What’s the difference between being on time and being in time? On time means punctually or promptly – at the time that was scheduled. In time means not late. Watch our two videos for a full explanation and see the phrases in action. The first video has lots of examples and covers the basics and the […]
In time and On time – What’s the difference? Read More »
Students often mistake these two forms. It’s a problem because they mean different things. ‘Stop’ is a special verb in English because we can follow it with either a gerund (ing form) or an infinitive. So stop to do and stop doing are both possible. However, the meaning changes. Watch the video and learn how
Stop doing and Stop to do (gerunds and infinitives) Read More »
Do you know the meaning of sensible? And what about sensitive? These two adjectives are false friends in many languages so they can be confusing. In English, someone who is sensible is reasonable. They show good judgement. Being sensitive is about feelings, so someone who is sensitive may feel things strongly and get upset easily.
Sensible and Sensitive – What’s the difference? Read More »
We use at the end to talk about the final part of something. For example, at the end of the rainbow. At the end of the tunnel. In the end is similar to eventually or finally – so after everything has been dealt with, talked about, settled and decided. Learn more and see examples in the video.
In the End / At the End – What’s the difference? Read More »
There’s a brilliant George Gershwin song that compares British and American pronunciation. It goes, ‘You say tomayto, and I say tomahto’. The lyrics are fantastic but they’re not 100% accurate which is troubling for word nerds. We wanted to create a song that reflected pronunciation differences with greater accuracy. Hope you like it. Click here
Tomahto – Tomayto: British and American Pronunciation Read More »
Do you find you’re always using ‘will ‘ and ‘going to’ to talk about the future? Here are two more expressions that native speakers use. This video was inspired by my son. When he was six, he knew he shouldn’t play with matches, so he went behind the curtains to experiment and the curtains caught fire. I
About to and Bound to Read More »
Learn the different meanings finally, at last and lastly. These connectors or conjunctions can be confusing. Watch this short video to fix common mistakes. You’ll learn the meaning of lastly (the final item in a list), how finally can be used in the same way – or have another meaning (when something has taken a
Lastly, finally and at last (adverbs) Read More »
Looking or free English reading practice? Here’s a very funny short story by James Schofield that provides excellent vocabulary practice. You’ll love the clever twist at the end. James is an English teacher and a very talented writer. This story was first published in print in http://www.business-spotlight.de/. Find out about James’ latest writing project at
Full Moon – a story by James Schofield. Read More »
I’m British but I live in the US and I’ve discovered there are all kinds of ways to confuse Americans like Jay with my British English. Here are five. I say zed. What would you say Jay? I’d say zee. OK. Zed in British English is zee in American. Let’s try another. Could you spell
How to be clear in the US Read More »
This video has original music and lyrics by The Audio Justice, an Auckland, New Zealand based indie rock band. The Audio Justice are Mark Whiteman and Grant Duncan and they also both happen to be English teachers! This track was written by Grant and recorded in Oct 2012. We have their permission to promote it
Can’t tell the days apart Read More »
