By Jacqueline Schaalje In this article we’ll try to sort out present perfect and past simple. You can use both present perfect and past simple to say something about the past: 1. I spoke with Barney last week. (past simple) 2. I’ve just spoken to my mother. (present perfect) The Difference Between the Two The… Continue reading Grammar Quiz – Overview of Present Perfect and Past Simple
Neil Turner lackadaisical (adjective) – done in a lazy and/or uninterested way lackadaisicalness (noun) – a lazy and/or uninterested way of doing things lackadaisically (adverb) – in a lazy and/or uninterested way Examples: “If you don’t mend your lackadaisical ways, young lady,” said the teacher, “you never will go far.” The table was set in… Continue reading Word to the Wise: lackadaisical
By Jacqueline Schaalje Visiting Florence. Not: Visiting to Florence. What can you do, when you want to speak a language you need to follow the rules of that language. Not all people do, and sad to say, that makes it very hard to talk to them, because of confusion. If someone does not follow the… Continue reading Do You Make These Mistakes? – Some Easy Grammar Mistakes to Fix
Pascal malign (verb) – speak bad things about someone/something: can be lies maligned (adjective) – spoken in a bad things about someone/something: can be lies You will see the adjective maligned often appear as oft-maligned. The oft means often. (It’s an old form of often that only appears in combinations in today’s English.) malignly (adverb)… Continue reading Word to the Wise: Malign
By Jacqueline Schaalje Just when you’ve grown your hair long and luscious (= full), the new spring fashion calls for short hair. Wait, it’s not completely short, but a bob. What’s a bob? That’s the kind of hairstyle that first became popular in the 1920s with the emancipation of women, who also stopped wearing corsets around that time… Continue reading Hair Styles Vocabulary: (Almost) Everything You Need to Know about Hair in English
The __________ is cast – The decision is made. Choose the right answer: die dice rice star scroll down for the answer scroll some more The right answer is: JD Hancock die (A die is the little cube with dots on it from 1 to 6 that you use to play games. The plural of… Continue reading Instant Proverb: The __________ is cast
By Jacqueline Schaalje This subject is on request. If you never have to write a sales report, you can skip this. However, later in the article I will give an overview of common sales terms that you might find useful even if you’re not a salesperson. What’s a Sales Report for? A sales report is… Continue reading How to Write a Business Report: Sales Report
Sludge G Ever wondered what you call these windows? oriel (noun) – also oriel window or bay window. Window in an upper story (not on the ground floor) that pushes out from the building (From the French: or = light.) Examples: He was reading a book sitting in the oriel window. They were standing in the oriel window,… Continue reading Word to the Wise: Oriel
Something really important and that I haven’t discussed with you yet is how to say and write dates in English. I’ll also review with you about the differences in saying and writing dates in British and in American English. Let’s start by looking at an email. Is this email correct? Hi Angelo, Are you free… Continue reading How to Write and Say Dates in English
Neal Jennings purge (verb) – to throw things out, get rid of (can be people too) purge (noun) – the act of throwing things out, getting rid of (can be people too) purgation (noun) – means the same as purge, or cleaning Examples: My inbox is full so now I must purge the messages I don’t need Unless you… Continue reading Word to the Wise: Purge
English with a Smile 