Latest Articles from ELB
The bare infinitive in the present simple – with exercise
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...
Contractions Exercise: saying mixed contractions
Complete the following exercise by forming contractions when appropriate. There are many options for creating contractions; the most common relate to the words am, is, will, would, has, have and had, for example I am – I’m, that is – that’s, he will – he’ll, I would –...
Time Clauses: an explanation, rules and exercise
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...
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...