For representative purposes only. | Image credit: iStockphoto
“Wow! So many different sweets! Are you expecting visitors?”
“My neighbor celebrated his birthday yesterday. He brought all these sweets this morning.”
“I didn’t know you knew him so well. Have you ever told him you like sweets?”
“That wasn’t necessary. Everyone in this building knows I have a sweet tooth.”
“You have a sweet tooth? Does that mean you are someone who likes sweets?”
“That’s right! When you say you have a ‘sweet tooth’, what you mean is that you are someone who really likes most things that taste sweet. I have a strong sweet tooth. It’s not surprising that the first thing I did was head to the dessert section.”
“That’s something I don’t do. No one in my family has a sweet tooth.”
“What happened to your voice? It sounds awful. Have you been drinking…”
“I drank lime juice a few days ago. The lemon must really… How do you pronounce s..s..u..r?”
“Native English speakers rhyme it with ‘power’, ‘our’ and ‘shower’.”
“I understand. I’ve heard a lot of people make it rhyme with ‘bore’, ‘pour’ and ‘shore.'”
“That’s wrong. You know what ‘sour’ means, right?”
“Of course! Something that has a sharp, unpleasant taste. Unripe mangoes, for example, can sometimes be very sour.”
“And don’t forget the lemons. You can…”
“Let’s forget sour mangoes and lemons, OK? If you go to Gopal’s party tonight, I’d like to come with you.”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to find someone else. My relationship with Gopal is bad. So I won’t…”
“Your relationship fell apart? What are you talking about? How can a relationship…”
“The word ‘sour’ has several meanings. When you say that a relationship has turned sour, you mean that it has gone bad. The two people are no longer friends.”
“Being with the other person is no longer fun.”
“Exactly! Here is an example. The disagreement over the amount of money each of them should receive worsened the relationship between the two sisters..”
“Money is the number one reason relationships fail. How about this example? TThe recent incursion along the border has worsened relations between the two countries.”
“That’s a good example. You can also say ‘get angry’. Sunitha is very thin-skinned. If you keep making fun of her, your relationship will probably get sour.”
“It doesn’t really matter. Tell me, if you don’t go to the party tonight, what are you going to do?”
“I’m doing what I always do. I’m sitting around and watching TV.”
“Sitting around? Don’t you mean ‘sitting around’?”
“They mean the same thing. If you are ‘sitting around’ or ‘sitting around’ in the house, you are wasting your time. You are not doing that…”
“They don’t do anything useful. They work very little.”
“Very good! Both the terms are mostly used to express disapproval. After losing his job, Mahesh sat at home all day for a few months and watched TV.”
“I don’t want to sit around doing nothing while you two work. Tell me how I can help.”
“Good example! This weekend I plan to sit around at home and watch some old movies.”
“Given the terrible weather, that’s pretty much the only thing you can do.”
