In the end of the period the figure was almost 200.
Houston. We have a preposition problem! Continue reading
IELTS
Better off using ‘better off’
Many students spend hours reading grammar books in order to improve their English. However, they are probably better off reading novels instead.
Most people are familiar with better off as the comparative form of well off (= wealthy). However, better off has other uses in IELTS speaking and writing (Task 2). Continue reading
The university, the school
Before they study at the university, students should spend a year traveling and working.
OK so there’s a difference between university and the university. The same difference applies to school and the school. Continue reading
Scissor
Indonesian students of English are lucky in that the sounds of their language are quite close to the sounds of English. However, here is a song that focuses on two pronunciation features that are rare in Bahasa Indonesia: Continue reading
Older, elder, elderly
Overall, the number of elder people (aged over 60) has increased significantly.
You are unlikely to find elder used to modify a noun like people. In this case older would be much more likely: Continue reading
Character, characters, characteristics
When we travel to new places we get to meet people with different characters.
Literally this means that when we travel we meet people like Mickey Mouse! Continue reading
Popular, famous, infamous
People can now shop for goods online. This makes online shopping more famous than shopping in physical stores.
Generally speaking the following meanings apply: Continue reading
Unlike cheese
Physical stores are faced with additional running costs. Different with online stores that can operate on a small budget.
This post includes two challenges (below)! First read through the explanation, then check your understanding by completing one or both of the recommended tasks!
Contrasting while and meanwhile for contrast
The amount of time children spent watching TV remained stable, meanwhile the amount of time they spent using computers increased dramatically.
In this post we contrast while and meanwhile in terms of grammatical usage and their usefulness as contrast signals.
Online abroad overseas
If we buy fresh food via online it will not be fresh by the time it arrives at our homes.
We say that we ‘go’ online, and so online feels like it’s a place, but it isn’t. It’s actually an adverb! Continue reading