Helping English language learners
Definite and indefinite articles can come very naturally to native English speakers but can be confusing to English languages learners – particularly when their first language doesn’t have articles. Let’s start at the beginning....
In a previous post we looked at using semicolons to join two parts of a sentence when each part could be regarded as a sentence on its own. Here we’re going to find out...
People often get confused by semicolons. They are not sure how to use them so they either avoid them or use them badly. In reality, though, it isn’t too complicated to learn when to...
When we say that someone is down in the mouth, we mean that they are sad, unhappy, miserable, depressed or dejected. Examples: We often use “down in the mouth” when we want to describe...
What’s the difference between horrible and horrid? “Horrible” and “horrid” are synonyms. Both words are used to describe something that is unpleasant. They can also be used to say that something is bad. In...
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket is one of a surprising number of idioms that refer to eggs. This particular idiom is a warning not to focus all your resources or energy...
An expert in or an expert at? “In” and “at” are both prepositions. There are over a hundred prepositions in English. They are almost always small and very common words. Prepositions usually tell us...
Up is the opposite of down but show up is not the opposite of showdown. They are two different things entirely. First “show up”. Notice that this consists of two separate words. It is...
In British English we often talk about someone being the “life and soul of the party”. The American English equivalent is “life of the party”. We use the phrase to refer to people who...
Inherent or inherited? Inherent and inherited are similar words with different meanings. You could easily confuse them, so this might help you to learn the difference. We use “inherent” when we talk about a...