Unit 2 – You Call That Art

VOCABULARY

Blogs Phrases with every Art vocabulary

blogger every bit of it abstract
blogroll every inch of the way body of work
RSS feed every last one canvas
to blog every man, woman and child charcoal
widget every move you make easel
every now and then landscape
Vocabulary from the every once in a while life drawing
blog post every right to expect lithograph
aplomb every so often mural
blip oil
curds and whey Phrases with opinion palette
fit a difference of opinion portrait
glee a matter of opinion scale
lark form an opinion screen print
matron hazard an opinion shade
meltdown in my humble opinion sheet of paper
snag my considered opinion sketch
tailspin popular opinion still life
toddler public opinion watercolour

creepy Marks or spots Adjectives

curmudgeonly blotch dull
po-faced dapple eye-catching
dot garish
Idioms and fleck gaudy
expressions mottle kitsch
to be ahead of the game smear loud
bits and bobs smudge lurid
to boot spatter muted
to bum a ride stroke tacky
to butt heads understated
to figure something out
to hitch a ride Phrasal verbs
it's not half fun blow up
to pop in hang on
made up of
put together
stand out
take off
take on
turn into
GRAMMAR

Uses of like
We like people to feel at home when they stay with us. (verb)

He shouted at me, and I'm like, "What's your problem?" (adverb – quoting, or
describing a feeling)

It kind of looks like a kindergarten. (preposition meaning "similar to")

This exhibition is housed inside a low-lit cathedral-like space. (suffix)

We threw a few prawns on the barbecue, like they do in Australia. (conjunction

meaning "similar to")

Because, like, you know, I told you how I felt about the exhibition. (as an
interjection)

I know it's not easy, but you'll have to, like, try a bit harder. (to soften what you say)

Like vs. as
Like is a preposition: like + noun/pronoun
She sings like a bird.
He looks like me.

Like + object + verb

I don't like people phoning me late at night.
We like people to feel at home when they stay with us.

Comparison after negatives (In these examples we can use like or as.)
I don't eat meat, like Jim. (Jim doesn't either)
I'm no angel, as Veronica is.

As is a conjunction: as + subject + verb

Nobody sings as I do.

Or: as + prepositional phrase

In summer, as in winter, we go to the mountains.

(Note: In informal speech, like is often used as a conjunction, too.)

Like I said, I don't enjoy this.
Nobody loves you like I do.

Even for emphasis or surprise

We can use even to emphasise or to talk about something that surprises us.

even + verb
I even washed the dishes! (= I did everything, including washing the dishes.)
The children even liked the vegetables. (= They liked everything, including the
vegetables.)
even + noun
Even I washed the dishes. (= Everybody, including me, washed the dishes.)
Even the children liked the vegetables. (= Everybody, including the children, liked
the vegetables.

not + even + noun

Not even the dog could eat the lasagne I cooked. (= The dog couldn't eat it.
Nobody could eat it.)
I couldn't eat a bite more, not even that amazing dessert. (= I can't eat anymore,
including the dessert.)

be + even
We were even offered an evening meal, for no extra charge. (= We were offered
many things, including an evening meal for no extra charge.)
I arrived very early. I was even here before Jan was. (= I was here very early,
earlier than anyone, including Jan.)

USEFUL PHRASES

Ways of introducing opinions

I imagine it would be easy to ...
You'd think it would be easy to ...
One would think it easy to ...
In theory it should be easy to ...
I'd have thought that it would've been easy to ...
It seems easy to ...
There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that it's easy to ...
In my opinion, it's easy to ...
I reckon it's easy to ...
I bet it's easy to ...

Expressing opinions
This is not really my cup of tea.
It's interesting how the illusion of ... is achieved
I find it kind of intriguing, the ...
The amazing thing about it is its ...
It's a bit too grim for my liking.
It looks like the artist was trying to convey something profound.
What I like about it is the use of ...
As far as I'm concerned, it's completely ...
Look how cleverly and easily it portrays the ...