Too VS To

This is another common problem and people often get the two confused.

Too

“Too” can be used to express “an excess”.

e.g. “I have drank too much coffee”. This expresses that somebody has drank an excess of coffee.

“I am too tired to go to the gym”

To

“To” is usually used with a verb.

e.g. “I am going to france”

“I like to read”

“I want to run”

2 Ways to say “Hello”, without saying “Hello”

English greetings are special because there are SO many of them!

In the classroom when you are young, your English teacher may teach you to say “Hello, how are you?”. To which you reply “I’m fine thank you and you?”. There’s nothing wrong with this English greeting, but I will give you a few more authentic, informal ways to say hello in English.

English Greetings

1. How’s it going? (Howsit-goin?)

When I see my friends, I often say, “James, how’s it going?”. This is a rhetorical question and basically means, James! Hello!. “It” refers to James’ life, James’ day, everything in James’ life. You could replace it with, “James, How is life?”. I don’t want to know the full details of James’ life, I’m just getting the conversation started.

An authentic reply to “How’s it going?” would be “Not bad, mate”. It’s very informal so remember not to use this in a job interview!

2. What’s up!? (Wassup) or What’s Happening?

You may have heard this in American movies and it really is an American way to say hello. The first year I lived in Barcelona, my house mate (ex-Wellington House teacher) Jason, who was from California, would always greet me with “Hey, whats up?” or “Hey, what’s happening?”. Being from Britain I would always give him a detailed description of what was happening in my life. All he really meant was, “Hello, how are you?”. He didn’t need to know details of what was happening in my life (sorry Jason).

Below is how I should have replied

Jason : “What’s up, man?”
Ben : “Hey Jason, nothing much, man, how about you?”
Jason : “Just chilling, man”

Just chilling means to relax, not do anything in particular.

Example :- It’s the weekend so I’m just going to chill!

10 Fun Informal Ways to say Goodbye in English, Without Saying Goodbye.

Not so long ago we gave you a free English lesson about how you can say hello to people without saying hello! Today, we have a fun English lesson teaching you 10 ways, yes TENways that you can say goodbye in English, without actually saying goodbye! I hope you enjoy and remember to follow our blog.

Fun, Informal Ways To Say Goodbye in English!

1. Cheerio = A funny and friendly way to say goodbye in English.

“I have to go home for dinner, cheerio!”

2. Toodle-OO = This is a very silly and funny way to say goodbye, you will make people laugh by saying Toodle-oo!

“OK see you soon, Toodle-OO!”

3. Toodle-pip = Another hilarious way to say goodbye in English. This is the funniest and silliest one!

“OH NO!!, it’s late, I’d better go home, toodle-pip!”

4. See you later aligator = This is a fun way to say goodbye in English and is often used by children (although I use it all the time), it also has a really fun rhyming response.

A: “I’m going home, see you later alligator!”
B: “In a while crocodile!”

5. Laters! = A very cool and relaxed way to say goodbye to your friends in English.

A: “OK, see you tomorrow!”
B: “Laters!”

6. Catch you later = Another relaxed and very informal way of saying goodbye to somebody when you know you will see them again soon.

“Catch you later, man!”

7. Take care = A more formal way of saying goodbye to somebody that you care about.

A: “I’m going home now, Tony. Thanks for your help today!”
B: “No problem, take care and see you soon”
A: “Thanks, you too!” 

8. Take it easy = A nice way to say goodbye to a friend who you care about, but when you don’t want to show too much emotion. It means, don’t work too hard, enjoy your life.

“See you tomorrow, mate. Take it easy!”

9. Bye for now = A more formal way of saying goodbye to somebody when you know that you will see them again, but when you don’t know when.

A: OK, I’d better go, the last train leaves in 5 minutes. I’ll be back next month but I don’t know exactly when.”
B: “OK, well have a great train ride and bye for now!” 
A: “Yes, bye for now!” 

10. I need to scoot = A fun way of saying I have to go! Not to be used in formal situations.

“OK it’s like so I need to scoot, toodle-oo and see you soon!”

2 Excellent English Expressions “In a Shambles” & “Skew-Whiff”

In a Shambles

A Shambles - When something is in a shambles, it means the situation or location is chaotic or messy. In a shambles, basically means without organisation.

Examples of in a shambles

“I forgot to order enough food for the party and everybody is leaving. What a shambles!”

“My house is in a shambles after the storm nearly destroyed it!”

Skew Whiff

Skew-whiff - When something is Skew-Whiff, it is not balanced or straight like it should be.

Examples of how to use Skew-Whiff!

“I broke my nose when I was younger and it has never been straight since. My nose is skew-whiff!”

“The builder made a mistake and now the house is skew-whiff!“