Latest Articles from ELB
Grammar of the Future in the Past
I've had a few queries lately asking for more information about using the future tenses in the past. This is used when we want to talk about events yet to occur but from a past perspective. This is a topic that was actually added to the later versions of The English...
What’s the difference between accept, except and expect?
Time for another comparisons / common mistakes post, as I had a few requests towards the end of last year regarding some commonly confused words. Today's ones look very similar (and can sound very similar) but have very different meanings, so they're good to compare!...
Reading Exercise: A Christmas Carol
With Christmas fast approaching, it’s time for another holiday-themed exercise! Today, I’m continuing my advanced reading exercise series with the opening from a very famous Christmas story, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. I previously discussed the cultural...
The English Tenses’ 10,000 Book Journey
It has finally happened: The English Tenses Practical Grammar Guide has reached 10,000 global sales and I could not be happier! 10,000 is an arbitrary number, admittedly, but it’s a high one, and was always a personal target of mine. I thought, if I reach that, then...
English Idioms & Sayings: Exercise 2
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...
Reading Exercise: Classic Horror
For today’s reading exercise, I’ve taken an extract from a creepy old horror story by M.R. James. James was an accomplished scholar who wrote ghost stories heavy with real mythological references. He wrote in a “visceral” way, creating strong feelings/reactions, but...
Popular English Idioms and Sayings: Exercise 1
I’ve had a few requests recently for exercises relating to idioms and sayings. This is an interesting topic to get into because the language used for idioms, proverbs and other popular expressions in English is commonly used but the meanings can be difficult to...
Support ELB For More, Better Content!
A while ago, I set up a Patreon for ELB to try and gain some additional support to help me keep the site going. It was overcomplicated and did not get much interest (though I'm lucky to have had a couple of subscribers who stuck with me!). I've decided to relaunch the...
Reading Exercise & Analysis: Novel Opening 2
As my last post going into detail analysing the opening to a novel proved popular, I’ve put together another reading exercise looking at a different style of novel. This one is modern and from my more recent writing, so let’s see if we can spot some interesting...