Learning English
Within or By
A lot of our students, for example the ones from Italy because they use the same word for both, have some difficulty with the difference between within and by in time expressions. However, the difference is actually quite simple:
Use BY with a point in time
Use WITHIN with a period of time
Let’s look at the following examples…
The job application must be submitted by 31 January 2015.
Our electricity bill must be paid within 2 weeks.
As you can see ’31 January 2015′ is a point in time, whereas ‘2 weeks’ is a period. There is also another possibility to mention which is synonymous with within, and that is in…
Our electricity bill must be paid in 2 weeks.
There you go, nice and easy!
British Accents
Here’s another language game for you all. Have you ever visited Great Britain and struggled to understand someone talking to you in English and wondered if it was the accent? Perhaps you thought that all British people spoke more or less in the same way? In fact, you don’t need to move too far to find very different accents, try this short game and tell us how you did!
Click here to go to the test
The Flag of Australia
Do you know what the flag of Australia looks like? Of course you do. But what about its origin, any ideas? No? OK, let us tell you.
The first interesting thing is that the original design of the flag was chosen as a competition entry to redesign the flag, which took place in 1901 and from then it underwent a number of changes until it was recognised by law as the Australian national flag on 1953. September 3rd is the Australian National Flag day, commemorating the first time the original flag was flown, in 1901.
Yes, the flag of Australia has got a blue background, in the top left quarter there is the Union Jack and in the bottom left quarter there is a large white star with seven points. This is the Commonwealth Star: six of its points represent the six original states of the Commonwealth of Australia and the seventh one represents the territories and future states of Australia.
The rest of the flag shows the Southern Cross, which has five white stars: one small one with five points and four large ones with seven points.
There are other official flags representing Australia and its people. For example, the Aboriginal Flag was also appointed as one of the flags of Australia in 1995, causing some controversy. This flag has a black top half, a red bottom half and a yellow circle in the middle. It was designed in 1971 by Aboriginal artist Harold Thomas, who holds the intellectual property rights on the flag’s design. The flag was originally designed for the land rights movement, and it became a symbol of the Aboriginal people of Australia.
As stated by Harold Thomas, the black of the flag represents the Aboriginal people of Australia, the red represents the red earth, the red ochre and a spiritual relation to the land and the yellow circle represents the sun, the giver of life and protector.
That’s all for now. Perhaps you could tell us what you know about your country’s flag!
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To undergo – to experience or be subject to (something)
Intellectual property rights – legally recognised exclusive rights
Controversy – public disagreement or strong discussion
To commemorate – to remember and celebrate
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