Hi everyone. I'm Jennifer from English with Jennifer. Do you know what this is?
It's a globe. It's a helpful way of looking at the world. When we talk about society and the
global community, we usually say "world," but technically we live on Earth, the planet Earth.
We say "Earth" to refer to our planet. Do you ever wonder why sometimes this word is capitalized
and sometimes it's not? Back in school, I was taught to capitalize "Earth" when we think of it
as a planet in the context of our solar system. We capitalize all the names of the planets: Mercury,
Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, which could also be said as Uranus /ˈyʊərənəs/, and
Neptune. And I don't want to leave out little Pluto. When I was a kid, Pluto was a planet.
We can also use "earth" to refer to dirt or land. That's when we use a lowercase "e."
Put your hands in the earth and enjoy gardening.
The hot air balloon rose high into the atmosphere and then gently came back down to earth.
We also use a lowercase "e" when "earth" refers to world. For example, what's the largest animal
on earth? What are the best places to live on earth? What are the worst places to live on earth?
This meaning of world is what we use in the following expressions: Nothing on earth. What
on earth? Nothing on earth means "nothing in this world." It's used for emphasis.
Nothing on earth will make him change.
We can also use "no" + a noun for the same reason.
There's no reason on earth you should agree to this.
No place on earth serves better milkshakes.
Can you come up with your own example of "nothing..." or "no
on earth"? Post it in the comments.
When we're surprised and possibly angry, we use questions like,
"What on earth?" Let's practice this. Think about what you would say in these situations.
Your friend borrowed a car without asking simply because the owner left the keys in the car.
I know what I'd say. I'd ask, "What on earth were you thinking?"
Your other friend managed to carry a piano up the stairs by himself.
You know what I'd say? I'd ask,
"How on earth did you manage to get that up the stairs without breaking your back?"
And yet another friend agreed to shelter 50 homeless dogs until homes could be found for them.
I'd say, "That's very generous of you, but why on earth would you take so many?"
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