Blog posts written for beginner level English learners.
Some words, like light, might, and right, show their Germanic origins. Some words, like euphemism, photograph and psychology, show their Greek roots. Others like luminescent and primary, show their Latin background. English spelling is so strange because many languages contributed to its vocabulary. Here is a fun video to watch about the history of English: […]
One person Many people Students will often mistakenly use the word persons to refer to more than one person. “There were three persons at the bus stop.” “A lot of persons in my country don’t like dogs.” However, in the U.S., we don’t use the plural form of person in casual English. The […]
To go to Las Vegas, I took a plane. It took three hours to get there My friend took a bus to Las Vegas. It took her 16 hours to get there. The red pattern (Person + take + vehicle) tells HOW a person got to a place. They took a bus to Seattle. I take my bike […]
What happens if you have an emergency? If you are in the U.S. and your or someone else’s health is in danger, call 9-1-1. Make sure you know your address. It is a good idea to copy it down and know where it is if you can’t remember it. (If not, then you can call the […]
Depending on your pronunciation, words that are very different can become homophones. Watch out for this. It can get you in trouble! For example, speakers of Arabic often confuse hobby and happy because they tend to lose the puff of air native English speakers make when they say a /p/. Hobby means a fun activity […]
We use possessives to show that a noun belongs to another noun. We can make a possessive by using an apostrophe + s in front of the noun or we can use a possessive adjective in front of the noun. For example, in this photograph, the girl has a purple shirt. The girl’s shirt is purple. Her […]
Today a student came to me and said: “Teacher, I have confused.” I corrected his mistake: “Teacher, I am confused. I have a question.“ The rule is: use be + an adjective. Use have + a noun. I am sad. I am shy. We are tired. It is hot. They are friendly. She has a […]
Good is an adjective. Adjectives tell about people, places or things. Adjectives tell about nouns. Well is an adverb. Adverbs tell about actions. Adverbs tell about verbs. For example: This woman is a good boss. She leads well. She is a good speaker. She speaks well. She is a good team player. She cooperates well. […]
Help! What is the difference between myself, my and me? We use myself when we mean “with no other person’s help” or “alone.” I am the only person involved. A: That cake looks wonderful! Where did you get it? B: I made it myself. A: I thought your sink was broken. Who fixed it? Did […]
The verbs like, hope, want, need, and hate often come before a second verb. When they do, they are followed by “to + [V1]” (Like & hate can also be followed by -ing Kids like to go to the beach. (They like going to the beach.) They hope to stay for hours. When they are there, […]
