“I have a surprise for you. Here’s the novel that you’ve been dying to read. I got it...”
“I have a surprise for you! I managed to read the novel a week ago.”
“Really? Looks like I just wasted my time trying to get a copy...”
“What makes you say that? You haven’t wasted your time. Now that you have the book, you should read it.”
“Are you joking? You know I don’t like to read. Anyway, did you enjoy reading the book? Did you...”
“It’s what I’d call a good read. I quite enjoyed the bits where the...”
“It’s a good read? That sounds really odd. Is it okay to say that a book is a good read?”
“It most certainly is. It’s an expression that’s limited to informal contexts. When you say that an article or a book was ‘a good read’, you mean that you enjoyed reading it. Whenever I travel, I always carry a Wodehouse novel. He’s always a good read.”
“I was disappointed with my favourite author’s latest book. It wasn’t a good read.”
“That’s a good example. Now then, would you like to see the photographs I took when...”
“While we’re on the subject of photographs, I saw pictures of your favourite heroine in some magazine. She looked really old!”
“That’s not surprising at all. She’s no spring chicken, you know. She must be in her....”
“Spring chicken? What are you talking about?”
“When you say that someone is ‘no spring chicken’, what you mean is that the person is not very young.”
“I see. How about this example? My father isn’t old. But he’s no spring chicken either.”
“That’s an excellent example. The expression is used in informal contexts. It suggests that you’re trying to be humorous. You can’t expect your aunt to do all these exercises. She’s no spring chicken, you know.”
“I didn’t expect Anita to behave so childishly. She should know better. After all, she is no spring chicken.”
“She certainly isn’t! Her daughter got engaged recently.”
“I know! I think she got engaged with one of her classmates.”
“It’s not ‘engaged with’, but ‘engaged to’. My friend Karthik is engaged to Sowmya.”
“My cousin is engaged to someone from the States. Tell me, is it ‘married to’ or ‘married with’? I always get...”
“It’s ‘engaged to’ and ‘married to’. Revathi has been married to Dilip for 20 years.”
“My friend is married to a millionaire. But what about when you want to use ‘engage’ when you’re talking about an activity? When you’re busy doing something, then....”
“Then you normally say ‘engage in’. The CEO hopes to find a solution to the problem by engaging the workers in a dialogue.”
“The teacher kept the children busy by engaging them in different activities.”
“That’s a good example. I was engaged in a conversation when my phone rang.”
“I wonder who I’ll get married to! Do you think...”
“No girl will be crazy enough to marry you!”
* * *
“Marriage, it’s like a walk in the park. Jurassic Park.” Unknown
Email: upendrankye@gmail.com
