Participles ending in –en: driven, ridden, spoken. By Jacqueline Schaalje Have a look at this infographic for a quick reminder on some common irregular verbs. If you need help with the tenses, check this out. This article explains about the differences between past simple (in which you need V2) and present perfect (in which you use… Continue reading Irregular Verbs with –en Infographic
Period or Full Stop When I read students’ work, I see too many sentences that never end. This makes one’s work unreadable or at least annoying to read. So this is really one of the first things you should fix in your writing. Let’s see if we can find a rule for putting a full stop… Continue reading Punctuation – Where to Put In Full Stops
By Jacqueline Schaalje This infographic shows you the ins and outs of possessive pronouns (my and mine, your and yours, his and hers, etc.) and examples of each. After you’ve read it, or if you already know this subject, try the quiz (quite easy). Quiz You can do this quiz online and check your answers… Continue reading Yours and Mine – Possessive Pronouns Infographic
feat (noun) – a strong or remarkable action Note: Don’t confuse this word with feet, which is the plural of foot. Here are some examples of how you can use feat: The cat jumped from the tall building and landed on its feet; now there’s a feat. Usain Bolt isn’t only the fastest person on… Continue reading Word to the Wise: feat
By Jacqueline Schaalje Email Writing Examples Have a look at these two examples of an email. What are the differences? Which one is better? Version A: We greatly appreciate your recent registration to your ABC web service, and therefore I’m reaching out to you in a wish to further engage with you in order to… Continue reading How to Write the Best Sentences Your Readers Will Love
ajar (adjective) – a little bit open George Grinsted Here are some examples of how you can use ajar: The manager left the door ajar, so people on his team could feel they were welcome to come in. Children, leave your bedroom doors ajar at night.
By Jacqueline Schaalje The following scenario will probably happen to you or someone near you very soon: the End of the Summer holidays is upon us. We’ll need to go back to school. No, not me. I’ll only go back to teaching at a college in October. What happens if we don’t go to school?… Continue reading Back to School Poems: We Real Cool and The Hand
defect (verb) – stop being loyal to a country or group and leave them defector (noun) – a person who leaves a country or group of people because he or she doesn’t believe in it defection (noun) – an act in which a person leaves a country or group because he does no longer believe in… Continue reading Word to the Wise: defect
By Jacqueline Schaalje J When you use “if,” it means that the situation can happen or not. If you say “when,” it’s certain the situation will happen. So “if” means = in the situation that, or in case that. And “when” means at the time that. If and when can both be conditionals, which you… Continue reading The Difference Between If and When
capsize (verb) – to overturn (= to turn upside down) Ruth Hartnup Here are some examples of how you can use capsize: Due to a leak, the cruise ship capsized and its passengers had to be rescued. Our raft capsized in the part of the river that was nicknamed “washing machine.” We all fell off… Continue reading Word to the Wise: capsize
English with a Smile 