1 Glass of alcohol a day

What are ' Cooties'?

Question: What are “cooties”? I watch “Arthur,” the cartoon (show with animation (drawings)), every morning, and the characters often say, “You have cooties!” but I do not understand! Please help!

Answer: Cooties are imaginary (not real) germs. Germs are the very, very small living things that we can’t see, but that can cause disease or illness. To insult (to treat with disrespect) someone, you could say that they have cooties. Children like to say this to people they don’t like. Like the word “germs,” we nearly always use “cooties” as a plural noun, almost never as a singular noun. Adults don’t usually use the word “cooties” unless they were trying to be funny.

polite way is to say that you have to go to the bathroom.

Question: what the common and polite way is to say that you have to go to the bathroom.

Answer:
In the U.S., the most common terms are bathroom and restroom for the room with the toilet. In most U.S. homes, the room with the toilet is the same room where you’ll find the bathtub/shower and the sink. Even if it’s not, we still use these two terms.

The most common phrases we use are: “I need to go to the bathroom”/”I’m going to the bathroom” and the slightly more polite, “I need to go to the restroom”/”I’m going to the restroom.”

Other polite terms for the bathroom/restroom are the ladies’ room or the men’s room, and some women may use the terms powder room or the little girl’s room. However, “restroom” is fine in nearly all situations, so that’s the term I suggest using. In the U.S., you would very rarely hear anyone say, “I need to go to the toilet,” which is considered impolite and sounds a little strange to a native speaker, and Americans don’t use the terms “loo” and “W.C.” (water closet).

The most polite and formal ways to say you have to go to the restroom, however, does not mention the bathroom or restroom at all. At a formal gathering or at a business meeting, for example, most people would simply say, “If you’ll excuse me…” or “Excuse me” as they get up to go to the restroom.

In very, very informal situations, you may hear someone say, “I need to pee.” To pee is to allow urine (the water waste in your body) to come out. Again, this is very informal and impolite, so I don’t recommend ever saying this. I mention it in case you hear it in movies or on TV shows. Other very informal phrases you may hear are, “I need to go to the john.” The john is the toilet; and “I need to hit the can.” You guessed it–the can is the toilet.

I can’t believe I spent five paragraphs talking about the bathroom, but I hope this is helpful!

Begin to do and Begin doing

We have a question : What is the difference between “begin doing” and “begin to do”? it says “Josephine began to act in movies” and then says “She began singing jazz music.” Why is there a difference?

You can say either “begin to act” or “begin acting.” They would both be correct in this circumstance. You can put an infinitive verb (such as “to act” or “to do”) after the verb begin, or a gerund (a verb that ends in -ing, such as “acting” or “doing”). However, this only works when the verb begin is in the simple present or simple past (begin, began). If it is in the present or past progressive, such as, “He is beginning” or “He was doing,” then you can only use an infinitive after the verb: “He is beginning to act on the stage” or “She was beginning to annoy (bother) me!”

What happened? / What’s up? / What’s the matter? / What’s going on?

ANSWER:“What’s up?” can be used in two ways. One common way is as an informal greeting to mean “hello” or “how are you?” We use this with friends or people we know well in daily situations.

Jeff: What’s up?
Lucy: Not much. How about you?

We also use “What’s up?” when we ask what the situation is at a specific time. We use “What’s going on?” for the same purpose. For example, if you return home and there are police cars in front of your neighbor’s house, you may ask your husband or wife, “What’s up?” or “What’s going on?” You want to get information about this specific situation.

“What’s the matter?” and “What happened?” are also used to ask for information about a specific situation. However, these two questions are normally used for a situation where something bad or negative has happened or may have happened. For example, when your 6-year-old daughter starts crying, you may ask her, “What’s the matter?” and/or “What happened?” If your co-worker walks into your office with an angry look on her face, you may ask, “What’s the matter?” and/or “What happened?”

You can also use “What happened?” to ask about the result of something. If you know your co-worker asked your boss for a raise (higher pay or salary) and you see your co-worker the next day, you may ask, “What happened?” to find out the result.
Thanks for the question, Raul, and I hope this is helpful.