"The sky's the limit" - Ticha Penicheiro of the Monarchs

Intro

Ticha Penicheiro is a thief. She will steal the basketball from you without thinking twice, sometimes 4 or 5 times a game!

But Ticha also gives. She’s not a leading scorer, but the Portuguese veteran is one of the biggest stars in the WNBA because she sets up plays that her team score. She often gets more than ten assists in a game!

Ticha is in the middle of her 12th season as a member of the Sacramento Monarchs. She led the team to a championship, and as she continues playing, she continues getting better. Jason recently met up with her before an away game in Seattle to talk about learning English and how the sky is the limit for her when it comes to steals and assists.

Dialog

Ticha

Jason

Jason:  Welcome to English, baby! I’m Jason here with Ticha Penicheiro of the Sacramento Monarchs. How are you?

Ticha:  I’m doing great. Thank you.

Jason:  And so uh…You grew up in Portugal, but you came to college in the United States. When did you learn English?

Ticha:  Well, I took English in high school while I was in Portugal, so at a very young age I was very familiar with the English language. Of course, I didn’t speak it as well as I speak today because I’ve been in the States for fifteen years now. But I was very familiar with the English language.

Jason:  Two of the biggest parts of your game are steals and assists. Steal is not normally, like, a good thing, but that’s what you’re famous for.

Ticha:  Yeah. In basketball it’s a good thing. It’s on defense. So you’re playing defense and the other team has the ball. So a steal means that you just took the ball from them and now you have it. So, then you’re gonna go on offense. And an assist is when you have the ball and you create a pass to somebody that makes a basket. So, as a point guard and being the organizer on the floor, that’s one of the things that I like to do is to get my teammates involved and give them the ball so they can score.

Jason:  There was a video on the Monarchs’ website. You were talking about…This is your twelfth season that you’re going into and some of your numbers like steals and assists just kept getting better and so you said that the sky’s the limit. And I was hoping that you could just explain the meaning of the phrase: “The sky’s the limit.”

Ticha:  When you say, “The sky’s the limit,” it means that there’s so much more room for improvement. You know? Because the sky is almost untouchable. Like, you can’t touch it. It’s something that is there, but then you get on the airplane and it looks like it’s still there. So…You know, it’s, like, really far. So that means that there’s a lot of room for improvement and uh…You know, as long as you can play there’s always things that you can improve in your game.

Jason:  Alright. Well thanks so much. Can I get you to give me a high-five and say, “English, baby!” in the air?

Ticha:  Alright.

Jason:  English, baby!

Ticha:  English, baby!

Grammar Point

Comparatives and Superlatives: Good, Better, Best

Jason says that Ticha’s game just keeps getting better. Better is the comparative form of good.

Most comparatives are formed by adding er, as in, “Martha is faster than Mary,” or by adding more, as in, “Craig is more aggressive than Calvin.”

However, there are some adjectives in English, like “good,” whose comparative and superlative forms are irregular.
The superlative form of “good” is best.

“Bad” is another adjective whose comparative and superlative forms are irregular. The comparative form of bad is “worse.” Do you know what the superlative form is?

Discussion

Discussion - Join the discussion to learn more and make friends.

Listen to Discussion

Like Ticha says, the sky is really high. Now matter how good you get at something, if you believe that the sky is the limit, you’ll remember that you can always improve.

Ticha is really good at taking the ball from the other team and setting up her teammates to score. After 12 years in the WNBA she continues to get better. Even though she’s been a star for a long time, she never forgets that the sky is the limit.

Ticha grew up in Portugal. Before she came to the US to go to college, she had already studied English in high school. Her English is pretty much perfect now because she has been in the US for more than 15 years. She has said in interviews that when she’s done playing basketball, she might become a commentator. It seems the sky is the limit for Ticha when it comes to English too!

What are you good at? Where is the sky the limit for you?

For more of Jason’s interview with Ticha, visit our blog and to see her in upcoming games, check the Monarchs’ website.

Comprehension Quiz