月別アーカイブ9月 2016

Different ways of talking about the future

Different ways of talking about the future

One very good way to prepare for your IELTS speaking is to practise different ways of talking about the future. This is because the examiner listens for the way you vary your grammar, not just if you make mistakes. This is a skill you need mostly in part 1 and 3 parts of the Speaking test.   In fact, there are loads of more ways of talking about the future. It’s not all about verbs and tenses, see these examples: 1)We often use verbs like ”would like”, “plan”, “want”, “mean”, “hope”, “expect” to talk about the future: What are you going to do next year? I’d like to go to […]

How to Write a Successful CV

How to Write a Successful CV

Have you ever had to write a Curriculum Vitae? Did you find it difficult? This article will tell what effective techniques and language to use to make your CV stand out of the crowd and get you the dream job! A CV is a document which you give to an employer when you apply for a job. It is a summary of your education, skills and work that you have done. In the UK we call it a CV,or Curriculum Vitae, in the USA resume. CVs are often a little longer, and more like a list of jobs, duties, educational qualifications and hobbies; a resume is usually only one page […]

American vs British English

American vs British English

These two varieties of English may sometimes cause confusion and be a source of misunderstandings or funny situations, even to native-speakers themselves! For instance, if someone says pants in the USA, they mean trousers, whereas in the UK, pants is actually short for underpants – which I have no doubt could lead to some delightful misunderstandings.Imagine a situation at work, when your colleague pays you a complement and says: ” I like your pants!”. You might be wondering which ”pants’ does he or she mean? George Bernard Shaw once said: America and England are two countries seperated by a common language’ WHAT IS DIFFERENT? A few differences of grammar and […]

Conditionals – Type 0 and I

Conditionals – Type 0 and I

Can you use these conditionals? More examples: Flowers die, if they are not watered. If you have a big car, you pay a lot for petrol. Don’t forget to switch off the light, when /if you leave. If/ When it snows, the roads get slippery and dangerous. Felix is always in good mood, when his team wins.   Formula: If/When clause- Present Simple, Main Clause- Present Simple ( CONDITION– RESULT)   MORE EXAMPLES: We may/might go on a picnic, if the weather is good. If we go on a picnic, we should invite Josh. If they don’t leave right now, they will miss the train. NOTE:In the First Conditional ( […]

Days of the week and their origins

Days of the week and their origins

Do you find it difficult to get up on Monday mornings? What is your favourite day of the week? Where do the names of the days of the week come from? In English, we call our days of the week after Saxon gods, apart from Saturday. For instance, the French call their days of the week after Roman gods. But the Saxon and Roman gods who look after the same day are the same type of god. The English ‘Saturday’ is called after a Roman god, not a Saxon one. In Scandinavia, the word for Saturday is Lördag or Lørdag. It is an ancient word meaning “bath”. Apparently the Vikings […]

A Quick Guide on How to Talk About the Weekend

A Quick Guide on How to Talk About the Weekend

I guess everyone loves the weekend. Weekends are a huge topic of conversation. Starting on Wednesday or Thursday, people will ask you about your weekend plans. When you return to work or school, you’ll be asked how your weekend went. So it’s helpful to have a nice range of phrases to use for these conversations. The upcoming weekend If you want to ask someone about the upcoming weekend in English, here are some common questions: What are you doing this weekend? Do you have anything going on this weekend? Do you have any big plans for the weekend? Do you have anything planned for this weekend? If you have plans, […]

Never desert your dessert in the desert!

Never desert your dessert in the desert!

Desert the dessert in the desert! Desert can be a verb and a noun though with two completely different meanings. To Desert means to leave without intending to return. It can also mean to abandon. A Desert is a dry place which receives very little rainfall. The verb is pronounced with the stress on ‘sert’- desert The noun is pronounced with the emphasis on ‘de’- desert. To make things more complicated there is a word dessert, which is a noun with another meaning. Dessert is a synonym of pudding, or a sweet meal eaten after dinner. It’s pronounced the same as the verb To Desert! Dessert and To Desert are […]

Social English – at the restaurant

Social English – at the restaurant

Weekeend is coming, let’s start counting! Whether you plan to go out for a lunch with friends or colleagues, or have a dinner in the restaurant, it’s always worth to revise expressions related with that topic. Here are some useful expressions for ordering meals in the restaurant and dealing with problems with meals: WHAT YOU SAY We’d like a table for two, please. I have a reservation under the name of Jones. Could you bring us the menu, please? Do you have a set menu? Could you bring us the salt/pepper/olive oil/vinegar, please? I’ll have the soup as a starter. I’ll have the steak for the main course. I’ll have […]

Silent letters in English

Silent letters in English

Silent letters are letters that you can’t hear when you say the word, but that are there when you write the word. Silent letters can distinguish between homophones, e.g. in/inn; be/bee; lent/leant. This is an aid to readers already familiar with both words. Silent letters may give an insight into the meaning or origin of a word, e.g. vineyard suggests vines more than the phonetic ‘vinyard’ would. Silent letters help to show long vowels e.g. rid/ride Silent letters help to show ‘hard’ consonants e.g. guest/gest They can help to connect different forms of the same word e.g. resign/resignation   Silent B Silent C Silent D Silent G Silent H aplomb […]

Conditionals through songs

Conditionals through songs

GRAMMAR DOES NOT HAVE TO BE BORING! Have you ever wondered how it would be if you were born a boy or a girl? This is a great song to practise especially conditionals, but not only. You can also learn a few useful, interesting expressions and words while listening and later singing this song. Today we focus on grammar, so tell me… Which conditional? The title ‘If I were a boy‘ refers to: a(n)realunrealsituation inpastpresentfuturetime and so is the first part of afirstsecondthirdconditional. which is constructed with: ‘if‘ +present simplepast simplepast perfect in the ‘if’ clause , andwill + 1st formwould + 1st formwould have + 3rd form in the […]