It looks like (something is happening)

This phrase can be used when you're guessing about how something is going to turn out when it's finished:

It looks like the Yankees are going to win this one.

However, it is also used in situations where something has already happened, and you have to tell the bad news to someone:

Sorry, it looks like we had to reject your loan application.

Saying "it looks like" something bad happened is softer-sounding than simply saying that it happened.

(someone) is being deployed

When members of the military are "deployed", it means that they are sent overseas to do a mission. The mission might be fighting in a war or simply going to a foreign military base.

The word "deploy" means to use something in a strategic way. A country or a company can "deploy" things like:

• natural resources
• nuclear weapons
• a strategy
• volunteer rescue workers
• technical support staff

a couple of (things)

"A couple" means two, or approximately two.

"A couple of weeks" means two weeks. But "a couple" is not as exact as "2", so you might say "a couple of weeks ago" if something happened recently but you don't remember exactly when.

Sometimes we leave out "of" in spoken English:

I'll be there in a couple minutes.

In writing, though, we almost always include "of".

(someone) is being (___ed)

Sentences have a subject (the person or thing that's doing an action) and an object (the person or thing that's receiving the action)

When the subject isn't important (or you don't know who/what it is), you can say that the object is "being __ed". Some examples include:

He's being transferred.

We're being watched.

Are you being treated well?