How to Use OUGHT TO and other questions

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In the Q and A we answer. - Where does "the bee's knees" come from and how to use it.
- how to use OUGHT TO and SHOULD
- When to use possessives and when to use a/the article.

Thanks to Santosh, Isabel and Freddie Mercury for their questions.

[LetThemTalkTV]

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[exs]

I'm not a native speaker which means English is my 2nd language. One thing for sure - if I have had you for a teacher 30 yrs ago I would've been flying in no time instead of learning some crazy stuff that no one really needed back then. Great vid and good to see you again Gideon 👌

[baronderochemont]

Dearest Gideon: by my own experience, if you got to the point of going staggering home, then it's perfectly possible that you could try to open someone else's door. Terrific video as always, you're one of the few I always hit the like for before watching.

[litigioussociety]

I'm a native speaker, but never thought about the possessive usage you mentioned. I can certainly see why that would be annoying for a non-native to learn. The logical default would be to use the possessive multiple times, because it might sound wrong, but it removes any ambiguity.

It does make someone sound somewhat robotic to use my over and over.

[annamiller]

Lovely, terrific explanation. As always very clear with lots of examples.

[OceanChild]

OMG I took a short break from the internet as I had a lot of things going on, coming back to this video was a delight but finding you now have a Patreon with additional content made my month!! 😂😂😂

[Santoshlv]

Thanks for answering my question Gideon. Great educational video as always.

[injujuan]

Thank you, Gideon and my big thanks to the folks who sent in some great questions. This was an absolutely brilliant class

[torrawel]

Thank you for explaining the difference between should & ought to.
As a Dutch speaker it always surprised/baffled me to realise how many words you have for what we simply call "moeten" :

Must, have to, should, ought to, got to, need to...

Google translate even gives "shall" and "due" although I'm not sure if I can agree :)

[badroulamine]

Many thanks, Gideon. It's an insightful mini-lesson, just like all the previous ones 😊

[riyapaulbabar]

After so long😊 Thanks!! For informative content again.

[laura.r.]

I love your British accent. Nice explanation, thanks👍🏻

[cavesalamander]

"The bee's knees" apparently came into use during the 1920s when the *_flappers_* compared almost anything they considered excellent to a part of an animal. It seems that American cartoonist Tad Dorgan is responsible for this particular expression; and also for "the cat's pajamas", and possibly for "hot dog". He also coined a number of other expressions that didn't stick such as "the canary's tusks" and "the flea's eyebrows". Other superlatives from the period include "the sardine's whiskers", "the eel's ankle" and "the clam's garter".

According to The Guardian, some believe that the "bee's knees" derives from a shortening of "the be all and the end all of everything" which was shortened to "the B's and E's" and thus to "bee's knees"; while another camp believe it derives from "it's the business".

*_flapper_* - informal (in the 1920s) a fashionable young woman intent on enjoying herself and flouting conventional standards of behavior.

[sportsmantra]

What is the difference between he is gone and he has gone? please explain and give more examples like this.. thankyou in advance 😊

[ccuxewr]

Hey Gideon ! I can't thank you enough for the clarification of * ought to *
Not only are you a salt of the earth but you're also all hearts.
Come to thinks of: Have a Dog's bollocks weekend !
I am signing off, I have been Freddie and you've fantastic.
Catch you in the next one.
Ciao for now !

[earthangel]

I can’t speak for the person who asked the question, but I just discovered your channel and my ears perked up when that question came up because I’ve always wondered what the expression “bees knees” meant.

Since bees don’t really have knees, I thought you were going to give an explanation of the derivation of the term, not when do you use it.

I already know that; so does the questioner, I imagine.

You didn’t really tell me anything about how it came into being, which is what I would have interpreted the question to mean.

Same thing with “ the cat’s pajamas.”

Both terms are used commonly when people are congratulating you or expressing affirmation of some things greatness.

So if I were to ask you the question that was asked, I would want to know where did those terms come from?

[mljvk]

Hello Gideon. Thank you for all the interesting videos. And a big thanks for your video on brewing English tea. ☕️ 🫖

Perhaps you could advise on an older book with a CD for learning English I am searching for (it is possibly from ”older” times).

There was a box with the book and some CDs. I adored it as a child and would like to buy this box. Unfortunately I cannot remember the title of the book nor the publisher's name in order to find a used copy on eBay or Amazon. It was possibly Collins, Oxford…

Both the box and the book were white with British details, such as a picture of the British flag, the Big Ben and maybe a red telephone booth. I was nearly 12 when I saw it last at my grandparents’ house.

The main characters were Susan and Peter. (If I remember correctly.)

Every audio starts with the phrase: ”Here we are again with a new conversation.” This phrase pops up in my mind every time I think about the English language 🥰

Perhaps you’ve seen this book before. You wouldn’t be able to help me out, would you? (I learned that last phrase from your YouTube video 😀 Thank you so much.)

Have a lovely beginning of the new school year.

Sincerely, Hanna

[grumblehump]

My understanding of the phrase “Dog's bollocks' has its origins in Meccanno model construction kits which came in two different boxed sets: 'Box standard' from which the phrase “bog standard” is derived and 'Box deluxe' which mutated into “dog's bollocks” indicating anything outstanding. Or perhaps it’s just that dog's bollocks do tend to stand out!

[adamclarkuk]

The bee's knees sounds like the business. Business-> biznis -> bee's knees. What you're really saying is that it's the business, but changing it to make it funny.

[raulgalets]

there are some microphone noises at the beginning. I suggest something like ERA Noise Removal which is free or Clarity Vx which is paid, or something like Voice Isolation.