You got a new passport. The pages are thicker and can't be ripped easily. You notice this and say something about it to your husband:
This one's a lot more durable than the old one.
adjective, determiners, objects 
You're talking with a group of friends about your dreams. There is a reoccurring dream that happens to you sometimes. You describe it:
Every so often I'll have a dream where I'm being chased by some kind of monster.
determiners, dreams, progressive aspect, sometimes, will 
Your daughter gave you a waffle iron one year for your birthday. You haven't used it for a few years. Now someone is asking you where it is. You say:
It's just gathering dust in a closet somewhere.
appliances, closet, determiners, gift, idioms, progressive aspect, 日本語サポート 
You're at a dance club with your friend. She left to go to the bathroom, and while she was gone a guy started talking to you and asked you out on a date. You didn't like him. Now you're telling your friend about it.
Some creepy guy was hitting on me.
You and your boyfriend are having fun imagining what you will do when you retire. You say:
One day I want to buy a little farm in the country and grow vegetables and raise chickens.
animals, conjunctions, countryside, determiners, dreams, farming, future 
You and a friend are talking about the topic of dreams. There's a certain dream that you often have. You tell your friend about it:
I have this recurring dream where I'm on a boat that's sinking.
boat, determiners, dreams, 日本語サポート You're eating dinner with some coworkers and someone mentions the topic of education. You watched a really good film about education last week. You want to talk about it, so you say:
I saw this incredible documentary the other day on the state of the public school system.
determiners, education, movie, past You're riding home after a day at the beach with your young children. The children have fallen asleep in the back seat. You're talking to your husband. You say:
All that sun must have really worn them out.
beach, children (topic), determiners, guess, modal, phrasal verb You have an important presentation for school that's due this week. You've been thinking and worrying about the presentation for 3 weeks. Now you're talking with your boyfriend, who you've spoken to about the presentation before.
I've had this presentation looming over me for weeks now.
In the example above, the speaker says "this presentation". Using "this" makes it seem like the speaker wants to continue talking about the presentation.
When something "looms" over you, it means that it's floating or hanging ominously. It feels threatening and makes you worry that something bad is going to happen. The best example of this is when dark clouds are floating in the sky. You can describe it this way if you write a story about a scene:
There were dark clouds looming overhead.
People also use "looming over" to talk about a bad event that they know is going to happen in the future:
My 40th birthday is looming right around the corner. I'm not looking forward to that!
You can use the phrase "for weeks now", "for two days now", "for 5 years now", and so on. When you use the word "now" after a length of time, it shows that you think this was a pretty long time. Not a really long time, but maybe longer than you expected. For example, if you're telling someone how long you've been studying English:
I've been studying it seriously for over three years now, but there are still little things that trip me up.
You went to a party and were talking to an acquaintance (Karen). Someone that she knew said hello and started talking to her. Now it's after the party, and you're telling a story about this situation to your boyfriend. You say:
I was having a conversation with Karen, and this guy came up and said "Hi" to her.
