Our podcast “American Thanksgiving” included the following sentence: “People will express gratitude for the gifts of plenty that they are privileged to have.”. One reader asked this question:
please what is the meaning of “gifts of plenty”?
Alfonso
We answered him this way:
Hello.
Thank you for your inquiry.
“Gifts of plenty” is an expression that implies an abundance of things that we need in order to live as human beings.
It is related to the expression, the “horn of plenty”, whose definition on Wikipedia is:
” * Cornucopia, a symbolic, hollow horn filled with the inexhaustible gifts of celebratory fruits”.
If you do a search on “Google” for “cornucopia”, you will see the photo of a cornucopia, the horn of plenty, which you will surely recognize.
So “gifts of plenty” is a reference to this.
The gifts of plenty are technically a reference to food, but in a greater sense can include anything that we have been blessed with: a home, a roof over our heads, clothing, etc.
Yours,
The ESL Help! Desk
We are happy to answer your questions about any English expressions.
We received this question from a reader:
How would you end a letter sent to the IRS. It is staight to the point but yet thaks them for their time and attention to this matter.
Platiro in Colorado
Our response was the following:
Dear Platiro In Colorado,
Thank you for your question.
I would say that you are on the right track; just follow your instincts in this case.
In one sentence, you would thank the reader for his time and attention to this matter. On another line, you would follow that up with an appropriate salutation, and on another line conclude with your name.
I hope that helps.
Sometimes a question that seems simple on the surface hides many other issues going on beneath the surface. Here is another question that we have received from a reader:
Dear Help Desk,
Does a closing of an e-mail to a friend with “All the best” always mean a farewell?
With kind regards,
(name withheld)
We responded:
(name withheld),
Thank you for your question.
It is becoming a common way of ending an email between friends, and even people who do not know each other. Where it is not appropriate to end with “love”, “All the best” is appropriate because it is a congenial salutation.
Have you received this ending lately? If so, on what type of email?
The ESL Help! Desk
Next, we received the following question in return:
Dear Help Desk,
Thank you very much for the prompt response. The matter is that I have a friend. We had been known each other personally (not intimately) for half-a-year before becoming distant correspondents during the next six months. However I cannot assume we both know much about each oher. I recently sent an email with “All the best” ending and have not received a timely reply. I was just thinking if this could be concidered by him as my will to end our virtual relationship.
My kind regards,
(name withheld)
To which we responded:
(name withheld),
Hmmm…I don’t think that the time lag between your hearing from this pen pal and the present time can be attributed to your ending an email with “all the best”. However, how long has it generally been between emails?
Could your pen pal be on a vacation or traveling due to work? Or perhaps there has been, God forbid, a family tragedy? Sometimes people’s email goes down, as well.
If your relationship had been intimate, then I would say that “All the best” is not appropriate; it will establish distance. However, as you describe it, such was not the case. Could it be that this pen pal did desire a more intimate relationship? Of course you would want to be careful about that in any case, given the problem of these internet relationships.
Before you switched to “All the best”, how did you and he typically end your emails? I would suggest that you either 1) wait and see if and when you receive a response; or 2) send another short note and just say that you are hoping everything is well with him, and sign it, “Your friend, (name withheld).”
But if you are going to use choice “b”, then wait a bit, as some people are weary of others being “pushy”.
Wishing you all the best!
the ESL Help! Desk
We received the following question from one of our readers:
We use the present continuous tense in a complex sentence when the subordinate clause begins with when and the whole sentence refers to the future.
Would it be incorrect to say: Before I watch TV, I’m doing my homework.
There are two answers:
1) If you are referring to the present, to what typically happens, then the answer is “NO”, it would not be correct. In this case, you would say “Before I watch TV (every night), I do my homework.”
2) If you are referring to the future, such as tomorrow or tonight, then the answer is “YES AND NO”. The possibilities are:
a) “Before I watch TV (tonight), I’m doing my homework.” or -
b) “Before I watch TV (tonight), I’m going to do my homework.” Notice that in this case we use the present continuous form ” ~ going (to)” + the base form of your main verb.
I hope this answers your questions.
Thank you,
The ESL Help! Desk
Music is considered to be the universal language. However, each country and ethnic group seems to have its own music. What types of music do you think are universally loved? What types of music cross the boundaries of language and nationhood?
Michael Jackson died at the age of 50. He was known and recognized all over the world. Did people listen to Michael Jackson where you live? What is the effect of American music on the music of the country where you live?
We at the ESL Help! Desk mourn the passing of this great figure in American entertainment and pop music.
Do you write every day? Do you write in English every day? A great way to improve your English is to write a little bit in English every day. A writer knows that he has to write every day – and it’s not always easy. It’s the same thing for a person who wants to learn a new language. You have to write a little every day, even if your writing contains a mistake or two. Even if what you write contains just one line or one sentence, such as “It’s a beautiful day today”, you will be helping yourself to better English. Making a comment on a blog is another good way to write.
Some people want others to correct them when they make a mistake. Others don’t like to be corrected. Do you like to be corrected? If not, why not? How do you feel when you are corrected? Do you feel embarrassed or do you welcome the correction as the way to better English?
If you want to be corrected, you may have to ask people to please correct you because they may be uncomfortable doing it. They may think that you do not want to be corrected! Letting them know that you do will resolve that misunderstanding and everybody will be happier and better off in the end.
After a person has corrected you, do you repeat the correct sentence aloud? Repeating the correct word or phrase or sentence will help you in the future.
Hello, Learners of English!
For a long time we had comment fields and our fans were typing their comments into that field and hopefully including their email addresses so that we could get back to them.
Many times we did not receive an email address to which to respond.
We have now changed that procedure. Asking you to submit your questions and comments via the blog serves two purposes: First, the amount of spam we receive is reduced (by WordPress’s wonderful plugins) and second, we receive your email address in all cases. In the past, we would receive up to 400 spam messages a week. WordPress will provide a firewall for us so that we will receive the comments we want – yours – and now those of unscrupulous spammers.
Asking you to submit your questions via the blog is a wonderful solution.
So thank you for taking the time to read our blog.
These are the words so often spoken by our new President, Barak Obama, while he was on the campaign trail. Now he is no longer a candidate, and he is no longer the President-Elect. He is the President of the United States. Today is a day when we celebrate a new direction for our country. We hope you’ll share your thoughts with us.
You can also share your thoughts with the President by writing to the White House!