This is a technical issue. If you’re a beginning speaker of English, you don’t have to bother with it. Martinak15 “That” and “which” are both relative pronouns, which means they are used to speak about someone or something earlier in the sentence. “That” and “which” are used in sentences that are a combination of one… Continue reading The Difference between That and Which
(Read this section only if you need to pass some kind of academic English exam. If you’re learning English for work or fun, you don’t need this.) Although – I know there are some weird people who think grammar is fun. (-: Adverbs are words that describe a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.… Continue reading Adverbial Phrases and Clauses
I’ve received a few questions about this, asking how you can shorten (reduce) parts of sentences, such as this one: When Adam was studying in Vietnam, he ate rice for breakfast. You can shorten this sentence by leaving out the subject (Adam) and changing the verb to an –ing-form (studying). The shorter sentence will… Continue reading Reduced Clauses
Rasmos Olsen Two related problems that are often seen, and not only in texts written by learners of English. Here’s how to correct them. What do you think of this sentence: 1 He’s a doctor he loves his job. Does it look perfectly okay to you? If yes, you may be writing many more… Continue reading A Bad Case of the Runs – Run-on Sentences and Comma Splice
What are relative clauses? Relative clauses are the parts of the sentence that give additional information, often about a noun. They’re not independent sentences, so you can’t put them on their own. They often start with a wh-word, which in technical terms is called the relative pronoun. Relative clauses are an economic way of putting… Continue reading Relative clauses: Who, Which, and Whose
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
English with a Smile 