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What are you thankful for? – Woodward English Question 1
Thankful means to be grateful. You appreciate something you have or something that happened.
It’s like saying THANK YOU for something.
You say: Thank you …. or …Thanks
BUT NEVER: Thanks you (NOT correct)
Do not put an S at the end of THANK if the word YOU comes after it.
Thankful is written with ONE L at the end:
- Thankful (correct)
- Thankfull (incorrect)
How can you answer the question…
What are you thankful for?
Answer: I am thankful for (something)
For example:
- I am thankful for my health.
- I am thankful for being healthy right now.
If there is a verb after FOR, it needs to end in ING (a gerund)
- I am thankful for having a job.
So back to the question… What are you thankful for?
Some people are focused on what they DON’T have instead of being thankful for the things they DO have.
BUT at the same time, some people will say:
I am thankful that I have a new sports car or a designer brand handbag.
Now that many of us have been in quarantine…
What use was your new sports car if you couldn’t use it?
What use is your new handbag if you couldn’t leave the house?
People should focus on other things to be thankful for.
List of things you can thankful for….
Health
Even if your health isn’t the best right now, it could be much worse. Often people only value health when the are sick and which they were healthy again.
- Health (noun)
- Healthy (adjective)
A job
Especially during these difficult times of the pandemic, there are many people who have lost their job and have no source of income. A lot of people used to complain about having to get up early to go to work… but now they don’t have a job, I bet they wouldn’t mind having to get up early again.
Money in the bank
Even if you have just a small amount of money in the bank, you are more fortunate that MANY people in the world. There are many people who live from one day to the next with what little money they can obtain during that day. Also, many many people are currently in debt.
- debt = a sum of money that somebody owes (has to pay back)
Notice how the B in DEBT is silent. Can you think of another word that has a silent B?
Family
This could be your own person family, as in your partner and children, or it could refer to your parents or brothers and sisters. Whether you like your family or not, I’m sure you have learned something from them.
Real Friends
Here we are talking about real friends, not just acquaintances or people you slightly know. Real friends are there to support you through he good times AND the bad times. They are always there for you not matter what circumstances you are in.
A partner
This could be a boyfriend, a girlfriend, a husband, a wife or something along these lines. There are many lonely people out there.
A home (a roof over your head)
I’m not just talking about owning a house. I’m talking about having a place to live, a place to sleep at night. I know people that sleep in their car because they cannot afford to pay rent.
Clean water
There are still people in certain countries today where they have to walk kilometres (or miles) just to have access to water. It doesn’t mean it is clean either. The fact that many people have clean running water at the turn of the tap or faucet is something to be thankful for.
Tap (British English) = Faucet (American English)
Hot showers
While we are on the topic of water, every time I have a shower I am thankful I have hot water. Yes, there was a time in my life when I didn’t have hot water so I would have to shower with cold water in the middle of winter. Now you can see why I am thankful every time I have a hot shower.
Food – Not being hungry
Yes, you should be thankful for the fact that you have food on the table. There are MANY people struggling to have a single meal every day. On some occasions there are parents who choose to go without eating just so their children will be able to have a little more to eat so they are less hungry. Be thankful for the food you are about to eat.
Clothes
I remember a stage in my life when I went to school in winter in sandals. Yes, I had sandals because my parents couldn’t afford shoes. I had to walk to school and I would rub my feet to try and warm them up when I entered the classroom in the morning.
An internet connection
There are many people that cannot connect to internet. Sometimes because it isn’t available where they live or they can’t afford it. Internet is not just for sharing weird cat photos on social media, you can also learn SO MUCH on internet … like all about cats. All of the charts and videos and things I create for Woodward English I learnt via internet. I am thankful for having internet which gave me the opportunity to learn these things. Also during lockdown in 2020 it was essential in order to do many things from home, like working or even just to keep in touch with friends and family.
- Afford = to have sufficient money to pay for something.
Clean air
I have lived in cities with serious smog problems. There would be restrictions about doing physical activity outside and sometimes it got so bad you could feel the smog in your eyes. Be thankful that you have clean, unpolluted air.
You can walk
Some people have lost their ability to walk, either because of an accident or have been that way since birth. Imagine how your life would be different if you could not walk.
You can read
This means you have the use of your eyes, you can see the world around you. But also it means you have had some type of education.
- Blind = the condition of a person who cannot see.
Life experiences
There are times when something bad happens and you think it is the end of the world. You can’t understand why something is happening to you at that moment in time. You can learn from those difficult times and usually something good comes from it in the future.
You
I’m personally thankful for all of you. Everyone who watches our videos, who leaves a comment, who uses our material with their students or for themselves.
This is just a small number of things that you can be thankful for.
What you can do every night before you go to sleep is to think of one thing from that day that you are thankful for.
What are you thankful for?
