It goes without saying (it is obvious) today’s literary author is a well-known figure, someone whom you have undoubtedly heard of before: William Shakespeare. You might have heard about his longest play, Hamlet. 📜 Additionally, you may well recognise the famous quote, ‘To be, or not to be – that is the question’, derived from […]
If you have been following my Short Lessons for a while, you might remember that every so often I like to return to the poetry of one of my favourite American poets, Emily Dickinson (1830-1886).🌼 My recent lessons have been filled with explanations and thorough guidance. Today’s lesson will be different because you will have
In light of the ongoing war and widespread migration of refugees throughout Europe, many of us are reconsidering what languages we are studying and why. In what way does having another language help you? 💭 Practically speaking, it can help us to find a job, to secure accommodation, to make friends and even communicate with
📘 “We got together in a few days a company of the toughest old salts imaginable – not pretty to look at, but fellows, by their faces, of the most indomitable spirit.” ― Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island (1883) For a long time I have been intending to prepare a special Lesson on Robert Louis Stevenson’s most
In light of the recent events that are taking place in Ukraine even as I write, I have been reflecting a lot on how the media documents and shares its findings with audiences everywhere. I have also been thinking about how people act – if they act differently at all – after reading the news.
📙 The old man, contrary to expectation, seemed to be on the way to recovery, when one night Silas, sitting up by his bedside, observed that his usual audible breathing had ceased. – George Eliot, Silas Marner (1861) How would you describe something dramatic and memorable that happened to you ‘one night’, as happened to
The book was interesting and it was old and it was long and it was a French book too. This is a very odd sentence! ❔ Do you know how it could be improved? In a nutshell (in a few words), we could replace all the ‘and it was’ phrases with commas. So we would
Have you heard of negative prefixes in English before? 🧐 👩🏫 While the grammatical term is a bit of a mouthful, they are nothing to worry about. In fact, they are useful little syllables that we place at the beginning of a word (a noun, adjective, adverb, or verb) to indicate that its meaning has
If you have been learning English for some time, you may have listened to speeches given by politicians, actors, or artists. A common trope (literary or artistic feature) you will notice in such speeches is that of repetition – the repetition of some words or phrases for effect. English literature also has plenty of examples
Welcome to the last section of our Lessons on common mistakes learners of English make (and Part 2 of Lesson #273). With the help of Virginia Woolf’s first novel, The Voyage Out (1915), we are analysing the main mistakes that Spanish students make when learning English. … 21 COMMON MISTAKES (CONTINUED) 📝 #11 ‘TH’ SOUND
Lesson #273: Mistakes Spanish Speakers tend to make in English (Part 2) Read More »
This is our last Lesson in our 5-part series looking at common mistakes English language students tend to make. If you have been following these since the start of November, you will have noticed that there are always some points that challenge more than one group of students (for example, affecting Russian as well as
Lesson #273: Mistakes Spanish Speakers tend to make in English (Part 1) Read More »
If you have been following our Lessons since the start of November, you will have noticed that we are taking a look at some common mistakes made by students from different language backgrounds. I always mention that these Lessons are not a criticism of your mistakes! I hope instead to offer some helpful points on
Lesson #272: Common Issues for Hebrew Speakers studying English (Part 1) Read More »