by Phil Williams | Apr 23, 2014 | Definitions, Grammar, Prepositions
When we talk about walking, we can say you go on foot or by foot, as a mode of transport. Which preposition is correct? Technically, on is more accurate, and common, and in exams you may be marked incorrect for using by foot. But why is by foot a mistake? Or is it a...
by Phil Williams | Mar 25, 2014 | Grammar
Embedded or included questions are used in two main situations: when we ask for information indirectly or when we report questions. This is common in more passive, or softer English (“Do you know…”), for reported speech (“She told me where…”) or to discuss...
by Phil Williams | Mar 17, 2014 | Definitions, Grammar, Prepositions
There is sometimes disagreement among English speakers when labelling days in a sequence with this and next, and you may hear people say either this or next to refer to the coming day. If you study sequences of time more carefully, it can help you to understand why...
by Phil Williams | Mar 5, 2014 | Definitions, Grammar
Questions in English are usually formed by either inverting the verb and subject, or by adding an auxiliary verb before the subject (and putting the main verb in bare infinitive form). This form is normally followed whether we use question words or not. However,...
by Phil Williams | Feb 11, 2014 | Exercises, Grammar
Want to test your understanding of when to use the past simple or the past perfect? These two exercises test your understanding of which tense to choose in individual sentences. Complete the following sentences choosing between the past simple and past perfect tenses,...
by Phil Williams | Jan 22, 2014 | Exercises, Grammar
In the affirmative present simple, the forms for he/she/it use different conjugation to the bare infinitive (the “third person S” rule, for regular verbs). Otherwise you may not notice a difference, for example: I like cheese (present simple form of to like) vs I do...