๐ฆ Episode 103 โ Moving Day! The 5 chunks natives actually use when someone moves โ or visits a new place. Full teaching read in one vertical drop.
The 5 words:
- settle in (phrasal verb) โ get comfy in a new place. "We're finally settling in after the move." โ ๏ธ settle in โ settle down โ settle down means putting down roots (or getting married)!
- a fixer-upper (compound noun) โ a home that needs repairs, cheap because it's rough around the edges. "We bought a fixer-upper and did it up ourselves." โ ๏ธ ONE hyphenated word โ never "a fixer upper house".
- on the market (idiom) โ listed for sale. "The house next door is finally on the market." โ ๏ธ ON the market, never "in the market" โ and off the market = sold or taken.
- cramped (adjective) โ without enough space. "Our old place was so cramped, the table touched the couch." โ ๏ธ cramped = no space; crowded = too many people. Related but different.
- elbow grease (idiom) โ hard physical scrubbing effort. "The floors looked new after a bit of elbow grease." โ ๏ธ Uncountable โ "some elbow grease", never "an elbow grease".
โจ Magic Sentence: The place had been on the market for months โ a cramped little fixer-upper โ but after a weekend of elbow grease, we finally settled in.
๐ฃ๏ธ Real-Life Dialogue: A: "We got the keys โ no more of that cramped studio!" B: "Congrats! So the new place โ was it on the market long?" A: "Forever. It's a real fixer-upper, but we got it cheap." B: "Are you all settled in yet?" A: "Ha, barely โ a few weekends of elbow grease first."
๐ Translations:
| English | ไธญๆ | ๆฅๆฌ่ช | Franรงais | Espaรฑol |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| settle in | ๅฎ้กฟไธๆฅ | ่ฝใก็ใ | s'installer | instalarse |
| a fixer-upper | ๅพ ็ฟปไฟฎ็ๆฟๅญ | ใชใใใผใทใงใณ็ฉไปถ | une maison ร rรฉnover | una casa para reformar |
| on the market | ๆ็ๅบๅฎ | ๅฃฒใๅบใไธญ | en vente | en venta |
| cramped | ็ญ็ช็ | ็ญ่ฆใใ | exigu | estrecho |
| elbow grease | ่ฆๅๅคซ | ๆ้ใจๅ | un gros trabajo | mucho esfuerzo |
๐ก Usage pearls: settle in works for new jobs and schools too ("How's the new job? Still settling in."). Fixer-upper is HGTV-show famous โ plural: fixer-uppers. Job-hunting uses the separate phrase "on the job market". Airplane seats, offices and old kitchens are all cramped. The fixed collocation is "a little elbow grease" โ the DIY-day essential.
๐ฌ Chat with Ivana: https://www.nxplace.com/x/EnglishDrops?go=chat