What's the mystery word? (1)
(Answers to the quiz)

    And the mystery word is... LUCKY.
    1. Isn't this rain terrible?
    2. Yeah. It's lucky (that) we brought our umbrellas.

    1. How did you get started as a professional singer?
    2. Well, I entered a local singing contest a few years ago and I was lucky enough to meet an agent who got me an audition with a record company.

    1. It was really tough last night. I had 3 hours' homework.
    2. Really? You should count yourself lucky. I had 3 hours' homework every night when I was at school!

    1. I think I'll drive into town this afternoon and do some shopping.
    2. But, don't you know there's a big festival on this weekend? You'll be really lucky to find a parking place.

    1. Do you think Jane will invite you to the party?
    2. Invite me? Hah! I should be so lucky!

    1. There's a lot of mail for you this morning?
    2. Really? It must be my lucky day!

    1. I hear George has been in hospital
    2. Yeah. He was involved in a climbing accident. He fell from a ledge and broke his leg. It could have been a lot worse, though. He's quite lucky to be alive.

    1. Hey, I've managed to get a free ticket for the cup final.
    2. Wow! Lucky you!

    1. Why do you carry that rabbit's foot in your bag?
    2. No special reason, it's just a lucky charm. (Note: in some western countries,  a rabbit's foot is considered lucky).

Comments
    When you study English vocabulary, it isn't enough simply to learn, for example, LUCKY=ラッキー. It is also important to learn some of the typical phrases that lucky occurs in. and some of the typical nouns and adjectives that collocate with lucky. Let's have a closer look at some of the examples:

    BE LUCKY ENOUGH TO...
    This can be used when we talk about an unusual opportunity that we have or have had.
    • He was lucky enough to be born into a musical family. That's why he's such a good pianist.
    • This is one of my favourite books. A few years ago I was lucky enough to meet the author, and he signed it for me.

    YOU'LL BE LUCKY TO...
    This suggests that what somebody wants to do is almost impossible:
    • The apartments around here are all pretty expensive. You'll be lucky to find something you can afford.
    • Most of the tickets were sold out when I called the theatre last week. You'll be very lucky to get one now.

    YOU/HE/I SHOULD BE SO LUCKY:
    This phrase is often used as a quick response in spoken English when you think what someone says is unlikely to happen. Please note that when we say this, we stress the pronoun (YOU/I/HE etc.) and LUCKY:
    • You want a date with Mary! You should be so lucky!
    • Jack send me a postcard. I should be so lucky!

    COUNT / CONSIDER / THINK YOURSELF LUCKY:
    This is a useful collocation that can be used when we think somebody is complaining too much about their situation:
        A:  They've only given us a week's holiday this year.
        B:   Well, consider yourself lucky. I haven't been given any holidays this year.
       
    IMPORTANT POINT:
    It can take a long time to get used to some of these phrases and start using them. However, if you read a lot of English and watch a lot of English movies, you will hear some of them many times and this will help you to get a feeling for them. Read a lot and listen a lot!
    We hope you've enjoyed this week's one-point lesson and found it useful. There are more than 100 one-point lessons on this site. Please click below if you want to look at some of them:
    Bob's One-Point Weekly Lesson Archive

    © Robert E. Jones, 2005