Two news articles caught my eye (attracted my attention) today:
Washington Post Headline
Why accepting the Iran nuclear deal is a no-brainer
The Guardian Headline
Harry Kewell says joining Watford to coach their Under-21s 'was a no-brainer'
When something requires little or no thought, it is a no-brainer. It's an easy decision or choice to make.
No-brainer is a noun, the plural form is no-brainers.
Other types of nouns are proper nouns (or real nouns).
Real nouns start with a capital letter: Spain, Brad, and Pizza Hut.
What are proper adjectives?
This is the same with adjectives.
Most adjectives are common adjectives: slow, modern, red, and exciting.
Proper adjectives start with a capital letter: Spanish, Martian, and Russian.
Proper adjectives are usually derived (formed) from proper nouns.
Spain = Spanish
Mars = Martian
Below are ten sentences. Each sentence has one mistake. Only choose one option per sentence.
Use the comments area to explain what the mistakes are, why they are mistakes and what the correct sentence should be!
Which question is the most difficult? We think number nine!
A minimal pair or close pair consists of two words with sounds that are very similar but have different meanings.
For example, rot and lot may sound similar, especially to some non-native English speakers.
Below are ten other examples of minimal pairs, in the each sentence choose the correct word. Try saying the words out aloud, do you notice how similar they sound?
The eight parts of speech are:
Play, run, taste, push
Car, flower, bottle, map
I, ours, her, they, it
quickly, never, today, away
American, green, tall, modern
During, in, under, with
And, but, or, yet
We make friends when we become friendly with new people.
She made friends easily at her new school.
We became friends after meeting at a party.
When you hit it off with someone you have a good friendly relationship. It is used to describe meeting someone for the first time.
We hit it off straight away.
I went on a date with Frank's brother last night but we didn't hit it off. I don't think we will go out again.
The Cuban flag was raised at its embassy in Washington for the first time since 1961, at the same time the United States reopened its embassy in Havana.
The developments symbolise a major step toward America's goal of ending longstanding tensions with Cuba.
The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team _1_ winning the Women's World Cup on Sunday in Vancouver. The United States _2_ Japan with a final score of 5-2.
Read this article and decide if the statements which follow it are true or false:
The Oxford English Dictionary has confirmed that 500 words are being added to the Oxford English Dictionary.
The dictionary records the meaning and development of the English language. For a word to qualify, it must have been have been in popular use for at least 10 years in both novels and newspapers.
Some of the terms in Oxford's latest update are much older than you might think.
A phrasal verb is a group of words that function as a verb and is made up of a verb and a preposition, an adverb, or both. Phrasal verbs have a different meaning to the meaning of their separate parts.
The hotel staff need to see our passports before we check in.
I left my phone in the car, I'll have to go back and get it.
I never wake up early on the weekend.
