Then please share it with one friend by emailing them or sharing on facebook. Thank you, and see you next week!
Rise and shine: What does it mean?
This is just a phrase we use when we wake up, or when we want someone to wake up and get out of bed.
You can probably tell that “shine” has a positive meaning, so sometimes it means just to get up and start the day right.
(John ‘goes into Ryan’s room).
The military officer came into our room and yelled “rise and shine!” in an intense voice that woke everyone up.
Have a good week ahead! Study English right after you rise and shine this week, even if it’s only for a few minutes.
I’ve decided every week I will give you a useful English phrase, published on my blog every Monday.
You get what you pay for: what does it mean?
This saying means that in consuming or shopping, high prices are associated with higher-quality items, while low prices are associated with lower-quality items.
In other words, quality is associated with price.
It’s a common phrase and the meaning is simple once you understand it. Here are two example sentences.
What do you think of the English for my Dream Phrase of the week?
Is this helpful for you? Are there any other phrases you would like me to explain?
Please leave a note in the comments.
Is your English good, but you want to improve even more?
Do you understand what native speakers say, but have a hard time talking or responding to them?
These are very common problems in English, and so I decided to do something different for this blog post.
I asked some of the best English teachers online a simple question, and their answers were amazing!
In other words, how can you, as a student and learner of English, take your skills to the next level?
Note: This is a long post, so bookmark it. Also I also made this post as a PDF that you can save and refer back to.
To make your English great, make English a part of your daily life as much as possible. Make sure to work on ALL the areas of the language – reading, writing, listening, speaking, vocabulary, and grammar. You should actively put everything you learn into practice, such as by writing sentences using new words, or by speaking out loud.
Shayna is the English teacher over at Espresso English. Also, don’t forget to check out her youTube Channel where she posts lots of useful English videos on all kinds of topics like speaking and grammar.
A learner must engage in regular, meaningful communication in English. To do that, you have to be willing to take risks and make mistakes – often many mistakes. Don’t fear them. Learn from your mistakes by noting any corrections you receive, trying to apply what you learned in future exchanges, and asking questions when you have doubts about the language. Don’t use the excuse that you’re not in an English-speaking country. Find opportunities. There are many online. Surround yourself with good models. Read, write, listen, and speak as much as possible.
Jennifer runs the popular English website called English with Jennifer. Check out her more-than 450 English videos on her youTube channel.
In order to take your English from good to great, the first step is to evaluate how much progress you’ve made during the previous year. If you’re not happy with this progress, you need to make changes.
This comes down to how much time you spend learning English and what you do with this time.
Some learners do the right things but don’t spend enough time doing them. Others spend 20+ hours per week doing things that don’t make a difference to their level.
Make English a priority, research what methods will help you improve faster, and stay consistent by making this a habit and by enjoying the journey.
Jack wants to help you get fluent in English and runs a website called To Fluency. Also, don’t forget to check out his youTube channel.
The first step anyone should take is to accept that perfection doesn’t exist. You’re never NOT going to make mistakes in English. But here’s the thing…Mistakes don’t make you any less successful in the eye of the other person. They make you human. Instead, what you need to do is to work at being a better communicator in English. And that doesn’t mean perfect grammar or an extensive vocabulary bank. A better communicator in English is all about using simple but clear language, exploring the language around you and trying it out. It’s about finding different ways of getting your message across even with the simplest of words. It’s about thinking of your reader, your listener and ensuring your thoughts have a good structure that’s easy to understand. It’s also about using non-verbal language to get your message across. A great communicator is someone who listens and responds.
If you want to improve your English for business, definitely check out Shanthi’s site, English with a Twist. Also check out her Facebook page.
So what can you do to take your English from good to great?
Simple… Use English every day. Make English a prominent part of your life. Use it to communicate with people, use it to read movie and product reviews, and use it to read the news and articles. Make English a part of your daily life and challenge yourself by watching and listening to programs created for English speakers. Yes, it’s simple, but it isn’t exactly easy… But when you become a ‘great English speaker’, you’ll know that you worked hard to get there.
If you want to learn how to study English better, check out Sam’s site called English for Study. And check out his Facebook page here.
The first step to take your English from good to great is to practice every day. If you read stuff you like for fun, practice speaking with friends, and watch lots of interesting videos then you will certainly see some improvements.
English Teacher Joe uploads great English-learning videos several times daily on Instagram– and they are funny! Follow him on Instagram: @english_teacher_joe .
In my opinion, a very powerful first step to taking your English from good to great is to spend some time reflecting and clarifying WHY being a great speaker is important to you. Once you’re armed with a strong and emotionally connected WHY, it suddenly becomes much more of a priority, and thus a lot easier to set clear and inspiring goals, and take the appropriate action to achieve them.
Justin is an English teacher and co-founder of the award-winning English learning blog called RealLife English. Check out The Real Life English youTube channel as well.
To take your English from good to great, you need to start thinking about how you can use the language to interact more confidently and communicate more effectively with other people. When your English is good, you often collect vocabulary and grammar concepts in order to express your ideas as clearly as possible. If you want your English to be great, you need to shift your focus from how *you* speak to how you can facilitate communication with others and keep them interested in talking with you.
To do this, start paying attention to the way conversations naturally flow in English. You’ll start to notice that native speakers follow an invisible script or routine that guides the conversation; you need to learn this language. Learning how to express yourself politely, show interest and respect through your words and tone, and react and respond fluently to other people will help you take your English from good to great. An excellent place to start is learning how to ask better questions. Whether you learn to ask more indirect questions, choose better ways to ask for clarification, or practice more interesting, engaging questions in casual conversation, mastering better questions will leave a great impression on your listener.
Kim is the teacher over at English with Kim and she also runs a free course to help you sound more natural.
I have had a 21 year career as an ESL teacher in Canada and Hong Kong. When I think about the students that I have had who have gone from good to great, they did a few things differently from other students. First of all, these students had a “I can do this” attitude. This means that they believed in their abilities to learn English. I have had some students tell me that they were “not good at languages” or that “they can’t learn grammar”. These are excuses. Remember that we all start somewhere. Having a growth mindset (“I can learn this”) as opposed to a fixed mindset (“I can’t learn this”) is key.
The other difference that I have noticed with the students who go from good to great is that they find opportunities to use the language. In Canada, this is easy but if you are learning English as an additional language, it can be more challenging to practice with other English speakers. My advice is to be creative. For example, there are many online tutors now. Get online and practice. Or if you prefer face-to-face, organize your own meet-up where people gather for the sole purpose of speaking English. Learning a new language is hard and it is even harder to go from good to great; however, believe in yourself and practice as much as possible. You will quickly see your own improvement.
If you’re an English teacher and an English learner, check out Patrice’s two websites: Teacherpreneur and her website dedicated to ESL teachers.
In order to take your English from good to great you have to start immersing yourself in the language; communicating with Natives, listening, speaking, reading and writing and thinking in English every day.
If you want to improve your English pronunciation, check out Anna’s youTube Channel. Also check out her website, British English Pronunciation.
If you want to take your English from good to great, I first recommend building consistent habits. For example, study English for 30 minutes every day at the same time (before work, after work, etc.). It’s hard in the beginning, but once you have the habit down, it will become almost automatic. If you need extra motivation, make a bet with a close friend or partner. Here is an example: you promise your friend or partner that you will study English 30 minutes every day. Every day that you skip or do not study for 30 minutes – you do not complete your promise – you have to pay your partner $5. The point here is to create motivation; you don’t have to make bets or pay money, but get creative – making your English great takes time, and not every day is easy. So develop habits and stick with it. You got this!
First, thanks to all the teachers who shared their advice on how to help your English go from good to great. Don’t forget to check out their websites by clicking their links!
Second, thank you for reading this! It was a long read, and so I have also made this article into a downloadable PDF.
Click here to download the PDF of this post, and save it to your computer.
Third, if you liked this article, share it with at least one friend! You can also share it on Facebook and Twitter.
Fourth, if you have any questions, email me.
Whose advice do you like the most? Feel free to leave a comment in the comment section below.