Motor City
I will send out some handy tips and useful exercises for adults learning to navigate and use the English language each week. Please feel free to share this newsletter with friends and colleagues.
Detroit, Michigan is known as the “motor city” due to its prominence in the automobile industry. Some of the world’s largest car manufacturers, such as General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, have their headquarters or major production facilities in the area. Each year, Detroit attracts automobile enthusiasts from around the world with its renowned North American International Auto Show. The event showcases the latest automotive innovations and concept cars, drawing industry professionals and car enthusiasts alike.
It is situated along the Detroit River, which serves as a natural boundary between the United States and Canada.
The city also has a rich musical heritage, particularly in the genres of Motown, blues, and rock. Renowned artists such as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and Eminem have all hailed from Detroit, contributing to its vibrant music culture.
Listening Tip
Language Level – B2
Watch this short trailer for a film about the history of Motown in Detroit. Watch with the subtitles to practice reading skills as well.
Grammar Tip
Language Level – B2
A compound adjective is a single adjective made up of more than one word. For example:
- It is a three-page document.
- The life-insurance salesman was annoying.
The words in a compound adjective are usually grouped together using hyphens to show it is a single adjective.
Compound adjectives can also be grouped using italics, quotation marks, and title case. For example:
- It’s a bona fide purchaser.
- Is that your “go away” look?
- Did you watch the Harry Potter documentary?
Punctuating compound adjectives correctly will not only showcase your writing skills but also help your readers to absorb your words more easily. When a compound adjective is not grouped to show it is one grammatical unit, it can cause confusion. For example, note the difference in meaning between these two sentences:
- I’m a large truck driver.
- I’m a large-truck driver.
How to form compound adjectives:
- adjective + adjective: red-hot
- adjective + noun: long-distance
- adjective + present participle: easy-going
- adjective + past participle: ready-made
- noun + adjective: ice-cold
- noun + past participle: hand-made
- noun + present participle: Thai-speaking
- adverb + past participle: well-prepared
Let’s practice!
Identify the compound adjectives in the sentences below and determine if the need a hyphen, italics, quotes, or use title case.
- She wore a well made dress to the party.
- The blue eyed cat jumped into the tree.
- The chef made a mouth watering dessert that everyone loved.
- She gave him some well thought out advice.
- I have two tickets to the Orlando Magic game tonight.
- Drive past the best coffee sign and turn left.
- She is a strong willed leader who doesn’t give up easily.
- The short story is a short four page read.
Vocabulary Tip
Language Level – B2
We continue to add to our vocabulary words from the Oxford 3000.
A list of 3000 words someone should know if they are taking the CEFR (Common European Framework Reference) language tests.
- Fix (n)
- Flame (n)
- Flash (n, v)
- Flexible (adj)
- Float (v)
- Fold (n)
- Folding (adj)
- Following (prep)
- Forgive (v)
- Former (adj)
Use this quizlet to study this vocabulary (it’s free!)
Each week new words are added to the same quizlet, so all of the B2 level words will be in one list for practice.
Did you know? The average English language learner will know about 4,000 English vocabulary words by the end of the B2 level.
Writing Tip
Language Level – B1 and up
You are the key-note speaker at an important industry event. Write a short career biography (3-5 sentences) that will be featured next to your photo in event marketing materials.
Reading Tip
Language Level – B2
Detroit is also famous for it’s renowned architecture. Read this article with pictures and a brief description of each beautiful building.
https://detroit.curbed.com/maps/detroit-buildings-architecture-tour
Weekly Challenge
Language Level – C1
An idiom is a phrase with a non-literal meaning. For example, ‘let the cat out of the bag’ means ‘reveal a secret’, but you couldn’t guess that from seeing the phrase alone.
Colloquialisms are informal words or phrases that occur in everyday dialogue, often specific to a particular region. For instance, people from different parts of a country might have different ways of greeting one another informally.
This website has a great list of colloquialisms, slang, and texting acronyms for you to explore. Challenge yourself by taking the quiz at the end:
https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/american-english-slang-words-esl/
Questions?
