1 Minute Lessons

This expression is useful for those times when we feel that as soon as one bad thing happens to us, many others follow. It’s as if all the bad things happened at once.

First, I tripped over my shoelaces and fell. I was fine, but right then the big boss came in and tripped over me! He didn’t fall down, but he spilled his coffee all over my immediate boss, who was coming over to schedule my quarterly review! When it rains, it pours!

I hope you never need to use this expression!

Articles are always an issue for English learners, so try practicing by putting in the right one (a/an, the, or nothing) in the following text:

Have you ever gone to (1)___ drive-in cinema? I love them. I went to my first one when I was (2)___ 12. My father took me to (3)___ one at the edge of town. We parked our car in (4)___ front row, and tuned our radio to the local station. We saw (5)___ comedy film and (6)___ action film, and while I didn’t really enjoy (7)___ movies,

These verbs can be very confusing due to their similarities, but they are used differently.

When you end something, you stop doing it, even though it could go on.

I ended the meeting because it was getting late.
Mary has ended her relationship with Bob—it was about time!
I’ll be visiting Taiwan at the end of the month—how exciting!

These two words can cause some confusion, but they’re really easy to distinguish.

Half refers to 50% of something:
– I had an apple. I cut it in two equal pieces, and gave one half to my sister and I ate the other half.

Middle refers to the central part of something.
– I’m in the middle of doing a lesson right now.

Some may find these two words confusing, but they’re simple to separate.

Long or length refers to a measurement of something from end to end or from top to bottom or from beginning to end. Length is one of three dimensions

The car is three meters long.
My wife gave me a really long list of things to buy at the supermarket.
I had to wait a long time to get to see the movie.

Put the words in the right order:

are doing of thinking tonight what you ?
do cinema go how often the to you ?
be finally when will ready you ?
a has Jeremy never suit worn .
a diet go have I on rarely to wanted.

These two words can be confusing because they both refer to the end of a series. But they are easy to distinguish.

We use latest to refer to the most recent example of something. There is no implication that there will be no more.

I really like Amy MacDonald’s latest CD—have you heard it?
This is the latest in a series of high-quality beauty products we offer you.

This is a saying people use to express the idea that if you’re not paying attention, you could miss out on something important. It can be used as a joke, or in a more vengeful way. To snooze means to sleep lightly, especially when taking a quick nap or in front of the television.

“Oh no! I forgot to record that movie on TV last night—I was too busy reading.”
“I told you not to forget! Well, you snooze, you lose!”

This idiom is often used in situations where things aren’t going too well, and you need to prioritize what the most urgent matters are. If someone mentions a problem that can be dealt with or solved later, you use this expression to tell them that. This is especially true if the problem may never arise.

Put the verbs in the right tense:
Mike ____ (see) the movie yesterday.
I ____ (not see) her since yesterday.
Kelly said she ___ (see) her before lunch this morning.
I ___ (see) “Star Wars” only one time in all my life.
Fred flies in tomorrow—I ____ (see) him then.