2019-06-14 Three Common Forms in Everyday Speech
Have you ever had someone “repair” a home appliance but it kept breaking? I have been having trouble with my sink for a month. Yesterday, the maintenance man repaired it…again.…
2019-06-07 Present Progressive Tense and Showing Annoyance
Samantha Fish is an American songwriter and blues singer. In her song Somebody’s Always Trying, she complains about other, unnamed women. She accuses them of trying to take her boyfriend…
2019-05-31 Too and Either: Short Responses of Agreement
In English conversation, when we respond to a speaker, we often do not repeat all of their words. Instead, we may say just a few words. The speaker understands our…
2019-05-24 The ‘By-phrase’ and the Passive Voice
In a famous scene in the American film Clerks, two of the characters have a disagreement. They debate which “Star Wars” film is the best. “Empire had the better ending.…
2019-05-17 A Simple Sentence with Seven Meanings
In some languages, speakers say each word in a sentence with equal stress. That is true for Japanese, for example. But, as you know, that is not true for English.…
2019-05-10 Science Fiction and the Passive Voice
The Terminator movies, featuring actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, have been some of the most popular films ever made. They tell the story of a resistance leader and the robots sent from…
2019-05-03 Short Form Yes, No Questions
Hello! Do you have a minute? …because I want to tell you something about yes/no questions. As you may know, a yes/no question is a question in which the expected…
2019-04-26 Movies Can Teach You about Verbs and Objects
The 1972 film “The Godfather” is one of the most famous movies ever made. It tells the story of a make-believe organized crime family: the Corleone family. Its leader is…
2019-04-19 So and Neither: Short Responses of Agreement
In the American television show Saturday Night Live, actors make jokes of realistic situations and people, like politicians and sports personalities. In one program, for example, sports reporters Pete and…
2019-04-12 The Word ‘Which’ in the News
Imagine you open an American travel magazine. Perhaps you want to read about other countries and the must-see places to visit in them. Or perhaps you just want to improve…
2019-04-05 The Many Ways We Use ‘Of Course’
In the film, “Love, Of Course,” single mother Amy Andolini finds herself alone after sending her daughter to college. But when she gets a job planning the school’s Harvest Festival…
2019-03-29 Grammar and the News: Nouns Modifying Nouns
Imagine you are looking at an American newspaper or news website. You read a few stories, and see terms such as health care, football game or bank policy.These terms might…
2019-03-22 The Passive Voice with ‘Get’
Have you ever gotten invited to a wedding? If so, who got married — or will get married? Where was the wedding and did you have fun? I went to…
2019-03-15 Other, The Other and Another
It’s springtime in Washington, D.C. and I’m so excited! There are a lot of places to enjoy nature, like the National Arboretum and Rock Creek Park. Some spring days here…
2019-03-08 Diminutives Make Many Things Smaller
Hi everyone! Do you feel like playing a little word game today? I do. OK, here it is: I will give you the words. Your job is to identify the…