back to school
– B2-C1 (intermediate to advanced) –
Practice Your Listening Comprehension
Practice Your Reading Comprehension
In Canadian and American English, this phrase typically means:
the time when a new year of school begins (i.e., elementary school, middle school, junior high school, high school, CÉGEP, college, university)
NOTE
In Canada, most education systems start a new academic year at the end of August or the beginning of September. In the United States, however, this re-entry into education typically ranges from the beginning of August to the beginning of September, depending on state. It is during this season, and sometimes July, that this term is most commonly used, either as a phrase or its hyphenated adjective equivalent: “back-to-school.”
EXAMPLES
“My favourite time to buy paper is during back to school. Throughout the year, packages of printer paper and loose leaf can be quite expensive, but when school is about to start again, you can find stacks of paper for mere cents!”
“Back-to-school shopping in Canada usually sees an endless amount of sales on items ranging from office supplies to clothing.”
“Is it back to school already?! It’s barely July! I swear that back to school starts earlier and earlier every year. One of these years I bet that it’s going to start in June before school is even over!”
Do you have any back-to-school memories as a child? Practice your English by telling me one of them in the comments below.
