Practise this dialogue that could be spoken in a restaurant: Waiter: What would you like? Customer: I’d like some cake. Waiter: What kind of cake would you like? Customer: I’d like some chocolate cake. Question: Why do you say “some cake” and not “a cake?” Well, because “a” means “one.” You’re not going to eat… Continue reading Easy Grammar – A and some
When do you use “did?” When you want to talk about something in the past. You only need to use “did” when you ask a question or say something in the negative (with “not”). “Did” is used in the past simple tense. The past simple is the simplest form of the past. You use it… Continue reading Easy Grammar – Did
I think I’ve told you on some occasions that I have students coming to me because they want to improve their English, especially speaking. Sometimes those students have very good English, but the only thing that’s missing is their fluency. This week I had an interesting case. Daniella (not her real name) is a pretty… Continue reading Do You Have This Problem: “I Don’t Know How To Finish My Sentences?”
Lucky LanSan asked a really useful question about being on our Facebook page. In the following article will find some examples of how you can use being. First of all, being means that you can say something about someone or something. Someone/something is nice, friendly, nasty, cruel, pitiful, etc. What’s the difference between the following… Continue reading I Wish You’d Stop Being Clever – Why and When to Use Being
Some people get a little shy when they need to speak English on the phone. So here are some things you can say. It’s amazing how nervous you can get when you need to speak to someone in a language that is not your own. Suddenly you lose all your confidence, just because you can’t… Continue reading Telephone English in Three Steps
In dating there are rules, in traffic there are rules, in math there are rules, now it turns out there are rules in learning a languages. And when you’re adult, you’re so much better at learning those rules. When I trained as a teacher, it was hip to teach students in the implicit method. That… Continue reading Never Too Late to Learn – Adults Are Better at Learning a Language than Children
Taken from http://www.israelpictures.org By Olga Koliichuk Sometimes while reading English texts you can come across strange words with unfamiliar roots. Words like these usually are of foreign origin, although they have been used in English for a long time. In this article we’ll take a closer look at some of them. But first we’ll talk… Continue reading Street Used To Be Strata – The Development of English
Of course you always speak the truth and keep your promises. Or do you? In some professions, giving false promises seems to be the norm. Plumbers and airconditioning technicians always say they’ll come back tomorrow. But they never do. They’ll want you to call them back. Maybe three times. Let’s look at some promises which… Continue reading Cross My Heart and Hope to Die – Simple Future with Will
The basic sentence structure in English is simple enough. No, I’m not going to call this a beginner’s guide. I’ve seen too many advanced students, who knew how to use clever words and ideas, but nevertheless couldn’t get a single English sentence right. As a result it was impossible to understand them, and they suffered… Continue reading How to Make a Sentence – Basic Sentence Structure
I’m often asked how one can improve vocabulary. By this, people mean they want to know more words. Of course, the old-fashioned way to do that is to open a dictionary and start reading. But after five words, you either get bored, or you find you need to read the first one again to refresh… Continue reading How to Improve Your Vocabulary: Reading and More Reading
English with a Smile 