. We’re halfway through November. The autumn leaves have fallen, and winter is fast approaching. The year 2015 is almost over, and we just have a month or so before the new year begins. Do you have anything that you want to accomplish by the end of the year? Are you working on a task… Read more »
Consider this sentence: Sue is such a fun person to be with, but I think Jim is more fun than Sue. However, I think Ted is the most fun. We don’t say “funner than” or “the funnest” although these are apparently slowly becoming acceptable. This is because English is a living language and continuous to… Read more »
I’ve been thinking about clutter a lot lately. I don’t like it, but I see it quite a bit these days. Clutter the noun is synonymous to a mess and is pretty much any disorganized collection of things especially if they’re strewn across a space or an area. As a verb, to clutter means to… Read more »
I’m on my third week on a new schedule and I’m still getting the hang of it. I still teach until 10 at night. However, instead of starting at noon, I now start at 10 a.m., which makes for a long day and means I have to go to bed as soon as I get… Read more »
Our story continues with our newest exercise at the small guide site. Our main characters, John and Kate, are back from their quick jaunt (short trip) to Chicago. Click the TryThis! link above and head over to the small guide site to read about how their trip went. Try the new exercise and practice the following… Read more »
The English verbs lie and lay are tricky and are often confused even by native speakers. I hope this blog post will clear up this confusion for you, and perhaps you can bookmark this page so you can return to it and brush up on the rules if you forget them. The first thing to… Read more »
1. Did you notice him eyeing her from across the room?2. He eyed the crowd to see if he recognized anyone.3. The security guard was eyeing a suspicious teenager when another one shoplifted a CD and ran out of the store.4. The competitors eyed each other closely to see if anyone was nervous.5. The lions… Read more »
Writing your thoughts down in a notebook or on your computer is such a useful exercise that everyone should be doing it. Besides, it’s not that difficult, and you can do it on your own. In fact, for serious language learners and especially if you’re in the intermediate or advanced levels, it should be a… Read more »
1. His visits to the hospital became sporadic once he started school, but they were still greatly appreciated by the staff. 2. In general, he was a good student, but his sporadic attendance caused him to fail the class.3. Tom’s calls home became sporadic once he started working.4. These days, he’s often tired although he… Read more »
1. There’s a credible terror threat against New York City and Washington, D.C. tied to the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. (believable)2. They say they are stepping up security, doing things that will be noticeable to the public. (increasing)3. The threat at this moment has not been corroborated. (confirmed)4. Since May, U.S. law enforcement officials… Read more »
