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

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

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

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

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

A “placeholder name” is a name we use to describe a type of person with a particular characteristic. We generally use first names (“Jack” is very popular) but we can also use first names and last names to create the “placeholder”. Placeholder names are very common in informal, spoken English and you’ll hear them a… Read More

If you are involved in planning – especially if you work in a company – you need to refer to years, and important times in the year. Here are essential words and phrases so that you can talk about years in English, time periods, and also historical time. Types Of Years a leap year =… Read More

Are you healthy? Do you often get ill, or do you suffer from a particular condition? This health vocabulary will help you talk about health problems, lifestyles, cures and treatments in English. There are also common collocations to help you use the vocabulary in context. Common Health Problems high blood pressure This is very common… Read More