Phrasal Verbs Using “to be”
I’ve been meaning to write some articles covering phrasal verbs, as these are always a difficult area to master with lots of specific considerations. To cover all the very specific meanings of the different phrasal verbs, in each article I’ll take one root verb and...
What does it mean to “be of help”?
The phrase “to be of help” is a construction roughly synonymous with “helpful”. “Of help” is particularly common in formal settings, and has a subtly different meaning and application to the adjective “helpful”. I briefly touched on such “noun of noun” constructions...
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...
How to use hyphens in English
A hyphen is this short punctuation mark: – . Not to be confused with longer dashes, which have different uses. Hyphens are used in English for two specific purposes – hard hyphens join words together, while soft hyphens divide words. The uses of hyphens...Want to Master English?
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