BIRTH AND BIRTHDAYS

Hello everybody. Welcome back to the Daily Vitamin!

Today I've decided to concentrate on the word birthday. No, it's not my birthday today, but I'm hoping someone in the Daily Vitamin community has a birthday today. :-)

When someone has a birthday, we can wish them a happy birthday:

Example 1
Happy birthday, Janet!

In English-speaking countries people generally don't celebrate Saints' Days, so birthdays are given even more importance.

When you find out that someone is going to have a birthday you might get curious and want to ask them how old they are:

Example 2
Matthew: Tomorrow is my birthday.
Curious Daily Vitamin Recipient: Oh! Happy birthday, Matthew! How old are you going to be?
Matthew: Ummm...er...let's just say that I'm older than 30. ;-)

There are other useful expressions and vocabulary that use the words birth or birthday.

Birthday Suit: colloquial, and humorous, way of saying that you aren't wearing any clothes; that is to say, you are wearing what you were wearing when you were born... nothing... you're naked!

Example 3
I walked into the room without knocking and suddenly I saw Janet standing there...in her birthday suit! Boy, was she surprised to see me!

Birth certificate: official document that gives personal details about when and where you were born and who your parents are.

Birth control: methods of avoiding becoming pregnant (the birth control pill, condoms, etc.).

Birthmark: a red or brown mark on the skin that many of us are born with.

Can you use one or more of these words or expressions in your own original sentences? You can post your sentences on one of our social media sites (Facebook or Twitter) and we will give you feedback about your sentence as soon as possible.

Enjoy the rest of your day and have an excellent weekend!