Author: Joanna Kawrow

Comparative adjectives One way of describing a person or thing is by saying that they have more of a particular quality than someone or something else. To do this, we use comparative adjectives, which are formed either by adding ‘-er’ at the end of the adjective, or placing ‘more’ before the adjective, e.g: “She is more intelligent than her sister” “London is bigger than Oxford”. Superlative adjectives It is also possible to describe someone or something by saying that they have more of a particular quality than any other of their kind. We do this by using superlative adjectives, which are formed by adding ‘-est’ at the end of the […]

Are you keen on history? Every year on the 5th of November, lots of people celebrate the Bonfire Night (or Guy Fawkes Night) by watching fireworks, going to the bonfire displays and enjoying delicious traditional food. What is it all about? Here is a bit of British history for you… In 1605, there was a failed plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament, led by a man called Guy Fawkes. He and his conspirators wanted to return England from Protestant to the Catholic faith. They reckoned they could do this by killing the King James I and his ministers, but they failed. They were charged with treason. This was […]

What do we mean by ‘voice’? Voice is the form of the verb that shows whether the subject of a sentence does the action (=the active voice) or is affected by it (= the passive voice)   What does ”active” and ”passive” mean? In the active voice, the agent/actor (person or thing doing the action) is the subject of the sentence. For example: And now , in the passive voice, the agent is either unknown or less important, we focus on the action itself. For example: “The postman was bitten”. (The agent is not known or not specified) or “The postman was bitten by the dog”. (The agent “the dog” […]

Do you know any expressions associated with this new season? Learn these very popular autumnal idiomatic expressions and use them all year round, not only in autumn:) and some other nice expressions: SQUIRREL STH AWAY- to hide or store something like a squirrel “Lisa squirreled away a lot of money while she was working and now she can enjoy her retirement”. BE NUTS ABOUT STH OR SOMEONE- to be obsessed with someone or something “I am nuts about that girl. I’d do anything for her”. DRIVE SOMEONE NUTS- to make someone go crazy “That noise is driving me nuts. Please stop at once!”

In English, we have many phrases, sayings and idioms that use words also related to Halloween. Take a look at some of these below to see if you know what they mean. Don’t be scared! We’ve give you helpful explanations of what they mean and how to use them: SKELETON STAFF- the smallest number of people needed for a business or organization to operate: “The warehouse has a skeleton staff on Sundays”. TO HAVE A SKELETON IN THE CLOSET- To have some secrets or bad things in your past/history. “I think John has a few skeletons in his cupboard“. SCARE SOMEONE TO DEATH- to frighten somebody very much ” Thunderstorms […]

Yes, it is! Most residents in the USA, Europe, and several other countries across the world will turn their clocks back and get an extra hour of sleep on Sunday morning. That’s because at 2 am, clocks will move back one hour as daylight-saving time starts. The practice was first implemented during the World War I, when Americans began setting their clocks back as a way to save energy. After being repealed for a few years after the war, daylight saving was revived again in 1942 during World War II. Congress passed the Uniform Time Act in 1966, which formalized the start of daylight saving time on the last Sunday […]

Hallowen is coming! What do you know about Halloween? Halloween Facts, Halloween Traditions Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity, life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Lord Samhain ( the lord of Darkness) in Ireland, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honor all saints and martyrs; the holiday, All Saints’ Day, incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later […]

Yes! These unusal British place names intrigue or give a giggle to many passers-by, like this lovely name Little Snoring, given centuries ago to a Norfolk village. The origins of those names are deeply rooted in the fascinating history of Britain. A great amount of British history: from the Celts through the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Scandinavians, and Normans to modern times – is displayed in Britain’s place names. Some towns have received such bizarre names that no one can be sure what their origins are, for example the village of Pity Me outside Durham.   Water names – the Celtic influences Two-thirds of England’s rivers take their names from Celtic Even […]