I won't lie saying I wanna lie in bed

Some say English is easy and they are right. The first five lesson are a piece of cake. No idioms, no irregular verbs or phrasal verbs, no prepositions, no exceptions… you know what I am talking about. My brother told me (how many Czech people would innocently say “My brother say me…”) today that he always ends with this fifth lesson even though he really needs speak and understand English because of his job. It is just hard to soak up thousands and thousands words and go throw all the grammar rules. It is never-ending process, and I can understand that without huge motivation it can be sort of off-putting. I realized this while reading one of the essays written by “atrueheart”. Her latest topic was about lying. What the hell the topic was about? Lying? About not telling the truth or just about putting yourself in horizontal position? Let's have a look.

Thinking about trust in relationships
I've been thinking of my second husband. The fact is he was a liar. I didn't find this out until after we were married. He would lie to avoid conflict, lie to avoid having to help someone out, and lie to make himself seem more important. He would lie even if there was no reason and the truth was as good as the lie or even better. Watching and listening to him lie to everyone caused me to wonder.... what is he lying to me about? I found out after our marriage was over that there was quite a lot that he lied about. He lied about loving me every day we were married. The truth was he hadn't loved me in years. It was very damaging to my self-esteem and made it very difficult to trust anyone.

Sad story, isn't it? Marriage just can bring unexpected surprises. But today's subject is not about relationships but grammar. To make us really confused the English language made up three were similar phrasal verbs. It is something like a trap for us (but calm down, many native speakers also have trouble with it when it comes to spelling):

lie lied lied = lhát
He has lied to us all the time.

lie lay lain = ležet
She lay in bed all night watching TV.
Today I have lain in bed all day.

lay laid laid = položit
He said, he hadn´t felt well and laid on the couch for a while.
He saw him looking at several pieces of paper laid on the table.

There is no way then memorize this nine words.

“Thinking about trust in relationships” – Uvažování o důvěře ve vztazích

“I've been thinking of my second husband. The fact is he was a liar. ” – Přemýšlím o svém druhém manželovi. Je fakt, že by lhář.

“I didn't find this out until after we were married.” – Nezjistila jsem to do té doby, než jsme se vzali.

“He would lie to avoid conflict, lie to avoid having to help someone out, and lie to make himself seem more important. “ – On by lhal, aby se vyvaroval konfliktu, lhal by, aby se vyhnul tomu, aby musel někomu vypomoct, a lhal by, aby sám sebe udělal důležitějším.

“He would lie even if there was no reason and the truth was as good as the lie or even better.” – On by lhal, dokonce i když nebyl žádný důvod a pravda byla stejně tak dobrá jako lež nebo dokonce lepší.

“Watching and listening to him lie to everyone caused me to wonder... what is he lying to me about?” – To, jak jsem ho pozorovala a poslouchala, jak každému lže, způsobilo, že jsem chtěla vědět… o čem lže mně?

“He lied about loving me every day we were married. “ – Lhal o tom, že mě miloval každý den, co jsme byli svoji.

“The truth was he hadn't loved me in years. It was very damaging to my self-esteem and made it very difficult to trust anyone.” – Pravda byla, že mě nemiloval roky. Bylo to velmi škodlivé pro moji sebeúctu (sebevědomí) a způsobilo to, že někomu věřit je moc těžké.

Maybe you should know that this women has fallen in love again. I only hope her latest subject wasn't a reaction to some bad event.

I hate it when a friend is hurting

Whenever something bad happens to me I tend to hide. Instead of sharing my problem with friends I just disappear – for a day or two. Then, after getting over it, I am usually able to talk about it. I am glad that this is not only my specialty. Someone with a poetic nickname “Whispering Hope” apparently has the same attitude. She wrote:

I try not to complain too much, but I'm not feeling so good today. Maybe a touch of flu, maybe from not eating right lately, or maybe from some news I heard from a friend. I tend to let my friends problems become mine - not that this is a bad thing. Friendship, like all other aspects of life, can become fragile at times. I hate it when a friend is hurting. Whatever is 'buggin' me, I'm sure it will pass. Having said this, I may not be around for a day or two. But, will see you soon.

Try and pay attention to this simple sentence:
“I tend to let my friends problems become mine…” – Doslova: Mám tendenci nechat problémy mých přátel, aby se staly mými.
There are three verbs here – to tend, to let, to become. One of them is special. No idea? When some other verb follows the verb “to let”, this second verb is always without “to”.
Let me tell you…
Let's go…
Don't let him do this… etc.

Notice also this:
“I hate it when a friend is hurting.” – Nesnáším, když přítel trpí (když má zraněné city, když se cítí ublížen atd.)
We usually tend to say “I hate when…” (Nesnáším, když…) but English language just likes this phrase with the pronoun “it”. Don 't ask me why. Just remember this.
I hate exceptions. OR I hate it when I have to remember them.

And what about this:
“Whatever is 'buggin' me, I'm sure it will pass.” – Cokoliv mě otravuje, jsem si jistá, že to pomine.
You probably know some of the many meanings of the word “bug”. (for instance: ladybird = lady bug = beruška)
One of the meanings is informal and means to annoy or irritate = otravovat, jít na nervy.
Please, stop bugging me! – Prosím, přestaňte mě otravovat!
I hate it when people bug me. – Nesnáším, když mně lidi lezou na nervy.

And finally:
“Having said this, I may not be around for a day or two.” – Tím, že jsem tohle řekla, možná nebudu nablízku den nebo dva.
Don't ask me what it means “Having said this” grammatically, I just don't know.

Life seems to be really hard when one feels alone

I have been reading blogs for most then four years and can honestly say that bloggers have been my best English teachers. As soon as I was able to understand a little, the bloggs have become my favorit “literature”. I used to read them really slowly, translating every single word, trying to understand basic grammar rules. When I found some word useful, I learned it, but not only that single word but the whole sentence. That has been my way of studying English. As you probably know I am a self-taught person.
One of my most popular blogs in those days was “tiagirl” who was describing her decision to break-up with her boyfriend after a long-term relationship as she was expected to marry him. This turning point made her pretty unhappy and one of the people who encouraged her was her close friend “nico”. Her blog was reflecting totally opposite feelings – she was just head over heals in love with her new boyfriend. After several months “tiagirl” found another guy who she eventually married. At that moment she stopped blogging. “Nico” continued so I could read about her decision to move under one roof with her boyfriend.
It happened a couple months ago when she also split up with her boyfriend. And “tiagirl” was the one who tried to comfort her. “Nico” has been living alone since her break-up and she seems to be facing some hard times right now. Her last entry is a bit depressing. Just read:

Reasons I suck right now
1. I'm always in a bad mood.
2. I can't stop eating/drinking things that are bad for me. Currently craving a ton of ricotta cheese. Why?
3. I keep too many secrets.
4. Diane has a short and I don't have time to fix her until Thursday. When I drive, my brake lights are always on. I have to pull out a fuse when I park so the battery doesn't drain. (like it did yesterday). UGH.
5. I have to call my exboyfriend to come rescue me and diagnose my car and then I feel guilty that maybe I'm just using him.
6. I have to call my other exboyfriend to help me pronounce words I've never said that he's familiar with before trivia (and rudely forget that he's very busy on Monday afternoons and is away from his phone). I'm so independent!
7. I woke up late today (10 minutes after I should be at work!) and jumped in the car braless and shoeless. I REALLY need a shower.
8. This very cute guy just asked me out. I said "maybe this weekend?" I'm really scared to date - I don't feel ready at all... although it does feel good for someone to like me. And he's shorter than me and I'm trying my best not to think about it. He just wrote "I will keep my fingers crossed" Can he be any sweeter? I think not. What is my damn problem?

There has been only one person who dropped a line - “tiagirl” of course:
Come home, live with me - you can hide here for awhile, get settled, start over. My daddy will make your car like new - no guilt! I love you.

Důvody, proč jsem právě teď k ničemu
1. Pořád mám špatnou náladu.
2. Nedokážu přestat jíst/pít věci, které jsou pro mě špatné. Momentálně toužím po tuně sýru riccota. Proč?
3. Mám až moc tajemství.
4. Diana (Diana je jméno jejího auta) má zkrat (elektrický) a já do čtvrtka nemám čas ji opravit. Když jedu, má brzdová světla jsou pořád zapnutá. Musím vytáhnout pojistku, když parkuju, takže se nevybije baterie (jak jsem ji vybila včera).
5. Musím zavolat svému bývalému příteli, aby přijel a zachránil mě a “diagnostikoval” moje auto a pak se budu cítit vinná, že ho možná prostě jen využívám.
6. Musím zavolat svému jinému bývalému příteli, aby mě pomohl vyslovovat slova, která jsem nikdy neříkala a v nichž on je zběhlý dřív než byla Trivia (a sprostě zapomenu, že on je během pondělních odpolední velmi zaměstnaný a že není na telefonu). Já jsem tak nezávislá!
7.Vzbudila jsem se dneska pozdě (10 minut poté, co jsem měla být v práci!) a skočila jsem do auta bez podprsenky a bez bot. Opravdu potřebuju sprchu.
8. Ten velmi roztomilý chlápek mě požádal, abychom si dali schůzku. Já řekla “Třeba tenhle týden?” Mám opravdu strach jít na rande. Necítm se vůbec připravená. I když mi fakt dělá dobře, že mě má někdo rád. A on je menší než já a já dělám, co můžu, abych na to nemyslela. On prostě napsal “Budu (ti) držet palce.” Může být ještě roztomilejší? Nemyslím. Co to mám za zatracený problém?

And “tiagirl”:
Přijeď domů, žij u mě – můžeš se tu na chvíli ukrýt, srovnat se, začít znova. Můj taťka ti udělá auto jako nové – žádný pocit viny (že bude pracovat ne tvém autě). Mám tě ráda.

I guess you understand more now why I so like reading some blogs. They are both emotional and educational. And they say when emotions are involved you can remember more. Thanks to “tiagirl” and „nico“ my English got a bit better.

It's too darn hot and the humidity is adding to it

About a half of all English words is considered to come from Latin. Usually, you can be almost sure that a word has a Latin origin when it consists from three and more syllables. Well, some words also came from Czech, like robot or dollar. Moreover, the Czech comminity living in the USA “messed up” English with some Czech names. Stumbling across the name Jakubicka from California, USA, made me wonder where this person is coming from. Sound so Czech. But there was no surprise. She writes about herself: “My story is classic. Boy meets girl as an exchange student, they become friends. He goes home (to Sweden), girl stays (in the US). Boy and girl stay in touch, fall in love, live together in Sweden, have kids, move to to the US.” OK, but would you mind telling me how the Americans pronounce this “Czech” name?
She wrote in her blog yesterday:

I'm melting
Those that know me well know I love the heat. We picked one of the hotter regions of California for that reason, however the recent hot spell has shown me my limit. 112 F (44.5 C) is where I draw the line, especially when we got humidity in the double digits. Sacramento usually gets only 8-9% humidity but we've got 30% now I am dying. They have warnings here for people not to go outside because with the humidity it's more like 115 (46).

“Those that know me well know I love the heat.” – a pretty simple sentence but still a bit tricky without punctuation. Would it be better this way: Those / that know me well / know / I love the heat. – Ti, kteří mě dobře znají, vědí, že mám ráda horko.

“We picked one of the hotter regions of California for that reason, however the recent hot spell has shown me my limit.” – Zvolili jsme si kvůli tomuto důvodu jednu ze žhavějších oblastí Kalifornie, nicméně současné horké období mi ukázalo mé meze.

spell = a short period of time during which something lasts, often used when we speake about weather = období
There will be rain at first with sunny spells later.

“112 F (44.5 C) is where I draw the line, especially when we got humidity in the double digits.” – 122 Fahrenheita je, kde jsem si stanovila mez, zvláště když máme vlhkost ve dvojčíslí (vyjádřenou dvojčíslím).

draw a line (in the sand) = to set a limit = stanovit meze, doslova nakreslit čáru do písku (IDIOM)
If we don't draw a line in the sand, here and now, the next time may be too late.

“Sacramento usually gets only 8-9% humidity but we've got 30% now I am dying.” - Sacramento má obvykle jen 8-9% vlhkosti, ale my teď máme 30%, já umírám. (nebo - ale my máme 30%, teď umírám)

Notice three tenses in one short sentence:
“Sacramento usually gets…” – present simple (constant situation)
“but we've got 30% now…” – present perfect (from some point in the past till now)
„…I am dying.” – present continuous (just now)

“They have warnings here for people not to go outside because with the humidity it's more like 115 (46).” – Měli tady varování pro lidi, aby nechodili ven, s tou vlhkostí je to víc jako 115 (46).




Looking at the thermometer and the humidity we also have it in the double digits. No one needs to envy... Anyway, do you know this song by Albert Hammond:



Seems it never rains in southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California, but girl don't they warn ya
It pours, man it pours

Yes, I am afraid we are going to face some pouring. We will sing along with Gerri Halliwell at first...

Humidity’s rising
Barometer's getting low
According to all sources
The street's the place to go
Cause tonight for the first time
Just about half-past ten
For the first time in history
It's gonna start raining men.

...and then we will learn again what terrible floods are like.

Do you give money to beggars?

An American girl girlyunderwear (I wrote about her a few days ago) asked this quistion in her blog. Personally, I never give money to them, I believe it is better to give some money to charity. There only was one exception. Once I was drinking coffee with my friend Kate from Australia and suddenly we sow a nearby ATM “spitting” some banknotes. Just without any apparent reason. Not enough to strike it rich but just enough to have a dinner for two. No one else notised what this magical box had just done so we were tempted to pick the money up. Or steal them? We both felt that our qualms would not let us sleep at night. On the other hand it only was a matter of minutes when somebody would come and grab them. So we decided to take them and give them to the first beggar we would meet. So we did. (There are a lot of beggers in Prague nowadays, mostly coming from the East Europe, thinking the rich tourists will have pity on them.)

How do you deal with homeless people?

a) ignore them
b) give them money always
c) give them money sometimes
d) give them money only if they do something for it
e) give them something other than money
f) tell them to fuck off and get a job
g) kill them. no one notices.

I usually give homeless people money, especially in the winter. Sometimes I give money to homeless people who don't ask. That's probably because I don't live where there are a lot of them, if I did I'd probably start to ignore them too.

fuck off = to leave or go away, used especially as a rude way of telling someone to go away = odprejsknout

Try and read the following discussion to her question. It is interesting what people not only from States think of this issue. Incidentally, do you give money to beggars?

A bit poisonous present from US heat soil

While the north hemisphere is struggling with this horrible heatwave, the Kiwis are wearing gloves and scarves right now. They have been experiencing winter. More then that, they use Celsius unlike the Americans with their Fahrenheit. Jennifer from Seattle, USA, tried to explain to her friend called Harvest Bird from Sockburn, New Zealand, that the weather is way too hot in Seattle and also warn her against some candy she had sent her.

I called my long-suffering friends in New Zealand and had the following conversations:
Me: OH MY GOD! It's so hot.
Them: How hot is it?
Me: 94 degrees!
Them: I don't know what that means! What is it in celsius?!?
Me: ONE HUNDRED MILLION DEGREES!
(Harvest Bird noticed later: It was 4 degrees (celsius) here yesterday. You stole all our degrees!)
Me: I need to explain to you how to eat the candies I sent you!
Them: Um... I think we know how to eat candy, Jennifer.
Me: But not Dangerous Chinese Candy!
Them: I'm sure we can figure it out.
Me: NO! You'll DIE!
Them: You sent us stuff that will make us die?
Me: Yes. Poison is delicious*
-----------------------
* Dangerous Chinese candy is not actually poison! Just dangerous.

I guess it is easy to understand, if not here are some words:

long-suffering = bearing problems or another person's unpleasant behaviour with patience = trpělivý, shovívavý
candy = sweet food made of sugar and/or chocolate
figure out = vyřešit, vypočítat, vyčíslit, spočítat, rozřešit, pochopit, určit
stuff = hmota, materiál, textil, veteš, krámy, hadry, odpadky, nesmysl, cpát (se), napěchovat, vycpat, nadívat

How to tell a story (past perfect is annoying but necessary)

A man working for the London Ambulance Service was called for help a very old pensioner who had fallen down the stairs. Just go through this short story (with happy ending) and notice only one thing – the using of PAST PERFECT.
I guess this story could have its place in every grammar book.

The patient was a ninety-five year old man, he had needed to change a lightbulb on his upstairs landing. He had gotten a stepladder, climbed up it and in the process of undoing the bulb had toppled backwards. He'd fallen, cracking his head on the lintel of the bathroom door and then he'd rolled down his stairway. When we arrived he had picked himself up and was sitting on the downstairs sofa. His concerned neighbours (who were the ones that called us) had already changed the lightbulb for him. A quick examination showed exactly two injuries. He had a small bleeding wound on his arm and he also had a bump on the back of his head. He hadn't hurt his neck, he hadn't been knocked out, he hadn't broken any of his frail looking bones. He was also a very nice chap.

Pacient byl pětadevadesátiletý starý muž, potřeboval vyměnit žárovku na horním odpočívadle. Měl schůdky, vyšplhal na ně a během odšroubovávání té žárovky se svalil dozadu. Sletěl, narazil si hlavou o futro koupelnových dveří a pak se kutálel po schodišti. Když jsme dorazili (tedy – před tím, než jsme dorazili), on se sám zvedl a seděl na válendě v přízemí. Jeho starostlivý soused (který byl jediný, co nás zavolal) muj už žárovku vyměnil. Rychlá prohlídka ukázala přesně dvě zranění. Měl malou krvácející ránu na paži a taky měl bouli vzadu na hlavě. Nezranil si krk, nebyl omráčený, nezlomil si žádnou ze svých křehce vypadajících kostí. Byl to taky velmi milý zákazník.

Just in case:
PAST PERFECT refers to a time earlier than before now. It is used to make it clear that one event happened before another in the past. It does not matter which event is mentioned first - the tense makes it clear which one happened first. In other words: The past perfect is used to show you which of two events happened first.

The way of using past perfect is HAD + PAST PARTICIPLE (3. tvar slovesa)

The train had just left when I arrived at the station.
It was obvious that something had happened to them.
I had planned to read this book but just didn't have time.

Annoying taxes, some informal words and how to express the future

Well, not that I am breaking the promise, but this is really short. And it is interesting above all. A girl called herself girlyunderwear (holčičí spodní prádlo) is always provoking people mostly with sex issues but not only. She has been studying photography, has Asian origin and her vocabulary is mostly a bit over the top. But people like visiting her blog, she is accustomed to have huge feedback. This time she is upset because of her taxes. As a single person she must pay more then all the married couples and she finds it unjust.

“The way that society rewards married people versus single/non married couples is fucked. Married people get bigger tax cuts, and if they decide to bring little bastards into the world, even more. Most of my college friends are married or going to be. So I gotta spend money on them on their happy day, and then probably a shitload more once they all have kids, and they will. When the fuck do I get all that back? I'm never getting married. It's not fair.”

“The way that society rewards married people versus single/non married couples is fucked." – Způsob, jakým společnost odměňuje sezdané lidi oproti svobodným/nesezdaným párům, je na hovno.

be fucked = být prdeli, na hovno

“Married people get bigger tax cuts, and if they decide to bring little bastards into the world, even more.” – Sezdaní lidé dostávají větší daňové úlevy, a pokud se rozhodnou, že přivedou na svět malé bastardy, dokonce větší.

“Most of my college friends are married or going to be.” – Většina mých univerzitních přátel je ženatá nebo vdaná (takže prostě sezdaná) nebo hodlá být.

“So I gotta spend money on them on their happy day, and then probably a shitload more once they all have kids, and they will.” – Takže já budu utrácet peníze na ně, na jejich štěstíčko, a pak zřejmě o hodně víc, až jednou všichni budou mít děti, a oni budou.

shitload = more than a tiny bit, but less than a ton = zřejmě něco jako velká spousta, moc

Notice the using of different future tenses. They are three here.
1) “I gotta spend money” = I am going to spend money… We use “going to” to talk about a) our intentions for the future or b) prediction based on some present evidence, which is this case. She is just predicting, knowing something about taxis, that there is no way then pay and pay and pay.

2) “once they all have kids” – it is present simple, no future tense, BUT after “once” the native speakers just don't use future tenses, even if they speak about future.

3) “and they will” – we use “will” (or shell) a) to talk about predictions based on our feelings and expectations, rather then evidence in the present, b) to talk about things we see as fact in the future, c) to talk about decisions made at the moment of speaking. She sees all the future kids as a fact (b).

Knowing when exactly to use “will” and when “going to” is difficult. Many native speakers will tell you that there is no big difference, because they are not able to explain it. But they feel exactly when each of those forms needs to be used. And they really use them to express their feelings, expectations, intentions, just expres more than is being said.

“When the fuck do I get all that back?” – Kdy to do prdele dostanu všechno zpátky?

“I'm never getting married. It's not fair.” – Nikdy se nevdám. To není fér.

That is another way of expressing future without using some of future tenses. “I'm never getting…” this is present continuous that we use to talk about definite arrangements for the future where a time is stated or understood. She said “never” which is also a stated time. So present continuous is the right choice.

It's tricky, isn't it? But has anybody said that English is easy?

It's been great experience to test myself if I am able to mediate some blogs and explain some grammar rules. Damn, in English! But everything has its end and I've decided to quit. It is too time-consuming to feed this blog, I feel my English is not well enough and the feedback has been from slim to none. And there are so many other things that need to be done. So people, enjoy the summer and ciao. Hope I'll meet some of you in person some day. You know, I miss you.

Feelings after some years of marriage

Ordinary days usually come after every honeymoon, even if it is the best honeymoon ever. After couple of years things do not seem as bright as they used to. All the routines and inability or unwillingness to accept the changes that inevitably go along with every long-term relationship, may kill even the best marriage. People just fail in living together. Some struggle to get over their crises, some cannot find any strenghts to evercome their difficulties and just give up, facing bitter ends. Just like a man called Rob, who found out that his wife was gone one day. He took some pictures to catch all the mess his lovely wife had left before her in-a-hurry-leaving. Have a look at them just for some inspiration and for his sarcastic commentary. This is the beginning of his description:

I wanted to share with everyone the lovely condition my new-bride/ex-wife Marcie left the house in after our brief separation. I wouldn't even have known she was moving except that the landlord called my cell phone to tell me the rent was late and she was moving out in the middle of the night. I think it was the night after she told me she loved me and how sorry she was. That's just background (it's too long a story)… Anyway, later she promised to help me clean it, but when the agreed day arrived she was no where to be found. I guess she lied. That's one thing she was good at!”

“I wanted to share with everyone the lovely condition my new-bride/ex-wife Marcie left the house in after our brief separation. “ – Chtěl jsem se s každým podělit o rozkošný stav, v jakém má nová nevěsta/bývalá manželka Marcie zanechala dům po naše, rychlém rozchodu.

“new-bride/ex-wife” – I guess this combination indicates that his ex-wife is goping to be maried again

separation = a decision that a husband and wife make to live apart while they are still legally married
divorce = the legal ending of a marriage

“I wouldn't even have known she was moving except that the landlord called my cell phone to tell me the rent was late and she was moving out in the middle of the night." – Ani bych býval nevěděl, že se odstěhovala, nebýt toho, že domácí zavolal na můj mobil, aby mi řekl, že se opozdilo nájemné a že ona se odstěhovala uprostřed noci.

cell phone (cellular phone) = mobil, used mainly in the USA
mobil (phone) = the word British and Australian people use to describe a cell phone
handy = European slang for mobile (except for the UK)

“I think it was the night after she told me she loved me and how sorry she was.” – Myslím, že to bylo tu noc poté, co mi řekla, že mě má ráda a jak je jí to líto.

“…she told me she loved me…” – just pay attention to the both tenses, they are both past simple, unlike in Czech as we use past simple and then present simple

“That's just background (it's too long a story)… “ – To jen na vysvětlenou (je to příliš dlouhý příběh)…

“Anyway, later she promised to help me clean it, but when the agreed day arrived she was no where to be found.” – Mimochodem, později mi slíbila, že mi to pomůže vyčistit, ale když přišel dohodnutý den, nebyla nikde k nalezení.

“she promised to help me clean it” – I am always confused seing the verb “to help” followed by another verb. I tend to say “she promised to help me TO clean it”. Try and find this connection on the internet - you will see both forms (with and without “to”) just fifty-fifty. They say that after the verb “help” the 'to' is often left out, especially in informal or spoken English. They also say, English is easy…

“I guess she lied. That's one thing she was good at!” – Hadám, že lhala. To je jediná věc, ve které byla dobrá.
Just notice where the preposition “at” is. At the end of the sentence, of course!

Again – they say English is easy. Definitely for the ones born in English spoken cradle.

First feelings after wedding

Rebecca from California got married last week. She described the whole thing in detail so if you are interestited in how a wedding in California may proceed I recommend you to go through her blog. I scooped the part where she wrote about her (their) first feelings after their wedding. I think it is lovely. I am giving up explaining the grammar rules for today. I gues this English is really pure and you surely can recognize many of them.

“I thought that I knew everything about Nate before we got married, but I was wrong. Sometimes I feel like not much has changed between singledom and marriage, except that now we share an apartment and a bedroom. But if I said that, I would be wrong. Being married has brought out something so much more tender between us. I think Nate expressed it best on our first evening back in our apartment. We sat out on our deck and he said "for some reason, now that we are married, I feel like I can really trust you." And he does, because I see things in him now that I was not able to see before. It's like a wall came down that we didn't even know was there. It's not that I have changed, or that he has changed. What is between us has changed.”


“I thought that I knew everything about Nate before we got married, but I was wrong.” – Myslela jsem, že vím, všechno, pokud jde o Nata, před tím, než jsme se vzali, ale pletla jsem se.

“Sometimes I feel like not much has changed between singledom and marriage, except that now we share an apartment and a bedroom.” – Někdy cítím, jako by se toho moc nezměnilo mezi svobodným stavem a manželstvím, kromě toho, že teď sdílíme byt a ložnici.

“But if I said that, I would be wrong.” – Ale kdybych to řekla, mýlila bych se.

“Being married has brought out something so much more tender between us." – Být svoji odhalilo něco mohem něžnějšího mezi námi.

“I think Nate expressed it best on our first evening back in our apartment.” – Myslím, že to Nate nejlépe vyjádřil během našeho prvního večera (když jsme byli) zpátky v našem bytě.

“We sat out on our deck and he said "for some reason, now that we are married, I feel like I can really trust you."” – Seděli jsme na podlaze a on řekl “z nějakého důvodu, teď, když jsme svoji, cítím, že ti mohu opravdu věřit (nebo důvěřovat)".

“And he does, because I see things in him now that I was not able to see before.” – A on to cítí, protože já v něm teď vidím věci, které jsem dřív nebyla schopná vidět.

“It's like a wall came down that we didn't even know was there.” – Je to jako kdyby spadla zeď, o níž jsme ani nevěděli, že tam byla.

”It's not that I have changed, or that he has changed. What is between us has changed.” – Není to tak, že jsem se změnila já, nebo že se změnil on. Změnilo se to, co je mezi námi.

Too hot for you? Move to Africa!

Is it too hot for you, you Czech people or perhaps you from Texas? The temperature in Prague has reached more then 30 degrees centigrade today, as well in Arlington. Wanna get a bit colder? Africa is a choice. A woman who called herself Windspirit lives in Cape Town, South Africa, where the temperature was only 11 degrees centigrade yesterday. No wonder she was a bit unhappy feeling cold. But she will have to come to terms with it – winter has just begun in South Africa.

“It is just after 1 o'clock in the morning and the temps are so low I am freezing my fabulously fleshy body to the bone. A hot shower, a blanket and a duvet is what I am looking forward to after signing off… When I am all grown up and rich I will have a house with underfloor heating, an electric blanket, heating in every room (for winter) and air conditioning (for summer).”

“It is just after 1 o'clock in the morning and the temps are so low I am freezing my fabulously fleshy body to the bone.” – Je právě po jedné ráno a teploty jsou tak nízké, že nechávám své báječně kypré tělo mrznout až na kost.

I guess this phrase “to the bone“ may be useful. It means „affecting you very strongly“ = až na kost
Associate this phraze with verb like “chill”, “freeze” or “cut” and you get idiomatic expressions.

chill (freeze) to the bone = mrznout až na kost, ale také zmrazit (náladu)
After an hour standing at the bus stop I was chilled to the bone. - Po hodině stání na autobusové zastávce jsem byl promrzlý na kost.
I can remember feeling chilled to the bone when she said this. - Vzpomínám si, že mě mrazilo do morku kostí, když to řekla.
cut to the bone = říznout až na kost, tedy říznout do živého
I know they were only words, but still, they can cut to the bone. - Vím, že to byla jen slova, ale ťala do živého.

„A hot shower, a blanket and a duvet is what I am looking forward to after signing off…” – Horká sprcha, deka a peřina je to, na co se těším, až se odhlásím (z blogu).
look forward to = těšit se na
Everyone knows that the following verb must be –ing form. I am so looking forward to meeting up with her again!

“When I am all grown up and rich I will have a house with underfloor heating, an electric blanket, heating in every room (for winter) and air conditioning (for summer).” – Až budu celá (tedy úplně) dospělá a bohatá, budu mít dům s podlahovým topením, elektrickou dekou, topením v každém pokoji (na zimu) a klimatizací (na léto).

„When I am all grown up and rich I will have a house…” – first conditional used to talk about real possibillities. It consists of present simple + future simple. WHEN and IF are interchangeable in the first conditional.
If you want I will give you a lift. = When you want I will give you a lift. Jestli chceš, svezu tě.
But sometimes WHEN and IF can change the meaning:
If I pass my exam I will make a party. – Jestli udělám zkoušku, udělám večírek.
When I pass my exam I will make a party. – Až udělám zkoušku, udělám večírek.



Cape Town. The white foreground is no snow but a sand dune.


And please don't move to Afrika. The lions will eat you and I want you to be alive.

The soup tasted so delicious...

A young woman from New Zealand had her favorite Capsicum & Tomato Soup for luch. If she had known what was going to happen later in the day she would probably never eaten it. Not only did she call in sick but some other terrible thing happened.

„I had today off sick from work. I had the worst stomach virus (diarrhoea). I think it might have been caused by the tomato and capsicum soup I had for lunch yesterday LOL (which is a shame, as that's my favourite flavour and now I'm not going to want to eat that for awhile). To make this day even crappier (oh, bad choice of words LOL), in a mad dash to the bathroom this morning, I stepped on a piece of glass (I'd accidently dropped a glass yesterday and must have missed this huge piece when I cleaned it up!). So now I'm hopping all over the place. Man. I'm so glad this day is almost over. It sucked.“

„I had today off sick from work.“ – Měla jsem dneska volno z práce kvůli nemoci.
have off sick from work (school etc.) = mít volno z práce (ze školy atd.) kvůli nemoci

“I had the worst stomach virus (diarrhoea).“ – Mám tu nejhorší střevní infekci (průjem).

„I think it might have been caused by the tomato and capsicum soup I had for lunch yesterday LOL (which is a shame, as that's my favourite flavour and now I'm not going to want to eat that for awhile). – Myslím, že to snad mohlo být způsobeno rajčatovo-paprikovou polévkou, kterou jsem měla včera k obědu. (což je ostuda, protože tohle je můj oblíbený druh (polévky) a teď ji nebudu chtít chvíli jíst).

“it might have been caused“ – one of the ways of using present perfect indicating that things are not sure.
She didn´t speak, fearing that she might have said something she should not have said. - Nemluvila, protože se obávala, že by snad mohla říct něco, co neměla říct.

„To make this day even crappier (oh, bad choice of words LOL), in a mad dash to the bathroom this morning, I stepped on a piece of glass (I'd accidently dropped a glass yesterday and must have missed this huge piece when I cleaned it up!).“ – Aby tenhle den byl dokonce posranější (ó, špatný výběr slov) v bláznivém úprku do koupelny dneska ráno jsem šlápla na kousek skla (upustila jsem včera nechtěně sklenici a když jsem to uklízela, musela jsem ten velikánský kus vynechat!).

„to make this day crappier…“ – very useful phraze „to make something or someone + key word“, but sometimes it is not easy to translate to Czech.
To make a long story short I only tell that… - Abych ten dlouhý příběh zkrátil, jen řeknu, že…
He really made me smile every time I looked at him. – On mě opravdu rozesmál pokaždé, když jsem se na něj podíval.
You shold try to make her feel at home. – Měl by ses snažit, aby se cítila jako doma
We are never given a dream without also being given the power to make it true. – Nikdy nám není dán sen, aniž by nám také nebyla dána síla ho proměnit ve skutečnost.
She glanced around to make sure no one was listening. – Letmo se rozhlížela, aby se ujistila, že nikdo neposlouchal.

„LOL“ – these letters stand for „laugh out loud“, often used in blogs

dash = this word has tens a tens meanings, in this case = úprk

„…must have missed…“ – special form of present perfekt, usually used for actions in the past that finished, so that past simple should be used. But the modal verb „must“ is an exception from the rule. We can say „It must be great!“ for presence, but „It must have been great!“ for past even though it is finished.
You surely know the song by Roxette „It must have been love... but it's over now“. Sometimes it is written "must've" and also pronounced this way "mastv"
Some other examples:
Somebody must have borrowed it, because it is not here. – Někdo si to musel půjčit, protože to tady není.
They must have known it was comming. – Museli vědět, že to příjde.
It must have happened. It must have something to do with how uptight he was. – Muselo se to stát. Muselo to mít něco do činění s tím, jak byl nervózní.

“So now I'm hopping all over the place. Man. I'm so glad this day is almost over. It sucked.“ – Takže teď poskakuji po celém místě (tedy po celém bytě). Člověče. Jsem tak ráda, že tenhle den je skoro u konce. Bylo to k naštvání.

“It sucked.“ – another very useful and common expression. The verb „to suck“ means to take liquid, air, etc. into your mouth by using the muscles of your lips, but in informal English it has other meaning. „It sucks!“ = Je to otrava, opruz, Štve to atd.

Let's talk about love

It is a great thing being in love. Madly in love. Head over heals in love. A woman with a nickname „atrueheart“ definitely must be in love. She is missing HIM, she is terribly missing all the things that they both have experienced in common. Just read, it is not difficult:

Missing someone Special to my Heart
We both lead such busy lives and can't always keep in touch. Missing you has become a habit that I welcome because I know soon we'll be together again. I miss that shy smile of yours and the way you laugh with your whole body when I get shy or say something outrageous. I miss that look of love in your eyes when you tell me I'm the only one you love. I miss that devilish smile when you dare me to trust you and go farther in our relationship. I miss those long talks about how our day went. I miss your patience with my little insecurities. Insecurities that you erase every time we talk. I miss your kisses that set my heart to racing. I miss your arms around me... sheltering me from all storms. I miss the little things you say when you have no idea how deeply I am touched. I miss your presence when I am not with you... warming my soul and healing my heart. I miss you!
Looking forward to being with you again soon baby! I'm always holding you safe in my heart.

„Missing someone Special to my Heart“ – Stýská se mi po někom, kdo je mému srdci blízký. (doslova – kdo je mému srdci mimořádný, speciální). A nebo také: Schází mi někdo, kdo... "I miss" se prostě dá překládat tak i tak, ostatně smysl je stejný.

“be special to” – být velmi blízký komu, čemu, znamenat něco extra
He might not be rich, famous or powerful, but he is someone special to me; he is my dad. – On možná není bohatý, slavný nebo mocný, ale je to někdo, kdo je mi velmi blízký, je to můj táta.

“Missing you has become a habit that I welcome because I know soon we'll be together again.” – Stýskání po tobě se stalo zvykem, který vítám, protože vím, že brzy zase budeme spolu.

“I miss that shy smile of yours and the way you laugh with your whole body when I get shy or say something outrageous.” – Chybí mi ten tvůj stydlivý úsměv a způsob, jaký, se směješ celým svým tělem, když já zrozpačitím nebo když řeknu něco nemravého.

outrageous = very unusual, shocking and unacceptable = odporný, násilnický, urážlivý, hrubý, překračující všechny meze, pobuřující, nemravný

“I miss that look of love in your eyes when you tell me I'm the only one you love.” – Stýská se mi po tom zamilovaném pohledu v tvých očích, když mi říkáš, že já jsem ta jediná, kterou miluješ.

“I miss that devilish smile when you dare me to trust you and go farther in our relationship.” – Stýská se mi po tom čertovském úsměvu, když mě vyzýváš, abych ti věřila a šla dál v našem vztahu.

devilish = 1. cruel or wicked, 2. morally bad, but in a way that people find attractive = divoký, pekelný, ďábelsky, čertovský

dare = to persuade sb to do sth dangerous, difficult or embarrassing so that they can show that they are not afraid = odvážit se, troufat si, výzva, vyzvat, vzdorovat, postavit se, vyzvání, odvaha

“I miss those long talks about how our day went.” – Stýská se mi po oněch dlouhých hovorech, jak šly naše dny (asi lépe česky – jak jsme se měli).

“I miss your patience with my little insecurities.” – Stýská se mi po tvé trpělivosti s mými malými nejistotami.

“Insecurities that you erase every time we talk.” – Nejistotami, které vymažeš pokaždé, když si povídáme.

erase = remove sth completely = vyškrabat, vymazat, vyškrtnout, vyhladit, smazat, vygumovat, zlikvidovat, oddělat (zavraždit), smazat záznam, anulovat

“I miss your kisses that set my heart to racing.” – Stýská se mi po tvých polibcích, které přimějí mé srdce, aby běželo jako o závod.

“I miss your arms around me... sheltering me from all storms.” - Stýská se mi po tvých pažích kolem mě… ochraňují mě od všech bouří.

shelter = kryt, úkryt, útulek, ochrana, útočiště, bunkr, chránit, skrývat, hledat ochranu, ochraňovat

“I miss the little things you say when you have no idea how deeply I am touched.” – Chybí mi ty malé věci (lepší - maličkosti), které říkáš, když (zatímco) nemáš ponětí, jak jsem dojatá.

“I miss your presence when I am not with you... warming my soul and healing my heart. I miss you!” – Stýská se mi po tvé přítomnosti (nebo také blízkosti), když nejsem s tebou… zahřívajíc duší, uzdravujíc srdce. Stýská se mi po tobě!

“Looking forward to being with you again soon baby!” – Těším se, že s tebou zase brzy budu, děťátko!

“I'm always holding you safe in my heart.” – Pořád tě bezpečně mám ve svém srdci.

So much emotions, so much poetry, I guess this woman knows something about life and it's ups and downs.

Strange feeling of something being wrong

You surely know that stupid feeling that something is in the air but without having any idea what is going on. It is just a strange feeling. A man from London, UK, also had no clue…

"I find myself on Saturday and Sunday sitting around with a strange feeling of something being wrong either with myself or with the world in general. It's a difficult feeling to explain, something like sitting with your back to an open doorway - something that puts you on edge."

“I find myself on Saturday and Sunday sitting around with a strange feeling of something being wrong either with myself or with the world in general.“ –
V sobotu a v neděli shledávám sám sebe, jak poposedávám s podivným pocitem, že je něco špatně buď se mnou, nebo se světem vůbec.

“…sitting around…“ – Why not only sitting? Why sitting around? Because this particle „around“ change the verb, giving it a bit different meaning, adding the idea of pointless activity.

sit around = poposedávat, (prostě jen tak, bezcílně)

Today is all about just sitting around waiting, trying to pass the time. Dnešek je prostě celý o poposedávání, čekání, zkoušení ukrátit si čas.

He was sitting around at home in his pajamas all day. On celý den doma jen tak posedával v pyžamu.

„It's a difficult feeling to explain, something like sitting with your back to an open doorway - something that puts you on edge.“ – Je to nesnadný pocit, aby se vysvětlil, cosi jako když sedíte zády k otevřeným dveřím - cosi, co vás znervózňuje.

I think all is clear except that expression „something that puts you on edge“.

That's
IDIOM for today:

be on edge = be nervous and not relaxed, be excited or bad-tempered

and

put someone on edge = někoho znervózňovat, rozčilovat

I can't stand watching his news conferences. His searching for words puts me on edge. I want to stand and yell, "you idiot". Nedokážu snést jeho tiskové konference. To, jak hledá slova, mě rozčiluje. Chci vstát a ječet „ty idiote“.

Lately, I have been suffering from extreme irritation. I can't figure out exactly what is putting me on edge all of the time. Poslední dobou trpím mimořádnou podrážděností (lépe česky – jsem mimořádně podrážděný). Nedokážu rozpoznat, co mě celou tu dobu znervózňuje.

And something like the icing on the cake:

A bumblebee has been beating himself silly against the window next to my desk all morning. Apparently, he's confused about which direction the flowers are in. The constant tapping is putting me on edge and I want to go outside and try and help the poor bumble, but I'm not in the mood to be stung. Celé ráno s sebou do okna vedle mého stolu hloupě tluče čmelák. Zjevně je zmaten, ve kterém směru jsou květiny. To soustavné klepání mě rozčiluje a chci jít ven a zkusit tomu nebohému čmelákovi pomoct, ale nemám náladu na to, abych dostal žihadlo.

The importance of correct punctuation

Dear John:

I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart. I can be forever happy--will you let me be yours?

Gloria

OR

Dear John:

I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we're apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be? Yours,

Gloria

(Games Magazine, 1984)

* * *
IDIOM for today:

make ends meet = to have just enough money to pay for the things that you need = tak tak vyjít s penězi

Some single pensioners are struggling to make ends meet.

What is their plan to help those who can't make ends meet, who may be homeless?

Some of us can afford to have vacations and some have to work two jobs to make ends meet and live check to check.