Learn how to pronounce the English names of your favourite Chinese New Year dishes correctly!

The biggest difference is that ‘lay‘ requires an object object, and ‘lie’ does not.

For example, ‘you lie down on the sofa’, but ‘you lay the book down on the table’ (the book is the object).

However, when past tense is involved, the past tense of lie is ‘lay‘, and the past tense of ‘lay‘ is ‘laid‘.

For example, ‘she lay down and closed her eyes’, and ‘she laid the tablecloth in the morning’.

[Image credit: Iguanasan on Flickr]

To be incensed and ready for a fight.

Example:

The union members are up in arms over news of a pay cut.

Did you know?

The original use for the term ‘up in arms‘ was literal and used to describe  soldiers armed with weapons, ready for war.

Reference
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/up-in-arms.html

[Image credit: Dunechaser on Flickr]

When do use “ring”, “rang” and “rung”?

It’s quite simple, really. The present tense is used for present actions, the past tense for past actions, and the past participle for actions in the past that have been completed.

So to use “ringing a doorbell” as an example,

If you’re talking about someone ringing the doorbell, then you’d say “Carrie always rings the doorbell twice when she’s here”.

If you’re talking about the past, then you’d say “Carrie rang the doorbell five minutes ago”.

If you want to specifically mention the action of the phone ringing that has been completed, then you’d say “Carrie had rung the doorbell five minutes ago”.

The same applies for things like
- arise, arose, arisen
- begin, began, begun
- ring, rang, rung
- sink, sank, sunk
- withdraw, withdrew, withdrawn
- shrink, shrank, shrunk

BONUS TIP: Find out the difference between “ring” and “wring“!

[Image credit: Paul Downey on Flickr]

While both are verbs and have positive meanings, ‘complement‘ is something that completes or makes another perfect. For example, “that dress really complements her shoes”.

‘Compliment‘, on the other hand, would be an expression of praise, commendation, or admiration. For example, “Joe complimented Susan on her pretty dress”.

[Image credit: ngould on stock.xchng]

Just in time, or at the last possible moment.

Example:

The hero always saves his damsel in distress in the nick of time.

Did you know?

This idiom stems from the fact that in the 1580s, a nick was known as a narrow and precise marker.

Reference
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/in-the-nick-of-time.html

[Image credit: iprole on stock.xchng]

Although both words are pronounced exactly the same way, they are used quite differently.

‘Ring‘ is typically used as a noun like a wedding ring or a verb like ringing the doorbell.

‘Wring‘, however, is a verb, most frequently referring to the action of squeezing water out of something, for example “You need to wring the excess water from the cloth”.

[Image credit: fodor on stock.xchng]

Commonly Mispronounced as:feh-bra-ry

Definition: The second month of the year.
Sentence: I was born in February.

Meaning:

Those with similar interests or of the same kind tend to form groups.

Example:

A: John and James seem to get along really well

B: Well, birds of a feather flock together. They both love reading comics.

Did you know?

In nature, birds of the same species often flock together as a safety precaution, since congregating in large groups would reduce their risk of predatation. This behavior of birds is where this idiom originates from.

Reference
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/birds-of-a-feather-flock-together.html

[Image credit: alexbruda on stock.xchng]