by Phil Williams | May 16, 2023 | Definitions, General English, Vocabulary, Words, Writing skills
“For ever after” is a phrase I found curious recently, as it highlights some interesting points about how English works as a flexible, evolving language. The phrase can be written in two different ways, changing the meanings of the words, with no real agreement on the...
by Phil Williams | Apr 11, 2023 | Definitions, Grammar, Punctuation, Writing skills
A problem many native English writers and foreign English learners have in common is combining independent clauses without the appropriate punctuation or conjunctions, often seen with what we call comma splices. I thought this would be an interesting topic to cover,...
by Phil Williams | Nov 8, 2022 | Punctuation, Writing skills
Today I’m going to look at another specific use of commas in English, particularly how we use them in lists, and how the controversial serial comma or Oxford comma works. This builds on a couple of articles about specific uses of commas that I’ve shared in the past:...
by Phil Williams | Jul 12, 2022 | Exercises, Writing skills
Following on from my recent writing exercise for a letter of local investment, I’ve got another exercise today covering a topic that affects everyone at some point: a letter of complaint. The task here specifically concerns something ordered online, which we all...
by Phil Williams | May 10, 2022 | Exercises, Writing skills
Ever since I released the book Advanced Writing Skills, I have been planning to produce some companion exercises to go with it. These would be writing prompts with model example answers provided. Now, I’ve finally produced some of these, which I intend to...
by Phil Williams | Nov 9, 2021 | Definitions, Exercises, General English, Writing skills
This is a continuation of my Idioms and Sayings exercise series, which I started last month. As a reminder, I’ve put together a list of 45 interesting, popular sayings which I’m putting into 3 short exercises, with the third one to come soon. Check the first exercise...