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Grammar

Too and to

Average: 4 (45 votes)

Do you get confused about the use of to and too. Although they look and sound similar, they have different functions. Let’s find out more.

Too

Too is used before adjectives and adverbs to say that something is more than needed or wanted; more than is suitable or enough. It is often used to emphasise negatives meanings.

I'm too old for nightclubs.

The exam was too difficult for me.

Modal Verb: Could

Average: 3.6 (36 votes)

Let's take a look at the different uses of could.

Possibility
Simon could be studying English right now. (present)
Simon could have studied English in Malta. (past)
Simon could go back to Malta next year. (future)

Direct Objects

Average: 3.9 (25 votes)

The direct object of a verb is the thing being acted upon (i.e, it indicates the person or thing that receives the action of a verb..

To find the direct object in a sentence, ask the question Who? or What?

"Simon watered the flowers." What did Simon water? The flowers. The flowers are the direct object.

In the sentence, "I made a card for her", the direct object is card and the indirect object is her.

Comparative + Than

Average: 3.5 (36 votes)

Use than with a comparative adjective when comparing two things or people.

In this sentence older is the comparative adjective. She is older than me.

France is bigger than England.
Malta is warmer than Germany.

Use -er with one-syllable words

English Grammar Tenses

Average: 3.5 (317 votes)

Learning English grammar can be a challenging experience. Today we look at the basic tenses we need to talk about the present, past and future.

Present

Simple Present

Base verb (+ es/es for third person):

I watch the news every day.

Present Continuous

am/is/are + present participle:

I am watching the news.

Present Perfect

Has/have + past participle:

Regular and Irregular Verbs

Average: 3.7 (42 votes)

Most English verbs follow the same rule: the past tense is formed by adding -ed to the present form.

I called you but you didn't answer.
She booked us a table at the restaurant.
I accidentally closed the document I was working on.

Today we look at a few of the 180 irregular verbs which do not follow this rule.

All and Every

Average: 4 (42 votes)

All and every have very similar meanings. We use them to talk about people and things in a general way.

Every is used with singular countable nouns. When we are counting things separately one by one, we use every.

I heard every word you said.

All is used with plural nouns.

All my friends are learning English

Compare these examples sentences:

What are conjunctions?

Average: 4.8 (303 votes)

Conjunctions join words or groups of words together. Some common conjunctions are and, that, because, but, if, or, as, than, and when.

And - He is learning English and French.

That - She said that she was ill.

Because - She doesn't eat meat or fish because she is vegetarian.

English Contractions

Average: 3.7 (26 votes)

A contraction is a short form of a group of words. English has a few contractions, which mostly involve not pronouncing a vowel. In writing the vowel is replaced with an apostrophe in writing.

For example, the contraction of I am is I'm and the contraction of will not is won't.

Linking Verbs

Average: 3.8 (48 votes)

What is the difference between the two smell verbs in these sentences?

James smelled the flowers.

The flowers smelled amazing.

The first sentence expresses an action, while the second verb connects the subject of the sentence to additional information about the subject. The second sentence contains a linking verb.