OVER 39,000 FOLLOWERS!
'Diet' refers to the food you eat, and can also mean an attempt to reduce your weight by eating fewer calories a day. Collocations: a balanced diet (a diet consisting of a variety of different types of food that have enough of the nutrients necessary for good health)....
4 differences between going to and will. In previous lessons about using the future simple (The future simple with be going to in Level A1 and The future simple with will in Level A2), we have looked at some of the rules for will and going to. In this lesson, we will...
The future simple with be going to. To talk about the future in English, there are lots of different tenses you can use. One of the most common forms is (be) going to. Here are some examples: I am going to have lunch with John tomorrow. They are going to see a movie...
Stative verbs and continuous tenses in English. Verbs can be divided in to two groups - stative verbs and dynamic verbs. Stative verbs talk about states - how you feel, what you see, what you like, what you hate. It is important to know the difference between stative...
5 more rules for using countable and uncountable nouns. On this page, we will look at the differences between countable and uncountable nouns when used with some, no, any, many, and much. Let's start with some and no. Rule #1. Use some when talking about more than one...
More rules for reported speech at Level B1. We have already looked at the 4 rules for reported speech, so now we will look at some additional notes about reported speech. 1. Using 'that' in reported speech When reporting speech, you can add 'that' to the sentence....
Having conversations about the news in English at Level B1. In this section of the lesson on the news, we will look at improving your English for conversation about the news how to start a conversation, how to react to other people's comments and how to contribute...
Vocabulary for talking about the news at Level B1. Let's look at some of the vocabulary we use to talk about the news. Types of news: current affairs (also called 'current events') politics weather traffic entertainment local/national/international news People...
On this page, we will review and compare intensifiers and mitigators in English. As we have seen on the previous pages in this lesson, intensifiers increase the intensity of an adjective. For example, hungry can become very hungry, then absolutely starving. On the...
Adjective and noun collocations in English. On this page, we will look at the common collocations which are created using adjectives and nouns. Unfortunately there are no rules to help you work this out - you just have to learn them one by one! However, to make this a...
Agreeing or disagreeing with an opinion in English. On the previous page, we looked at better ways that you can express an opinion in English. On this page, we will look at some of the ways you can react to an opinion or statement you have heard. We'll start by...
Rules for using strong adjectives and extreme intensifiers. On the previous page, we looked at using strong adjectives and extreme intensifiers. On this page, we will look at some additional rules for using these structures. Examples are given to support each of the...
Using WOULD to talk about past habits in English. On this page, will look at another way you can refer to a past habit. We have already looked at the 2 different meanings of USED TO, but let's quickly review with some example sentences: I used to smoke but I quit 3...
The differences between USED TO and WOULD. Both USED TO and WOULD can both be used to talk about past actions. ‘Would’ can be used to speak about past actions as an alternative to the simple past or ‘used to’. We have looked at this already in Level B1, so if you...
Linking words for sequence at CEFR Level B1. In this lesson, we will look at some of the linking words you can use to show order. Here are two examples - one is good and one is bad. Bad example: He finished cleaning the kitchen. Then he cleaned the bathroom. Then he...
By now, you should already know how to start and finish a conversation in English in a basic style. However, in this lesson we are going to extend these skills looking at more natural ways of opening and closing a conversation. Let's start with opening the...
COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS: Too or Enough Too and enough are used to talk about the quantity or size of something. Look at the sentences below. What is the difference in meaning? The dress is big enough. The dress is not big enough. The dress is too big. Meaning...
In this lesson, we will look at using Used to in English. There two common meanings of used to 1. Use(d) +infinitive is used to talk about repeated actions/states in the past. I used to smoke (i.e. I did smoke, now I don’t) 2. To be +used to + noun/verb+ing is used...
Better sentences for talking about past events and telling stories. Part of improving your English is the ability to talk about past experiences and story telling. So what's special about past experiences and story telling? How is it different to the normal past...
Irregular verbs, as the name suggests, don't follow a pattern. You simply need to learn them. In this lesson you will find an irregular verbs list. We suggest you try to learn a few each each day. But before we look at an irregular verbs list, we need to think about...
In order to improve your English skills, both for speaking and writing, it is important to be aware of the 'parts' of speech that create sentences in English. It is commonly accepted that there are only 9* different parts of speech from which all sentences, phrases or...
Tense Passive Form Passive Sentence Active Form Active Sentence Past simple was/were + past participle It was made compulsory by the government to wear a seat belt while travelling in a car in 1985. base verb +ed or irregular past The government made it compulsory to...
Reported speech, also called indirect speech, is what happens when we are telling someone about what another person said. Here is an example of direct and reported speech: Direct speech: I don't like this party. Reported or indirect speech: He said (that) he didn't...
The 4 rules for Reported speech in English. Reported speech, also called indirect speech, is what happens when we are telling someone about what another person said. Here is an example of direct and reported speech: Direct speech: I don't like this party. Reported or...
Transitive and intransitive verbs have different rules when you use them to make sentences. 1. The boss surprised his workteam. TRANSITIVE VERB 2. The boss smiled. INTRANSITIVE VERB Transitive verbs A transitive verb needs a direct object to make a complete sentence....