Why teaching ESL was not easy

I had the opportunity to teach ESL for a semester after I retired and here is one reason, non English speakers have such a difficult time with our language:


UP


Read until the end.....you'll laugh....

This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word

is 'UP.'  It is listed in the

dictionary as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v].

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do

we speak UP, and why are the

officers UP for

election and why is it UP to the secretary to

write UP a

report? We call UP our friends,

brighten UP a room, polish UP the

silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We

lock UP the house and 

fix UP the old

car.

At other times this little word has real special

meaning. People stir UP trouble,

line UP for

tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.

To be dressed is one

thing but to be dressed UP is

special.

And this UP is confusing:  A

drain must be opened UP because it is stopped  UP.

We

open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at

night. We seem to be pretty mixed

UP about UP !

To be

knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look UP the word UP in the dictionary.. In a desk-sized

dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about

thirty definitions

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may

wind UP with a hundred or

more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is

clouding UP . When the sun comes out

we say it is clearing UP. When it rains, it

soaks UP the

earth. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP. One could go on & on, but I'll wrap

it UP, for now  ........my time is UP !



Oh....one more thing:

What is the first thing you

do in the morning & the last thing you do at

night?


U 

   P !


Did that one crack you UP?


Don't screw UP. Send this on to everyone you

look UP in your address book..or not...it's UP to you.

Don't forget when your angry at someone it's   Up Yours!!!!!


  Now I'll shut UP!!