I really enjoyed walking with you last Sunday from Barnes Bridge to Fulham Palace. We had so many laughs along the way as well as interesting discussions. And thank you for putting in so much work before the walk with the English Worksheets and the history research.
Here is the vocabulary that we went over as we sat on the grass outside Fulham Palace. It was here that we grumbled, mumbled, moaned and whined! We were so grumpy!! Read on ...
I look forward to seeing you all again.
Best Wishes
Gail
Words relating to the river:
A river (noun): a large expanse of water that flows to the sea (or in a lake or into another river). Rivers are usually quite wide or become wider as they continue to flow.
A stream (noun): a small and narrow river
A brook (noun): a small stream
A pond (noun): a small area of water that doesn’t have any natural movement. Some people have a pond in their garden for small fish and plants.
A lake (noun): a large area of water that is surrounded by land.
To row (verb): when you make a small boat move through the water by using wooden (or metal) oars (long poles with a wide end) to steer the boat.
A rowing boat (noun): a boat that must be steered by using oars (see above)
An oar (noun): a long pole with a wide, flat end that is used to steer a boat
A paddle (noun): a short pole with a wide end to move and steer a small boat or canoe through water. Similar to an oar.
Thrown in at the deep end (expression): The ‘deep end’ is like being thrown into the deep end of a swimming pool and not be able to swim. When someone is given a job or task to do which they are not experienced at, we say that they have been ‘thrown in at the deep end’. E.g. Nathalie was thrown in at the deep end because she had to give a talk about the history of Putney Pier. She’d never done this before.
The southbank (of a river) (noun): a) the land next to a river on the south side. b) The Southbank (proper noun): the name of a place on the south bank of the Thames. An area of London. Because it is the name of a place, it must have a capital letter for the ‘S’.
The northbank (of a river) (noun): the land next to a river on the north side.
The Thames: Ok, you all know what the Thames is! But how do we pronounce it?! We say it like this: /tems/
Words relating to complaints:
To grumble (verb): Complain or protest about something in a bad-tempered way. For example, when the cafe was closing as we arrived after our walk, a lot of us grumbled! We complained among ourselves and not to the cafe. That means that we grumbled or that we were grumbling!
To mumble (verb): When we say something quietly and not clearly. Other people can’t hear us properly. Often, we are complaining but don’t want to complain directly.
To moan (about something) (verb): When we are fed up with something and want to complain but don’t do this directly to the person who has caused the problem. We go on and on about the problem to our friends or the people nearby, but don’t do anything useful about it!
To whine (verb): Similar to ‘moan’. When we whine, our words are long and drawn out so they are very annoying to other people.
To be grumpy (adjective): to be bad-tempered and sulk.
Words relating to bodies:
Blood and guts (adjective): When we see a horror film that has lots of violence in it, we say it’s a film with ‘blood and guts’.
Guts (noun): a) All the bits inside our bodies e.g. the stomach, intestines etc.
b) To have guts: When someone does something courageous, we say that they ‘have guts’. Or that ‘it takes guts’ to do something i.e. it takes courage to do it.
Gore (noun): a) When we see lots of blood, we call it ‘gore’. A horror film that has lots of blood and violence, is often called ‘blood and gore’.
b) gory (adjective): How we describe something that has lots of blood and violence. E.g. that film was really gory. If we see a person or animal after an accident, we describe it the scene as ‘gory’.
To have balls (expression): ‘Balls’ are men’s genitals. When we use this expression (for men only, of course!!) we mean that they have the courage to do something. Or that they ‘have the guts’ to do something.
Words relating to buildings:
To vacate (verb): When we leave the building where we were living, we can say that we ‘have vacated it.’ When we leave a job we use ‘vacate’. E.g. She vacated her job as a teacher. E.g. they vacated the rooms where they had been living since they arrived in London.’
Note: when we move house, we say ‘I’m moving house’. Not: ‘I’m moving my house’ (you must be very, very strong to move a house!!)
Scaffolding (noun): This is a temporary structure that is outside of a building so that workers can either paint the building or repair it. It is usually made with metal poles and wooden planks.
To scaffold (verb): to attach the scaffolding to the building. However, this is not a verb that is current and used. Perhaps, it is used by the workers but I have never heard it. We think it might be an old word.
A scaffold (noun): This is a wooden structure that was built to hang prisoners from. The scaffold was high so each prisoner had to climb steps onto it. Then they were hanged.
Other words:
A whistle (noun): a small wooden, plastic or metal object. When you blow through one end, there is a loud high-pitched noise.
To whistle (verb): when we push our lips out into an ‘O’ shape and blow through them. A noise comes out of them.
A playing field (noun): a large area of grass where children can play sport or other games.
It’s like Picadilly Circus (expression): When there are lots of people, we often say ‘it’s like Picadilly Circus’. E.g. It’s like Picadilly Circus here today. There’s loads of cyclists and walkers on the path this morning.
How to say ...
Charles 1st: we say ‘Charles the first’. Elizabeth 2nd = ‘Elizabeth the second’ etc.
1100: we say ‘eleven hundred’. 1900 – ‘nineteen hundred’ etc.