Everyday English (Vocabulary Building)

Topic: City Life & Country Life

We will examine and practise vocabulary related to life in the city and countryside.

Lesson Notes July 28, 2026 (Vocabulary Building)

Words & Phrases

• I removed all the weeds from my garden. (= I weeded my garden)

• We had a large thunderstorm, and the storm affected the TVs in our building. (= a storm with thunder, lightning and heavy rain)

• I couldn’t watch the tournament live. I watched it on replay online.

• Yokohama trounced the other team 11 to 1 in the final. (= to defeat heavily, decisively, or overwhelmingly) (Synonyms: crushed, hammered, thoroughly beat)

• The gates (open at / don’t open until) six. (We can use “the gates” for venues, stadiums, and large events, airports, stations, fences, barriers etc)

Grammar

Reading Fractions

• Reading a fraction is just combining two types of numbers we already know:

  • Top number: Normal (cardinal number), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc

  • Bottom number: Ordinal, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh etc

    • 1/4 = one + forth

    • 1/6 = one + sixth

• If the top number is bigger than 1, add “s” to the bottom word

  • 2/5 = two fifths

  • 4/9 = four ninths

Reading Temperature

• The word “degree” is plural for every number except (positive) 1

  • zero degrees celsius

  • Negative numbers: -1 degrees celsius (although, “negative one degree” is sometimes used)

  • High numbers: two degrees, eight-hundred degrees

City Life

• “Car park” is the building where many people can park their vehicles. Sometimes also called “parking garage”

  • “Parking space” is the spot for parking a vehicle

• “There are no places to park.” (Remember when using “no” the countable noun that follows must be plural, this also is the same for “zero”)

  • There are zero places to park!

  • (BUT) There is nowhere to park.

Next Lesson

August 4, 2026 - City Life: review page 2, from exercise 26.3