You moved to the U.S. a few years ago from another country. You had to apply to get a green card, and it was difficult. Now you're talking to a coworker whose friend is also applying for a permanent residence card. You're describing how difficult it is. You say:
You have to fill out a bunch of paperwork.
You're a makeup artist. You're putting eye makeup on a customer, and explaining what you're doing. You say:
First I'm applying a bit of eyeshadow.
amount, makeup, progressive aspect, technical You have an old car that has lots of engine problems. Your sister is trying to convince you to sell it, but you don't want to. One reason you don't want to sell it is that you don't think you can make a lot of money by selling it to someone. You say:
I doubt I'll get much for it.
You used to live in New York. Someone you just met is asking you about living there. You say:
There's so much to do there.
amount, city, description, there You're talking to someone who you just met, and you told her that you used to live in New York. She asks what it's like living there. You liked it there, so you say:
It's a lot of fun.
adverb, amount, city, description You owned a lot of stocks, but when the economy started to suffer, you lost a lot of your money. Now you're talking with a friend about the economy at that time. You say:
I lost a substantial amount of money.
You're planning on starting a business and you want your friend to join you as a business partner. You're trying to convince her to join. You say:
I know that it's a bit of a risk, but I really think we can pull it off.
amount, phrasal verb, planning, risk You're talking about a recent announcement that Starbucks is going to offer free Internet access to all customers. You think it's a good idea for them, and now you're talking to your husband and explaining why:
That's going to attract a lot of new customers.
Your younger sister is doing her taxes. She's used an accountant to do her taxes for the past few years, but this year she's going to do it herself. She asks you whether she should use Form 1040 or Form 1040-EZ. You tell her:
If you make less than a hundred thousand dollars, you should fill out form 1040-EZ.
To "make ___" means that you get paid that much for your job. If you say:
I make fifty thousand.
It means that you get paid 50,000 dollars, euros, yen, or whatever form of money is used in your country.
You can tell what the time period is for this amount using "per ___":
I make fifty thousand dollars per year.
A more casual way of saying the same idea is "make ___ a ___":
She only makes ten bucks an hour.
"A hundred" means "100".
This number can also be said as "one hundred". But saying "a hundred" is more casual and less exact. "one hundred" means exactly 100, but "a hundred" sounds like it might be a little more or a little less than precisely 100.
Telling someone "you should ___" is a way of giving advice. You use the word "should" when you don't think the person will mind you giving them advice. For example, in this case your sister doesn't know which form to use, so she's happy to hear your advice.
If you want to give someone advice that they're not expecting and might not like, you can use an expression like this:
If you make less than a hundred thousand dollars, you're supposed to fill out form 1040-EZ.
A "form" is a document with blank lines or boxes that you write information into. Forms were originally printed on paper, but now forms are common on the Internet. You can see them whenever you sign up for a new website and have to enter your name, email address, and other information.
To "fill out" a form means to write answers into the blanks or boxes.
amount, comparison, modal, money, phrasal verb, taxes 