Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[luciaC]

1. What does it mean when someone says,"You are in the dog house now?"
2. What does it mean when you call someone a hot dog?
3.What does it mean"She has just scored a goal?" Does that mean her dream come true?
4.What does"Trust not an old enemy mean?
5. Arnold said he knows that many new citizens in the audience will go on to contribute great things. Why don't we use past tense to indicate reported speech?
6. Arnold said he knows the new citizens will give back. Why don't we use past tense to indicate reported speech?
7 She has a dynamic personality. What does dynamic personality mean? An interesting person?
8. I love eating fruits such as bananas, apples and kiwis. Do we normally have a comma before such as? Fruit or fruits? How do differenciate?
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Mimi

[Brian Boyd]

'In the dog house' means that you've done something wrong and someone is unhappy with you.

For example:

He forgot his girlfriend's birthday, and now he's in the dog house.

I'm in the dog house because I said I didn't like her new shirt.

You can also use 'bad books'. Being in the dog house is the same as being in someone's bad books.

You're in my bad books because you drank my last coke from the fridge.

Usually, being in the dog house or someone's bad books is only temporary, and can be fixed by saying sorry or giving the angry person time to calm down.

When you're no longer in the bad books or dog house, you can say the situation has 'blown over'.

I was in the dog house this morning, but it seems to have blown over now.

Brian
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Comics for students ...

http://www.grammarmancomic.com

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[iitimone7]

i'll answer the rest of your questions, mimi!!

2. calling someone a hot dog can mean many, many things. it someone uses a negative tone in their voice to call someone a hotdog, it may that they are calling the person a clumsy, ignorant or an idiot. if someone uses a positive tone of voice anc calls someone a hot dog (two separate words), they may mean that the person is doing something extremely well, like leading a team in a winning score throughout the entire game.

3. if she has just scored a goal, in European football (soccer), she just scored a point. if someone is talking about scoring a goal in a business transaction, she probably represented her company well and made a lot of money for her business, or she made a good contact with another company and she can use them again for future business transactions.

4. "do not trust an old enemy" is a more grammatically correct way to say it, but the phrase means the same thing either way. if you do not trust an enemy a lot time ago, it is probably not a good idea to trust that same enemy now.

5.the sentence is perfect. arnold reported something in the past (said) but what he is talking about will happen in the future.

6. this sentence works the same way as #5.

7. dynamic personality is explosive...like dynamo. it means that she has an amazing personality and she is a person that everyone needs to know or learn how to be.

8. this sentence is correct. you can also way it another way...
I love eating fruit: bananas, apples, and kiwi.
(the words fruit is all ready plural. the word kiwi is singular or plural in the same form...i ate a kiwi, i ate many kiwi.)

even those of us who speak English every day still must look up words often in the dictionary. don't give up because you feel like you can't get it right...many Americans can't get it right, either, and we speak it every day!!

[CP]

If I may add my two cents about one of your questions:

:2. What does it mean when you call someone a hot dog?"

In the U.S.A., someone who shows off while playing sports, especially team sports, is often called a hotdog. The outfielder in baseball who runs into another player's territory to catch the ball is showing off--he might be called a hotdog. The basketball player who hogs the ball, never passes if he can take the shot himself, pats himself on the back for scoring a basket--he is a hotdog.

Hope this helps.

CP

[LucentShade]

for #4, "Trust not an old enemy" -- this sentence is grammatically correct; it's just archaic, and you won't hear it in conversation. You might hear constructions like this in formal speeches or in books, such as the Bible. An example would be John F. Kennedy's speech, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."