If you add the prefix over to a verb, you intensify the verb.

Overwork means to work too much.

I feel overworked means I feel exhausted.

Overdo means to do too much of something.

I overdid it when I was working out. Now my muscles are sore. That means that I exercised too much or too strenuously.

I overslept means I slept too long.

When you oversleep you may be late for work.

See you soon!

Mary Ziller from USA

Hello everybody! How’s everything? I hope you’re all doing well. Well, Alessandro wrote a post about business meetings in English so I thought I’d give him a hand and write some more about it, in a series of five articles. So let’s get down to business! First of all, I’ll give you guys a small dialogue in formal English, then the most important expressions and their definitions ok? I’ve gathered some examples from several sources and materials so if you read something which looks familiar, it is NOT a coincidence! The topic today is “Starting a Meeting”.

On behalf of this company, I’d like to call this meeting to order. This is a meeting of some of the key players in our company: our top managers. Our purpose this morning is to hear a presentation about a new initiative for outreach and marketing, and to discuss this plan with all of you.

This is a presentation that all of us have looked forward to. This initiative marks a new milestone in the evolution of our company. First, it serves as an assessment of where our company is now in terms of communicating its message to its customers domestically and abroad. Furthermore, this plan has the potential to drive our company forward by transforming our corporate outreach and marketing strategies.

We are delighted that all of the major contributors to this initiative are here today. They will use their unique perspectives to talk about the current state of affairs in terms of outreach and marketing, give details about the new proposed initiative, and outline the path for implementation.

On behalf of – speaking in the name of

Call a meeting to order – start a meeting officially

Key players – most important team members

Outreach – communication with people outside an organization

Milestone – a small accomplishment or achievement that is part of a larger project or goal

Assessment – evaluation

In terms of – regarding; with reference to

Domestically – in your own country or city

Furthermore – in addition to, besides

Drive something forward – help something progress and become better

Major – important

Current state of affairs – the way things are today; the status of something at the moment

Outline – describe the main points of an idea or plan

Well, very soon we’ll have more business expressions! And teachers who always log on to English Experts, if you teach business English and know more expressions for starting a formal meeting in English, write us! Take care!

Prof. Adir - www.adirferreira.com

In portuguese, it is ok to say “Não como nada.” But you cannot say “I don’t eat nothing” in English.

Here is a jingle (poem) we use to teach children not to use double negatives.

Don’t ever use NOT and NEVER together.

Don’t say, “We don’t never have fun” because you’ll be using two negatives and you need to be using just one.

You will always be in trouble in your negatives are double!

From Up, Up and Away: a Book About Adverbs by Ruth Heller.

See you!
Mary Ziller from USA

The preterite is used to express past actions that have been completed. They are often contrasted with another action that is taking place in the background when an event occurs. We often use the imperfect to set the background and context in which an action took place, and the action is expressed in the Past Definite (simple past).

Eles assistiam televisão quando o telefone tocou.
They were watching television when the phone rang.

Eu estudei Português ontem.
I studied Portuguese yesterday.
(When you use a word like yesterday, which pinpoints a definite time, you use the past definite).

Ontem falei com Mary.
Yesterday I talked to Mary.

Ele trabalhou semana passada.
He worked last week. (Last week is a definite time).

Ele não trabalhou semana passada.
He did not work last week.

Choveu ontem à noite.
It rained last night.

Ela vendeu o carro.
She sold the car.

Abrimos a loja.
We opened the store.

With many thanks to my collaborator Mat Pestana.

Hello- Marcos Carvalho on our Yahoo email list just send us a very extensive phrasal verb list and gave me permission to broadcast.

Here are a couple of examples from the list-
Phrasal Verb- act up

Definition- behave or function improperly

Example- I think I need to take my car to the mechanic because it’s acting up again.

Phrasal Verb- add up

Definition- calculate a sum

Example- I added up the receipts and it totaled $135.46

See the whole list

Thanks! Adam