2017-09-01 Reported Speech and the ‘Historic Present’ Tense
The 2008 film, The Dark Knight, tells the story of Batman, a fictional superhero. At one point in the movie, Batman’s enemy, the Joker, says the following lines: My father…
2017-08-25 Academic Writing: Common Patterns, Part Two
The Everyday Grammar team often receives questions about academic writing. Students around the world want to improve their academic writing so that they can gain admission – and succeed –…
2017-08-18 Academic Writing: Common Patterns, Part 1
The new school year is beginning in communities across the United States. Many students are busy at work in their new classes. Some are already thinking about all the homework…
2017-07-28 Starting Sentences With Conjunctions
The film Finding Forrester tells a story of a high school student who becomes friends with a famous writer named William Forrester. Forrester published a single book, then withdrew from…
2017-07-21 Why Americans Use Euphemisms
Comedian George Carlin is famous for talking about language. He is famous for criticizing indirect or overly pleasant speech. Consider these lines from one of his performances: “I don’t like…
2017-07-14 Expletives Are Not Always Bad Words
Many Americans consider Red House, a song by Jimi Hendrix, to be a great piece of Rock and Roll music. “There’s a red house over yonder (baby)…” Today we will…
2017-06-02 The Different Meanings of ‘Take’
Imagine yourself sitting in a movie theater. You are watching a romantic comedy, a love story with a happy ending, such as the 1989 movie When Harry Met Sally. In…
2017-05-26 Different Meanings of ‘Make’ in Everyday Speech
Imagine you are watching the 1991 American film City Slickers. It tells the story of an unhappy man and two of his friends. The men agree they need a short…
2017-05-19 Would You Like to Learn About Modal Auxiliaries?
Imagine you are watching an action movie, such as Mission: Impossible. You hear the following exchange: “Would you like to watch a movie?” “Oh. No, thank you.” “Would you consider…
2017-05-12 Different Meanings of ‘Have’ in Everyday Speech
“There Will Be Blood” is a film about Daniel Plainview, an American oil man in the early part of the 20th century. The film’s story is dark. Plainview builds his…
2017-05-05 Common Ways to Express Purpose
From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar. You may remember our earlier reports on infinitives and gerunds. The infinitive form of a verb can be either its most basic…
2017-04-28 Sentence Relatives: Showing Feeling, Interpreting Information
“The Big Lebowski” is an American movie that has developed a large following. Since its release in the late 1990s, the film has been shown at film festivals, colleges, and…
2017-04-21 Noun Clauses in Everyday Speech
From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar. Almost every American has seen or heard of the movie “Forrest Gump.” The film is a touching story about the life of…
2017-04-14 The Many Ways to Say ‘Okay’
From VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar. Imagine you are watching a film about love, such as “Before Sunrise.“ A couple says goodbye at a train station. They want…
2017-04-07 Using Discourse Markers in American English
Imagine you are watching an old American movie — the crime film “Dirty Harry.” You have heard that one part of the film is very famous in American culture. You…