‘Used to’ or ‘be used to’? 🤔 At first glance it might seem that both of these expressions are the same, but they are not! They imply (help us to understand something without actually saying it directly) two different things. Today’s Lesson will help to clarify the differences between them, with examples taken from another […]
📜 Where true Love burns Desire is Love’s pure flame; It is the reflex of our earthly frame, That takes its meaning from the nobler part, And but translates the language of the heart. – Samuel Taylor Coleridge This very short but thoughtful poem is our text for today’s poetry-based Lesson (you may have noticed
Lesson #204: Considering Coleridge’s poem ‘Desire’ from 3 different perspectives Read More »
We are outlining the usages and differences between the conjunctions ‘if’ and ‘when’ in today’s Lesson, with the help of Anna Sewell’s influential Black Beauty. Not only did Sewell espouse (promoted) animal welfare through it, but the public’s response to it helped to introduce new anti-cruelty legislation in Britain and the U.S.A. – as such,
📗 ‘When it was hot we used to stand by the pond in the shade of the trees, and when it was cold we had a nice warm shed near the grove.’ – Anna Sewell, Black Beauty (1877) … ‘If’ and ‘when’ are two small conjunctions describing time that are often confusing for English language
📚 One question I am often asked is: ‘which classics are good for English language learners?’ It is one of my favourite questions because it allows me to recommend great books that can be useful and enjoyable for you. 😊 As you can tell from this Lesson’s title, I recommend getting started on children’s classics
🌼I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils … – William Wordsworth, ‘The Daffodils’ (1807) 🌼 This is Part 2 of our Lesson on ‘Different Ways of Seeing’: having read Wordsworth’s poem in Part 1, we
🏵️ The first of March – also known as ‘St David’s Day’, Wales’ national day, when the Welsh like to wear small daffodils (or leeks) as a national symbol. That, together with our own daffodils, crocuses, and snowdrops has brought to mind one of the most famous poems in the English language, William Wordsworth’s ‘The
📘 One of Charles Dickens’ most famous novels is Oliver Twist (1838), also one of his earliest works. Even if you haven’t read the book, you may well have watched one of the musicals or movies that have been made on the story. I watched the 1968 Oliver! musical when I was young, and it has remained one of
Lesson #198: Appreciating Descriptive Writing from Dickens’ ‘Oliver Twist’ Read More »
📗 “Take care of the sense, and the sounds will take care of themselves.” – Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) One of the most famous children’s books in the word is certainly Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865), which has been translated into at least 174 since it was first published over
📙 ‘As though a rose should shut And be a bud again.’ – Thomas Hardy, Far From The Madding Crowd (1874) 🥀 … If you have been around native English speakers enjoying a casual conversation, you are likely to have heard them use the word ‘like’ often when making a comparison of some kind. ✒️
Lesson #196: ‘As If’ vs ‘As Though’ through Hardy’s ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’ Read More »
📙 So the Swallow flew over the great city, and saw the rich making merry in their beautiful houses, while the beggars were sitting at the gates. He flew into dark lanes, and saw the white faces of starving children looking out listlessly at the black streets. Under the archway of a bridge
📗 ‘I probably never should have loved him, and if I loved him first, and then made the discovery, I fear I should have thought it my duty not to have married him.’ – Anne Bronte, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall We will continue our Lesson on ‘modal verb forms that express obligation’ here. We