Archive for 'English Language'
Foreign Words in English (Part II) Posted by Gabriele on Mar 29, 2012
Earlier this month I started a series of posts that will look at a number of different foreign words that are commonly used in English. Here is a funny quote that speaks to how the English language is often borrowing or taking words and grammar from other languages. “English doesn’t borrow from other languages. English…
How to Talk (I Mean “Tawlk”) Like a New Yorker Posted by Gabriele on Mar 26, 2012
In yesterday’s post I presented a video on how to take a cab in New York City. In writing that post I started to think about the New York City accent and so today I’m going to give you some pointers on how to pronounce this accent, but hopefully these pointers will also help you…
Somebody That I Used to Know Posted by heather on Mar 21, 2012
Do you know this song? It seems like everywhere I go, this song is playing at some point. Music can be a great way to practice your English. With that in mind, here are the song lyrics in English. “Somebody That I Used To Know” (feat. Kimbra) [Gotye:] Now and then I think of when…
Foreign Words in English (Part I) Posted by Gabriele on Mar 20, 2012
Like most other languages, English contains words that are directly taken from other languages. This was true when the English language was new and it is true today. If you didn’t think English was hard enough to learn before, you might think so now that you realize you are going to have to learn some…
Three Strikes and You’re Out Posted by heather on Mar 17, 2012
“three strikes and you’re out!” Have you ever heard this phrase before? It is often heard when the government is discussing how to deal with unwanted behaviour by individuals. You might have also heard a parent say it to a child when they were misbehaving. And lastly, you may have heard it during a game…
Similes Posted by heather on Mar 14, 2012
“It’s been a hard day’s night, and I’ve been working like a dog.” – The Beatles A simile is something compared with something else to create an image in the reader’s mind. A simile usually includes the words “like” or “as.” You can create similes for adjectives (as light as a petal), verbs (He crawled…
Affect vs. Effect Posted by heather on Mar 10, 2012
One of the most misused and misunderstood word pairs would have to be affect and effect. Despite their almost identical spelling and similar (although different!) pronunciation, these two words do have a different meaning. Learning this difference and putting it to good use, will put you well ahead of many native English speakers. The difference…