English Language Blog

Every four years the United States begins its national presidential election with the Iowa caucuses. This is followed by the New Hampshire primary.  Soon, in rapid succession, many more states conduct their voting. By May we usually know who the presidential candidates in the two major parties will be. What’s important is that there are…

Sometimes you’ll hear someone use a verb in the past tense and it just sounds wrong. “I knew it was late as soon as I had woken up.” Woken doesn’t sound or even look like a real word. That’s because its source verb, wake, is an irregular verb. There are regular verbs and irregular…

Lots of people begin every new year with a resolve to work out, or lose weight, or even learn a language. We’re looking to improve ourselves. If you are trying to improve your English then I promise you that I will help you. But, you need to know that English is a very difficult language…

Good morning, dear readers! The time has come for our highlights of the year! The bustling 2019 came to an end and, with it, the second decade of the 2000s. We witnessed a year full of political antagonism, climate crises and new personalities that have been in the spotlight in worldwide media coverage. What can…

As 2019 comes to a close, it always seems important to reflect on the year past. We all do it, don’t we? Maybe you want to remember those things which made you laugh, the moments of success, special memories of friends and family. What did you learn? What surprised you? And which of these lessons…

“Christmas a humbug, uncle!” said Scrooge’s nephew. “You don’t mean that, I am sure?” In the story A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, when his nephew wishes him a “Merry Christmas”, Ebenezer Scrooge exclaims, “Bah! Humbug!” It is one of the enduring lines in English literature, known by nearly everyone. But, what exactly does it…

That sound you hear is the clock ticking out the final seconds of the decade. The 2010s are coming to a close and we at Transparent Language are going to bid farewell to 10 of the most tumultuous years in human history by compiling lists of the decade’s best songs in many languages. These lists…