Welcome to the May issue of the english-at-home.com newsletter. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Clare

1. What's new on the site

If you need to employ someone in your house to do a job for you, what phrases can you use to talk about their availability or what you want them to do? How can you talk about payment? Our new page in the Real Life section of the site helps you with useful phrases.

Over in the reading section of the site, there's an article on words that children use most in Australia. What words do children in your country use most?

On our sister site theenglishweb.com there's a new article on making appointments.

2. Vocabulary quiz - Money idioms

Exercise 1 - Pay

Look at the definitions below, then fill the gaps in the sentences.

pay through the nose = pay a lot of money
pay in cash = pay in notes and coins (rather than by cheque) / get cash in hand for work
pay upfront = pay some money in advance
pay off = repay in full
pay someone back = pay back money you owe to someone

I don't think I'll ever be able to pay —– my loans.
We'll pay you ——— for the work.
Did he ever pay you —— for that meal? No, he still owes me!
We paid ———- for that holiday. It was far too expensive.
We'll need to pay some money ——- for the car.

Exercise 2 - Opposites

Find the opposites to these words and expressions.
(There are four opposite pairs in the eight expressions.)

cautious with money
generous
money burns a hole in your pocket
money is no object
spend money like water
tight-fisted
you can put money aside for a rainy day
you have a limited budget

Answers

Exercise 1

I don't think I'll ever be able to pay off my loans.
We'll pay you in cash for the work.
Did he ever pay you back for that meal? No, he still owes me!
We paid through the nose for that holiday. It was far too expensive.
We'll need to pay some money upfront for the car.

Exercise 2

cautious with money / spend money like water
"He spends money like water. No wonder he's always broke."

generous / tight-fisted
"I've never met anyone as tight-fisted as him."

you can put money aside for a rainy day / money burns a hole in your pocket
"It's a good idea to put something aside for a rainy day." (for a time that you might need it)
"Money seems to burn a hole in his pocket."

you have a limited budget / money is no object
"They're very lucky. Money is no object when it comes to holidays."

That's all for this issue. See you in June 2008!