Archive for January, 2020
Online shopping in English Posted by carol on Jan 31, 2020
Hello, everyone! January is drawing to an end, and although all the Christmas holiday shopping is finally behind us, this does not necessarily means that we have been spending any less! After all, shopping online is now part of our daily lives and many people nowadays even get their grocery shopping done without leaving the…
That or Which? Posted by Gary Locke on Jan 30, 2020
Years ago, this blog addressed the problem of when to use that or which in a sentence. Are they interchangeable? Is there a rule to follow? What’s the difference? Unfortunately, this continues to be one of the most common mistakes in English grammar. In fact, it’s so common that people tend to ignore it. But…
English Words in the News: Caucus Posted by Gary Locke on Jan 23, 2020
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…
When Irregular Verbs Fail Posted by Gary Locke on Jan 16, 2020
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…
Learning English is Hard Work Posted by Gary Locke on Jan 9, 2020
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…