Many phrasal verbs can become nouns. For example, you can “start up” a company (phrasal verb) or work in a “start-up” (phrasal noun) – a small company. When a phrasal verb becomes a phrasal noun, sometimes the verb comes first, like “start-up”; and sometimes the preposition comes first, such as “outbreak”. To show that it’s… Read More
When someone offers you something (like an invitation to a party, or more food, or even a great “deal” in a shop, you might want to say “no”. There are many ways to refuse an offer in English, but you must be polite! You can say “No thank you” but there are more advanced ways… Read More
Colds are more common in the winter months, and they’re very “contagious” – if people around you have a cold, you’ll probably get it as well. So how can you talk about having a cold in English? Check out the useful vocabulary to talk about cold symptoms; plus the different types of cold and flu.… Read More
How are you going to celebrate the New Year? If you’re going to a party on 31 December, check out this list of ten phasal verbs for the New Year. They’re all common in spoken English, so when you use them, you’ll sound more like a native speaker. There are also notes on how to… Read More
Is someone important in your life learning English? Do you want to get them a good Christmas present? I’ve got seven ideas for you – a “Christmas gift list” for people learning English. You could also buy yourself one of these presents! (There’s an affiliate link to Amazon on these images and links. This means… Read More
Learning a language is one of the most rewarding things you can do. But it can also be a frustrating process. So if you’re feeling demotivated and unhappy, get positive again with these five top tips for learning English. They’ll help you make the most of your time so you get the best results quickly.… Read More
The next time you see an English advert, look at the language. You’ll find lots of marketing verbs and other “strong” vocabulary. These words attract a customer’s attention because they are strong and persuasive. Here are some typical English marketing verbs and other words. You can also use them when you want to strengthen what… Read More
English prepositions can be difficult to use correctly. First of all, there are lots of them (see this page for the 45 most common ones and their meanings), but also, we have lots of collocations with prepositions. We also have some informal phrases with prepositions that you’ll hear a lot in spoken English. Read on… Read More
Here are some native-speaker expressions and similes for describing people. A simile (pronounced “sim-i-lee”) is a type of comparison. You can make this comparision by saying “as + adjective + as + noun”. There are many similes in English, but these ones are used particularly to describe people. You’ll hear them a lot in spoken… Read More
What’s the easiest, quickest way to improve your English pronunciation? If you’re short of time and want to see immediate results, focus on quick “hacks” (= easy shortcuts). These will help you improve your English pronunciation quickly and effectively. Here are three pronunciation hacks for you to try. They’re based on some of the sounds… Read More
