Cloud Nine
“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...
Graham's Grammar Posts
Definite and Indefinite Articles Part 3
In previous posts (here and here), we’ve looked at when to use definite and indefinite articles and when we don’t need to use any article. We said that: In this post we’ll explain how...
Definite and indefinite articles Part 2
Definite and indefinite articles. In an earlier post we said that:: In this post we’ll talk further about definite and indefinite articles. We often use “a” or “an” when we mention something for the...
Definite and indefinite articles
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....
Semicolons – Part 2
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...
Semicolons
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...
Down in the mouth
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?
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
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?
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...