I once asked my U.S. neighbour which language he spoke. ‘American!’ was his immediate reply. Noah Webster would have been proud of him. Webster published his ‘American Dictionary of the English Language’ in 1828 with the specific aim of standardising…
Presenting in English part three.
The use of the Colon, Semicolon, Quotation Marks, Capital Letters, and Lists In Presenting in English part one the focus was mainly on structure, while part two concentrated on the enigma of comma usage. In Presenting in English part…
Presenting in English. Part Two.
CEF B2 and above. When proofreading presentation slides for clients, I’m often asked about the following issues: punctuation, capitalisation, and formatting lists. Once again, the rules governing these issues are often ambiguous, complicated, and irregular, and is another reason why…
A table for one, two or three?
CEF A2/B1 Take a look at these two short videos that show how two restaurants are coping with social distancing regulations. Are they crazy, or is this the future? The vocabulary is interesting. How much do you understand? Try the…
Would you want to be ‘chipped’? Is this the future?
Prepositions in English are difficult simply because there are often no rules! Once again we’re dealing here with a grey area in English grammar. The good news is – there are some rules. Let’s take a look at the basics…
Why is English spelling (and pronunciation) so confusing?
It’s an unfortunate fact that when we make a mistake in speaking a second language tolerance is far greater than when a mistake is in writing. This is particularly frustrating for non-native users of English because it’s probably the most…
Presenting in English. Part 1.
‘If you can’t explain it simply, you do not understand it well.’Albert Einstein. ‘Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.’Leonardo da Vinci. B2 and above. Presenting in English for non-native speakers is a challenge that many find daunting. Keeping things as simple as…
Take or Last – what is the difference?
CEF A1/A2 Over the last few days, I’ve been discussing the usage of ‘take’ and ‘last’ with several of my classes. The problem is, of course, in English these two verbs mean the same as the German verb ‘dauern’ Basically,…
What is a prefix and what are the rules?
CEF B2- C2. What is a prefix and what are the rules? A prefix is a word, or part of a word, which – when placed in front of another word- changes the meaning. There are a lot of prefixes…
One advantage of good English grammar.
Level: CEF B2 and above. One advantage of good English grammar is rather surprising, gentlemen. Recent research has revealed that poor grammar, spelling and punctuation can ruin your chances with the ladies. Only one thing puts the girls off more …