Englische Zeiten! Da steige ich glatt aus. Christine musste mir die wichtigsten nochmal erklären. 

Heute war’s das Present Continuous. Irgendwie mag ich’s. Diese -ing am Ende des Verbs. Klingt so lässig, oder?

Deshalb quatsche ich es wohl auch ständig daher. Letzte Woche ist mir’s aufgefallen. Immer anstatt Simple Present.

Aber wann genau darf ich’s denn benutzen? Für allgemeine Tatsachen und wiederholte Handlungen war’s ja nicht. Hab ich letzte Woche gelernt. (Die Notizzettel kleben immer noch überall in der Küche, damit ich’s nicht vergesse.)

Christine hat Licht ins Dunkel gebracht.

Present Continuous wird verwendet bei:

• Aktionen, die gerade im Gange sind. So wie jetzt: “Gerda, what are you doing now?” “I’m making some notes* in my diary.”
• vorübergehenden Situationen. Zum Beispiel: “I’m working in Hamburg this week.” “I’m learning English.”

Gar nicht so schwer, oder? Naja, außer man will’s natürlich perfekt beherrschen. Dann muss man wohl mehr üben.

Am 16. Mai ist es so weit: Speed Networking! Endlich trau ich mich.

Aber wie sage ich das auf Englisch? I’ll take the plunge? I’ll go for it?

Puh, bin ich froh, dass ich wieder Englisch lerne. Es macht Spaß!

Deine Greta, die sich langsam traut

P.S. Franz war natürlich wieder der Klugscheißer und wusste alles. Ich glaube, der hat überhaupt keine Probleme mit Englisch. Aber ich lasse mich nicht entmutigen. Ich übe weiter, bis ich genauso gut bin wie er!

* Heute etwas Neues gelernt: Notizen = notes

Are you nervous when speaking another language? How often do you think to yourself: “Did I say that correctly?“

Well, guess what? Making mistakes is actually a GOOD thing! Here’s why:

Stretch Time
Making mistakes shows you’re trying new things in English. You’re not playing it safe. Good for you for being brave!

Learn and Grow
Sometimes you can feel when you mess up. Those are golden moments. Think about what went wrong to improve next time.

Help Native Speakers Help You
Your slip-ups remind native speakers to be patient and clear when they talk to you. They mess up too!

Confidence is Key
Speak with confidence, and most people might not even notice a mistake. Even if they do, your confidence inspires them to speak up too!

The Message Matters Most
People care more about what you’re saying than a tiny grammar hiccup. They hear your voice and see your body language, and don’t count any grammar slips.

One of my clients recently told me how his English had improved because he stopped worrying about mistakes. Now that’s the spirit!

So, what about you? Do you see mistakes as a positive or negative thing? 

Don’t underestimate the apostrophe (‘).

This little punctuation mark might be small, but it can completely change the meaning of a sentence!

Take a close look at these examples:

• My brother’s friend’s books: One brother has a friend, and these books belong to the friend.
  
• My brother’s friends’ books: One brother has multiple friends, and these books belong to all of them!
• My brothers’ friend’s books: There is more than one brother, and they share a friend. These books belong to the friend.
• My brothers’ friends’ books: There is more than one brother, and they have multiple friends. These books belong to all the friends (together).

See the difference?

Without the apostrophe, it gets confusing to figure out who owns what!

Do you know the story about the donkey that turned a hopeless situation into a stepping stone to freedom? 

No?

Then let me share an unforgettable tale of resilience and wit with you ..

The Donkey’s Fall

One day, a poor farmer’s donkey accidentally fell into an old, dried-up well. 

The donkey cried out loud. But the farmer and his neighbours couldn’t pull the poor animal out of the deep, dark shaft.

After a while, the farmer felt he had no choice. It broke his heart, but he decided it was time to let the donkey go.

Since they had been planning to fill up the old well anyway, they started shovelling dirt and debris into it, with the donkey still inside.

You can imagine how the donkey felt when it realised what was happening.

It cried even louder than before. But after some time, everything went quiet. The men kept shovelling, not saying much to each other.

A Surprising Discovery

Finally, curious and a bit scared, the farmer peeked into the well.

And guess what he saw?

Something amazing.

With each shovel of dirt that had landed on the donkey’s body, it had shaken it off, stomped it down, and slowly risen higher and higher.

Before long, the well was filled enough for the donkey to climb out of the hole on its own and run away.

The moral of the story

Sometimes, what seems like a huge disaster at first can turn out to be a big opportunity. 

It all depends on how you handle the dirt thrown your way.

Emojis can be tricky, can’t they? 

→ Ever sent an emoji wondering if it could be misinterpreted?
→ Or found yourself squinting at the screen, trying to figure out what that emoji even means? 😅
→ Or spent too long trying to find the perfect emoji to express your emotions?

Emojis can add fun, illustrate emotions—and even replace words. But they can also confuse, mislead—and cause misunderstandings. 

Let’s take a closer look at 10 popular emojis. And how we can use them in sentences:

😂 Face with tears of joy:
“That joke was so funny. 😂 I couldn’t stop laughing!”

❤️ Red heart:
“Sending you lots of love ❤️ on your special day!”

😍 Smiling face with heart-eyes:
“I just saw the cutest puppy at the park today 😍🐶”

😊 Smiling face with smiling eyes:
“Thank you for your help today. 😊 I really appreciate it!”

😭 Loudly crying face:
“I can’t believe the film ending. 😭 It was so emotional!”

😅 Smiling face with open mouth and cold sweat:
“Even though I was nervous, I did well in the presentation 😅.”

🤣 Rolling on the floor laughing:
“After hearing Sarah’s hilarious joke, I was 🤣 rolling on the floor laughing for minutes!”

😘 Face blowing a kiss:
“Miss you already! 😘 Can’t wait to see you again soon!”

🥰 Smiling face with hearts:
“Your posts always make my day brighter. 🥰 Thank you!”

😁 Grinning face with smiling eyes:
“I got the job! 😁 Feeling ecstatic!”

P.S. Tell me … do you have a favourite emoji?