Wednesday, March 18, 2020

40 French Expressions En Tout

40 French Expressions En Tout 40 French Expressions â€Å"En Tout† 40 French Expressions â€Å"En Tout† By Mark Nichol English has borrowed heavily from French, including a number of expressions beginning with en (meaning â€Å"as† or â€Å"in†). Some of these, such as â€Å"en masse,† are ubiquitous; others, like â€Å"en ami,† are obscure. Many more listed (and defined) here, italicized in the sample sentences, are not even listed in English dictionaries and are therefore considered still wholly foreign (and should be italicized in your prose as well). Whatever their status, however, given sufficient context, these expressions might be gainfully employed to provide a wry or sardonic touch to a written passage, or to characterize a pompous character: 1. En ami (â€Å"as a friend†): â€Å"I confide in you en ami.† 2. En arriere (â€Å"behind†): â€Å"Discretion is the better part of valor, I reminded myself as, letting my more valorous friends go before me, I marched en arriere.† 3. En attendant (â€Å"meanwhile†): â€Å"I entertained myself en attendant by thumbing through a magazine while she troweled on her makeup.† 4. En avant (â€Å"forward†): â€Å"En avant, comrades. Fortune awaits us through that door.† 5. En badinant (â€Å"in jest†): â€Å"Relax, my friend I meant what I said en badinant.† 6. En bagatelle (â€Å"in contempt†): â€Å"He glared at me en bagatelle, as if I were vermin.† 7. En banc (â€Å"with complete judicial authority†): â€Å"I sentence you en banc, as judge, jury, and executioner, to death.† 8. En bloc (â€Å"in a mass†): â€Å"We can depend on them to vote en bloc in support of the proposal.† 9. En clair (â€Å"in clear language, as opposed to in code†): â€Å"The spy’s telegram was carelessly written en clair.† 10. En deshabille (â€Å"undressed, or revealed†): â€Å"She opened the door to find me standing there en deshabille, and immediately retreated.† 11. En echelon (â€Å"in steps, or overlapping†): â€Å"The flock of geese flew overhead en echelon.† 12. En effet (â€Å"in fact, indeed†): â€Å"You see that I am, en effet, in control of the situation.† 13. En famille (â€Å"with family, at home, informally†): â€Å"Let us now return to that happy household, where we find the denizens lounging en famille.† 14. En foule (â€Å"in a crowd†): â€Å"He had the remarkable ability to blend in en foule.† 15. En garcon (â€Å"as or like a bachelor†): â€Å"I have separated from my wife and am now living en garcon.† 16. En grande (â€Å"full size†): The bouncer approached and, with a scowl, reared up en grande.† 17. En grande tenue (â€Å"in formal attire†): â€Å"She arrived, as usual, en grande tenue, and in consternation that everyone else was dressed causally.† 18. En grande toilette (â€Å"in full dress†): â€Å"The opening-night crowd was attired en grande toilette.† 19. En guard (â€Å"on guard†): â€Å"She assumed a defensive position, as if en guard in a fencing match.† 20. En haute (â€Å"above†): â€Å"From my perspective en haute, as it were I’d say you are both wrong.† 21. En masse (â€Å"all together†): â€Å"The members of the basketball team arrived en masse at the party.† 22. En pantoufles (â€Å"in slippers, at ease, informally†): â€Å"He had just settled down for a relaxing evening en pantoufles when the doorbell rang.† 23. En passant (â€Å"in passing†): â€Å"She nonchalantly mentioned the rumor en passant.† 24. En plein air (â€Å"in the open air†): â€Å"We celebrated by venturing en plein air.† 25. En plein jour (â€Å"in broad day†): â€Å"They boldly rendezvoused en plein jour.† 26. En poste (â€Å"in a diplomatic post†): â€Å"Though he was a friend, I decided to send the memorandum en poste.† 27. En prise (â€Å"exposed to capture†): â€Å"He found himself en prise, beset on all sides.† 28. En queue: (â€Å"after†): â€Å"I bided my time and followed en queue.† 29. En rapport (â€Å"in agreement or harmony†): â€Å"I’m delighted that we are all en rapport on the subject.† 30. En regle (â€Å"in order, in due form†): â€Å"I believe you will find the documents en regle.† 31. En retard (â€Å"late†): â€Å"Typically, they arrived en retard for dinner.† 32. En retraite (â€Å"in retreat or retirement†): â€Å"After uttering the verbal blunder, she ducked her head and exited the parlor en retraite.† 33. En revanche (â€Å"in return, in compensation†): â€Å"En revanche, I invite you to attend my upcoming soiree.† 34. En rigueur (â€Å"in force†): â€Å"We have arrived en rigueur to support you.† 35. En route (â€Å"on the way†): â€Å"En route to the post office, she passed by the derelict house.† 36. En secondes noces (â€Å"in a second marriage†): â€Å"The community was so conservative that she found her matrimonial state, en secondes noces, to be the topic of gossip.† 37. En suite (â€Å"connected, or in a set, as a bedroom with its own bathroom†): â€Å"She was pleased to see that the room was en suite.† (Also spelled ensuite.) 38. En tasse (â€Å"in a cup†): â€Å"I’ll take some en tasse.† 39. En tout (â€Å"in all†): â€Å"We’d like to use your banquet room, please we are a score or more en tout.† 40. En verite (â€Å"in truth†): â€Å"En verite, I am the one responsible.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Beautiful and Ugly WordsEmail EtiquetteFew vs. Several

Monday, March 2, 2020

ACT English Questions, Reporting Categories, and Content

ACT English Questions, Reporting Categories, and Content ACT English Intro Shakespeare, you’re not (even if you do look good in those Elizabethan tights). That does not mean you can’t score well on the ACT English test. Trust me on this. Most of what you will encounter on the ACT English section of the exam is stuff you have done a million times in school. Sure, the format is different - you can get really tripped up on the paragraph spacing if you are not careful - but the content should be fairly easy for those of you who didnt fail out of all of your English and Language Arts classes. Read below for all of the ACT English Basics. And when you’re done getting the lay of the land, read through the ACT English strategies to help yourself before you test! ACT English Basics If you’ve read ACT 101, you know the following goodies about the ACT English section: 5 passages of text75 multiple-choice questions (fifteen per passage)45 minutesApproximately 30 seconds per question ACT English Scoring Just like the other multiple choice  sections, the ACT English section can earn you between 1 and 36 points. This score will be averaged with the scores from the other multiple-choice sections (Math, Science Reasoning and Reading) to get you your Composite ACT score. Youll also get your raw scores based on reporting categories that were introduced in 2016. Here, youll see how many questions you answered correctly in the  Production of Writing,  Knowledge of Language, and  Conventions of Standard English. They do not in any way affect your section or composite ACT score. Rather, they give you an indication of where you can improve if you should take the again. The English score is also tabulated with the Reading and Writing section scores to give you an ELA (English Language Arts) score. Like the   The average ACT English score is about a 21, but you’ll have to do much better than that if you’d like to hit up a top university for admissions acceptance – more like between a 30 and 34. ACT English Test Content As I stated previously, youll have three reporting categories scattered throughout the ACT exam. You will not see Production of Writing, Knowledge of Language, or Conventions of Standard English sections - that would be too easy! Rather, youll encounter these types of questions as you work through all five passages. Production of Writing (approximately 22 - 24 questions) Topic Development:  Identify the authors purpose Identify whether a portion of text has met its goalEvaluate materials relevance in terms of the texts focusOrganization, Unity and Cohesion:Use strategies to create logical organizationUse strategies to ensure a smooth flowEnsure effective introductions and conclusions Knowledge of Language (approximately 10 - 14 questions) Ensuring concision and precision in word choiceMaintain consistent styleMaintain consistent tone Conventions of Standard English (approximately 38 - 42 questions) Sentence Structure and Formation:  Ã‚  Identify misplaced modifiers (adjectives, adverbs, etc.) Fix run-ons, fragments and comma splice sentencesResolve problems with improper clause usage Correct  parallel structure.  Punctuation Resolve improper usage of  commas, apostrophes, colons, semicolons,  quotation marks, etc.Improve the text with various punctuationUsageRecognize common problems with standard English usage.Revise common problems to improve the writing.      ACT English Test Practice There it is – the ACT English section in brief. Think you can pass this bad boy? If not, then you have some major preparation in front of you. The English section is not easy by any stretch. Sure, its stuff youve learned in high school, but it is also incredibly challenging if you havent really had very much grammar or punctuation practice in a while. If you want to get ready, try starting with the best ways to study for the ACT. Then, move on to the ACT English practice questions. Once youve mastered that, you can read  through these ACT English Strategies so you are doubly prepared!