Hi everyone! I'm Jennifer from English
with Jennifer. Let's boost your
vocabulary with some relevant
expressions for these uncertain times.
I'm making this video in the midst of
the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. I wish
everyone good health now and in the
future. As an English language teacher, I
can help you make the most of today by
explaining vocabulary that people are
using quite a lot now to express
uncertainty. First, so much right now is
up in the air. That means that many
questions have yet to be answered and
many decisions have yet to be made.
For example, graduation plans are up in
the air. Wedding plans are up in the air.
Most of us are going with the flow. We're
trying to adapt as needed. We have to
learn to deal with uncertainty. When you
go with the flow, you do whatever seems
easiest because that's what everyone
else is doing. It's easier to go with the
flow of water than to fight against it.
Right? This is a conversational
expression. In many cases, business and
community events have been canceled.
In other cases, events have only been
postponed. That's another way to say
they've been delayed. And the truth is
nothing can be firmly rescheduled
because we don't know how long this
crisis will last. So you'll see and hear
these kinds of expressions: TBD. That's an abbreviation for "to be determined" or
maybe "to be decided." A company can send out an email saying that a face-to-face
meeting has been postponed. The meeting originally scheduled for April 1st will
be postpone. We will meet online, time and date TBD.
The time of an event can be TBD. The
location of an event can be TBD. TBA is a
similar abbreviation. It means "to be
announced" or maybe "to be arranged." TBA
and TBD are usually written in capital
letters. A company announcement may look
something like this. We are going ahead
with online training next month. A couple
of speakers will not be able to
participate, so the final list of
training sessions is TBA. In the case of
business and school closures, we're being
told that certain places are closed
until further notice.
This is a more formal and official way
of saying the place is closed for now,
and we'll let you know when it reopens.
My hairstylist called me the other day
to tell me they were ordered to shut
down because the salon doesn't provide
essential services. I'm sure that right
now there's a sign in their window
saying, "Closed until further notice."
"Shut down" is a phrasal verb. A store can
shut down. Local officials
can shut down a business. Shutting down a business can be a temporary or permanent
closure. In the case of my hair salon,
operations will hopefully stop for a
short time, or soon you'll see my clumsy
efforts to cut my own hair! I don't know
about you, but somehow over the years I
managed to be on many different email
lists, so over the past week I've
received many emails from companies
announcing their decisions to close
retail stores or provide new online
services. A lot of the messages contain
similar wording about these uncertain times.
They also talk about these trying times,
meaning a time that tests our strength.
Note how "times" can be used as a plural
noun to refer to a period of time. Here's
one more common phrase used at the
moment: unprecedented times. This means a
period in society that has never been
seen or experienced before. Unprecedented.
Unprecedented times. Many things can be unprecedented. The number of school
closures is unprecedented. The statewide
lockdowns in California and
Massachusetts are unprecedented. There
have been unprecedented decisions and
unprecedented changes. Companies, doctors, and politicians are expressing their
hope to figure things out and make the
best decisions under these new
circumstances. A colorful expression is
"uncharted waters." It refers to an area of
sea that has yet to be identified on a map.
Like explorers of the past who braved
the ocean not knowing what they'd discover, we're moving into an unfamiliar
situation without a map to guide us.
Various verbs can be used with this
expression: We're sailing into uncharted
waters. We find ourselves in uncharted
waters. We're floating into uncharted
waters. We're traversing uncharted waters, meaning we're travelling through these
waters. We may all feel like life is in
limbo right now because we can't make
any big decisions; we need the pandemic
to end first.
We're like airplanes circling an airport waiting to land.
We're in a holding pattern. Well, some
things maybe on hold, but thankfully we're
free to continue our studies together.
Let's see how much you learned. Take a 10-question quiz. Ready?
One. What does TBD stand for? To be determined or to be decided.
Two. What does TBA stand for? To be
announced or to be arranged.
Three. If action has never been taken before, how can we describe it? Here's a hint.
Unprecedented.
Four. When you go with the flow, you choose the more difficult course of action. True or false?
False. Five. How can a dangerous
and difficult situation be viewed? These
are...uncharted waters. Six. Where are you
when you can't make any decision until
something else happens?
In limbo. Seven airplanes circling an
airport waiting to land are in...
a holding pattern. We can be in a holding
pattern. Eight. If a store sign says,
"Closed until further notice," what
happened?
It shut down. Nine. When plans are
uncertain, we say they're...
up in the air. Ten. A difficult period can
be described as...trying times. Despite all
the uncertainty, I think it's important
to remain somewhat optimistic. All things
come to an end. Even a pandemic. So let me end with some words to inspire you.
They're not my own. They're the words of
Helen Keller. If you follow me on
Instagram, you'll know from one of my
short US history talks that Helen Keller
was a blind and deaf American woman who achieved a lot in her lifetime.
"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it."
"Optimism is the faith that leads to
achievement. Nothing can be done without hope or confidence."
Please like and share this video if you found it useful.
As always, thanks for watching and happy
studies!
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