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Traveling by Air in English

Before you travel by air for vacation or perhaps to visit a friend, it might be wise to review some of the basic words related to air travel. Firstly, the place you leave from:

 

I'm off to the airport! -Have a nice trip.

Caption 88, Ask Jimmy Carter - Another interview with Sharon Stone

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Then the vehicle that you use to travel with: 

 

In an airplane, there's always a front exit and sometimes there's a rear exit.

Caption 58, The Alphabet - the Letter R

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Then the action you carry out on the airplane:

 

But most of us can't just fly off to faraway places. Well, no flying is necessary when you've got Yabla.

Captions 7-8, Yabla Languages - Introduction to Yabla

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The verb "to fly," can mean to travel by airplane, and though you may not need to fly to learn a foreign language, it helps sometimes getting to you destination!

 

As we prepare for take-off, please relax and enjoy the flight.

Caption 89, Delta's Holiday - In-Flight Safety Video

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"Take-off" is when the airplane leaves the ground and takes to the air. In English, you say you are "catching a flight" to mean you are going to travel on an airplane.

 

Please power off all electronic devices during takeoff and landing.

Caption 51, Air New Zealand - An Unexpected Briefing

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"Landing" is, of course, the opposite of "takeoff" (note too that "take-off" may be spelled with or without a hyphen). "Electronic devices" include cellular phones, tablets, and laptop computers. 

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Further Learning
Go to this page and see some other examples of travel words in English, and then go to  Yabla English to find other examples of travel words used in a real-world context.

To Borrow and to Lend

In English, the verb to borrow means to take or use something that belongs to someone else for a short period of time. The verb to lend is to give something to a person for a short period of time. These two words often get mixed up by non-native speakers, so let's look at some examples. 

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In the following example, Valentino lends the clothes and Sharon Stone borrows the clothes. In the end, she has to give them back.

 

So Valentino, the designer, lends me clothes to wear for appearances.

Caption 64, Ask Jimmy Carter - Another Interview with Sharon Stone

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The phrase "lend a hand" means "to help out."

 

I would not lend a hand

Caption 5, Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight

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In the following sentence, Richard Wiseman tells you to use your friend's money to play a trick on them.

 

Borrow a note from a friend. Ask them to place their hands palm down.

Caption 49, Richard Wiseman - 10 bets you will always win

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Of course, some people keep things for longer than they should...

 

You are so welcome to borrow her for the next, like, ten years or so.

Caption 5, Selena Gomez - Ramona And Beezus - Trailer

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So now you know that saying "Johnny borrowed me ten dollars" is completely wrong! You have to say either "Johnny lent me ten dollars" or "I borrowed ten dollars from Johnny."

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Further Learning
Write some sentences that begin with "I recently borrowed..." and "I recently lent..." Re-write the sentences above from Yabla English so that they use the other verb and remembering to change the subject and object of the sentence accordingly. 

Frequency Adverbs

There is a standard set of adverbs (words that modify verbs) that describe how often something happens, from not at all (never) to all the time (always). Let's see some examples from Yabla English.

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I've never done that in my life.

Caption 70, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four - BBC TV Movie

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I very rarely have a day off.

Caption 11, Ask Jimmy Carter - Another Interview with Sharon Stone

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Do you have someone who can ... take the air out of your tires occasionally?

Captions 40-41, Will Smith - Enemy of the State

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...I sometimes will write it on a piano.

Caption 27, Bee and Flower - Interview

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Whales feed at depth in waters that are often pitch dark.

Caption 19, Sustainable Human - How Whales Change Climate

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I usually leave it to simmer a little bit.

Caption 85, Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives - Pam's Trinidadian Caribbean Kitchen

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It is always held in Leicester Square.

Caption 25, In London with Lauren - Piccadilly Circus

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The adverbs are written in bold above in increasing order of frequency: never, rarely, occasionally, sometimes, often, usually, always.

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Further Learning
Search for examples of frequency adverbs on Yabla English to see them used in a real-world context.