VIP F2F Class Notes (Nick)

Vocabulary

Ill-fated – something which can only go wrong, it will be bad, unfortunate
e.g. Our relationship is ill-fated. We don’t get along, but we cannot escape each other.

Astrology – the movements of the planets determine what happens to humans on Earth

Come to your senses – to realize that you had been mistaken, especially about something others thought was obvious
e.g. I thought he was a really great guy, but then I came to my senses and left him.

Separate from – to get away from, escape; also, when married people live apart but are not divorced
e.g. In January she separated from her husband and got a new apartment. They will get divorced next month.

Frustrating – something that makes you angry
Frustrated – the feeling of not being able to do something that you want to
Angry – a more general feeling related to frustration, betrayal, disappointment

Let – to allow someone to do something that they want to, to not stop someone from doing something

Don’t need – There’s no need / it’s not necessary

Grammar

We worked together six years ago – we once worked together, but it was six years before now, and we do not work together now (when)
We (have) worked together for six years – we spent six years working together (and still do now) (for what length of time)

I wanted to separate her – I wanted to separate from her
— This means to move away.
Separate – for a person to move two things or other people apart
e.g. Please separate the red and blue flowers into different vases.
e.g. The teacher separated the fighting kids.

Came to here – came here – normally, you use “to,” but not with “here”
e.g. I came here in 2017.
e.g. I came to Shanghai in 2017.
e.g. He came to his senses.

the most angry thing – angry is what a person feels
Instead say: The most frustrating thing was that she didn’t prepare the report herself.

let me to make the report – she asked me to / requested that I // had me / made me make the report

I want to come back to Korea – I want to go back to Korea / I want to return to Korea
e.g. Go and come are directional and opposite; return is non-directional (it doesn’t matter where you are when you say it)

If I speak about this with him – If I talk about this with him – If I tell him about this
— To speak about is to give a presentation, or lecture
e.g. Today I will speak about the Sino-US relations in the age of Donald Trump.
— To talk about is to discuss, to think about (not to teach)
e.g. I’d like to talk about Sino-US relations in the age of Trump.
e.g. I’d like to talk about going back to Korea to escape my boss.
e.g. I was talking about English grammar with Hena.
— To tell is less formal than “speak about,” but is still about giving new information, not discussion
e.g. I would like to tell you about what happened to me today (this is one-way)
— For completeness, “say” is just producing words, or giving advice
e.g. I said that I would like an ice cream cone (I want you to know what words I produced at that time)