2018-09-14 Forming Questions, Part 2: Yes or No Questions
English can be a complex language to master. It has a lot of rules – and breaks many of them. No matter your level of English, forming questions can be…
2018-08-24 Mmm, That’s Good! Using Interjections
Oops! I spilled some coffee.Hmm… Let me think about it.Woohoo! That’s great news. Let’s celebrate. To the untrained ear, sounds like “oops” “hmm” and “woohoo” may seem like nonsense. But…
2018-08-17 Am I Being Watched? The Continuous Passive Form
In his popular 1980s song, American singer Rockwell sang the words, “I always feel like somebody’s watching me.” He doesn’t know who is watching him. And, I suppose that makes…
2018-08-10 Cheer Up! Phrasal Verbs and Emotions
When was the last time you experienced a wide range of emotions over something – from sadness to happiness, or even a sense of relief when a problem was solved?…
2018-08-03 Improve Your Writing with Inversion, Part 2
In last week’s Everyday Grammar, we told you about a few kinds of inversion that are useful in academic writing and common on the TOEFL. But there are others. Today,…
2018-07-27 Improve Your Writing with Inversion, Part 1
In English, the traditional word order of a statement is subject + verb. Never do we change the order except when asking a question. Or do we? If you listened…
2018-07-20 The Exciting World of Participial Adjectives
The English language has a lot of adjectives. Some estimates put the number at several thousand. And while those numbers may sound frightening, adjectives can be exciting! In English, many…
2018-07-13 The Mysterious Word ‘Whose’
Suppose you are at a birthday party. Everyone has a cell phone. Just as the group begins singing to the birthday girl, someone’s phone rings loudly and won’t stop. You…
2018-07-06 Would You Like to Know More About ‘Would’?
In Part 1 of this program, we told you many uses of “would” in everyday speech. Today, we will talk about two more uses. We’ll also look at some important…
2018-06-29 The Many Uses of ‘Would’ in Everyday Speech, Part 1
Imagine that you are visiting a friend in Washington, D.C. Your friend takes you to a popular restaurant. You look at the menu and decide what you want: crab cakes.…
2018-06-22 Before Fearing Adverb Phrases, Read This
When you woke up this morning, you probably did at least five things before you left your home for school or work. Maybe you ate breakfast, took a shower, brushed…
2018-06-15 Do You Know What an Indirect Question Is?
Imagine that your friend is starting a new job today. She is traveling to work by train. She takes the F train to West 4th Street. When she leaves the…
2018-06-08 Cooking with Phrasal Verbs
In a recent program, we told you about phrasal verbs related to food. The program centered on eating food: what, how much and when. You will remember that a phrasal…
2018-05-25 Are You Hungry for Food Phrasals? Part 1
Today’s program is about phrasal verbs related to food and eating. You’ll recall that a phrasal verb is a verb made of two or more words: a verb and a…
2018-05-11 When You See an Adverb Clause, You’ll Know
In the song”When The Saints Go Marching In,” jazz musician Louis Armstrong sings about entering heaven: Yes, I want to be in that number When the saints go marching in…