by Phil Williams | Jan 5, 2017 | Definitions, Grammar, Words
The rules given in reference books, and indeed dictionaries, can sometimes be rather misleading, or represent incomplete ideas. As I teach (and study!) advanced language use, I often have to question reference guides, and have recently encountered two examples of...
by Phil Williams | Dec 22, 2016 | Definitions, Exercises, General English, Vocabulary, Words
Here on ELB, I’m always fond of highlighting seasonal language, with articles and exercises that help practice English at particular times of year. In much of the English-speaking world, Christmas is one of the biggest and most universally celebrated festivals,...
by Phil Williams | Dec 14, 2016 | Definitions, General English, Vocabulary, Words
Here’s another confusing pair of words. Deceit and deception are both nouns, both loosely used to describe the act of deceiving. The act of deceiving being the act of concealing the truth or otherwise being misleading or false. In many situations the words can be used...
by Phil Williams | Dec 8, 2016 | Definitions, General English, Grammar
With negative questions that require a yes or no, there can sometimes be confusion in the correct way to answer. Grammatically, you may assume that a negative question answered in the affirmative should be a negative statement (i.e. “Doesn’t it look good?” – “Yes it...
by Phil Williams | Nov 24, 2016 | Definitions, Vocabulary, Words
I received a series of questions from a reader with no return email. So if you’re reading this, Carl, I’ll answer your questions in the blog. Starting with this – what is the difference between complex and complicated? A plan, for example, can be both complex and...
by Phil Williams | Oct 13, 2016 | Definitions, Exercises, Vocabulary, Words
It’s that fun time of year where the English speaking world prepares for Halloween – with scary stories, films and costumes. Which means it’s also the time of year to practice our Halloween vocabulary – words which cover a range of frightening topics, emotions and...