Fishy business
Post categories: Teacher blog
| 12:43 UK time, Monday, 25 July 2011
Hi Paloma. Thanks for your latest fishy blog. The images really bring it to life.
Welcome (back) to Britain! It's been a very gloomy summer here so far, but the sun has finally come out, so perhaps you brought the weather with you from Spain.
I'm looking forward to hearing your musings on life in the UK. What are you planning on doing while you're here? Feel free to pick my brains if you're after ideas.
I'm going to pick up your fish theme for my blog this time. But before that, here are a few things I noticed in your last post.
LANGUAGE
In your blog you say:
I went with my family to a restaurant by the beach to say goodbye to the sun, the nice weather and the Spanish food.
In this case you shouldn't use the article 'the' in front of 'Spanish'. It should say: I went with my family to a restaurant by the beach to say goodbye to the sun, the nice weather and Spanish food.Your title for one of your pictures says:
Fried little squids.
When it comes to fish, English plurals start behaving quite strangely. For the majority, the singular and plural form of the word is the same - one squid, two squid, three squid etc. So, you should have written Fried little squid. There are exceptions to this, as we see in your next example of anchovies. You wrote Fried anchovies, which is absolutely correct!
Later on you write:
She cooks it every sunday and all my siblings come to my house...
In English, days of the week should always be written with a capital letter. Also, your use of the word 'siblings' seems too formal for this type of writing. It's not incorrect, but 'brothers and sisters' sounds more natural. Here's the correct sentence: She cooks it every Sunday and all my brothers and sisters come to my house...
HOMEWORK
There are numerous ways of cooking fish other than frying it. I thought I'd set this matching exercise so you can expand your cooking vocabulary. Which verb (1-5) goes with which definition (a - e)?
Verbs
1. to poach.
2. to steam.
3. to deep-fry.
4. to braise.
5. to grill.
Definitions
a. to cook food using the gas from boiling water.
b. to cook something using direct heat, especially a very hot surface.
c. to cook something in gently boiling water.
d. to cook food in a pan so it's completely covered with oil.
e. to cook food slowly in a covered dish with some fat and liquid.
Good luck with that. Of course the freshest way of preparing fish is to do nothing to it. That's right, raw fish is my favourite type! Here's a picture of me about to tuck into a massive plate of sushi on a trip to Japan. Mmmm!
Ìý
USEFUL VOCABULARY
• Fishy - an adjective meaning strange or dishonest (I'm only joking, Paloma - I don't think your blog is fishy!).
• Gloomy - unhappy and hopeless.
• To bring the weather with you - people say this when your arrival coincides with better or worse weather associated with the place you came from.
• Musings - deep thoughts on a subject.
• To pick someone's brains - to ask someone who knows a lot about a subject for their expert advice.
Comment number 1.
At 25th Jul 2011, ALFONSO wrote:Hi Neal,
As always, you are on the ball with your comments about english grammar.I´m on the look out for them all the time.Thanks for your teachings!Is right if I use the adj Fishy meaning cold?As in: Fishy stare look.....?
Here are my answers :
1-To poach= To cook something in gently boiling water.
2-To steam=To cook food using the gas from boiling water.
3-To deep-fry=To cook food in a pan so it´s completely covered with oil.
4-To braise=To cook food slowly in a covered dish with some fat and liquid.
5-To grill=To cook something using direct heat,especially a very hot surface.
That´s right?
All the best for you Neil.Hope to hear from you soon.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 1)
Comment number 2.
At 25th Jul 2011, ALFONSO wrote:Hi Neil,
In my country ,Colombia,in the northern coast , we have the slang "fuchi" meaning something that look nasty...ugly..Obviously is a "folkloric deviation" of the adjective Fishy.........For us the raw fish is "fuchi" but doesn´t mean that people don´t enjoy the sushi.
All the best!
Complain about this comment (Comment number 2)
Comment number 3.
At 25th Jul 2011, Naheed wrote:Hello Neil,
Thank you for your grammar tips and vocabulary. I have learned to use "to pick someone's brains" better from this post.
Here are my answers:
1(c), 2(a), 3(d), 4(e), 5(b)
All the best,
Naheed
Complain about this comment (Comment number 3)
Comment number 4.
At 26th Jul 2011, Pary wrote:Hi Neil ! it 's too nice to have you as ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Le teacher , What a pitty now a days I have been a bit lazy to put comment how ever visiting ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ LE Blog is one of my top daily visit in the Net ! Thank you for your interesting Blog . My answer for home work is the same as Naheed 's .
ps : What a big dish of sushi ! I haven't tried raw fish so far and I think it 's not my cup of tea !
have a nice day and bye
Pary from Iran
Complain about this comment (Comment number 4)
Comment number 5.
At 27th Jul 2011, ali wrote:Dear Niel ,
I will be very happy if you help me in my issue , I want realy to speak english but I am afriad i don't know hoe can I begin ? worda , gramers , etc... , I am very confused , soory my English is so poor but I try to improve it . Apperciated your advise
Complain about this comment (Comment number 5)
Comment number 6.
At 28th Jul 2011, Oth wrote:Hi Neil,
I am new to 'ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Learning English'. I just got registered myself sometime back. I had the habit of reading blogs but never had the interest to register in any of the blog sites. But, I have been following this website since few days and I really liked the 'Student' and the 'Teacher' blogs in this website. I am sure there is a lot that I can learn from this site. Well, I definitely have no comments about your English, it's truly admirable.
Complain about this comment (Comment number 6)
Comment number 7.
At 30th Jul 2011, Jieunkorr wrote:Hi Neil !
It's wonderful you've been to Japan :)
In fact. I like Sushi too. However we don't eat raw fish recently . since the radiation . My country(South Korea) is near Japan. so many workers who working in that fish industry are angry because of it. some people are even committed sucide .
Complain about this comment (Comment number 7)
Comment number 8.
At 6th Nov 2011, Titas wrote:Hi Jieunkorr,
The tsunami following the around 9 magnitude earthquake was a tragedy for Japan and made the Japanese people devastated. Consequently, the nuclear reactor break down escalated the crisis. The radiation level is really high and poses a significat threat of cance to human. Moreover, the nuclear substance was leaked to the sea water and thus, it is threatening the fish industry. Its sad to know that people were committed suicide. Perhaps the difficulties the distaster victims are having right now is out of our imagination. however, our sympathy is always with Japanese people and as a nation they have proved their unity and strenght to deal with disasters.
As for the sushi, i had once and i liked it. I reckon its healty and very tasty food. Now i would like to eat sushi again as soon as time and availabily allowed.
Best wishes..
Complain about this comment (Comment number 8)