by Phil Williams | Oct 4, 2018 | General English
I’ve answered a few emails recently from potential teachers asking for advice on how to get into TEFL teaching, or teaching abroad in general, so it’s time I shared some of my thoughts. I started teaching English as a foreign language, as many teachers do,...
by Phil Williams | Sep 20, 2018 | General English, Punctuation
I recently shared an extract from Advanced Writing Skills covering how we use commas to separate clauses (which you can read here). Another useful function of commas in complex, or even just slightly more complicated sentences, is when we use commas around additional...
by Phil Williams | Aug 23, 2018 | General English
The following lesson is an adapted extract from the book, Advanced Writing Skills for Students of English. I’ve decided to share it here as I’ve had a few questions relating to punctuation and sentence structure lately, and this gives a useful introduction...
by Phil Williams | Jul 26, 2018 | Books, Definitions, General English, Writing skills
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...
by Phil Williams | May 17, 2018 | General English
I recently had a question through this website but the return email didn’t work, so I’ve posted my answer in the hope that the reader sees it! It relates to spotting the difference between the past simple and the passive voice – specifically, how we...
by Phil Williams | Jan 23, 2018 | Definitions, Exercises, General English, Grammar, Prepositions
The verb “to be” can be used in descriptive clauses or as an auxiliary verb to create certain grammatical structures, such as the continuous tenses and the passive voice. This can lead to confusion when a verb or verb form follows the verb “to be” – how do you...