Austere (adjective) – simple, serious and saving money, without luxury Austerely (adverb) – in a way that is simple, serious and saves money Austerity/austereness (noun) – keeping things simple, serious and cheap Living austere Here are some examples of how you can use austere: She remembered old school camps where dinner was austere with boiled… Continue reading Word to the Wise: Austere
This subject was brought to my attention by Mohan Angbo from Nepal who’s been asking me some great questions. He asked why we need that in some sentences but not in others. I suspect that many of you will find this an interesting subject. Well, at least some. Let’s start by looking at two example sentences.… Continue reading That: How to Connect Sentences with That, and When Can You Leave it Out
Toil (verb) – work hard Toil (noun) – hard work Here are some examples of how you can use toil: Foreign labourers were toiling in the burning sun to finish the stadium on time for the World Cup. A group of ants toiled at lugging a crumb from one end of the room to the… Continue reading Word to the Wise: Toil
Do you say citrus with [s] or [k]? Spelling and pronunciation don’t go together very often in English. So I’m happy to tell you that this article tells about a rare occasion (= it doesn’t happy very often) when spelling and pronunciation go together in English.
In the previous newsletter I showed a picture of a meeting or conference with a bunch of people seated on a stage. The caption of the picture reads like this: From left: U.S. Corps of Engineers Assistant Secretary for Civil Works Joan Darcy, Disabled Sports USA, Wounded Warrior Program representative Kirk Bauer, Tribal Chairwoman from… Continue reading Commas and Semi-Colons in Writing a List of Names and Jobs
As __________ – as was explained before or how everybody understands it Choose the right answer: A like B much C such D little scroll down for the answer scroll some more The right answer is: US Department of Agriculture such. Note: You can live… Continue reading Instant Idiom: As __________
Easy Grammar! I’m writing this newsletter now. This is what I’m doing now. What are you doing? You’re reading this. You probably know the grammar of these sentences: I’m writing You’re writing She’s writing He’s writing It’s writing Etc. If this looks mysterious to you, have a look here. This is present progressive tense. Some… Continue reading Present Progressive (Continuous) for the Future
These words may look the same, but they mean something different. Fleet (noun) – a group of boats or airplanes (sometimes also used for cars) Fleet (verb) – pass (in time) Fleeting (adjective) – passing quickly (in time) David Yu Here are some examples of how you can use fleet and fleeting: The Armada was… Continue reading Word to the Wise: Fleet and Fleeting
There are several ways to use the word since and this can be confusing. So it’s time we spoke about the different meanings of since. 1) The First meaning of Since: Starting from a Time You will probably know the meaning of since that means from a certain time in the past. Here are some… Continue reading The Different Meanings of Since
Hold Your __________ – Wait for something that is probably not going to happen, or much later than you thought. Choose the right answer: A breath B tongue C cough D stomach scroll down for the answer scroll some more The right answer is: Garrett Tumlinson breath. (This is usually… Continue reading Instant Idiom: Hold Your __________
English with a Smile 