Each of us has our own habits: good and bad, useful and harmful. The English have a saying: Habit is a second nature (Habit is second nature). It is difficult to disagree with the fact that when you know about a person's habits, you already have a ready-made psychological portrait of a person.

Habits is such a topic that is often discussed in various contexts, and there are many ways to talk about habits in English: from the simplest and most well-known to everyone, to constructions and set expressions that you have to remember. In this article, I will introduce you to nine basic tools that will help you expand your vocabulary and hopefully enrich your knowledge of grammar.

1. Present Simple

Of course, the first on the list is because it conveys "a habitual, repetitive action." To emphasize how often you perform an action, use:

I sometimes smoke. - I smoke sometimes.

My husband always goes jogging the morning. My husband always runs in the morning.

We often go to bed after midnight. We often go to bed after midnight.

Present Simple is such a "neutral" habit, if you do not add any negative context, then it is generally difficult to understand how you feel about it.

2. Present Continuous

But if someone's habit makes you angry, inconvenient, then you should add emotionality to your speech. And you can do this with the help of the present continuous tense and the adverb always. After all, it can convey not only the action taking place at the moment of speech, but also bad habits that annoy you:

My roommate is always taking my clothes without my permission! My neighbor keeps taking my clothes without permission!

Mark is always eating with his hands at the restaurant. Mark always eats with his hands in the restaurant.

Our neighbors wake up early and after that they are always listening to the radio at maximum volume. Our neighbors wake up early and after that they constantly listen to the radio at full volume.

Present Continuous will immediately make it clear to your interlocutor that you are outraged by this state of affairs.

3. Past Simple

I smoked when I was 18 years old. — I smoked when I was 18 years old.

My sister went to the swimming pool every week last summer. My sister went to the pool every week last summer.

We met with our friends on Saturdays. We met with friends on Saturdays.

But take into account that the actions expressed in Past Simple are presented more like facts. And it is not always clear whether the action was one-time or repeated in the past. Take our sister example: without the phrase every day in this sentence, your interlocutor would rather understand that she went to the pool once last summer, and did not visit it regularly. So, if you use the simple past tense, then it is better to supplement it with adverbs that will indicate that the action was habitual and repeated.

4. Used to, would

If you talk about past habits in Past Simple, then without context it is difficult to understand whether the action is repeated in the present. But there is a wonderful used to construction that kills two birds with one stone: it expresses a habitual action in the past and indicates that this habit no longer exists. After used to, the infinitive of action verbs and state verbs is used:

I used to like honey when I was a child. — As a child, I liked honey. (But now I don't like it.)

The children used to believe in Santa Claus. Children used to believe in Santa Claus. (But now they don't.)

We used to read many books. We read a lot of books at school. (We don't read now.)

My father used to drink two cups of coffee every morning. My dad used to drink two cups of coffee every morning. (Now he doesn't drink.)

The modal verb would can perform a similar function, the main difference is that would can only be used with action verbs. For those who have forgotten what is the difference between state verbs and action verbs, I recommend. Returning to our examples, you can only use would in the last two, since the first two contain state verbs (like and believe ):

We would read many books at school. We read a lot of books at school. (We don't read now.)

My father would drink two cups of coffee every morning. My dad used to drink two cups of coffee every morning. (Now he doesn't drink.)

Remember that would is a modal verb and must be followed by an infinitive without to .

You can learn more about used to would from the dedicated to their use.

5. Get used to / become used to

Habits do not appear instantly, they take some time to form. If you need to describe a habit in formation, get used to is the English equivalent of our verb " get used to". Become used to is exactly the same. Do not confuse it with the used to construct described above, as get used to has some significant differences.
Get used to and become used to can be used in different times. get verbs and become take the forms of whatever tense you want. After the turnover, a gerund (a form with the ending ing) or a noun is used:

I am getting used to getting up early. — I get used to getting up early.

She will never get used to speaking English. She will never get used to speaking English.

Soon we became used to the hot climate. We soon got used to the hot climate.

By the end of the dinner, I had become used to the noise around me. — By the end of dinner, I got used to the noise around me.

If you need to express a more complex idea, then instead of a gerund or a noun, you can use the transition phrase "to the fact that ...":

I am getting used to the fact that I get up early every morning. I'm getting used to the fact that I have to get up early.

She will never get used to the fact that she must speak English to her colleagues. She will never get used to the fact that she has to speak English with her colleagues.

6. Be used to

You can often hear the phrase: "I'm used to". The same phrase exists in English, and, again, with used to . Be used to is a habit already formed and can be used in the same way as get used to at all times.

After be used to, use a gerund, a noun, or the phrase to the fact that...:

He is used to sleeping on the flour. He is used to sleeping on the floor.

I am not used to spicy food, so I could not eat. “I wasn’t used to such spicy food, so I couldn’t eat.

In a month you will be used to our corporate rules. — In a month you will get used to our corporate rules.

He is used to the fact that people always interrupt him. He is used to (the fact) that people constantly interrupt him.

We are used the fact that our neighbors are noisy. We are used to (the fact) that we have noisy neighbors.

7. Get/ become/ be accustomed to

You can use accustomed to instead of used to , and the value doesn't change. The adjective translates as "used to, accustomed to," so feel free to use turnover in speech when talking about habits. We will not dwell on this turn in detail, since the rules for use are the same as for get/ become/ be used to :

I got accustomed to living in the suburbs. I'm used to living on the outskirts.

My friends are becoming accustomed to their new diet. My friends are getting used to their new diet.

He will be accustomed to wearing uniform soon. He will soon get used to wearing a uniform.

8. Tend to

The familiar word tendency (tendency, inclination), it turns out, comes from the verb tend - to gravitate, to have a tendency to something. This is the verb we need to describe a wide variety of habits and inclinations. Tend is combined with an infinitive, so it is recommended to memorize it immediately with a particle to: tend to do something:

I tend to look at picture hours. I can (have a tendency) to look at this picture for hours.

She tended to ignore my questions. She was inclined to ignore my questions.

Students tend to be late for their classes. All students tend to be late for classes.

As you can see from the examples, you can change tend to over time. You can also use the phrase have a tendency to:

I have a tendency to interrupt people. “I have a tendency to interrupt people.

Doctors have a tendency to write illegally. Some doctors tend to write illegibly.

9. The word habit

When describing habits, well, it's simply impossible not to use the word "habit" itself: habit . This noun combines with many verbs, including phrasal verbs, forming useful stable combinations. Remember to use:

to acquire / develop / form a habit- acquire a habit
to get into a habit- get used to
to pick up a bad habit- adopt a bad habit
to fall into a habit of doing something to acquire a habit, to acquire a habit
to break (off) a habit to quit a habit to get rid of a habit
to break somebody of a habit to wean someone off a bad habit
to get out of a habit to do something- unlearn, unlearn

While working in office, I developed a terrible habit of drinking much coffee. — Working in the office, I acquired a terrible habit of drinking a lot of coffee.

He got into a habit of going to bed late. He is used to staying up late.

I am worried that our son pick up bad habits from his elder friends. — I'm worried that our son might pick up bad habits from his older friends.

Being a teacher, she gradually fell into a habit of preaching all people around her. As a teacher, she gradually acquired the habit of teaching everyone around her.

You break off a habit of eating so sugar. You should get rid of the habit of eating so much sugar.

I tried to break my cat of a habit to sleep on my armchair, but in vain. — I tried to wean my cat from sleeping in my chair, but to no avail.

After some time, workers got out of a habit to smoke in the building. — After some time, the workers weaned themselves from smoking in the building.

What do you think about this? I hope your arsenal of language tools has grown significantly. To better absorb this amount of material, I recommend that you write a story about your habits and the habits of the people who surround you, but at the same time use each of the constructions and phrases from this article.

We have a saying in English “Manners maketh man”. “Maketh” is an old form of “makes” or “make”. So the expression means that, if you want to be a real man, you have to have good manners.

We have a saying "Without education (manners) there is no person ( Manners make man)". "Maketh" is written in the old spelling. And the meaning of the expression is - if you want to be a real person, you must learn how to behave (have good manners, upbringing).

“Manners” means the way that you behave to other people, particularly in public.

"Manners ( manners)" means your ability to behave with other people, especially in society.

If you have good manners you are polite and courteous. You remember to say “please” and “thank you”.

If you are brought up, then polite and amiable. Don't forget to say "please" and "thank you".

You make people feel welcome and at ease. And if you have bad manners you are rude and discourteous. You say unpleasant things to people. You make them feel unwelcome and upset.

You are friendly to people, they are comfortable with you. If you have bad manners, you are rude and impolite. You tell people trouble. They don't want to be with you, you upset them.

If someone has good manners, we can say that they are “well mannered”; and if they have bad manners, we can say that they are “bad mannered” or “ill mannered”.

If someone is well brought up, then they say "he has good manners ( well mannered)"; about the ill-mannered - "he has bad manners ( bad mannered, ill mannered)".

Now let's meet Heidi Withers. She is 28 years old and works as a personal assistant in a company in London.

Now let's meet Heidi Weisers. She is 28 years old and works as a secretary for a company in London.

She is engaged to be married to her boy-friend, Freddie Bourne.

She is engaged, her fiancé's name is Freddie Byrne.

Freddie runs a business that sells bicycles and parts for bicycles on the internet.

Freddie is in business: he sells bicycles and parts for them via the Internet.

Recently, Heidi and Freddie went to visit Freddie’s father and step-mother, who live in Devon in the south-west of England.

Heidi recently went with Freddie to his parents (father and stepmother). They live in the city of Devon in the southwest of England.

Most people are nervous about their first meeting with their future father-in-law and mother-in-law. Most people would be polite and well mannered.

As a rule, people are nervous at the first meeting with the parents of the future spouse, they try to be polite and well-mannered.

They would try to create a good impression. Maybe Heidi tried to do these things.

Strive to make a good impression. Maybe Heidi tried to be like that too.

However, it did not work. Freddie's step mother, Carolyn Bourne, thought that Heidi was rude and bad mannered.

However, she didn't succeed. Freddie's stepmother, Carolyn Byrne, thought Heidi was rude and rude.

After the end of the visit, Carolyn thought that it was important to tell Heidi about her bad manners.

After this visit, Carolyn felt it was important to tell Heidi about her bad manners.

She said to herself, “If I don’t tell her, she will never know.” So she sent Heidi an e-mail.

She thought to herself, "If I don't tell her, no one will enlighten her." So she sent Heidi an email.

“It is high time someone explained to you about good manners,” she started, “because it is obvious that you don’t have any”.

"It's high time you were told what it means to have good manners," she began, "because you obviously don't."

She went on to talk about some of the terrible things that Heidi did:

Heidi stayed in bed too long.

Heidi has been lying in bed for too long.

Heidi complained about the food.

Heidi complained about the (bad) food.

At meals, Heidi started eating before other people.

At the table, Heidi started eating earlier than others.

Heidi made jokes about Freddie's family.

Heidi did not send Carolyn a card to thank her for her hospitality.

Carolyn did not receive a thank you card from Heidi for her hospitality.

Carolyn also had things to say about Heidi's plans for her wedding. Heidi and Freddie plan to get married in a castle.

Caroline also had an opinion about plans for the wedding. Heidi and Freddie wanted to play it in the castle.

Carolyn does not think that this is a good idea. ? She wrote, “No one gets married in a castle unless they own it. It is brash, celebrity style behaviour.”

Caroline did not like this idea. She wrote: "Only the owners of the castle can have a wedding. And there is no need to make stars out of yourself."

Carolyn thinks that, because Heidi's parents do not have a lot of money, it would be better for Heidi and Freddie to have a smaller, less expensive wedding.

According to Carolyn, since Heidi's parents don't have money to spare, it would be better for Heidi and Feddie to have a more modest wedding.

What would you do if your future mother-in-law sent you an e-mail like this? Perhaps you would burst into tears.

What would you do if you received such a letter from your future mother-in-law? Perhaps they would cry.

Perhaps you would send a reply to say how sorry you were about your behavior and how very much you wanted to have a good relationship with your husband’s family.

Perhaps they would send a reply apologizing for their behavior, would write about their desire to have a good relationship with the husband's family.

Heidi did not do this. Instead, she sent copies of the e-mail to her friends. And her friends sent the e-mail to their friends.

Heidi did the wrong thing. Instead, she sent copies of this letter to her friends. And her friends are her friends.

And a few days later, the story was on lots of websites and in the newspapers, and we were all talking about it.

And within a few days, the story was on many websites and newspapers. We all talked about her.

Heidi's father told the newspapers that Carolyn was haughty and arrogant. (Actually, he said some rather ruder things than that, but it would not be polite to repeat them on a respectable website like Listen to English).

Heidi's father told the newspaper that Caroline was arrogant and arrogant. (Actually, he expressed himself more rudely, but it would be impolite to repeat his words on our respectable site).

Freddie's mother, and Heidi's friends, and all sorts of other people, told the newspapers what they thought. Only Freddie, Heidi's boyfriend, was sensible enough to keep quiet.

Heidi's mother and girlfriends, as well as many other people, told the newspapers what they think (about this). And only Freddie, Heidi's fiancé, had the sense to keep quiet.

What do you think? Who has the worse manners – Heidi or Carolyn? And will Carolyn be invited to the wedding, and will there be a fight if she goes? It is all very exciting!

How do you think? Who has bad manners - Heidi or Carolyn? Will Caroline be invited to the wedding? Will there be quarrels if she comes? All this is very interesting!

Good table manners avoid ugliness. All rules of table manners are made to avoid it. To let anyone see what you have in your mouth is offensive. So is to make a noise. To make a mess in the plate is disgusting. So there are some rules how to behave yourself at the table:

Do not attract undue attention to yourself in public.

When eating take as much as you want, but eat as much as you take.

Never stretch over the table for something you want, ask. your neighbor to pass it.

Take a slice of bread from the bread-plate by hand, don't harpoon your bread with a fork.

Never read while eating (at least in company).

When a dish is placed before you do not eye it suspiciously as though it were the first time you had seen it, and do not give the impression that you are about to sniff it.

Chicken requires special handling. First cut as much as you can, and when you can "t use knife or fork any longer, use your fingers.

The customary way to refuse a dish is by saying, "No, thank you" (or to accept, "Yes, please"). Don "t say "I don" t eat that stuff, don "t make faces or noises to show that you don" t like it.

In between courses don "t make bread-balls to while the time away and do not play with the silver.

Do not leave a spoon in your cup when drinking tea or coffee.

Do not empty your glass too quickly - it will be promptly refilled.

Don "t put liquid into your mouth if it is already full.

Don't eat off the knife.

Vegetables, potatoes, macaroni are placed on your fork with the help of your knife.

If your food is too hot don't blow on it as though you were trying to start a campfire on a damp night.

Try to make as little noise as possible when eating.

And, finally, don't forget to say "thank you" for every favor or kindness.

Translation

Good table manners avoid ugliness. All rules of conduct at the table are aimed at avoiding this. Showing someone what you have in your mouth is offensive. Likewise, make noise. Mess at ease is disgusting. There are a number of rules for how to behave at the table:

Do not draw undue attention to yourself in public places.

When eating, take as much as you want, but eat whatever you take.

Never reach across the table for what you want, ask your neighbor to serve it.

Take a piece of bread from the bread box with your hand, not with a fork.

Never read while eating (at least in company).

When a dish is in front of you, do not examine it suspiciously, as if you were seeing it for the first time, and do not give the impression that you are going to sniff it.

Chicken requires special handling. Cut off as much as possible first, and if you can't use a knife or fork anymore, use your fingers.

A common way to refuse a meal is by saying "No thanks" (or accepting "Yes please"). Don't say "I don't eat this", don't make grimaces or make noises to show that you don't like it.

Between meals, don't make breadballs to pass the time and don't play with silver.

Do not leave the spoon in the cup when drinking tea or coffee.

Don't empty the glass too quickly - it will be refilled immediately.

Do not take liquids into your mouth if it is already full.

Don't eat with a knife.

Put vegetables, potatoes, pasta on a fork with a knife.

If the food is too hot, don't blow on it like you're trying to start a fire on a damp night.

Try not to make noise while eating.

And finally, don't forget to say "thank you" for every service or kindness of the hosts.

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Do not attract undue attention to yourself in public.

When eating take as much as you want, but eat as much as you take.

Never stretch over the table for something you want, ask. your neighbor to pass it.

Take a slice of bread from the bread-plate by hand, don't harpoon your bread with a fork.

Never read while eating (at least in company).

When a dish is placed before you do not eye it suspiciously as though it were the first time you had seen it, and do not give the impression that you are about to sniff it.

Chicken requires special handling. First cut as much as you can, and when you can "t use knife or fork any longer, use your fingers.

The customary way to refuse a dish is by saying, "No, thank you" (or to accept, "Yes, please"). Don "t say "I don" t eat that stuff, don "t make faces or noises to show that you don" t like it.

In between courses don "t make bread-balls to while the time away and do not play with the silver.

Do not leave a spoon in your cup when drinking tea or coffee.

Do not empty your glass too quickly - it will be promptly refilled.

Don "t put liquid into your mouth if it is already full.

Don't eat off the knife.

Vegetables, potatoes, macaroni are placed on your fork with the help of your knife.

If your food is too hot don't blow on it as though you were trying to start a campfire on a damp night.

Try to make as little noise as possible when eating.

And, finally, don't forget to say "thank you" for every favor or kindness.

Table manners

Do not draw undue attention to yourself in public places.

When eating, take as much as you want, but eat whatever you take.

Never reach across the table for what you want, ask your neighbor to serve it.

Take a piece of bread from the bread box with your hand, not with a fork.

Never read while eating (at least in company).

When a dish is in front of you, do not examine it suspiciously, as if you were seeing it for the first time, and do not give the impression that you are going to sniff it.

Chicken requires special handling. Cut off as much as possible first, and if you can't use a knife or fork anymore, use your fingers.

A common way to refuse a meal is by saying "No thanks" (or accepting "Yes please"). Don't say "I don't eat this", don't make grimaces or make noises to show that you don't like it.

Between meals, don't make breadballs to pass the time and don't play with silver.

Do not leave the spoon in the cup when drinking tea or coffee.

Do not empty the glass too quickly - it will be filled immediately.

Do not take liquids into your mouth if it is already full.

Don't eat with a knife.

Put vegetables, potatoes, pasta on a fork with a knife.

If the food is too hot, don't blow on it like you're trying to start a fire on a damp night.

Try not to make noise while eating.

And finally, don't forget to say "thank you" for every service or kindness of the hosts.

Chiruhina Ekaterina. MNOU "Lyceum", Kemerovo, Russia
Essay in English with translation. Nomination People and Society.

Social etiquette in Russia

Since ancient times, people have had to observe certain rules of conduct to make their lives easier. It was impossible to survive without such rules even in a primitive society. A modern society cannot be imagined without etiquette.

Etiquette is a kind of law of good manners and rules of behavior at home, work, transport and other places, taken in a particular society.

The inner world of the man is revealed in his behavior and communication with other people. The rich and beautiful inner world corresponds to the high culture of behavior and communication. That is what etiquette shows.

When you are in Russia, make sure you respect the social etiquette in the following situations:

Meeting people usually say: "Hello!" or "Hi!", leaving: "Bye!" or "Good Bye!".

It is necessary to use polite words talking to strangers or elderly people. During a conversation you ought to lower your voice, speak clearly and not to swallow words. It is a good manner to put away negative emotions and express only positive ones. A loud laughter is often a sign of a bad manner.

It is not polite to stare at people you don't know. Having caused inconveniences to other people, it is necessary to apologize and whenever possible to help them.

In Russia it is acceptable that usually a man lets a woman go first, except going up and down the stairs. On public transport it is necessary to give a place to the elderly, parents with small children and invalids. If going by public transport you are given a place, it is not accepted to refuse but to thank.

In all public places it is prohibited to litter.

When you visit people at home, make sure you are on time.

There are a lot of rules of etiquette and they all have a special book. By way of conclusion, I would like to say that following etiquette is a necessary thing for anyone in the society.

Since ancient times, people have been forced to follow certain rules of conduct in order to make their lives easier. It was impossible to survive without such rules, even in primitive society. Modern society impossible to imagine without etiquette.

Etiquette is a kind of law about good manners and rules of conduct at home, at work, transport and other places adopted in a given society.

The inner world of a person is revealed in his behavior and communication with other people. A rich and beautiful inner world corresponds to a high culture of behavior and communication. This is what etiquette shows.

When you are in Russia, make sure you respect social etiquette in the following situations:

When meeting people, they usually say: "Hello!" Or "Hello!", At parting: "Bye!" Or "Goodbye!".

Use polite words when talking to strangers or older people. During a conversation, you should lower your voice, speak clearly and not swallow words. This is a good way to remove negative emotions and express only positive ones. Loud laughter is often a sign of bad taste.

It's impolite to look at people you don't know. Having caused inconvenience to other people, it is necessary to apologize and, if possible, help them.

In Russia, it is customary that a man usually lets a woman go ahead, with the exception of going down the stairs. V public transport it is necessary to give way to the elderly, parents, with small children and the disabled. If you are given a seat on public transport, it is not customary to refuse, but be sure to thank.

Littering is prohibited in all public places.

When you visit people at home, make sure you arrive on time.

There are many rules of etiquette and all of them are in a special book. In conclusion, I would like to say that the observance of etiquette is a necessary thing for those who are in society.