Archive for 'English Grammar'
The Oxford Comma Posted by Gabriele on Sep 22, 2015
Commas are used in a number of different ways in written English; one of those ways is separating items in a list or series. For example: I have two cats, three fish, and one dog. When a common is used in this way it is called a serial comma. The last comma in this sentence…
Pronunciation: English past tense -ed Posted by Gabriele on Aug 11, 2015
Here is a short lesson about the pronunciation of the past tense ending –ed suffix used in English. It is common for ESL speakers to mispronounce words in the past tense, but after reading this post I hope any confusion you have about the different pronunciations of the regular past tense –ed ending are cleared…
A review of the possessive in English Posted by Gabriele on Jul 14, 2015
Here is quick review of how to create possessive words in English. If you have any questions be sure to ask them in the comment box below. The possessive form is used to indicate ownership or belonging. In English, we usually add –‘s (apostrophe + the letter s) to the end of a noun or…
English ‘could’ vs. ‘would’ Posted by Gabriele on Jun 9, 2015
Let’s take a closer look at how to use two common English modals: ‘could’ and ‘would’. If you want a brief review of the use of modal verbs in English check out this previous post from this blog. Right now we are going to dive in to* the difference between ‘could’ and ‘would’ and when…
You need to read this post (on English imperatives)! Posted by Gabriele on Apr 21, 2015
It is time for a good old-fashion grammar review; in this post we will be looking at the use of the imperative tense in English. For beginner learners, this post will be a comprehensive introduction to the imperative tense. For more seasoned ESL learners this post will hopefully be more than just a review, as…
Deconstructing the Grammar of the Present Perfect Using Classic Songs Posted by Transparent Language on Feb 23, 2015
As any student (or teacher) of English can verify, the present perfect tense can be a rather tricky and frustrating topic in English grammar. There are a couple reasons why this is the case. First, semantically, the present perfect tense overlaps significantly with the simple past and simple present tenses, and thus it’s easy to…
Useful phrasal verbs in English Posted by Gabriele on Feb 17, 2015
Here are some things you should know about phrasal verbs in English before we go any further: Some phrasal verbs are intransitive (intransitive verb cannot be followed by an object) and some are transitive (transitive verbs can be followed by an object). Some transitive phrasal verbs are separable (this means the object is placed between…