Comments

hi raffles convey my regards to jo.I would like to ask jo a doubt.Being a native spaker she can give me a better answer.If we stick on to the grammer too much,wouldnt it be funny and miss the correct intentional(am not sure about this usage) feeling?Why am asking becz in our native language, in daily usages, we used to say a lot of grammer mistakes.But if we follow the rules it would be a funny usage.. So we usually won't go for it.

Hello Raffles, Where is Jo? I am so sad, but you know every cloud has a silver lining, and so I got to meet you. Let us play frisbee now. But you know i am not that good at it, you could knock me down with a feather. We will also include Scratcy as well. Let's start. "Oh... Scractchy, You are making me run too much", me running to catch the disc, being angry, "hey Raffles, we should not have included you boss, this scratchy..!" Raffles agreed, "Yes you are right, we gave her a inch and she is taking a mile, as she is really nasty with both of us". "I have to run if I want to play this game, I should know there is no such thing as free lunch." "Ooops, now, why are you quarling among yourself", "It's all Scratchy's fault, she only started", upon which Scratchy denied the accusation, Now I have to decide whoes fault is, may be Jo will help all three of us to know whoes fault it is...! But one thing is there, there is no smoke without fire, so someone is at fault for sure. Let us ask Jo, what she thinks...and also about how we treated idiot with big bums? Cheers Mahesh

Hi Jo! Here are my answers to your homework: 1. Nothing happens without a reason. 2. Every difficult situation has a bright side. 3. I was very surprised with something you said or did. 4. You do not get something for free. 5. Someone takes advantage of your willingness. I enjoy reading your blog and I cannot wait to read your next post Cheers, Filippo

Wow, just what I needed, as one of my weak points is idioms. 1) There’s no smoke without fire = for example if someone tells a bad rumor, there usually is some truth in it. 2) Every cloud has a silver lining = this is pure guess work, but I suppose it means that bad luck has also the good sides. 3) You could have knocked me down with a feather! = this one is totally new one to me, but I presume that it means I am surprised. 4) There’s no such thing as a free lunch = How very true it is; every good favor needs to be returned. 5) Give someone an inch and they’ll take a mile= unfortunately this is a case with some people; nothing is enough. Best wishes from sunny Finland.

Hi Raffles!! How are you doing ? Nice to meet you on the virtual world . I wish to answer your questions regarding new idiom. 1.>There’s no smoke without fire. That means something that you say which means that if people are saying that someone has done something bad but no one knows whether it is true, it probably is true . 2>Every cloud has a silver lining. That means something that you say which means that there is something good even in an unpleasant situation . 3>You could have knocked me down with a feather! That means something that you say in order to emphasize how surprised you were when something happened .4>There’s no such thing as a free lunch. That means something that you say which means that if someone gives you something, they always expect you to give them something or to do something for them .5> Give someone an inch and they’ll take a mile. That means something that you say which means that if you allow someone to behave badly at all, they will start to behave very badly . That are all meanings. So long !!!

Hello Jo. My homework: 1. An example: People saw John and Ann together at that party and started talking about them as a couple.For a couple of months the two of them were denying that these rumours were true, but then, they got married. There's no smoke without fire. An explanation: One event causes another and the truth becomes visible in the end. 2. If she hadn't broke her leg, she wouldn't have met that doctor who was a great husband to her. Every cloud has a silver lining. In every bad situation there must be something good to help us overcome a bad period. 3. The taxi driver didn't get much sleep last night, so when he came home you could have knocked him down with a feather. He was so ill,tired, surprised by some bad or good news, weak for some reason that he could easily fall down on the ground. 4. I was allowed to leave work three hours earlier on Friday, but then, on Monday, I had to stay longer to finish my unfinished work. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Nothing is for free, everything must be payed for. 5. I gave him for a present my old car but he asked for a loan to buy a new car. Give someone an inch and they'll take a mile. If you help someone with something, as much as you can at that time, he will not be satisfied but ask for more.

Hi Jo and Raffles! I´ll try to answer your questions. 1) There is no smoke without fire ... It means that every result has its cause. Or, if you talk about something, the truth is hidden in it. 2)Every cloud has a silver lining ... I think it means that every bad thing or situation has connection with something else. 5)Give someone an inch and they will take a mile. ... Perhaps it is about people you give something to them and they want more and more. I have no idea about two others. All the best, Kamila

Hi Jo and hi Ruffles! Wow! You are a very smart dog Ruffles! Don´t let Scratchy smack you again, ok? For God sake, aren´t you a German Shepherd? Well, I´ll give a go and I´ll try to find out the meaning of this idioms. 1-There´s no smoke without fire: something that people are talking about,and you don´t know whether or not is true, but the rumour exist, so maybe there´s a bit of true in it; 2-Every cloud has a silver lining: There´s always a good side in everything, even if you are facing a bad situation; 3-You could have knocked me down with a feather!: when you are very surprised with something that someone said or did; 4-There´s no such thing as a free lunch: When you receive something of someone, this person probably is waiting that you do something for him/her in payment; 5-Give someone an inch and they´ll take a mile: you give to someone a bit of power and then this person will try to obtain even more. So, I think this is all Ruffles. I hope that Jo have had a great time in London. Oh! Please, tell her that I´m looking foward to hearing how was her weekend, and of course, I also want to know the idioms answers. :-) You do take care of yourself, ok!? Best wishes, Ana Paula.

Oh my goodness! I´m so sorry Raffles! Just now I realised I wrote your name wrong! Uh! Sorry!!! Ana Paula.

Wanwan! Raffles. Dogs say hello like this in Japanese! Are you a shepherd, aren't you? Raffles, has Jo ever won raffles before? I wonder where your name come from? Excuse me, Raffles. Would you mind if I ask you a question? You seem to be a lady, but you're handsome. Your eyes are pretty but your ears are manly. Hm, Are you a ... No! I've been so rude to mention about your gender. Raffles, please forgive me. Hello, Jo. I've got the homework you'd handed Raffles. I'll write down my answers. (1) Something seems to be false but including truth in it. (2) Even if somethig bad happened to you, but still you can find/get something good. (3) To be surprised. (4) If you get something free of charge but later, it costs you a lot. (5) If you give a person something, then the person keep asking you give it more. That't it. I'm done. See you again.

Hi Jo, My homework of idioms: 1) There’s no smoke without fire: Where there is smoke, there is fire. When people suspect something, there is a normal reason for the suspicion but no concrete evidence. 2) Every cloud has a silver lining: The idiom was derived from John Milton's Comus (1634): "A sable cloud turns forth its silver lining on the night.” it means that in every bad situation there is always an element of good. This idiom can comfort anybody, including oneself, who is having problems. It is always possible to get something positive out of a situation, no matter how hard it might be. 3) You could have knocked me down with a feather! If somebody told me that Mr. George W. Bush was the PM of UK, I would very shocked and surprised, and tell him or her:’ you could have knocked me down/up with a feather, but, there’s no smoke without fire.’ 4) There’s no such thing as a free lunch: People don’t get things for free. People need to pay in some way so if it seems to be free. 5) Give someone an inch and they’ll take a mile. It is often shorten ‘give an inch’. The idiom means that some people will take a lot of advantage of you if you make a small concession. Best Regards, The dog is nice.

Teacher, I know that auxiliary verb called helping verb too. It dosen't mean of my question. I mean how to use the some of the auxiliary verbs such as "ought to" "need to" "bear to" I am confuse about even these words. thank you. note that: plaese if you want to answer my question, write in properly and vastly otherwise like this short and unclear answer makes me more confuse. so please techer help to out. ok teacher I will waiting for your good answer. Kailarai, Nepal.

HI JO; Thank you very much for the nastsy homework,especially the 4th one was really difficult. Here are my answers; 1)There is alwaye some reason for a rumour. 2)There is always more hopefol side to a sad or difficult situation. 4)It is not possible to get something for nothing 5)If you surrender a little to somebody, they will try to get more. I am doing my best to improve my English,however,I feel that it is a must to live the language:that is only possible through living with a family in England for a couple of weeks during this summar.I wounder if you can help to find a one. The Best Of All.

What a handsome gentleman! These idioms have the counterparts in Chinese language,and be used frequently in daily life. Raffles have done a good work.

Hi Jo & Raffles, Here are my telegraphic answers to the “homework” Q1) There’s no smoke without fire. A1) Things happen because other things have happened before. Q2) Every cloud has a silver lining. A2) Anything has a nice side. Q3) You could have knocked me down with a feather! A3) Feeling after a big surprise, during the first shock. Q4) There’s no such thing as a free lunch. A4) Not waiting for compensation. Q5) Give someone an inch and they’ll take a mile. A5) People wants more and more. I read everyday the blogs (Yours and Naheed’s) but I have not always time enough to answer. Nice pictures of your pets.

Hi Raffles, How is the taste of pink frisbee? Is it a strawberry flavor? Jo had mentioned how delicious the strawberry is in British at the moment. Haha! I hope to delight you all. By the way, can you lend me a hand, Raffles? I've been wondering about how many "a" should be put to make a correct "Aaaaah"? Please bring the question to Jo, please. David

Hi Raffles! Nice to meet you. I have two collies, you could be friends! I have a question for you.. why do you say "I'm" and not "It's Raffle"? I am only sure of one of the idioms so here I go: 5) Give someone an inch and they’ll take a mile: It happens when you offer someone a little bit of something and they're greateful but they want more and more. We say the same in spanish: "You give your hand and they take your arm" (it even sounds good haha) That's all :) Hope to hear from your answers soon! X

Ahem,Let me figure out the meanings of these idiots with a big bum.1)If something happened, there must be a reason.2)Hope exists in the most difficult career.3)It's easy for you to defeat me.4)It is improbable to have a free lunch.5)Someone is too greed.

Hi, Jo. Thank you for having presented us Scratchy. Seems to be nice fellow. Do you happen to know how the selection is made when the BBC LE team publishes the learners' comments? Do they avoid having the same person many times? Do they publish the first comments they get? Any other criteria? Carrie from BBC Learning English says: We’re always pleased to get comments from our audience! There’s no limit to the number of comments we publish from any one person and we publish all comments unless they break the “House Rules” http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/communicate/blog/blog_rules.shtml (for example, if the comment contains contact details such as an email address, is offensive or is unrelated to the topic.) Sometimes it may take a while for your comments to appear (like over the weekend, when there isn’t anyone in the office!). Please keep sending your comments!

Thanks for your message from Jo and you dutifully did it well. i am sure she is very proud of you.you look terriffic and healthy.before I did my homework i had read Naheed's blg.I think she did really very well,so i decieded not to do my homework.I am not a nosy person but curious all the time.this is a my deal if you tell me why Jo have gone off to the Smoke i would allow you to paly Frisbee with my son.he is gogerous like you.

Hi dear jo , This is my first answer to your homeworks . But frankly , I 'v read all of your previous Blogs , I like country side very much .I 'm very jealous about your lovely house . You are out of the blue !I like learning idioms and proverbs but when I try to use them with my friends , I found that they don’t know them , so do you think it's a good idea to learn them , when it's possible that your speaking partner have not heard it ? Here are my home works : 1) There’s no smoke without fire. When people suspect sth , there is normally a good reason for the suspicion , even if there is no concrete evidence . 2) Every cloud has a silver lining. It 's possible to get sth positive out of a situation , no matter how unpleasant ,difficult or even painful it might seem . 3) You could have knocked me down with a feather! To mean that person was very shocked or surprised . 4) There’s no such thing as a free lunch. You don't get things for free , so if sth appears to be free , there 's a catch and you 'll have to pay in some way . 5) Give someone an inch and they’ll take a mile. Some people are never pleased with they are given – they demand more and more To tell the trust I found the meaning of these idioms and proverbs in the net and it gives me a good hint for knowing more and more idioms . Here are my resource : WWW.usingEnglish.com It is a very good web page and I promise to look at it again . If you would not see any new comment from me , you always know that there is a Iranian woman in your age that evey day is very keen to read your Blogs yours very femininely

Jo, I have been learning English for a while now. My problem is that,I feel, my knowledge is not structured. I have learned bits and pieces but I do not have a complete feeling, which is affecting me badly as I am not able to use what I have learned confidently. I think this got to do with my attitude, I am a perfectionist, if I can't guarantee that I mess up things. How do I rectify this. Could you suggest me a textbook or an online course which I can use. This might give me a "completeness" feeling and perhaps gives me necessary confidence. Thank you Paul

Hi Raffles, nice to meet you. I like you very much. You are nicer than Scratchy, you get beautiful and cute eyes. But, your homework is more difficult than Jo's, please let me know the answer before Jo posted it. Thank you. Virginia

hi,jo kent.i have been English for years but i am not satisfied with my english.how can i know now i speak enough English. i need ur tips.