How to use “how about”

“How about” is often used by native speakers to repeat a question but with a different subject (often after a “no” answer).  The best way to explain this is to use some examples:

A: Do you like horror movies?

B: No, they give me nightmares (bad or scary dreams).

A: Do you like How about action movies?

B: Yes, action movies are my favorite.

The part of the question that would be repeated, “Do you like”, is replaced with “How about”.  Notice that the person being asked the question can also use “How about” as in:

A: Would you like to play baseball?

B: No, I don’t like baseball. How about football?

A: Sorry, I don’t know how to play football. How about tennis?

B: Sure.  Tennis sounds good.

As long as you are asking the same kind of question, you can use “how about” as many times as you want.  You are also not limited to replacing nouns in the question; you can also replace verbals (infinitives or gerunds).  For example:

A: Do you want to go shopping this weekend?

B: No, I don’t have any money.  How about playing a board game?

There is just one final note.  You must use a gerund (verb + ing) after “How about”, you can’t use the infinitive (to + verb).

Native speakers use “How about” very often in conversation because it is shorter and faster than repeating an entire question over and over.  Try it yourself in your next conversation.

 

“New” business signs

When I go out shopping on the weekend here in Korea I often see the following English signs at new businesses:

Grand Open! (WRONG!)

New Open! (WRONG!)

Renewal Open! (WRONG!)

Unfortunately, these signs are NOT standard English!  There is a reason you will not see these signs in the U. S.  They are not grammatical.  In all of these signs, “Open” is a verb.  The only time you see verbs on signs written in English is when the verb is a command, such as “STOP”, “YIELD”, or “WATCH FOR FALLING ROCKS”. Most signs in the U.S. are nouns or adjectives.  The signs above should say:

Grand Open –> Grand Opening! [a noun - an event; this store is celebrating a grand opening]

New Open! –> Newly Opened! [adjective - what kind of store; this store is newly opened]

Renewal Open –> Grand Re-opening (after a store has remodeled) [a noun - an event; this store is celebrating a grand re-opening]

Here are a few other signs you might see:

Closed for Remodeling (the store is changing it’s layout)

We Have Moved to ________

Going Out of Business (the store is closing - this is a sign that everything in the store is on sale)

 

talking about love

(for the sake of simplicity I only talk about “girlfriends” and “wives” in this post, but everything also applies to “boyfriends” and “husbands” as well)

Many ESL speakers make the mistake of using the verb “make” with girlfriend or wife. English speakers do use the verb “make” when talking about platonic (not romantic) relationships:

It is important to make friends when you move to a new school.

It is difficult to make close friends.

However, we do not use the verb “make” when talking about romantic relationships:

I want to make a girlfriend. (WRONG!)

When will you make a wife? (WRONG!)

Instead, we use the verbs “find” and “get”. (”Find” is more common.)

I need to find a girlfriend.

Where can I find a wife?

It is easy to get a girlfriend, but hard to keep one.

It is hard for some divorced men to get new wives.

“Find” is also sometimes used when talking about platonic friendships.

If you are willing to meet people, you can always find new friends.

 

what do you do?

There are many questions in English that start with “what do you do?”

What do you do for fun? (What are your hobbies?)

What do you do for exercise? (How do you exercise?)

What do you do after work?

What do you do on the weekend?

All of these questions ask about a person’s habits or routines. However, the most common “what do you do” question is:

What do you do?

This question has a special meaning: what is your job? In my last post, I called phrases like this hidden idioms - common phrases that have been shortened and have a different meaning than expected. (The full phrase is “What do you do for a living?”)

How should you answer this question?  The most common answer is to reply with your job title:

I am a professor.

I am a businessman.

I am a hairdresser.

We do NOT say “My job is a professor.“  Another way to answer the question is to describe your job duties:

I teach English at Korea Nazarene University.

I sell accounting software to local businesses.

I cut hair at a salon.

Finally, if you are unemployed, a common euphemism is: “I’m between jobs.”

 

WHAT is she expecting?

“She’s expecting.” This is what I call a hidden idiom. The full phrase is so common that it has been shortened into an idiom. The full phrase is “She’s expecting a baby.” In other words, she’s pregnant. In fact, the title of a very famous book about pregnancy is, “What to Expect When You Are Expecting”.

This idiom is especially confusing to ESL students because it appears ungrammatical! In normal usage, the verb expect must be followed by an object.

She is expecting a phone call.

He was expecting his friend to meet him.

The dog expects you to throw the ball.

The only time expect(ing) is used without an object is when it is used as an idiom. Additionally, this idiom is often used when talking about a woman’s weight.

Sarah looks like she’s gained some weight. Is she expecting? (Is she pregnant?)

Also, when talking about pregnancy, “child” is often used instead of “baby”.

The happy couple was expecting their first child. (not baby)

They’re expecting a child in June.

Finally, a common euphemism for a miscarriage is “lost the baby” (”child” is not used).

She was expecting, but she lost the baby. (not child)

After she lost the baby, she became very depressed.

 

hiking and climbing

According to the dictionary, hike means “to take a long walk” and climb means “to move upward”. Unfortunately, the dictionary does not always give you enough information about how native speakers actually use a word.

When we are talking about people, we usually only use the verb climb when we use our hands (like Spiderman or Mission Impossible!). If you are talking about walking up a hill or mountain, then we use the verb hike.

It is not safe to climb mountains without a rope and harness.

The child was climbing all over the furniture. (using his hands)

I like to go hiking on the weekend.

We hiked up Mount Hood over the weekend. (even though it was a mountain, we did not use our hands)

However, when we are not talking about people, you must use climb.

The car slowly climbed the mountain road.

The plane climbed above the clouds.

 

Why does the suffix “-gate” mean?

The addition of -gate to a word is a reference to the Watergate scandal which led to the resignation of President Nixon. Watergate is the name of the hotel complex where 5 men tried to break into the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Ever since this scandal, the suffix -gate has been added by the media to a keyword or topic to refer to a related scandal or controversy.

The most recent “-gate” controversy is Spygate in which the New England Patriots football team was caught videotaping the defensive signals of the New York Jets during their game on Sept. 9, 2007.

 

the difference between “most” and “most of”

In general, if you are talking about a large, general group, you should use most.

Most people know how to ride a bike.

Most doctors earn a lot of money.

If you are talking about a smaller, more specific group, you should use most of.

Most of the people in this neighborhood are married.

Most of the doctors at this hospital earn a lot of money.

Grammatically, most is not followed by a determiner (a, the, this, etc.); you should use most of. If no determiner is used, just use most.

Most of people like chocolate. (no determiner, so don’t use of)

I like most of fruits. (no determiner, so don’t use of)

Most of my friends like movies. (my is a determiner, so you should use of)

I want to see most of the movies playing at the theater right now. (the is a determiner, so you should use of)

Of course, there are always exceptions:

If you are talking about a specific country or region , use most of.

Most of Africa is very hot.

Most of Europe uses the euro.

Note: for more detail, refer to Practical English Usage by Michael Swan

 

Who’s at large?

I’ve been away quite a while… I got swallowed up at the end of the semester, was home for a few weeks, and just finished an English camp here on campus. The kids are fun, but I’m glad I teach university students

Now, for a new entry based on a comment from my about page. (If you are reading this blog and have a question, please leave a comment or send an email. I’ll do my best to answer it.)

When “at large” is used together it has a special meaning. It is often used to talk about criminals or wild animals that are out in the public and not caught:

The criminals who robbed the bank remain at large. (They haven’t been caught yet.)

The tiger that escaped from the zoo is still at large.

It is often used with the verb “remain” or the adverb “still”. If a person or animal is at large, people are trying to catch them.

“At large” can also have a different meaning. When “at large” is used after a title or position it means “among the people” or “not limited to a specific area or district”.

• A “reporter at large” is a reporter that travels around and reports from “among the people”. They do not have a certain story that they have to report about.
• An “ambassador at large” does not work at 1 country, but instead deals with 1 problem.
• A “delegate at large” is elected from people of an entire state or area - as opposed to smaller districts

Finally, when “at large” is used after a group of people, it means “in general”

The people at large did not trust the new government.

Many students don’t know about the world at large.

Any more questions? Please let me know.

 

sickness, hospitals, and doctors

In English, we often say “catch a cold.” For other illnesses we often use the phrase “come down with.”

I caught a cold from my sister.

If you catch a cold, you should drink lots of liquids and get lots of rest.

He came down with the flu.

I haven’t been feeling well lately, I think I’m coming down with something.

When we don’t know the reason for the sickness, it is very common to say, “I’m coming down with something.“

If you catch a cold or come down with any minor sickness in Korea, many Koreans will ask you if you have gone to the hospital! This sounds very strange to Americans. First, for colds and other minor sicknesses, many Americans do not see a doctor. They will take some medicine and stay home. Second, in America, it’s very common for a doctor to work in an office apart from the hospital. So, it’s much more common to say:

Have you been to the doctor? (CORRECT)

Have you been to the hospital? (WRONG!)

You should go to the doctor. (CORRECT)

You should go to the hospital. (WRONG!)

The only time we go directly to the hospital is for an emergency. Any other time, we go to the doctor first. If we need a test that the doctor cannot perform in his office or if we need to have surgery or another serious treatment, then we will go to the hospital.