Perhaps you have wondered what kinds of books native English-speaking children read and study at school. While today’s book is not currently a school textbook, it was originally intended for children when it was written over 200 years ago – Charles and Mary Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare (1807). It includes retellings of Shakespeare’s plays in […]
🖋️ How much have I looked forward to sharing today’s poem with you – Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s ‘The Lady of Shallott’ (1842 version). As a teenager, I used to listen to a recording of it (if I remember well, narrated by Anton Lesser) and I loved its dramatic expression. I memorised it and recite it
Lesson #163: Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s ‘The Lady of Shallott’ Read More »
📜 I am sharing a poem today that I particularly like: ‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree’ by Irish poet William Butler Yeats (1865-1939). Yeats’ poem rings a chord in these days when we cannot readily travel but can only dream of places of tranquil beauty. In English, we often speak of such places as ‘oases’
Lesson #157: An Oasis to Dream About: Yeats’ ‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree’ Read More »
📘 And so it came about, in the end, that Mr. Spenlow told me this day week was Dora’s birthday, and he would be glad if I would come down and join a little picnic on the occasion. … At six in the morning, I was in Covent Garden Market, buying a bouquet for Dora.
Lesson #156: The Many Different Ways You Can Use ‘Thank You’ In English Read More »
As a short break from the grammatical lessons we have had of late, todays’ lesson will be short and sweet! I have been looking forward to an opportunity to share a favourite poem of mine by William Blake (1757-1827). It is called ‘The Tyger’ (an archaic or old-fashioned way of spelling ‘tiger’) and is often
Lesson #153: How Writing Is Made Memorable: Three Observations On A Poem Read More »
‘I am sorry I have been so long, ma’am,’ said she, gently, as she finished her work. ‘I was afraid it might tear out again if I did not do it carefully.’ She rose. 🧵 ‘I don’t know how to thank you for all you are doing; but I do love you, and will pray
📜 Miss Tita confided to me that at present her aunt was so motionless that she sometimes feared she was dead; moreover she took hardly any food—one couldn’t see what she lived on. – Henry James, The Aspern Papers (1888) If you have been studying or reading in English for a while, chances are that you have
This lesson post completes the yesterday’s, so please make sure to read it before this one. The last principle or rule for distinguishing how to use ‘shall’ vs. ‘will’ in English: … 📝 #5 When describing a future action or decision in a non-interrogative context, should you use ‘shall’ or ‘will’? The best way to
Lesson #150 (Part 2): When Should You Use ‘Shall’ Vs. ‘Will’? Read More »
📘 ‘I beg, Catherine, you will always wrap yourself up very warm about the throat, when you come from the rooms at night; and I wish you would try to keep some account of the money you spend; I will give you this little book on purpose.’ – Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey (1817) Have you
Lesson #150 (Part 1): When Should You Use ‘Shall’ Vs. ‘Will’? Read More »
🪔 “Yesterday was a quiet day, spent in teaching, sewing, and writing in my little room, which is very cosy, with a light and fire …”– Louisa May Alcott, Good Wives (1869) Here we continue our lesson by reviewing seven sets of key verb tenses and time words that often go together. In Part 1 of this lesson, we reviewed
🪔 “I’m the man of the family now papa is away, and I shall provide the slippers, for he told me to take special care of mother while he was gone.” – Louisa May Alcott, Little Women; Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy (1868) As yet another month comes to an end, I have been thinking about
📗 ‘Having decided to conquer the Land of Oz and to destroy the Emerald City and enslave all its people, King Roquat the Red kept planning ways to do this dreadful thing, and the more he planned the more he believed he would be able to accomplish it.’ – L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of
Lesson #147: An Advanced English Sentence Structure That All Native Speakers Use Read More »