September 2008

In this Issue

	Free English Online
	Write English
	Build Vocabulary
	Grammar Spot
	Desktop Software
	Try Your own Tutor
	Writing Courses
	Readers' Questions

Free membership

Test Your English

Useful Websites...

	Free Membership
	Online Courses
	Online Grammar
	Grammar FAQ
	Study Guides
	Irregular Verbs
	Confusing Words
	Punctuation
	Study in the UK
	Jobs for Teachers

Study English in the UK

Quick Quote

Man is a creature who lives not upon bread alone, but primarily by catchwords. Robert Louis Stevenson

Confusing Words

later | latter

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New Crossword Section: Build Your Vocabulary

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Try the crossword based on the Plastic Surgery article or the one on Past Forms of English Verbs!

English4Today Crosswords

Grammar Spot : Adverbs of Degree

Sometimes it is a bit hard to tell an adjective from an adverb! In a recent blog posting we covered just this problem while focusing on adverbs of degree.

Adverbs of degree tell us about the intensity or degree of an action, an adjective or another adverb.

Common adverbs of degree:

Almost, nearly, quite, just, too, enough, hardly, scarcely, completely, very, extremely.

Adverbs of degree are usually placed:

1. before the adjective or adverb they are modifying:
   e.g. The water was extremely cold.
2. before the main verb:
   e.g. He was just leaving. She has almost finished.

For more about adverbs see the English4Today Online Grammar and see our Grammar FAQ on adverbs of degree.

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Readers' Questions : The Passive in English

Every month we publish one question from an English4Today member in the newsletter. However, we answer a lot more in the Online Grammar FAQ and a lot of them have podcast sound files with the answers.

This month's question was sent in by Christy, an English4Today member from the Phillipines: Mahesh asks, 'When do we have to use the past participle of the verb when the tense of your statement is in the present tense. This is because I get confused when someone asks me about this. Like for ex. I think your headset is broken. I know this sentence is right, but why use past participle (broken). Thanks?'

Hi Christy, thanks for your question. English can be confusing and I think you’ve landed on one of the areas that is most confusing for a lot of English language learners. Let’s take a look at your example sentence:

• I think your headset is broken

Now what is that? Simple Present? Simple Past? Present Perfect? The sentence seems to be in the Present … but what is that past participle ‘broken’ doing in there?.Well, this sentence is in the Passive and that changes the way we structure the tenses. The Passive takes a little understanding and for the full answer to this question and the way we use and form the Passive take a look at the blog posting and the section on the passive in the English4Today Online English Grammar.

Get the full answer now