Twelve o’clock, midday, noon or midnight? All are correct. Giving the time and understanding it should be easy but because there are a few ways to say the same time it can be difficult. Use 12-hour clock when speaking Only the army and people working in transport use 24-hour clock in speech to tell the … [Read more…]
Sometimes there are colours you want to describe but don’t know how to. It is even difficult for native speakers to describe colours exactly. Instead, we describe difficult colours by comparing the colour to another thing. For example, imagine you have a rug that is a very light brown, but not exactly beige. “My rug … [Read more…]
These are some words that students often find confusing. I hope this post helps you to tell the difference. If you have any other ideas, leave a comment. Hard / Hardly Hard (adverb)
Previously I’ve written about studying what you find interesting. This has built-in motivation and will help you talk about the things you do every day. However, sometimes you want to learn new things. To do this, become a ‘specialist’. Focus on a topic and learn vocabulary about it by listening and reading about it. This … [Read more…]
One of the most pleasurable ways to develop your vocabulary is to read poetry. A short poem can give you something interesting to think about and you can see different ways to describe things, people and feelings than you might have thought. A poem can be read on a short commute, in line at the … [Read more…]
The word very is overused, as I mentioned previously. There are so many other intensifiers (adverbs to make adjectives and verbs stronger) and mitigators (adverbs to make adjectives and verbs weaker) that can make your English sound far more interesting. You are not a boring person in your native language, so don’t sound boring in … [Read more…]
Buying train tickets seems difficult but can be very easy. Sometimes using ticket machines is very easy but sometimes you need to speak to railway staff. Here are some easy words and phrases to help you buy train tickets. Some useful vocabulary to know: ‘single’ (British) or ‘one-way’ (American): travel from your start point to … [Read more…]
When students ask me how to improve their writing the first thing I tell them is to read more and copy the style. After that, I usually tell them to change ‘good’/’better’/’best’ a few times and delete or change ‘very’. Why? They are overused and – most of the time – not precise enough. Is … [Read more…]
It is important to know word families for standardized tests like TOEIC, TOEFL, IELTS and Eiken. However, word families are not only important for those tests; they give you the ability to choose a different form of a word you know that is similar to a word you are trying to remember but cannot. In … [Read more…]
Some students worry about the vocabulary that they should make notes of and really try to learn. What vocabulary is important? There is no easy answer because it depends on the person. If you use English mainly at work, learn vocabulary by listening to podcasts or reading about your industry in English. If you use … [Read more…]