The ABUNDANCE vs SCARCITY Theory

Once upon a time…

There was a wise old man… was he young?… or was it a woman? I can’t remember…anyway, a person, who had a
gift, which he/she shared with everyone. I had the good fortune of meeting him/her on my life’s walk!

The gift was 2 words: “THINK ABUNDANTLY!”

See the rest of the story in the PDF

SALT Business Meal

Hi Everybody,

Well SALT's January Business Meal was a big success. Have a look at the pictures. Don't forget, we have a Business Meal every month, so why not come along to the next one and enjoy the food and company and have fun while practicing your English?

January Business Meal Pictures

By and Until

I was asked what the difference was between by and until and as a native speaker I was able to say whether the usage was correct or not, but could not really explain why. So here is the explanation.

Both words until and by indicate “any time before, but not later than.” But to understand the difference we need to distinguish between verbs that express continuous actions (stay, live, sleep etc.) and actions performed once (arrive, leave, finish etc.).

Use until (NOT by) with verbs that express continuity, as “be away” (stay in another place) does in the first sentence in the question. Until may be a preposition as in sentences (a), (b), and (c), or a subordinating conjunction, as in sentences (d) and (e):

(a)	They lived in a small apartment until June 1998.
(b)	We're going to drive until dark.
(c)	Harry was so tired that he slept until noon.
(d)	The baby didn’t walk until he was 18 months old.
(e)	Did you really speak only French until you were ten?

Use by (NOT until) with verbs referring to one action performed at a specific point of time, in affirmative sentences and in questions. “Be back” (return to the original place) is an example of this kind of verb in the second sentence in the question. Here are other examples:

(f)	You have to finish by August 31. (August 31 is the last day you can finish; you may finish before this date.)
(g)	Jack had left his office by 5:15, so he didn't know about the burglary. (Jack left his office at some time before 5:15 or at 5:15. 5:15 is the last possible time he could have left.)
(h)	If the plane arrives by noon, we'll have lunch at the new restaurant near the airport. (The plane will have arrived at some time before noon, or at noon at the latest.)
(i)	Do we have to pay our taxes by April 15? (Is April 15 the last date when we can pay our taxes?)

However, with negative verbs referring to a point of time, we can also use until. Sentences (f) through (i) are changed to their negative forms in (j) through (m) below, and may also take until, with a slightly different meaning:

(j)	You don't have to finish until August 31. (You can stay in the situation of not having finished for all the time up to August 31, but that is the last day you will have to finish.)
(k)	Jack didn't leave his office until 5:15, so he knew about the burglary. (Jack stayed in the situation of not leaving his office during all the time before 5:15, but at 5:15 he left the office)
(l)	Even if the plane doesn't arrive until noon, I'll still be there. (The plane is in the air, and might arrive at noon, not before.)
(m)	We don’t have to pay our taxes until April 15. (We don’t have to pay our taxes for all the time before April 15; on April 15 the situation changes, and we have to pay our taxes.)

The information is taken from the website
http://www.pearsonlongman.com/ae/azar/grammar_ex/message_board/archive/articles/00016.htm

Last week I was teaching a lesson and used the word gung-ho. I tried to explain to my students what it meant and they wanted to know where it came from, so here is the explanation.

Gung-ho - extremely enthusiastic and dedicated

Our Living Language Most of us are not aware of it today, but the word gung ho has been in English only since 1942 and is one of the many words that entered the language as a result of World War II. It comes from Mandarin Chinese gōnghé, “to work together,” which was used as a motto by the Chinese Industrial Cooperative Society. Lieutenant Colonel Evans F. Carlson (1896–1947) borrowed the motto as a moniker for meetings in which problems were discussed and worked out; the motto caught on among his Marines (the famous “Carlson's Raiders”), who began calling themselves the “Gung Ho Battalion.” From there eager individuals began to be referred to as gung ho. 

This was also the name of comedy starring Michael Keaton in which the clash of cultures between America and China lead to many comical situations and misunderstandings.

SALT Blog goes on line

Hi Everybody,

This is SALTY, your new Skills and Language Team Blogger. I will be talking about English language in use, Business English, Coaching - basically all the things that you expect from SALT. Have fun.

You can find us at the following web address: http://www.salt-pro.com/blogs/saltblog.html

Our homepage is : http://www.salt-pro.com/

SALTY