In this dialogue, the English Grammar focuses on “any” used as an adverb.
Perry: “Is it cold again today?” Geoff: “It’s always cold here. I can’t stand it.” Perry: “Me neither. Where is the sun?” Geoff: “I think it died.” Perry: “I have terrible allergies in this cloudy weather.” Geoff: “Do you think Turkey is any better?” Perry: “No, the Black Sea coast is always very humid.” Geoff: “Maybe because of climatechange.” Perry: “I need a warmer climate.”
VOCABULARY WITH IDIOMS
Climate change is thought to be due to global warming, which is a sustained increase in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere. See online Dictionary.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR Suggested Topic for Comments: Adverbs
“Any” as Adverb. “Any” is generally described as a quantifier. It can be an adjective or a pronoun. But here, it is used as an adverb:
“Do you think Turkey is any better?”
The dictionary gives several examples: “I could not walk any farther.” “He won’t be any happier there than he was here.” See online Dictionary.
INTERMEDIATE-ADVANCED DIALOGUE
New Idioms are “Fed up” and “Tough it out.” The English Grammar focuses on Adverbials.
George: “I’m so fed up with this climate I could scream.” Calvin: “I know, but what can we do about it?” George: “It’s already May but it’s still cloudy and overcast all the time. Where is the sun?” Calvin: “It has to get warmer soon. We’re here to swim.” George: “My allergies have been killing me all winter long. I’ve been waiting for all that to change with hot weather. So where is it?” Calvin: “Maybe we should leave now for Turkey, it’s gotta be warmer than this.” George: “Not on the Black Sea coast, it’s pretty much the same as it is here. And rentals go up in price everywhere else in the summer, especially with all the Russians coming in.” Calvin: “So we’ll just tough it out until fall, and then we can leave. At least we can get some swimming in, meanwhile.” George: “I don’t remember it like this two years ago.” Calvin: “Well, they talk about climate change. Maybe this is it.”
VOCABULARY WITH IDIOMS
Fed up means irritated, exasperated, bored, or disgusted with someone or something. See online Idioms Dictionary. Pretty much means mostly, for the most part. See online Idioms Dictionary. Tough it out is slang, and it means to endure, to get through despite hardship. See online Idioms Dictionary. Get in means to manage to do something within a specific time frame. See online Idioms Dictionary.
ENGLISH GRAMMAR Suggested Topic for Comments: Adverbials
“So we’ll just tough it out until fall.” This is a sentence-final adverbial of time. If there were other adverbials in the sentence, we would normally see this one follow adverbials of manner, direction and position, and precede adverbials of purpose and reason.
“So” is a complicated word with many different functions. In the above sentence, it is a conjunction which roughly means “therefore” — it relates causes to results. But in “I’m so fed up I could scream,” it is what we call a “degree adverb,” roughly meaning “very.” It is an intensifier which modifies adjectives and other adverbs with emphasis: “This problem is so difficult to solve.” “He is so tall I feel like a midget.” “I wish she did not drive so slowly.”
