Love your English

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Updated: May 29, 2026 at 6:41 PM

Love your English

Thoughts about English and its fun parts. If you have any questions or just want to chat, I’m here — @annashastak

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Latest Posts

Love your English

Apr 23, 2026, 04:20 PM

I love English for infinite opportunities for puns and wordplay.
Check this https://www.instagram.com/reels/DSP5F0HkuUJ/ out

And have a look at this of information about baby animals

#vocabulary

113

Love your English

Apr 23, 2026, 04:20 PM

📷 Photo

Yesterday I met the most insane idiom — ‘to throw the baby out with the bathwater’! It just sounds too violent for an idiom 🤯

We can use it when we talk about an easily avoidable mistake, when something valuable can be lost while we’re getting rid of something we don’t need anymore.

Apparently, it’s used in Russian as well — «вместе с водой выплеснуть и ребенка». Into both languages the idioms came from German, where it was used for centuries, but became a part of the literary language around 15-16 centuries after it was used by Martin Luther.

I’ll keep this idiom for extreme situations, when I really want to prove the point 😁

#vocabulary

114

Love your English

Apr 23, 2026, 04:20 PM

http://telegraph.controller.bot/files/1540189774/AgACAgIAAxkBAAISJGmwdGNbXqrLUzRSvBvUl5UGeR1vAAIVJGsb3xOBSfQuTLtUjnWTAQADAgADeQADOgQМне встретился интересный пост от специалистки по психолингвистике, который объясняет, почему наш родной язык тоже меняется, когда мы много говорим на иностранном. Происходит несколько процессов:

1. Межъязыковое влияние: когда вы живете в среде иностранного языка, он может влиять на порядок слов в предложениях вашего родного языка, на то, какие идиомы и устойчивые выражения вы используете, и на то, какие выражения используете — иногда можно заметить, что вы дословно переводите на родной язык выражения из вашего второго. Это когнитивное наложение (cognitive overlap).
2. Смещение в воспроизведении лексики. Мозг отдает предпочтение тому, что вы чаще используете. Если вы говорите urząd сто раз за неделю, то заменить его на эквивалент в родном языке будет сложнее и займет больше времени. Чем чаще вы что-то используете, тем быстрее оно вспоминается.
3. Семантическая реорганизация. Поскольку слова несут в себе культурный код, новый язык дает вам новые способы мыслить, поэтому со временем они отражаются и в вашем родном языке.
4. Изменение акцента. Мышцы речевого аппарата адаптируются к новым звукам, меняются интонационные модели, меняется ритм речи.
5. Изменение личности. При переезде меняется ваша идентичность, вы теперь: мигрант / студент / приглашенный специалист / беженец / иностранец. Речь отражает изменения в нашем самосознании.

Как вывод — опыт переезда меняет нас, поэтому меняет и то, как мы говорим.

Оригинальный пост вот https://www.instagram.com/p/DVJwea4jcX_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==&img_index=3

#language #curious

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Love your English

Apr 23, 2026, 04:20 PM

Most of us have no idea that the Scots language exists, but at the same time we use a word from it quite often — and it’s a simple ‘wow’.

I was surprised to find out that it was first recorded in 1500s, because when I was growing up it was everywhere and it was cool — even in Russian-speaking surrounding. But here we are — it has quite a history.

English borrowed it around 1800s and it is still with us.

This https://www.instagram.com/reels/DTcRROajqB8/ is not only an amazing source of knowledge about Scottish culture and language, but also a great listening material — you can easily improve your skill of understanding Scottish accent.

#vocabulary #scottish

146

Love your English

Apr 23, 2026, 04:20 PM

📷 Photo

Next cinema club — a Persian-language ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night’

If you like noir films, if you like slow-burning suspense — that’s the film for you.

Join us to discuss it on 22nd of March!

Dm me to find out more ✨

#cinemaclub

129

Love your English

Apr 23, 2026, 04:20 PM

📷 Photo

Two more ways to use ‘after’

An interesting synonym for ‘I’m looking for something’ — ‘I’m after something’.

It probably comes from the meaning ‘in pursuit of / desiring something’ which in itself is an extension of the original meaning ‘behind something/ following something’. As if when you’re looking for something you’re chasing it.

Such usage dates back to 18th century, but is still in active use.

On the other hand, in Irish English ‘I’m after doing something’ means that you have just finished this action.

I’m after coming from work. = I have just come from work.
I’m after eating. = I’ve just eaten.

#curious #vocabulary

126

Love your English

Apr 23, 2026, 04:20 PM

If you ever had any problems with the second conditional, let this amazing https://www.instagram.com/reels/DUpH3yGjGv8/ help you remember it.

If + Past Simple, would + Bare Infinitive

We use it to talk about situations in the present, but they’re not true right now.

It’s impossible for you to be a vegetable, but if it was possible, you would be a cutecumber.

Makes perfect sense, right?

#grammar

124

Love your English

Apr 23, 2026, 04:20 PM

I was talking to my Irish friend the other day. He asked me when some event will take place, I said — in spring. He’s like — but it’s spring. Me 🗿it’s February, right?
But in Ireland spring is after St. Bridgit’s day, which is at the beginning of February. My spring is 1st of March. And European spring is 21st of March.
Who would’ve thought we’d have 3 ideas of spring in one little room 🤯

185

Love your English

Apr 23, 2026, 04:20 PM

If you ever have been puzzled or frustrated by https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOUqHr9tcVY in English, just know — you’re not alone 🫂

#curious

184

Love your English

Apr 23, 2026, 04:20 PM

📷 Photo

Обожаю языки! Вот прям все и по разным поводам. Сегодня посмотрим на ху-редупликацию — да-да, у «воробушков-х**бушков» есть официальное название как у языкового явления.

Когда мы хотим снизить уровень серьезности ситуации или обесценить что-то, мы можем сделать такой вот финт и обычный автобус после опоздания превратится в х**бус, а набившие кому-то оскомину селфи обязательно станут х**лфи.

Редупликация говорит о том, что есть повторение, а «ху» — о том, на что заменить две первые буквы слова. В английском эквивалент — shm-reduplication: baby-shmaby, sale-shmale, serious-shmerious. Shm само по себе пришло из идиша, где некоторые слова, используемые для уничижительной оценки кого-либо начинаются с сочетания shm: например, schmendrik (говнюк) или schlemazl (неудачник).
Шм-редупликация и в русском есть, конечно же. Тут вообще большой просто для фантазии, лишь бы рифмовалось.

Пользуетесь редупликацией на досуге?

#curious #language

172

Love your English

Mar 29, 2026, 10:12 AM

📷 Photo

If you ever feel bad about not understanding a particular accent, remember — even native speakers sometimes don’t understand each other.

But good news is — it just takes practice.
Find a series with the accent you need, watch it — by the end of the first season you’ll already see the progress.

#curious #accents

170

Love your English

Mar 29, 2026, 10:12 AM

📷 Photo

Malvern Hills

One of my favourite places in the UK is the Malvern Hills.

There were two particularly magical moments there. The first one: While walking in the Hills I was thinking ‘Oh gosh, these hills remind me of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ so much, it’s crazy.’

The second one: On a snowy day when I saw the lantern you see in one of the pictures, I thought, that it did look like the one in Narnia.

I come home, google — ‘J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis loved Malvern Hills and walked there a lot. Tolkien used the area as an inspiration for his books’ (the quote’s not literal, but you get the idea). I’m like ‘Aaaa, I’ve seen the real places from the books I liked? Is that even possible?’ So that’s how I got two magical artefacts for my memory bank.

The Malvern Hills are majestic and beautiful, although not very often are talked about.
And there’s a pub where Tolkien and Lewis warmed up after long walks. Of course it’s called ‘The Unicorn’.

#curious #UK_places

197

Love your English

Mar 29, 2026, 10:12 AM

The choice for the next cinema club is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Yeljti-RVw 👩‍❤️‍👩

Let me know if you’d like to join. We’re meeting 17th of January.

197

Love your English

Mar 29, 2026, 10:12 AM

📷 Photo

Etymology fun fact

Apparently the word ‘pupil’ (зрачок) in English comes from a latin word pupilla — ‘little girl’ or ‘doll’ because you can see a tiny reflection of yourself in another person’s eye, like a tiny doll.

#vocabulary

214

Love your English

Mar 17, 2026, 10:22 AM

📷 Photo

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Love your English

Mar 10, 2026, 03:31 AM

Валійская сваячка каляднай казы

https://www.youtube.com/watch?embeds_referring_euri=https://www.google.com/&source_ve_path=MzY4NDIsMjg2NjQsMTY0NTAz&v=Y3FZZkQtrCA&feature=youtu.be(Марі Луід) ходзіць па хатах на Каляды на поўдне Уэльса, спявае песні і зычыць усім добрага года, праганяе злых духаў і прыносіць поспех сям’і. У перакладзе Mari Lwyd гэта Шэрая Кабыла, і лічылася, што яна здольная пераходзіць з нашага свету ў замагільны і мае падтрымку багоў.

Зразумела, што зараз Mari Lwyd не ходзіць нікуды сама, некалькі чалавек носяць галаву каня (гэта можа быть ці ўпрыгожаны чэрап, ці яна можа быть зроблена з паперы ці дрэва), і спяваюць песню, каб ім дазволілі ўвайсці, а сям’я спявае ў удказ. Калі сям’я прайграе, Mari Lwyd заходзіць у хату і можа ўзяць, што захоча — ежу, напоі, нават грошы.

#curious

151

Love your English

Mar 10, 2026, 03:31 AM

Christmas cards

One of the Christmas traditions in the UK is sending or giving Christmas cards to everyone you care about.

You usually buy a pack of charity cards — they’re prepared by a particular organisation and the proceedings go to it. For example it can be Age UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, British Heart Foundation, Salvation Army and many others. They all duly prepare their cards and you have a lot to choose from.

Then you write all your warm wishes (depending on the person it can be just ‘Merry Christmas xxx’), and then you either post them, give them in person or deliver them yourself, dropping them into the letterbox.

You can do it all December, and all the cards that you get you can use as a Christmas decoration: they can be on the mantelpiece, under the Christmas tree or as a garland on the wall.

Oh, under the Christmas tree you’ll also have all the presents — they go there as soon as they’re ready and you need to be strong and not to open them till Christmas.

P. S. ‘xxx’ stands for kisses and is usually used at the end of the message to show affection or to make the message friendlier, like ‘)’ that we use in Russian, without necessarily saying something funny.

#curious #christmas

156

Love your English

Mar 8, 2026, 02:35 PM

🎥 Video

One of my friends asked me yesterday if people really use the phrase ‘to be anal about something’. They actually do, when they want to say that somebody is maybe too focused on details, too meticulous, maybe even a little bit annoying with it. And here’s a video for you with a good example of its use

#vocabulary

152

Love your English

Mar 8, 2026, 02:35 PM

📷 Photo

I’ve started writing https://www.threads.com/@fourcatsandtwohumans/post/DSP-Z0YCA1_?xmt=AQF00I79s5BulY2aFAsZ3lxDeXv6aBbzl8QhZVfyE9cLka3dWlidaaLoVEnShkQWYzhppVU&slof=1 it’s more informal and random, but also has a bit about language and my life in the uk

The post in the link is about Mary Shelly, and a little bit about her husband’s heart ♥️

#curious

154

Love your English

Feb 26, 2026, 01:56 PM

📷 Photo

This Sunday at 7pm UK we’re discussing the new ‘Frankenstein’!
Message me if you’d like to join 🙃

#cinemaclub

181

Love your English

Feb 12, 2026, 07:21 AM

Found a good thread — how to say ‘Мухосранск’ in different languages. My favourite is ‘zadupie’ from Polish 😁

#vocabulary

158

Love your English

Feb 12, 2026, 07:21 AM

Another great eggcorn!
Do you recognise the original?

#vocabulary #eggcorn

130

Love your English

Feb 12, 2026, 07:21 AM

http://telegraph.controller.bot/files/1540189774/AgACAgIAAxkBAAIR92k2v0KG7ulAdhi6d-6OeREyKDjxAAILDWsbGtG5SfPG_c1qzXMrAQADAgADeQADNgQRage bait is the word of the year of Oxford Dictionary

The expression, meaning content created to provoke anger, seems to characterise the content of 2025 quite well. Its usage has tripled in the last 12 month.

Here’s what Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, has to say about it:

The fact that the word rage bait exists and has seen such a dramatic surge in usage means we’re increasingly aware of the manipulation tactics we can be drawn into online. Before, the internet was focused on grabbing our attention by sparking curiosity in exchange for clicks, but now we’ve seen a dramatic shift to it hijacking and influencing our emotions, and how we respond. It feels like the natural progression in an ongoing conversation about what it means to be human in a tech-driven world—and the extremes of online culture.

It seems by using this word we show that we’ve become more aware of our own reactions to the content we see and of how we’re manipulated into them by content creators.

I can see it quite vividly on Threads: some stories are created for the sake of provoking reactions and the audience is quite quick to call out the author. We’ve become much more cautious of the content we consume and the word of the year proves it.

#vocabulary #wordoftheyear

157

Love your English

Dec 6, 2025, 04:00 PM

‘Beats’ for Cinema Club

This Saturday, 29.11, at 7pm (UK) we’re discussing https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DSl3MaCxHleM&ved=2ahUKEwjJ4LKylYuRAxUlQkEAHYPYFK4QtwJ6BAgREAI&usg=AOvVaw0TB_bYD7px8Bs0qsQ3QTmfhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl3MaCxHleM’ — a film about growing up, friendship and resisting the ban on techno music in Scotland in ‘94. The film is poignant and touching, and is a great to boost your understanding of Scottish accent.

Message me if you’d like to join 🤓

?q=%23cinemaclub

Love your English

Dec 6, 2025, 04:00 PM

Everyone remembers Mad Hatter from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but maybe not everyone knows that ‘mad hatter disease’ was really a thing in 18-19th centuries. Hatters were using mercury to produce felt and long exposure to it lead to development of tremors, speech problems, emotional instability and delirium. It was so common that the phrase ‘mad as a hatter’ became a popular way of describing somebody acting chaotically.

?q=%23vocabulary

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Love your English

Dec 6, 2025, 04:00 PM

Для моих студентов, пытающихся запомнить разницу между to be going to и will когда мы говорим о будущем времени, у меня есть история.

Will у нас обычно для спонтанных решений, а to be going to — для планов. Так вот, когда Терминатор говорил I’ll be back, можно было ничего не бояться, потому что плана у него не было, а если кто-то тебе угрожает с will, значит, он не подготовился. А вот если б он сказал I’m going to be back, все, пиши пропало — у него все продумано до мелочей и шансов у тебя мало.

Фьють-ха!

?q=%23grammar

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Love your English

Dec 6, 2025, 04:00 PM

Not an explanation why these accents are like that, but a trick which might help differentiate and understand them 🧐

?q=%23pronunciation ?q=%23curious ?q=%23accents

Love your English

Dec 6, 2025, 04:00 PM

http://telegraph.controller.bot/files/1540189774/AgACAgIAAxkBAAIRwWkUbQu9Th-R3rlMv6WsTjt-hvrMAALgC2sbiPOoSA8dFQ6kZhnuAQADAgADeQADNgQhttp://telegraph.controller.bot/files/1540189774/AgACAgIAAxkBAAIRwWkUbQu9Th-R3rlMv6WsTjt-hvrMAALgC2sbiPOoSA8dFQ6kZhnuAQADAgADeQADNgQ and Guy Fawkes Day

I know I’m a bit late with these thoughts, but the recent celebrations got me thinking. In the UK nowadays Halloween is quite a holiday, especially for the shops — this year they started selling all the Halloween paraphernalia in August! Kids dress up, adults go on a night out with their fake blood and all that, cafe windows are decorated.

But it’s actually quite a recent tradition. As my friend told me, the popularity of Halloween in the UK started growing somewhere in the 80s, after the film ‘ET’. Before that the main autumn celebration was on 5 November, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_Night You’ve probably heard of it if you watched ‘V for Vendetta’.

The highlight of the Bonfire Night, as it is also called, is creating a huge bonfire (hence the name) and burning a doll of Guy Fawkes. Kids were busy making the doll for most the autumn, and also they were really serious about building the fire — it always needed to be bigger than on the next street. So all the adults were doing their best to keep their fences and other wooden parts of their houses and gardens safe — kids would take anything that burns, once even rugby goal posts were thrown into the bonfire. Everything to make it bigger.

But as the popularity of Halloween was and is getting bigger, the popularity of the bonfire night is decreasing. Nowadays it is mostly a firework night, when half the country sets them off and the other half rants about the noise while trying to keep their dogs from panicking.

It’s mind blowing how in 40 years a century-old tradition can transform and almost disappear.

P. S. Find a cool article about the way it was celebrated in the 50s and 60s in the comments.

?q=%23curious ?q=%23UKculture

Love your English

Dec 6, 2025, 04:00 PM

http://telegraph.controller.bot/files/1540189774/AgACAgIAAxkBAAIR5Gka7HQ4HYs0L2WbbhG6fzbIQhO-AAKJC2sbaxDZSKn5liHmXgffAQADAgADeAADNgQWhy swearing is so normal in British English

Yesterday’s cinema club was about ‘Wicked Little Letters’, a story of poison letters that dwellers of a little seaside town started getting one day in the 1920s. And it’s impossible to discuss this film without discussing swear words, explicit language, profanities and all that.

I was always wondering why swearing in English is so everyday, so accepted that even in films for children somebody would swear (Hello, Ron Weasley and your ‘bloody’ everything 😁). While preparing for the cinema club, I found an interesting factoid that explains a lot: according to Melissa Mohr, the author of Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing (2013) ‘the British started to swear more during and after the First World War, because strong language – like strong drink – is a way to alleviate despair.’ Other researchers noted that soldiers were swearing so much that ‘the word ‘fucking’ so often that it was merely a warning ‘that a noun is coming’. The expletives were so overused that people didn’t use the when the situation was serious: ‘Thus if a sergeant said, “Get your —ing rifles!” it was understood as a matter of routine. But if he said, “Get your rifles!” there was an immediate implication of urgency and danger.’

And it seems to have explained why any British film or series you with sounds organic with all the swearing, while if you try to translate it into Russian it becomes a completely different story, most likely not suitable for any streaming platform.

?q=%23curious ?q=%23swearing ?q=%23explicitlanguage

110

Love your English

Dec 6, 2025, 04:00 PM

В продолжение истории про ругательства в английском, расскажу, что мой друг Ричард смеется, что мы поймем, что я адаптировалась в ЮК, когда я смогу сказать кому-то ‘you fucking stupid cunt’ с любовью. Потому что слово на с универсально: ты можешь и обозвать кого-то, да так, что он и не встанет, а можешь выразить свою наиглубочайшую любовь. Потому что не могут британцы прямо выражать свои чувства, у них все шутки-прибаутки, сарказм и подколки. Поэтому если услышите что-то такое от близкого британца — точно вас любит.

Иногда, конечно, если человек не очень близкий, такие шутки могут казаться жесткими. Например, один из наших тренеров на боксе отреагировал на то, что мы наконец-то получили положительный ответ по нашему статусу беженцев фразой ‘Oh, but they let anyone stay these days’. Звучит жестко даже когда его знаешь, а если не знаешь, то уж вообще. Но вот такой у него стиль выражения приязни 😁

?q=%23curious ?q=%23swearing

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