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Some of you have learned that you need to use “a” in front of words beginning with consonants, and “an” with words beginning with vowels.  While the rule is easy, it’s not quite right: you need to use “a” with words beginning with consonant sounds and “an” with words beginning with vowel sounds. I drive […]

  Can you complete each sentence with the correct preposition? Go! Fill in the blanks with “in”, “at”, or “on”. I knew you’d come back to me __ the end. I’m almost __ the end of the book—no spoilers! Ian is __ the hospital right now, visiting his sister. Ian’s sister is __ the hospital […]

  We use the expressions, either in negative or positive, to discuss good or bad luck caused by being somewhere at the precise moment something happens. It can be bad: She just happened to be standing right under the window when the glass broke.  A meter away, or five minutes earlier, and no problem.  But […]

This is a very difficult modal verb for Spanish speakers, as it’s very hard to directly translate it into Spanish.  But in English, it’s sometimes necessary. Some of you will undoubtedly already know this verb for its use for the future for the first person I shall go to the shops after lunch We shall […]

Fill in the blanks with “on” or “in”. The train was due to arrive at 4:02pm, and it arrived precisely __ time, neither early nor late. I turned on the TV just __ time to see the last three seconds of the show before the commercials started. Sherlock Holmes noticed that Irene Adler, who was […]

I can’t tell you where this expression comes from, but it refers to someone being happy, refreshed, and ready to take on the world after a good night’s sleep. e.g. The baby finally slept through the night, and I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. This expression, however, is often used ironically, particularly to refer to […]

Can you conjugate the words in parenthesis correctly to finish the sentence? Go! I __________ (never/see) any “Star Wars” films Jeff ___________ (never/see) any “Star Wars” films before he died. Larry _______ (live) in New Orleans until his 21st birthday. Francine ___________ (live) in Orleans since her 21st birthday. Betty ___________ (not/do) her homework yet. […]

  Spanish uses the word to refer to the whole collection, from where the logs and fire are to where the smoke goes out of.  English, however, only uses this word to refer to how the smoke leaves the house.  Where the fire and logs are is called the “fireplace”. I started a nice, warm […]

  Can you put the words in order to form a correct sentence in English? Go! a double for got Kyle parking ticket . a for light Mary police stopped red running The . a almost and another car hit Jeff rolled sign stop through . his never Paul signals turn uses , annoys really […]

  We use this expression to describe someone who loves gardening and has a natural talent for it. My garden looks okay, but Mary has the real green thumb–just look at how amazing her tomatoes are!