Every month we ask our newsletter readers to send in their questions to Tim, our English teacher at EC Brighton, about the English language. Here are your questions:
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June's Star Question - Thanks to Thao from Vietnam:
Todays's exercise is a what we call a 'mixed bag'. That means it has a bit of everything. Let's begin.
OK, so you think you're good at English? Well, today we have ten tricky words and phrases that I think you've heard before. They're all common and, above that, they're all useful. Let's see how many of you can get 10/10 and let's see if I made any spelling mistakes...right, Yura?
Time for a basic grammar view:
The verbs be, have and do are auxiliary verbs when they are used with a main verb to form questions, negatives, tenses and passives. Modal verbs, like could and would, are also auxiliary verbs. Here are some quick examples:
"I am driving my car."
"We were looking for you."
"Do you know the way?"
Choosing between a subject pronoun and an object pronoun can be tricky in a number of situations. First, let's look at a list of pronouns.
Idioms. There are thousands of them! Pick up a newspaper or watch a TV show and you'll find them everywhere. Let's see how many of these idioms you are familiar with. Choose the correct word to complete each idiom.
When describing how someone (or something) looks, feels, sounds tastes or smells, we use adjectives.
Look, feel, sound taste and smell are all sense verbs. Here are some examples of sense verbs in action:
"You look angry."
"Her perfume smells nice."
"I feel tired."
Michael Jackson, the legendary King of Pop, passed away on Thursday 25.
Paramedics were called to the singer's house in Bel Air following an emergency phone call. It is believed that he suffered a cardiac arrest. Although the paramedics tried to resuscitate, he was pronounced dead two hours later at the UCLA medical centre.
Choose which question is best matched to each answer. This will help you to learn some set phrases and it will help you review your understanding of English grammar.
If you have problems choosing which is correct, leave a comment.
Dear English Learners of the World,
We've had a great idea about something that we can do together! Do you have a blog or your own website? You do! Wonderful!
Are you a shopaholic (a person who shops frequently)? Do you live to shop?
However you feel about it, a little retail therapy (shopping to make you happy) is often a good thing. While you're away on holiday in a foreign country, your family and friends are going to expect some small souvenirs (something you buy to help you remember a holiday/ a holiday present).
Here are a few expressions and words that will make your retail experience a whole lot more enjoyable.
