Helping English language learners
Shopping precincts and retail parks are types of shopping centres. In a previous post we discussed the difference between department stores and shopping malls. We said that there were other sorts of shopping centres....
Department stores and shopping malls are places where we go shopping. A department store is usually a large shop where we can buy a wide variety of items such as clothing, luggage, make-up, lighting,...
“To be on cloud nine” is an English idiom meaning to be very happy. Here are some examples of how we use it: You might wonder why it’s cloud nine. Well, perhaps it comes...
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...