Latest Articles from ELB
Verbs that don’t agree with the nearest noun
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...
“in general” vs “generally”
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,...
6 Minute English – Listening practice from the BBC
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. There...
The Names of Shapes: a vocabulary list
The following list covers the most common words for shapes in the English language, with explanations (sorry, no pictures!). Words that may be also be useful when discussing different shapes are side (the edge of the shape), face (the surface of a shape), regular (all...
All the English tenses: timeline infographic
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....
8 grammar rules for writing newspaper headlines
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...
Transitive and intransitive verbs: verbs and objects
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):...
A mixed prepositions exercise: time and place with at, in, on and more
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...
Writing Emails in English: greetings and farewells
Writing emails is now more common than ever, with people sending dozens of emails a day – while in the past people might have sent letters very rarely. With traditional letters, formal greetings and farewells were common in English because writing a letter was...