It is better to give than to receive: Daily Vocabulary

(TESOL Worksheets--Daily Vocabulary)

Youtube Video--Google: docs, pub  Slideshow (slides, pub)
(This is re-purposed from my lesson on proverbs).



Today's vocabulary is a proverb. A proverb is a wise saying that gives you advice about how to live your life. Today's proverb is: It is better to give than to receive. Receive means to get something. So it means it is better to give something to somebody than to get something from somebody. This proverb actually comes from the Bible. The Bible is the holy book for Christians. However the proverb has become very common in the English language and nowadays it is used by people who are Christian and who are not Christian. Because the proverb originally comes from the Bible, there are a couple different ways it can be said in English. One way to say it, a slightly older way, is: It is more blessed to give than to receive. But nowadays the most common way to say this proverb is: It is better to give than to receive.
This proverb is usually used to teach children, especially around Christmas time. For example, in America there are lots of present givings at Christmas. People give a lot of presents. And during this time children can get quite excited by the idea of getting lots of presents and sometimes they can start to become a little bit greedy, at which point their parents or teachers may say to them: “Remember, it is better to give than to receive.”
Now, why is it better to give than to receive? Well actually this is not entirely clear from the proverb. We have to use our imagination to try to figure out why it is better to give than to receive. Perhaps if you give something you feel better than if you receive something. Or perhaps if you give something people will like you more. Or perhaps if you give something you will be rewarded more by God, if you're religious. Or I don't know. It's not clear from the proverb. What do you think? Is it better to give than to receive? Do you agree with the proverb?  And if you do agree, why is it better to give than to receive? And is this proverb common in your language? Again it comes from the Bible, so it's been translated into many languages, but is it common in your language? Is this something people often say? Let me know.