“Water Under the Bridge”
It is very likely that you have been in a big fight with someone you love. Maybe you were mad at your mom because she wouldn’t let you do something. Or maybe your brother took something of yours without asking. At the time, this probably seemed like a big problem. But now, hopefully, it’s all water under the bridge.
It’s important to forgive people even if they did something you do not like. At some point, you will probably hurt someone’s feelings, and you will want to be forgiven, too. We all make mistakes, so it’s good to let old problems become water under the bridge.
Marni and Brian are talking about throwing Jessica a surprise party, but they want to make sure Gary and Jessica’s problems are water under the bridge. Find out what they decide to do in today’s English lesson about getting past issues.
Marni: What’s the story with Jessica?
Brian: She’s so busy. She’s in “Romeo and Juliet” and she’s working on StarScoop.com from home. She’s been telecommuting for a month.
Marni: I think I’ve forgotten what she looks like.
Brian: I know. Hey, we should do something special for her.
Marni: Like what?
Brian: A surprise party! We need to congratulate her for getting the part of “Juliet.”
Marni: Maybe Gary can host at his house.
Brian: Are you sure their problems are water under the bridge?
Marni: I think so. I hope so. OK, I can coordinate the food and drinks. What do you want to do?
Brian: I can make a playlist and send out evites.
Marni: Great! Of course, the critical piece to any surprise party is creating the diversion.
Brian: Diversion?
Marni: We need a diversion so that Jessica doesn’t know we’re about to surprise her.
Brian: I know! Gary can tell her that he needs “to talk,” and she’ll think it’s about something serious, and then she’ll be totally surprised.
Marni: That’s great. And once she realizes that Gary is actually hosting the surprise party for her, their problems will be water under the bridge for good.
Brian: Exactly. What could go wrong?
Both Brian and Marni miss Jessica a lot. Marni even says she forgets what Jessica looks like! So they decide to take action. They are going to throw a surprise party for Jessica. But where should they begin?
Marni says she will coordinate the food and drinks, while Brian will make a playlist and send out evites. But they both agree they need a good diversion. They decide that Gary should call Jessica and say they need “to talk.” Jessica will be so surprised when she finds out it’s actually a party for her!
Do you like surprise parties? What’s your best story about water under the bridge?
Conjunctions
Brian and Marni are trying to figure out how to throw a surprise party for Jessica. Marni says, “We need a diversion so that Jessica doesn’t know we’re about to surprise her.” She uses a coordinating conjunction.
A conjunction is a word that joins two or more words, phrases, or clauses. There are three kinds of conjunctions: coordinating, subordinating, and correlative.
There are only seven coordinating conjunctions. They are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. Coordinating conjunctions join together parts of a sentence that are the same. For example, “Would you like pie or cake?” or, “John likes taking walks and riding his bike.”
Coordinating conjunctions can also join two independent clauses. For instance, you might say, “I love coffee,” and also, “It makes my stomach hurt.” You can join these clauses with a conjunction, saying, “I love coffee, but it makes my stomach hurt.” Marni wants to distract Jessica so she won’t know about the party.
Subordinating conjunctions allow us to join independent clauses with adverb clauses. For example, “I will bring dessert unless you are baking a cake,” or, “I cry whenever I watch that movie.” Other common subordinating conjunctions are although, because, before, if, since and while, but there are many more!
Correlative conjunctions are used in pairs and have the same function as coordinating conjunctions. For example, “Both Nate and Amy work at the library,” or, “Either Mom or Dad will pick you up from the airport.” In addition to both… and and either… or, other common correlative conjunctions are neither…nor, not… but, whether…or, and not only… but also.
Which is correct, “I like Emily for she doesn’t like me,” or, “I like Emily but she doesn’t like me”?