Englex - immersion in English

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Did English ever have a formal version of “you”? Yes it did, and the formal version was (drumroll, please....) you. In Early Modern English, thou was the singular and you was the plural. Plural you came to be used as a polite form of address (similar to the French vous, which is also used for the plural), but over time this polite form became more and more common, eventually displacing the singular thou altogether. This explains a peculiarity of traditional Quaker speech, which one often hears in films set in the early Americas. The Quakers opposed making any distinctions of rank, so they insisted on addressing everyone as thou, not as you. The irony is that today we perceive thou to be archaic and formal, while the original intent is to be more informal.

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What is a feminine version of 'guys'? "Guys"💪 can be used in English as gender neutral to refer to a group of mixed gender. You will even hear women refer to other women as "guys." The closest linguistic equivalent with a feminine tilt would be "gals". "Guys and gals" is a rather informal variant of "ladies and gentlemen". (Note the reverse order.) Actually, It is possible for "gals"👄 to be derogatory when used by itself so be careful. It's not likely to be a problem used in the pairing above. Used carefully it's probably safe, but used by itself it could be heard as mockery. Saying, "The gals talked in the kitchen while the guys went out to see Fred's new truck." is unlikely to offend anyone, but walking up to a couple women on a street corner and saying, "Excuse me gals, where is the grocery store?" might get a strange reaction😳. Saying to a couple girls, "Hey gals come with me," might make them doubt you, but if you are explaining some game instructions and say, "Alright, guys on this side of the room, gals on the other," it's likely to be fine.

Right vs Correct: Except when we use right to denote direction, what is the difference between these two terms? There is a subtle distinction between the two, in that "correct" implies that the given answer (or answers) is definitive and absolute, as might be the case, for example, with a simple maths problem. In contrast, "right" would be better for an answer which, although considered appropriate, is still matter of opinion (even if most people agree). This might apply, for example, to a question of ethics ("is this the right thing to do?"); again, using "correct" here would imply that there is an absolute answer that no-one could possibly disagree with. "Right" can still be used in places where "correct" would be appropriate (such as a maths problem), but not the necessarily the other way around.

#Hardjoking Teacher: I wish you'd pay a little attention Student: I'm paying as little as I can. —---------------— This pun relies on the important difference between "little" and "a little". little is rather negative. It suggests "not much, not as much as necessary". Look at these examples: • Sorry. I can't help. I speak little Thai. • Unfortunately, there is little hope of finding any survivors. a little is more positive. It suggests something more like "some". Look at these examples: • Why don't you ask Ram for help? He speaks a little Thai. • It's okay. There's a little butter in the fridge. Remember: a little > little sponsored by @dailyquestion

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⭐️ Read this story and write down new phrasal verbs 💫 When I set off for work this morning, my car broke down, so I ended up taking the bus. As soon as I got off, I bumped into an old schoolmate, Mark. While we were talking, he brought up something I had already found out from some mutual friends- that he had come into some money and had set up his own business. He told me that there was a lot to sort out, and offered to take me on, but I turned him down straight away. When I clocked in, my boss had a go at me, telling me off in front of everyone. When I got over the initial shock, I told her Id make up for being late, but it turned out that she had blown up over a deal that had fallen through, after a client of mine had pulled out of a contract. She told me that I wouldn't get away with it, that I'd let everybody down, and just went on and on…. Eventually, I ran out of patience and answered back - I said I was not going to put up with it anymore, and if she wanted to lay me off, she should go ahead. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I stormed out, phoned Mark's secretary, who put me through to him. I told Mark I'd like to take him up on his offer. So, in the end, everything has worked out perfectly!

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