š He knew his power over her. He knew that she would not insist upon his leaving her. He knew that, her fears for him being aroused, she would be uneasy if he were out of her sight. For all his seeming levity and carelessness, he knew whatever he chose to know of the thoughts […]
Many English language students struggle with memorising the many different verb forms we have in our language. It can be difficult, especially when they are studied out of context. So in today’s lesson, I hope to share 3 essential verb forms that are not only commonly used on a daily basis by native English speakers, but
Lesson #168: 3 Important Irregular Verb Forms in Dickens’ ‘The Old Curiosity Shop’ Read More Ā»
š Here was one of the advantages of having lived alone so long! The little bustling, active, cheerful creature existed entirely within herself, talked to herself, made a confidante of herself, was as sarcastic as she could be, on people who offended her, by herself; pleased herself, and did no harm. If she indulged in
š And so it came about, in the end, that Mr. Spenlow told me this day week was Doraās 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 Ā»
In the first part of this lesson (see previous post), we talked about small changes you can introduce in your writing that make a huge difference in how others read and understand it. After all your effort writing something, the last thing you want is for someone to skim or even ignore all you had
I am dedicating today’s lesson to three important points that I often find missing in work that I proofread. These three points might seem obvious or too minute to make a difference, but trust me, they will help to clarify your writing greatly. Clear writing is always the first step towards great writing. … š
Here we will look at a paragraph fromĀ Dombey and SonĀ that illustrates how many āNON-ESSENTIAL CLAUSESā (defined in the last post) Dickens tended to use. āļø By including such essential or non-essential clauses in your writing, you are discreetly REINFORCING or even INTRODUCING information that would otherwise āclutterā your writing, and you are doing it in
Have you ever tried to write a sentence only to realise that you cannot seem to fit all the important points you wish to mention? We all understand that very long sentences are counterproductive; I am not recommending that you write those! But I have learnt that it is very effective sometimes to include some
In the previous post, we defined gerunds and participles in English grammar and discussed the differences between them. We also read two passages from Hard Times (1854) by Charles Dickens in order to find out which ones contain gerunds or participles. Do you have confidence in your ability to identify gerunds from present participles when
For many students, one tricky point in English grammar is understanding the distinction between gerunds and participles. How do you find them? Are they understandable? If not, thatās fine! I will offer a brief explanation and a couple of illustrations from Charles Dickensā classic,Ā Hard Times.Ā Firstly, aĀ participleĀ is a word that derives from a verb and can end with
Mini-lesson Monday, Part 2: 2) While having the definitions of difficult vocabulary does help us to understand the passage, the most important thing when reading this paragraph from the opening pages ofĀ Bleak HouseĀ ( as seen in the previous post) is to focus on the repetitive word āFOGā particularly in the context of Londonās setting, establishes
Another Monday, another mini-lesson (in 2 posts; this is part 1): My inspiration today comes from Charles Dickens, one of the most popular authors in the English language. Bleak HouseĀ (1853) is a favourite of mine, a long, two-volume novel that interweaves two narrative voices in an intriguing story. I will quote from its opening pages: