27 English Tenses Exercises
Having been asked frequently for exercises to go with The English Tenses Practical Grammar Guide, I compiled this list to share all the tenses exercises on this site together. I’ve since also produced The English Tenses Exercise Book to add over 150 more...
How to Add Emphasis in Writing
Emphasis is when a particular stress or importance is given to something. Many exceptions to grammatical rules in English relate to emphasising particular words or ideas, making it a very important and also very broad topic. Structure, word order, vocabulary choice,...
My Advice on Getting Started Teaching Abroad
I’ve answered a few emails recently from potential teachers asking for advice on how to get into TEFL teaching, or teaching abroad in general, so it’s time I shared some of my thoughts. I started teaching English as a foreign language, as many teachers do,...
Using commas to add extra information to sentences
I recently shared an extract from Advanced Writing Skills covering how we use commas to separate clauses (which you can read here). Another useful function of commas in complex, or even just slightly more complicated sentences, is when we use commas around additional...
Using commas to separate clauses
The following lesson is an adapted extract from the book, Advanced Writing Skills for Students of English. I’ve decided to share it here as I’ve had a few questions relating to punctuation and sentence structure lately, and this gives a useful introduction...
The Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth (Book Review)
Here’s something for anyone who really wants to go beyond the basics of English. Having recently released Advanced Writing Skills for Students of English, I’ve had a few readers share comments that while they see the value in a clear and simple writing...“There is a lot of” vs “There are a lot of”
Do we say “There is a lot…” or “There are a lot of…”? This question was put to me recently by a student who noted that “lot” is the first noun after a verb. In theory, the verb should be singular with “a lot of”, because it is a singular “lot”. Comparing “There are a...Advanced Writing Skills is available now, with a limited time offer
It’s finally here – Advanced Writing Skills for Students of English has hit the (electronic) shelves! After an intense month of final updates, with massive thanks due to my excellent beta reading team, the final book is now available in eBook and paperback...
Simple States or Passive Voice?
I recently had a question through this website but the return email didn’t work, so I’ve posted my answer in the hope that the reader sees it! It relates to spotting the difference between the past simple and the passive voice – specifically, how we...Want to Master English?
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