TWO-WORD VERBS FROM THE NEWS: (to) COME UP

Did the Subject Come up, or Didn't It?

That's what everybody wants to know.

This two-word , (to) come up, is very hot right now in presidential politics. It's in conversation and in the written news.

Former Trump adviser on discussing sanctions with the Russians: 'I can't definitively say' it never came up

We can visit this same topic viewing the following video:

"Good Morning, America" with George Stephanopolouss

After listening to the video of the interview, do you believe the topic of sanctions ever came up? Take our poll. 

Did the topic of sanctions against Russia COME UP in the meeting with Carter Page?

Let's look at another example from the news. Here is a sentence from a New York Times news article:

"The White House says this account is not correct. And Mr. Trump, in an interview on Thursday with NBC, described a far different dinner conversation with Mr. Comey in which the director asked to have the meeting and the question of loyalty never came up."

Reading that article, do you believe the topic of loyalty came up to Mr. Trump during that dinner?

Finally, let's visit this same word but in a different article.

"Previously, Flynn had flat out denied that the topic of sanctions came up during the phone call — answering “no” twice when directly asked about the matter — but presented with Thursday’s Post report, a spokesperson changed his tune. “While he had no recollection of discussing sanctions, he couldn’t be certain that the topic never came up,” the spokesperson said, which is odd, considering we’re talking about a conversation that happened a month and a half ago."

Keep your eyes peeled on the news.  We're likely to hear and see this two-word verb used again and again!

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PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS: FLOP FLOP

 

These are flip flops. They're called that because they're not very firm. Flip flops have been worn since at least 1500 BCE.

The word "flip flop" is used in politics because so many politicians say one thing one time and say another contradictory thing later.  Politicians have probably been flip flopping since 1500 BCE as well.

Let's look at some current headlines:

President Trump, the king of flip-flops

This headlines uses the word as a noun. 

Here we see it as a verb in the same news article:

After Trump won the electoral college vote while losing the popular vote, he flip-flopped on the unique American system of electing presidents. 

Reading the articles, what are three issues that President Trump has flip flopped on? What was the position he took before and what is the position he takes now?

When is the first time that the term "flip flop" was used in English to refer to politics and politicians?  This Wikipedia article has an interesting history of the political nature of this word.

12 Huge Presidential Campaign Flip-Flops

Of the 12 huge presidential compaign flip flops, which surprises you the most?

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Making a Choice: Which is worse?

One English structure that really stymies learners of English is the structure that provides for the person to make a choice.

One person asks:

Which is Worse: Making a Mistake or Losing an Opportunity?

You have to make a choice. You choose "making a mistake" or "losing an opportunity".  If you choose "making a mistake", you are saying that making a mistake is worse than losing an opportunity. If you say "losing an opportunity", then you are saying that losing an opportunity is worse than making a mistake. 

What do you think: Which is worse: Making a mistake or losing an opportunity? Why?

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Here's one more:

Regular Soda or Diet Soda: Which is Worse For Your Health? 

 

Again, you have to choose one. Do you think that regular soda is worse for your health than diet soda, or that diet soda is worse for your health than regular soda? You must choose one.


What do you think? Which is worse for your health: regular soda or diet soda?  Why?

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In all cases, when somebody asks you a question of this nature, you need to choose one.

Which is more difficult for you: listening or speaking?