Dec 18
Prepositions make me feel sorry for all learners of English. Such small words can change the meaning of verbs completely, often to something completely unrelated to the original meaning.
Take ‘come’ for example. It’s a simple enough word expressing movement towards the speakers current location. Add a few prepositions, however, and everything changes.
‘Come up with’
The boss came up with an excellent idea.
Children often come up with some creative excuses.
To ‘come up with’ means to think of something original. If you are the first person to think of something, and it hasn’t been thought of before, then you have come up with it.
‘Come down with’
I can’t come to work; I’ve come down with a nasty cold.
Every winter, many people come down with the flu.
To ‘come down with’ means to get an illness and is similar to the meaning of ‘catch’, as in ‘catch a cold’.
Oct 16
The present perfect continuous tense is used in place of the present perfect tense when the speaker is more interested in the action, instead of the result.
Look at these examples:
1. What have you been doing?
I have been washing the car.
2. Is the car dirty?
No, I have washed it.
In example ‘1′, I am not interested in how the car looks or whether it is clean or not. I am interested in the action, so I use the present perfect continuous.
In Example ‘2′, I want to know about the result, if the car is clean or not, so I use the present perfect.
The present perfect continuous is also used instead of the present perfect if the action takes place for a period of time.
I have been studying English for 3 years.
The action has taken place for 3 years continuously, which is a period of time, so the present perfect continuous is used.
I have taken 3 English exams since January.
In this case we are talking about the number of times, not the length of time, so the present perfect is used.
Oct 16
If you are studying or doing research, you may have noticed that some subjects, such as English, have a capital letter; but others, such as chemistry, do not.
Here’s a summary of the main rules about using capital letters in English.
- Starts of sentences always have a capital letter.
- Names of people, places, or things (proper nouns); e.g., Mike, Rome, Honda.
- Name titles; e.g., Mr White, Sir Elton John.
- Months, days of the week, and special days; e.g., January, Christmas, Monday.
- All the words in titles except small unimportant words such as a, an, of, the, and etc; e.g., War and Peace.
- Academic subjects which come from names of countries or people; e.g., English, Spanish, Polish etc.
In the following cases capital letters are not used:
- Seasons are more often not capitalised; e.g., This summer was very wet.
- Unless they are part of a name, directions are not capitalised; e.g., She came from the north; She was from North America.
- Subject titles which don’t come from names of countries or people; e.g., chemistry, science, geography.
Tagged with: capital letter • writing rules
Oct 16
This is a common phrase in business English. It means ‘to give someone or something permission to go ahead.’, just like a green light when driving gives you permission to continue moving.
Look at these examples of this phrase in use:
We can’t start this project until the board gives us the green light.
Mr Smith has given the project the green light, so we can start planning the first stage.
Oct 15
Often, the present continuous tense is used for talking about things that are happening right now; for example, I am writing this post, I am sitting in Starbucks, etc.
It can also be used to talk about temporary routines in our lives.
Compare the following two sentences:
I jog every day.
This month, I am jogging every day.
The first sentence uses the present simple tense and describes a routine in my life.
The second sentence uses the present continuous tense and talks about a routine which is only true for this month.
The present simple tense has a more permanent sound and is used for describing things that have no fixed end time.
Oct 15
A paragraph is one idea, and all the sentences in a paragraph should support that idea.
The main idea of a paragraph is defined in a ‘topic sentence’, which is often the first sentence of a paragraph. All the supporting details inside the paragraph should support the topic sentence.
Look at this paragraph:
There are four important skills to study while learning English. Firstly, reading helps you to learn new words, and it teaches you how to use the words correctly. Secondly, writing allows you to practise using your English in a way that gives you time to think properly about your grammar, spelling and punctuation. Speaking is like writing, but you have to think faster; and you don’t get a chance to correct your speaking if you say it incorrectly. Speaking is essential for learning how to communicate fluently. The final skill is listening. Like reading, this helps you to hear how words are used correctly, and is an important skill for communication. In today’s world, English is very important for working in business. English involves all four of these skills, and it is impossible to learn English effectively without practising all of them.
Which sentence should not be in this paragraph?
In today’s world, English is very important for working in business.
Although this is a good point, it is not related to the idea of the paragraph. The topic sentence of this paragraph is the first one:
There are four important skills to study while learning English.
This means that in this paragraph, I can only write about the four main skills of English and why they are important. If I want to write about the importance of English in the business world, I have to put it in a new paragraph.
Oct 15
In some cultures, one of the most difficult things to do is disagree. Especially if the person you are disagreeing with is more senior than you.
Here are some ways of disagreeing politely so that neither person loses face:
You might be right, but shouldn’t we think about the cost?
I see your point, but have you considered doing it like this?
That’s a very good point, but how about if we try doing it like this first?
You should not disagree like this:
I think you’re wrong.
I disagree with you.
That will not work.
To make your language more polite and indirect, here are some tips:
- Don’t use a short statement. Use a question instead.
- Partially agree before disagreeing.
- If possible, avoid using ‘I’ and ‘you’. Use ‘we’ and the passive voice instead.
- Use longer words to make your language sound more polite; for example, use ‘incorrect’ instead of ‘wrong’.
- Remember the main rule of making English polite; the longer the sentence, the more polite it is.
Oct 14
‘Like’ is one of a few verbs that can take both the infinitive (to <verb>) and the gerund (<verb> + ing).
The meaning is slightly different in each case. Take the following examples:
a. I like waking up early.
b. I like to wake up early.
Example a means that I enjoy waking up early. It gives me pleasure; whereas, example b means that I think waking up early is a good thing to do, but I may or may not get any pleasure from it.
Think about this sentence:
If there’s both good and bad news, I like to hear the bad news first.
Nobody likes hearing bad news, so the ‘like to hear’ just shows that I think it’s a good idea, not that I enjoy it.
When I go shopping, I like trying on clothes.
I actually enjoy and get pleasure from trying on the clothes; therefore, the ‘like trying’ is used.
