Archive for 'English Language'
Improve Your Writing by Not Using “And” Too Much Posted by heather on Jan 28, 2012
Many people want to improve their English writing. There are many things you can try to achieve this but one of the easiest tips is not to use the word “and” too much. When you use “and” a lot, your writing starts to become a bit boring. Instead try using some different words. For example…
Fun with Alliteration Posted by heather on Jan 25, 2012
Today I thought we could have a bit of fun looking at alliteration. What is alliteration? Alliteration is the repetition of initial sounds in neighboring words. Need an example? Here’s three… Dozy Doug dug a deep ditch. He’s always naughty and nasty – not nice to know. The sweet smell of success. Why would you…
Some Common American Hand Gestures Posted by Gabriele on Jan 22, 2012
Today I’m going to share with you some hand gestures that are often used by English speakers. I am sure if you think about it you will remember times you have seen Americans use these hand gestures either in movies, TV shows, or in person. These are all pretty commonly used. First though, I thought…
Differences Between the US and UK Computer Keyboard Posted by heather on Jan 21, 2012
Yesterday Erin took you through the signs and symbols that you will find on your computer keyboard. She even explained the name for each symbol. Another element she mentioned is that there are different keyboards for different countries. If you have ever sat down at a computer whilst in the United Kingdom and tried to…
Computer Keyboard Symbols and Punctuation Posted by Gabriele on Jan 20, 2012
Have you ever wondered what the names are for all those extra symbols on your keyboard? Many of these symbols are punctuation marks of one kind or another, while some are just symbols that are commonly used in writing. Below I’ve made a table that gives you the names of all of these symbols. The…
Having Some Fun With Puns Posted by heather on Jan 18, 2012
Recently we have had a look at homophones and homographs. Now that we have done all the hard work, we can have a little bit of fun by using what we have learned and practised to make puns. Puns are jokes that rely on homophones and homographs for their humor. For example: My pony is…
Getting to Grips with Homographs Posted by heather on Jan 14, 2012
Last week we had a look at homophones. As a quick reminder, a homophone is a word that sounds the same as another word but has a different meaning and sometimes a different spelling. Today we are going to take a look at homographs. A homograph is a word that has the same spelling as…