Here’s what often happens in business emails:

Your German brain wants to write “until Friday.” Your English colleagues expect to see “by Friday.”

And this tiny difference can cause big misunderstandings.

The solution is simpler than you think: Use ‘by‘ when talking about deadlines and completion points. Think of ‘by‘ as your deadline’s best friend.

Remember: “The report must be finished BY Friday.”

‘Until‘, however, tells us how long something continues. “I’ll work until Friday” means I’m working through the week and stopping on Friday.

Just remember: Deadlines love ‘BY‘ – “by Monday,” “by next week,” “by 5 pm.”

“Now you’re ready to write that perfect business email! 💪

PS Listen to George’s AI voice read my text:

Guess what? If you speak German, you already have a secret superpower for learning English.

Think of German and English as two trees growing from the same seed—they’re both part of the Germanic language family. This means you’re not starting from zero—far from it.

Every day, you’re already using words that work in both languages.

When you say “Haus,” you nearly say “house.” When you drink “Wasser,” you almost say “water.” And when it’s “kalt” outside, you’re very close to saying “cold.“

Even when you make full sentences, you’ll spot the familiar patterns.

“She loves milk” follows the same steps as “Sie liebt Milch.”

See? You’re already speaking more English than you realised.

So next time you feel nervous about speaking English, remember: you’ve got a built-in advantage. Your German is actually your secret weapon. 

Heute hat mir Christine eine sprachliche Lektion erteilt: fun vs. funny. Klingt harmlos? Von wegen!

Rückblick auf meine peinlichsten Momente: “This party is so funny.” (Ja, genau Greta. Als ob die Party selbst Stand-up Comedy macht.)

“The shopping trip was funny.” (Klar, die Klamotten haben bestimmt Witze erzählt und die Schuhe Grimassen geschnitten.)

Das kommt jetzt auf meinen Kühlschrank:

• Fun = macht Spaß (wie das Englischlernen!)
• Funny = witzig, zum Lachen (wie meine Englisch-Fails)

Meine neuen Merksätze:

• “The beach party was so much fun.” (Die Strandparty hat echt Spaß gemacht)
• “Playing board games with friends is fun.” (Brettspiele mit Freunden spielen macht Spaß)
• “The joke your brother told was really funny.” (Der Witz deines Bruders war echt witzig)
• “That cat video was so funny – I couldn’t stop laughing.” (Das Katzenvideo war so witzig – ich konnte nicht aufhören zu lachen)

Christine meinte aufmunternd: ‘Du wirst das schon hinkriegen.‘

Mein Englischlernen? Definitiv fun – und meine Fehler definitiv funny! 😅

Bis zum nächsten Fettnäpfchen,

Deine sprachlich aufgeklärte Greta

A young couple invited the whole family to their house for Thanksgiving. Everyone was looking forward to the meal the wife had been preparing all day.

While she was working in the kitchen, her husband came in to help. He noticed she cut off the back end of the turkey before putting it in the oven.

“Why did you cut a piece off the turkey like that?” he asked.

“That’s just how mum taught me,” she replied.

Curious, he went to ask her mother the same question. “It’s tradition,” her mother said. “That’s how my mum did it.”

Still confused, he went to the grandmother and asked her why she cut the turkey that way.

She laughed. “Oh, that was years ago. Our oven was too small, so the turkey wouldn’t fit otherwise!”

The moral?

Just because something’s always been done a certain way doesn’t mean it still makes sense. Times change!

PS Listen to George’s AI voice reading my text:

When I fractured my arm in the German mountains last year, I learned something surprising:

• The doctors told me to move my fingers right away.
• Even tiny movements helped prevent stiffness.
• The more I kept moving, the faster I healed.

This reminded me so much of learning English:

• Start with small, simple conversations.
• Move through the discomfort of making mistakes.
• Build strength through regular practice.

During my recovery journey:

• Some days felt like two steps forward, one step back.
• Progress wasn’t always visible, but it was happening.
• The support of others made all the difference. (I couldn’t have managed without my husband!)

Here’s what my broken arm taught me about language learning:

• Healing and learning both take time and patience.
• Consistent small efforts lead to big changes.
• The “pain” of making mistakes is part of getting stronger.

So next time you feel stuck with English, remember: Every small effort counts.

Keep moving, keep trying, keep growing.

Want to take that first step?

Join our next Speed Networking session. It’s free! 🌟

There I was, fresh off the train for my internship at Daimler Benz in Untertürkheim, facing my first solo shopping trip.

The fruit stand before me displayed perfect pyramids of crisp, green apples.

“Ich möchte ein Pfund ‘Granny Smith,’ bitte,” I said, proud of my carefully practised German.

The seller’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. I tried again, speaking slower this time: “Ein Pfund ‘Granny Smith,’ bitte?“

His face suddenly brightened. “Ach, Sie meinen GREH-nee! Ja, das kriegen wir hin!“

I had to laugh at the irony. Here I was, a British native speaker, having to “mispronounce” an English word to be understood in Germany. It felt like those moments in American restaurants when you say ‘BAY-sil’ instead of ‘BAH-sil’ just to get your herb-topped pizza.

And so I learned my first real lesson about living abroad: sometimes, being understood matters more than being “correct.”

Now, when I want my favourite apples—whether Granny Smith or Cox’s Orange Pippin—I leave my British accent at home and happily go with the local flow.