Every month we ask our newsletter readers to send their English language questions to EC Brighton's teacher, Tim. Here are the best questions of the month.
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Question: Can you tell me the difference between sport and game?
Kelly, Germany
Answer: A sport is a physical activity and a game doesn't have much physical action. That's why tennis is a sport and chess is a game. However, when two teams (or individuals) meet to play against each other we can use game e.g. "Shall we have a game of tennis today?"
All the best,
Tim
Question:Why 'for' is used with the verb blame and 'of' with accuse?
Waheed
Answer: Simply because they are!
All the best,
Tim
Question: I can't understand the meaning of the following sentences. Could you help me? "As people who take for granted rapid transportation and instant global communication, we can look on this ancestor as a connection to our distant past."
This is a part of a paper about an Austrian iceman.
M. Hosein Bitarafan
Answer: Well first of all it is only one sentence, and other than telling you what take for granted means (accept as normal), and ancestor (distant relative from the past) mean, I ‘m not sure I can be of further help. I’m not too sure what the connection is with the rapid transportation reference either!
All the best,
Tim
Question: How do you make a question for which the following is the answer? The question focuses on 'the 6th'. He is the 6th. "John is the 6th president of our association."
M. Hosein Bitarafan
Answer: Who was/is the 6th president…?
What number president is John?
We may not ask a question using an ordinal, despite answering it with one.
All the best,
Tim
