Author Archives: Dr. Jeff McQuillan

American Cities Named After Americans

Posted on Tuesday - November 19, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Because America is a relatively new country compared to many nations, many of the names we have for our cities and towns come from famous Americans in the past 200 years. For example, Houston, Texas, is named after Sam Houston, … Continue reading →

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Helicopter Dads and Snowplow Moms

Posted on Tuesday - November 12, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Raising children (helping them grow up) isn’t easy. It’s even harder if you’re a helicopter or snowplow parent. Let me explain. Lately (recently), Americans have been talking about different ways of parenting (bringing up or raising children) that’s very different … Continue reading →

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A Visit to Joshua Tree National Park (Video)

Posted on Tuesday - November 5, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Last week I had the chance to visit one of the most beautiful national parks in California, Joshua Tree. Watch this short video and learn a little about this amazing place. It’s like going on vacation with me, but without … Continue reading →

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The Oxford Comma

Posted on Tuesday - October 29, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

This is a comma: “,”. It’s a very useful punctuation mark (things like periods (.), quotation marks (“), and explanation points (!)) in English and in many other languages, but it can also be a source of confusion. The Oxford … Continue reading →

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You’re a Nut!

Posted on Monday - October 21, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

If someone calls you a “nut,” is that an insult (a disrespectful thing to say)? Probably. A nut is a type of food that has a hard outer shell or covering that you remove to eat what is inside. Peanuts … Continue reading →

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A Visit to the Nixon Library

Posted on Tuesday - October 15, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Presidential libraries are places where many of the documents and possessions of American presidents are kept after they leave office (stop being president). These libraries usually have museums that tell you the story of that president and what he did. … Continue reading →

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You Got Under My Skin

Posted on Tuesday - October 8, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Here’s another strange idiom in English: You (or someone/something) got under my skin. There are two ways we use this idiom. The first way is to indicate that someone or thing is irritating you, bothering you, doing something that you … Continue reading →

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Are You Woke?

Posted on Tuesday - October 1, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Over the past year, one of the most popular buzzwords, or fashionable words, used in the media (news, TV shows, etc.) is “woke.” You probably know the word woke as the past tense of the verb “to wake” (to stop … Continue reading →

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Psst! It’s Someone’s Birthday Today . . .

Posted on Tuesday - September 24, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

When we try to get someone’s attention but we don’t want anyone else to know what we’re doing, we make a sound that is usually spelled in English “psst!” Well, I’m getting your attention to tell you that today is … Continue reading →

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What Does “Carry Out” Mean?*

Posted on Tuesday - September 17, 2019 by Dr. Jeff McQuillan

Learn the different meanings of “carry out” in this quick video. *NOTE: As a noun, we usually spell “carryout” as a single word, or hyphenate it (carry-out). The video caption has it as two words, but that’s usually just for … Continue reading →

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