Category

About Words

More problem prepositions arriving…

Posted on March 5, 2008, in About Words, Grammar, Grammar FAQ, Intermediate, Podcast, Vocabulary, with 8 Comments

Question from Cathy in Canada: Can we say I arrive to work at 9 o’clock or do we need to use “at”? Also can we say I was late to class or do we need to use “in”? Thank you..

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Hear and Listen: Easy confusion

Posted on February 13, 2008, in About English, About Words, Grammar FAQ, Intermediate, Podcast, Vocabulary, with 15 Comments

Question from Khadija in Morocco: What is the difference between ‘hear’ and ‘listen’? Answer: Hi, Khadija. Thank’s for your question, I’m sure that the difference between ‘listen‘ and ‘hear‘ is not clear for a lot of English language learners. Let’s.

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Accepting with no regrets

Posted on February 1, 2008, in About Words, Advanced, Grammar, Grammar FAQ, Podcast, Uncategorized, Vocabulary, with 2 Comments

Question from English4Today member Gireesh in the United Arab Emirates: Which one of the following sentences is correct having the meaning like “cannot accept…” ? 1) We regret to accept your letter….. 2) We regret not to accept your letter…….

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‘How about’ vs ‘what about’ : same difference?

Posted on February 1, 2008, in About English, About Words, Grammar FAQ, Intermediate, Podcast, Vocabulary, with 16 Comments

Question from English4Today member Khadija in Morocco When can we use “how about” and when can we use “what about”? Hi Khadija. This is another one of those situations, and we’ve discussed quite a few of them here, where you.

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Acronyms : OMG they are everywhere!

Posted on January 24, 2008, in About English, About Words, Bits and Pieces, English for Fun, Grammar FAQ, Intermediate, Podcast, Vocabulary, with 8 Comments

Question from English4Today member Vin in the USA: What is it called when letters are substituted for words, i.e., LOL stands for Laugh out loud. Hi Vin, they are everywhere and they are called ‘acronyms‘! An acronym was originally a.

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Insure or Ensure : As long as you’re covered!

Posted on January 2, 2008, in About Words, Advanced, Grammar FAQ, Podcast, Vocabulary, with 0 Comments

Question from English4Today member, Irene in Canada: Using the services of my company ENSURES the task is completed correctly, on time & on budget! OR 2) Using the services of my company INSURES the task is completed correctly, on time.

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Happy New Year! But where does it come from?

Posted on January 1, 2008, in About English, About Words, Bits and Pieces, Grammar FAQ, Intermediate, Podcast, Vocabulary, with 2 Comments

Donuts! You might be wondering what that has to do with New Year or the English language – well read on and you’ll find out why Homer Simpson’s love of donuts may be his personal ‘lucky charm‘. First, Happy New.

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Scrooge : A mean piece of vocabulary

Posted on December 20, 2007, in About English, About Words, English for Fun, Grammar FAQ, Intermediate, Podcast, Vocabulary, with 0 Comments

‘Scrooge‘ – not a word in everyday use, unless we have a very mean relative or friend, and a word that is perhaps drifting to the sidelines of the language a little. But at this time of the year you.

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Christmas Vocabulary : What’s behind the holiday?

Posted on December 14, 2007, in About English, About Words, English for Fun, Grammar FAQ, Intermediate, Podcast, Vocabulary, with 3 Comments

Yes, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! And if you are in a country where Christianity is the dominant religion you will certainly see signs of it everywhere you go! Now, I don’t want to take the fun.

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Is the phonetic alphabet really that powerful?

Posted on December 2, 2007, in About English, About Words, Books and Reading, Power User, Vocabulary, Writing, with 3 Comments

[display_podcast] In an earlier post I talked a little about how an understanding of English grammar can take you a long way to being a better communicator and a better learner. In this post I want to take a quick.

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