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G2R – the first conditional
We use the first conditional to say what is likely to occur when something happens now or in the future. A common question in the first conditional is “What will you do if it rains tomorrow?” You ask this question because there’s a good possibility that it will rain and when it does, you want… Read more »
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A tv show touches and inspires
(Note: Hover over the red vocabulary words to get their definitions.)I was flipping channels last night waiting for a show to start when I came across “Secret Millionaire” on ABC. I’d seen one episode of this show before and really admired the idea. In each episode, a millionaire is sent to an impoverished community, charged… Read more »
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or so
This phrase is another way of saying approximately and usually goes right after a quantity or amount. So, “5 hours or so” means approximately 5 hours. Sometimes, the phrase goes right after the number: There were ten or so kids there. This structure, though, tends to sound more informal. In addition, although this phrase already means… Read more »
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Tongue twisters now at the small guide site!
We recently rearranged our design at the small guide site and added tongue twisters with audio! We’re starting with 8 sounds with more on the way. If you’d like to see a particular sound first, just head to our new Exercises page and fill out the quick form. Alternatively, you can email me at joeyu@thesmallguidesite.com. Also new… Read more »
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Post a flyer. Get an e-booklet for free!
As a strategy to get help spreading the word about the small guide site, I’m giving out digital copies of The small guide To Improving Your English to anyone willing to do a little bit of legwork. For one week, if you post a copy of our flyers, take a photo of it, and post… Read more »
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You know the drill.
I’ve used this expression here and at the small guide site at least a few times, so I’m sure you have an idea of what it means. This idiom basically says, “You know what to do.” We use it to tell people that they’ve done the activity before and that you expect them to do… Read more »
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set foot
To set foot in a place is simply to enter or to put yourself in that place. We can set foot more or less anywhere. like this: 1. Once you’ve set foot on that island, you’ll never want to leave. 2. He said he would never set foot in that store again after being treated horribly…. Read more »
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G2R – more examples of the second conditional
This is an extra post of our lesson on the second conditional. My goal here is to show sample sentences to clarify the subtle differences between using the infinitive and using the past tense or the ing form in a second conditional sentence. Please review parts 1 (Feb 4), 2 (Feb 23), and 3 (Mar 2)… Read more »
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G2R – the second conditional part 3
In part 1 of our Grammar2Remember lesson on the second conditional (Feb 4, 2011), we covered the basics of this unreal conditional and talked about its structure and meaning:If I were the President, I would build a better train system.If he were poor, he wouldn’t be able to buy that Ferrari.If she had some extra… Read more »
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Only 99 cents until March 6, 2011
Come and get it! The new digital edition (pdf) of The small guide To Improving Your English is now available for download. The price: a mere $0.99 for the first week! Check it out at thesmallguidesite.com/product and get your own copy for your PC or Mac.The small guide is a miniature textbook, reference, and quick… Read more »