Blog

To make this easier, we’re going to break all these words into two groups: 1. Despite and in spite of are prepositions, meaning that they must be followed by nouns or verbs in the gerund. Despite having studied, Peter just couldn’t pass the exam. Kelly couldn’t get into the disco in spite of knowing the […]

Fill in the blanks with the correct preposition

I’m normally a happy person, but 1)___ Christmastime, I find myself a bit depressed. It is mostly due 2)___ the fact that I’m far away 3)___my family. They’re 4)___the other side of the Atlantic, 5)___the west coast of the US, 6)___Washington state. I have to spend 15 hours 7)___ a plane …

Can you correct these sentences? Go!
1. How often does Mike and Jim come over?
2. Mary Ann went yesterday to the store.
3. Wendy cooked too long her four-layer creamy death-by-chocolate cake and it burned.
4. Catherine told me I must to visit her soon.

This idiom expresses the idea that in order to know something’s true value or to really know what something is like, you have to try it out first. Sometimes, the corrupted phrase “The proof is in the pudding” is used.  You can use either, though the title one is recommended. Yolanda: Oooh, you made pudding! […]

Put the verb in parentheses in the right tense for each second- or third-conditional sentence

If I 1)___(win) the lottery tomorrow, it 2___(help) me a lot! See, I’m in debt. A lot of debt. Part of my problem was university: I was told that if I 3)___(go) to a great school, I (4)___(get) a great job, and then I (5)___(can) pay off my debts quickly. But in this economy, there are no jobs to be had. I wish I (6)___(go) to …

Like has two main uses, which can sometimes easily be confused.

The first one students often learn is the verb, used to describe something we enjoy or find pleasing:
I like reading books by Chaucer and Shakespeare.
I would like to travel the world.
I never used to like coffee, but now I love it!

Put the following modal verbs into the blanks. You may need a negative!

Can Might Must Will Would

I can’t believe I’ve lost my keys again! This is the second time this week. I really (1)___ stop leaving them in bad places. My dog (2)___ have eaten them, though. He loves eating everything. But if he had eaten them, he (3)___ look horrible right now, and he doesn’t. So the keys (4)___ be inside him. Oh! There they are! Finally! From now on, I (5)___ only leave them on the entry room table!

Put the words in the correct order:

a and create dough eggs flour Mix the to together.
a battery cellphone doesn’t few find hours I last more my than!
cook dishes I has My partner to the wash whenever.
after dictionary I in kids looked looking my some the up while words.
an ball big, in red the There’s ugly, yard.

We use either of these expressions to express the idea that we are preparing something that will be the base of what is to come later.

Lay the groundwork comes from construction, when a foundation must be laid before a building can be built.

Sowing the seeds comes from agriculture, referring to when the seeds are placed in the ground so they can grow and then be harvested later.

Remember, these phrasal verbs are not “take + particle” but rather units, so learn them as such!

Put these verbs in the correct sentence, conjugated as necessary. You may want to look these words up in a dictionary, as they may have secondary meanings! (Just like in that sentence: “look up” isn’t just “turn your eyes to the sky”, it’s also “find information in a reference book”!)