After three months at home (where we can only go out for essential food shopping, or exercise) we probably won’t look our best! Many of us go to the hairdresser every couple of months – but we might also have to miss non-essential dental appointments. Here are some of the things that we might rush… Read More
If you’re self-isolating at home, you probably feel a little bored and anxious. But there are ways to stay “sane” when the world is changing every second. In fact, there’s a lot you can do now, so that when we’re finally finished with the pandemic, you’ll be ready to face the world again! Here are… Read More
There are many words which start with the prefix “self”. We use the prefix “self” before nouns and adjectives, and it means “related to yourself” or “related to itself”. For example, “self-care” means “taking care of yourself”. Here are 30 expressions with the prefix “self”. Words with “self” in the news Self-isolate and self-isolation mean… Read More
The Coronavirus has spread throughout the world, and the World Health Organisation has said that the world is now in uncharted territory (we’ve never been here before). How can you talk about this disease in English – and what vocabulary do you need to talk about prevention, recovery and the impact of the virus on… Read More
You probably know the common ways to make suggestions or give advice. Check out this page for a refresher on how to use “If I were you”, “You should”, “You ought to”, etc. But native-English speakers use many more phrases for suggestions. Here are seven advanced phrases for you to try. There’s also a section… Read More
The grammar of English questions is quite complicated. It’s difficult to remember which auxiliary verb you need – or then to get the right word order. This isn’t easy in situations when you have time to think – for example, when you’re writing. But when you’re speaking to someone, there’s even less time. One solution… Read More
Most people start learning English at school – but even after years of study they still aren’t fluent. Why is this? Is there a better method to become fluent? Most of what you learn in typical English lessons doesn’t help you with fluency. It can help with passing exams and tests, but there are other… Read More
There are four stages of learning English – and each one is an important stage in the journey. Where are you on your English journey? Do you feel that you are at the beginning, where you only use certain, “sure” phrases or vocabulary? Or are you in a learning stage, where you’re happy to experiment,… Read More
We say “used to doing something” with the verb “to be” or “to get” when we want to talk about things that are familiar to us. You can use these forms when you want to talk about the process of adapting to something new – life in a new country, your experiences in a new… Read More
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
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