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...
by Phil Williams | Jan 7, 2014 | Grammar
Time clauses are used in English to demonstrate a period of time based on an action or event, similar to dependent clauses in conditional sentences. For example, I will cook dinner when I get home. ‘When I get home’ is a clause demonstrating a point in time, based on...
by Phil Williams | Dec 23, 2013 | Grammar
In more complicated sentences, such as those including lists, plural nouns that are grouped together or plural subjects that are followed by a singular noun, you should be especially careful that the noun agrees with the subject, and not just the nearest noun. For...
by Phil Williams | Dec 17, 2013 | General English, Grammar, Words
The following two sentences use in general and generally in the same way. So what is the difference between the expressions? In general, I like eating cheese. Generally, I like eating cheese. It is a bit of a trick question, as they essentially have the same meaning,...
by Phil Williams | Dec 3, 2013 | Definitions, Grammar
There are 12 basic tenses in the English language. These are the most common grammatical forms for expressing time in English. It can help to view the different time expressions on one timeline, so I have created a diagram to compare all the English tenses, below....
by Phil Williams | Nov 19, 2013 | Grammar, Writing skills
Reading newspaper articles is an excellent way for foreign learners to build vocabulary and practice comprehension using real material. It can expose you to different topics, and a variety of language that is rare in spoken English. However, newspaper writing is...