by Phil Williams | Dec 10, 2013 | Exercises, Listening
The BBC World Service’s online English portal is an excellent place to find material for studying English. It contains simple, clear explanations and a variety of exercises. It also has a wealth of useful practice material, including audio and video examples....
by Phil Williams | Nov 12, 2013 | Exercises, Grammar
Verbs, doing words, tell us what the subject is doing. This usually takes the form of an action, though it can also be a state or an event. Actions show things happening: The man ran. States show what condition the subject is in (which can also demonstrate an event):...
by Phil Williams | Nov 5, 2013 | Exercises, Grammar, Prepositions
Choosing between prepositions can be confusing, especially as the same words can follow different rules for different uses. My previous articles explaining the differences between at, in and on for time and place and the differences between since, for and ago for time...
by Phil Williams | Oct 19, 2013 | Books, Exercises, Grammar
“If you are a non-native speaker intending to write in English, YOU NEED THIS BOOK!” – Amelie Chaloux , Amazon review Word Order in English Sentences teaches effective sentence structure in English. It explains how and why English word...
by Phil Williams | Oct 8, 2013 | Definitions, Exercises, Grammar, Prepositions
For, since and ago are all prepositions that can be used for time. When talking about time, they each cover specific times, usually to demonstrate the duration of an action or event. This article explains the difference between them, and when they can and can’t...
by Phil Williams | Oct 2, 2013 | Definitions, Exercises, Grammar
Pronouns are used in place of a noun we already know, so we do not have to repeat names. They should make English simpler, for example saying “Bob walked home. He ate dinner.” instead of “Bob walked home. Bob ate dinner.” But pronouns can become complicated when used...