Basic English - Future Forms - 30 Essential Lessons for Beginning English Learners

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English for Information Technology - Essential English Skills for Information Technology

Computer specialists develop and maintain the computer equipment and software programs that form the basis of the Internet. They make up the majority of professional and related occupations, and account for about 34 percent of the industry as a whole. Computer programmers write, test, and customize the detailed instructions, called programs or software, that computers follow to perform various functions such as connecting to the Internet or displaying a Web page. Using programming languages such as C++ or Java, they break down tasks into a logical series of simple commands for the computer to implement.

Computer software engineers analyze user needs to formulate software specifications, and then design, develop, test, and evaluate programs to meet these requirements. While computer software engineers must possess strong programming skills, they generally focus on developing programs, which are then coded by computer programmers.

Computer systems analysts develop customized computer systems and networks for clients. They work with organizations to solve problems by designing or tailoring systems to meet unique requirements and then implementing these systems. By customizing systems to specific tasks, they help their clients maximize the benefit from investment in hardware, software, and other resources.

Computer support specialists provide technical assistance to users who experience computer problems. They may provide support either to customers or to other employees within their own organization. Using automated diagnostic programs and their own technical knowledge, they analyze and solve problems with hardware, software, and systems. In this industry, they connect with users primarily through telephone calls and e-mail messages.

Essential English for Information Technology

List of the Top 200 Information Technology Vocabulary

Speak about development needs using modals

Examples:

Our portal needs an SQL backend.
The landing page should inlude blog posts and an RSS feed.
Users can access use the tag cloud to find content.

Speak about probable causes

There must have been a bug in the software.
We can't have used that platform.
They might test our product if we ask.

Speak about hypotheses (if / then)

Examples:

If the zipcode textbox is required for registration, users outside the US won't be able to join.
If we used C++ to code this project, we would have to hire some developers.
Our UI would have been much more simple if we had used Ajax.

Speak about quantities

Examples:

There a lot of bugs in this code.
How much time will it take to ramp up this project?
Our client has a few comments about our mockup.

Distinguish between countable and uncountable nouns

Examples:

Information (uncountable)
Silicon (uncountable)
Chips (countable)

Write / give instructions

Examples:

Click on 'file' -> 'open' and choose your file.
Insert your user ID and password.
Create your user profile.

Write business (letters) e-mails to clients

Examples:

Writing e-mails
Writing memos
Writing reports

Explain past causes for current situations

Examples:

The software had been installed incorrectly, so we reinstalled in order to proceed.
We were developing the code base when we were put on the new project.
The legacy software had been in place for five years before the new solution was designed.

Ask questions

Examples:

Which error message do you see?
How often do you need to reboot?
Which software were you using when the computer screen froze?

Make suggestions

Examples:

What don't you install a new driver?
Let's create a wireframe before we go any further.
How about creating a custom table for that task?

Information Technology Related Dialogues and Reading

Hooking Up My Computer
Hardware Deductions
Social Networking Sites

Information technology job description provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Interactive English

Interactive Exercises in English is good for intermediate and advance learners of English. The exercises offer a lot of practice on the use of idioms and expressions. 

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The Funny Grammar Guide to Misused Words | Oxbridge Editing Blog

No matter how many spellings you learn, punctuation rules you master and grammar guides you read, it is still easy to make mistakes by using the wrong word, especially in cases where two words look or sound very similar. This is a particularly common problem due to the modern computer spelling and grammar check, which will pick up spelling errors and missing punctuation, but will not be able to detect that you have used the wrong word in a sentence.

Commonly confused words are often homophones (words that are spelled differently but sound the same) or just complex words with similar spellings. Often writers can be concentrating so hard on remembering how to spell a word correctly that they completely fail to notice that it isn’t the right word to use! We’ve chosen some commonly confused word groups and some funny, misspelled signs to help you avoid making the same mistakes in your own writing.

By, buy, bye and bi

This is a typical group of homophones – the words all sound the same but have completely different uses in the English language. They are commonly confused, as you can see from this embarrassing used-car company sign.

Just remember: by means next to, or may be used to describe how something is done.

For example: The cat is sitting by the fire. Or, turn on the television by pressing the green button.

Buy is a verb, meaning to purchase something.

For example: I am going to buy some chicken for dinner.

Bye is an abbreviation of the word ‘goodbye’, used when bidding somebody farewell.

For example: “Bye!” shouted Peter, as he ran down the drive.

Bi is a prefix added to some words to imply the sense of half or of a pair– much in the same way as the prefix ‘semi’.

For example: The festival takes place biannually.

There, their and they’re

This is perhaps the number one most commonly confused group of homophones, because all three words are used extremely frequently in the English language.

There is the trickiest one to remember, as it has two meanings: it might denote place, or can be used in the phrases ‘there is’ and ‘there are’.

For example: The shop is over there. Or, are there any apples left?

Their is used to denote plural ownership.

For example: They are doing their homework, at their house.

They’re is an abbreviation of the phrase ‘they are’, and can only be used in this context.

For example: They’re going swimming because they’re bored.

Other commonly misused word pairs

Look out for these other frequently misused word pairs and take extra care when writing them to make sure you have chosen the right word!

• Your (belonging to you) and you’re (you are).
• Accept (to take) and except (apart from).
• Affect (verb) and effect (noun).
• Cite (to refer to), site (location) and sight (vision).
• Desert (e.g. Sahara) and dessert (e.g. bannoffee pie!).
• Its (belonging to it) and it’s (it is).
• Practise (verb) and practice (noun).
• Stationary (still) and stationery (office supplies).
• Who’s (who is) and whose (belonging to who).

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15 Most Unbelievable English Words [infographic]

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English Contractions - How to Use Contractions

Using Contractions

In everyday spoken English forms of the verb 'to be' and other auxiliary verbs are usually contracted:

Example: He's been to London, They aren't our neighbors

Here is a chart of when to use the most common contractions in English.

Auxiliary Form	Contractions With Pronouns	Contractions With Nouns	Contractions With Question Words
am	I'm working this morning.	-	What'm I supposed to say? (common only in spoken English)
is	He's going to come. - She's a teacher. - It's easy!	John's at work. - Mary's playing the piano at the moment.	Who's on the telephone? - What's he doing?
are	You're a great friend! - They're playing golf this afternoon.	The books're on their way. (common only in spoken English)	What're you going to do?
has	He's been to Paris twice. - It's been such a long time! - She's lived there all her life.	Mary's gone to the store.	What's she been doing? - Who's been invited?
have	I've finished my homework. - They've got two cars.	The students've finished their homework. (common only in spoken English)	Where've you been all day? (common only in spoken English)
had	He'd been waiting for three hours. - We'd better be going.	Jack'd worked there before he left. (common only in spoken English)	What'd you done before that? (common only in spoken English)
will	I'll get you something to eat. - We'll be there soon.	Peter'll catch the bus to work.	What'll we do? Where'll you take us?
would	I'd like some fish. They'd love to ask you some questions.	Jane'd love to come.	Where'd you like to go? (common only in spoken English)

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Rule: Do not use the contracted form of the auxiliary in formal writing

Example: Dear Mr Brown,

I would like to invite you to our company presentation ...

NOT!!: Dear Mr Brown,

I'd like to invite you to our company presentation ...

More Grammar Help

• Beginning Grammar
• Lower Intermediate Grammar
• Intermediate Grammar
• Upper Intermediate Grammar
• Advanced Grammar

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10 Hyphenation Tips

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Beginning English Multiple Choice Tests

Beginning English Multiple Choice Test

Choose the correct word or phrase to complete each question. Each question has only one correct answer. When you are finished click on the "Next Question" button. There are 50 questions to this quiz. Try to use only 20 seconds per question. At the end of the quiz, you will receive quiz feedback.

Lower Level Review

Beginning English Grammar Review
Lower Intermediate English Grammar Review

Other Grammar Review

A, An, The - Definite and Indefinite Article Review Quiz
Auxiliary Verb Review

Was this quiz too easy? Here are quizzes for higher level learners.

Advanced Sentence Structure

Sentence Changes 1
Sentence Changes 2
Time Expressions Review

Verb Form Quizzes

Past Tenses 1
Verb Forms 1
Verb Forms 2
Past or Perfect 1
Conditional Forms 1
More Quizzes

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“Don't feel obligated to come if you're too busy.” - Daily English Phrases

You're having a party next weekend. You want to invite one of your friends, who's a very busy person. You don't want to make her feel pressured, so you say:

Don't feel obligated to come if you're too busy.

feel obligated to (do something)

"Feeling obligated" to do something means that you feel like you have to do it. People usually feel obligated to do things for social reasons, like because a friend or neighbor asked them to do it. For example:

I feel obligated to help because, you know, he helped us out a couple of months ago.

I don't really want to go, but I feel kind of obligated.

Don't feel obligated to (do something)

This is an expression that you can use when you're afraid that it will seem like you're pressuring someone too much to do something. In the example above, the speaker is worried that his invitation will make the friend feel that she has to come. He doesn't want to cause stress for her, so he says "Don't feel obligated..."

come (to an event)

When do you use "come" and when do you use "go" to talk about attending an event? Here are some guidelines:

• Use "come" to talk about an event that you're having at your house or office, or that you're organizing.

  I'm having a party. Do you want to come?

• Use "go" for an event that you're not going to attend.

  I'm not going.

• Use "go" for something that you're planning to go to, but use "come" to talk about the listener joining you:

  I'm going to this Halloween party. Do you want to come?

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Top 5 short videos for Business English warm-ups | Teacher Training Blog

Here’s a small collection of short videos I’ve used to set the mood of Business English lessons, to provoke some interesting discussions and to promote some language noticing.

Negotiation – Fifth Element (film)

Specially funny for those who haven’t watched the film; or who don’t remember the scene. It works well in discussions on negotiating styles and cross-cultural differences.

Talent = 10,000 hours + luck

One of my favorites! So much material for discussion, and the guy speaks quite fast which is good to challenge students’ comprehension (and attention!); also a bit of bad language and sarcasm, just enough to be funny and critical at the same time.

 

Did you know? (Technology)

Not so up-to-date but still incredible. I often ask students to choose one of two pieces of data here and comment on them, trying to relate what they see in the video to  their own lives.

 

Monty Phyton’s – Job Interview

Actually, this is my favorite! No much to say, just watch it and enjoy! Chances are you already did, but not one of my students had when I showed them, so even if it’s old, it’s new.

Hiring the Right People – Mark Zuckerberg

Quite challenging concepts here for those used to traditional recruitment processes  where specific qualifications and lots of experience are the order of the day. This video is part of a series made by Stanford University.

 

And you? Any videos you use in Business English lessons? Let us know!

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Basic English - Past Simple - Essential Lessons for Beginning English Learners

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Word of the Day | placebo

placebo •\plə-ˈsē-(ˌ)bō\• noun

: an innocuous or inert medication; given as a pacifier or to the control group in experiments on the efficacy of a drug

The word placebo has appeared in 112 New York Times articles in the past year, including on Sept. 13 in “A Squirt of Insulin May Delay Alzheimer’s,” by Gina Kolata:

A small pilot study has found preliminary evidence that squirting insulin deep into the nose where it travels to the brain might hold early Alzheimer’s disease at bay, researchers said on Monday.

The study, published online in the Archives of Neurology, included 104 people, a group small enough that the promising results could have occurred by chance.

Researchers at the University of Washington divided the subjects into three groups. One got a placebo, one got 20 international units of aerosolized insulin a day, and the third got 40 international units a day.

… One hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease is reduced metabolism in the brain, which shows up on scans as less use of glucose, the fuel for brain cells. In this assessment, those getting insulin used more glucose in their brains; those taking placebos used less.

The Word of the Day and its definitions have been provided by the language-loving minds behind Vocabulary.com and the Visual Thesaurus.

Learn more about the word “placebo” and see usage examples across a range of subjects on the Vocabulary.com dictionary.

Click on the word below to map it and hear it pronounced:

Explore placebo in the Visual Thesaurus »

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The English Blog: Words in the News: Scrutiny

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Nice stories for kids in StoryBird

Since I was young, I have always loved reading stories. StoryBird has a big collection of stories for kids as well as the kids at heart. Read one story I saw today in StoryBird!

The Short but Sad Tale of a Girl Named Bella Luna by philomath on Storybird

Nice stories for kids in StoryBird

Since I was young, I have always loved reading stories. StoryBird has a big collection of stories for kids as well as the kids at heart. Read one story I saw today in StoryBird.

The Short but Sad Tale of a Girl Named Bella Luna by philomath on Storybird

When to use Who or Whom?

A CLIL to Climb is one of the blogs I follow ; in fact I even have it listed in my Google Reader. Here is one good grammar lesson from CLIL to Climb which I am re-posting here in my blog. I am even confused sometimes if I should use 'who' or 'whom'.

via acliltoclimb.blogspot.com

I searched the Internet for more online resource about using  'who' or 'whom' and I found another good one from WikiHow. 

1. Understand the difference between who and whom. Both who and whom are pronouns. However, "who" is used as the subject of a sentence or phrase, to denote who is doing something (like he or she). On the other hand, "whom" is used as the object of a verb, to denote who has something done to it (like him or her). While a preposition (at, by, for, in, with, etc.) often comes before "whom", this is not always the case, so the key question is to ask "who is doing what to whom". What follows is a quick way to determine which pronoun to use in a particular question.

2 Use whom when referring to the object of a verb.

• To whom it may concern:
• To whom did you talk today?
• Whom does Sarah love?

3 Use who when referring to the subject of a sentence or phrase.

• Who brought the paper inside?
• Who talked to you today?
• Who went to dinner?
• Who ate the cake?

4 Ask yourself if the answer to the question would be he or him. If you can answer the question with him, then use whom. It's easy to remember because they both end with "m". If you can answer the question with he, then use who.

• Example: A suitable answer to the question, "To [who or whom] did the prize go?" is, "It went to him." (It is improper to say "It went to he.") The correct pronoun for the question is whom.
• Example: A suitable answer to the question, "[Who or Whom] went to the store?" is, "He went to the store." (It is improper to say "Him went to the store.") The correct pronoun for the question who.

5 When trying to decide whether who or whom is correct, simplify the sentence. Where other words in a complex sentence might throw you off track, simplify the sentence to include just the basic subject, verb, and object. It helps to move the words around in your head to identify the word relationships. For example:

• "Marie Antoinette and her ladies-in-waiting only invited people to their party [who or whom] they considered to love parties as much as they did." The simplified mental version becomes: "whom they considered."
• "Marie Antoinette prevented her mother from knowing [who or whom] she invited to the Petit Trianon." The simplified mental version becomes: "[who or whom] she invited." Then, you could rearrange it again to say: "she invited whom", clarifying that she did something to (invited) whom.

6 The distinction between who and whom is less important in informal spoken language than it is in formal written language. It's possible that the distinction might someday erode away altogether. For now, though, it is important to keep the clear in written language.

via wikihow.com

I searched more and I found a good  video from YouTube about using  'who' or 'whom'.

Ambiguous Words

http://muse.dillfrog.com/ambiguous_words.php

ESL Video Quiz - Mr Bean Goes to the Dentist

ESLVideo is one of my favorite video ESL sites because in this site I can watch a video and learn and practice English as well. Teachers can make video quizzes in this site too. 

Grammaropolis

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How To Avoid 10 Common Grammar Mistakes | General Writing

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Using TO and FROM

Many English learners have difficulties understanding the difference between of and from in English. This comes from the fact that a number of languages, including romance languages such as Italian and French, as well as German, use the same preposition for both of and from. For example, In Italian the phrase, I am from Milan or I come from Milan can be translated as, Sono di Milano. The possessive use of 'of' in English can also use the preposition 'di' in Italian. For example, the phrase, He's a friend of ours can be translated into Italian as, E un amico di noi.

In other words, the preposition 'di' in Italian corresponds to the use of both from and of in English. This is true in many languages. In English, however, there is a distinct difference between of and from.

This short guide to the differences between of and from in English should help you avoid English usage mistakes in the future.

OF

Of - Possession

Of is mainly used as a possessive. For example,

He's a friend of mine.
The color of the house is red.

It is important to remember that it is more common to use the possessive 's' or the possessive adjective in English, than to use 'of' - even if 'of' is grammatically correct. Thus, the sentences above would generally be in these forms:

He's my friend.
The house's color is red.

Common Phrases with 'Of' - All of / Both of

Of is also commonly used with 'all' and 'both' to describe a common trait that many objects share. For example,

All of the students in the class enjoy volleyball.
Both of the assignments are due at the end of the week.

Common Phrases with 'Of' - One of the most ...

Another common phrase with of is 'one of the + superlative form + plural noun + singular verb'. This phrase is commonly used to focus on a specific object that stands our from a group. Notice that although the plural noun is used, the singular phrase takes the singular conjugation of the verb because the subject is 'One of the ...'. For example,

One of the most interesting things about my job is the people I meet.
One of the most difficult subjects for me is math.

FROM

From - Origins

From is generally used to express that something originates from something else, that something comes from somewhere, or some person. For example,

Jack comes from Portland.
This formula derives from the work of Peter Schimmel.
This pearl comes from the South Pacific.

From - To / From - Until

From can also be used with the prepositions 'to' and 'until' to mark the beginning and ending point of time of an action or state. Generally, 'from ... to' is used with past tenses, while 'from ... until' is used when speaking about future actions. However, 'from ... to' can be used in most situations. For example,

I played tennis from two until four in the afternoon yesterday.
We are meeting in Chicago from Monday until Thursday.

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Basic English - Comparative Form - Essential Lessons for Beginning English Learners

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Read Aloud Storybooks | RubbishBooks

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  by  Fred Seibert 

Students - English as a Second Language - Cambridge University Press

Connect Arcade

Test your skills with interactive activities and download self-study audio either as MP3s or formatted for your portable media player.

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How to Never Lose at Tic-Tac-Toe

How to Use Commonly Misused Words

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Learn how to use commonly misused words correctly. Read the list below, and consult a dictionary for the proper meanings of words as well as irregular verb conjugations.

Contents

• 1 Steps
  • 1.1 "Affect" and "Effect"
  • 1.2 "Anxious" and "Eager"
  • 1.3 " Convince" and "Persuade"
  • 1.4 "Could of" and "Could have"
  • 1.5 "Decimate" and "Devastate"
  • 1.6 "Each other" and "One another"
  • 1.7 "E.g." and "I.e."
  • 1.8 "Good" and "Well"
  • 1.9 "Historic" and "Historical"
  • 1.10 "If" and "Whether"
  • 1.11 "Lay" and "Lie"
  • 1.12 "Like," "As," "Such as," and "As though"
  • 1.13 "Prone" and "Supine"
  • 1.14 "Raise" and "Rise"
  • 1.15 "Real" and "Really"
  • 1.16 "Set" and "Sit"
  • 1.17 "Shall, "Will," "Should," "Would"
  • 1.18 "To," "Too," and "Two"
  • 1.19 "Which" and "That"
  • 1.20 "Who's" and "Whose"
  • 1.21 "Hilarious" and "Hysterical"
• 2 Tips
• 3 Related wikiHows
• 4 Sources and Citations

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Steps

"Affect" and "Effect" Effect

1. "Effect" is a noun referring to something that happens as a result of something else, e.g., "The antibiotic had little effect on the illness."
2. "Effect" is also a verb meaning to bring something about, e.g., "I have decided to effect a change in the scope of this article."

Affect

1. The verb "affect" means to change something in some way, e.g., "His steady gaze affected my ability to breathe."
2. The noun "affect" is used fairly rarely. It refers to a display of an inner state of mind, e.g., "Her affect is subdued this evening."

"Anxious" and "Eager" "Anxious" should refer to anxiety and not pleasant feelings such as enthusiasm or excitement. It should be followed by a gerund (the "–ing" verb form), not an infinitive ("to" and the verb). Use "eager" with the infinitive.

• "He was anxious about becoming the President." (He had an uncomfortable feeling about it.)
• "He was anxious to become the President."
• "He was eager/ready to become the President." (He was happy about it.)
• "He was waiting to become the President."

" Convince" and "Persuade" You convince a person of the truth or validity of an idea; you persuade a person to take action. "Convince" is usually followed by "that" or "of" whereas "persuade" is followed by an infinitive.

• "The teacher convinced her students that good grammar could aid in communication."
• "The teacher persuaded her students to use good grammar."

"Could of" and "Could have" Modals ("could," "would," "should," "may," "might," "must") use the auxiliary verb "have," not the preposition "of." The auxiliary can be contracted as "'ve" (as in "could've" and "couldn't've").

• Incorrect: "She must of done it."
• Correct: "She must have (or "must've") done it."

"Decimate" and "Devastate" "Decimate", a great word from ancient Rome, means "kill one of every ten soldiers." Using creative license, you would be correct in saying that the flu decimated Larry's sixth grade class, if ten percent of the class were home sick. Remember that "decimate" is similar to "decimal," which refers to counting by tens. Oftentimes, "decimate" is misused to mean "devastate," which means "overwhelm or lay waste to." Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, but did not decimate its population. "Each other" and "One another" "Each other" is used for two; "one another" is used for more than two.

• "The two brothers helped each other study."
• "These five businesses compete with one another."

"E.g." and "I.e." These Latin abbreviations can add formality to your writing. Use "e.g." (exemplī grātiā) to mean "for example" or "such as" and "i.e." (id est) to mean "that is" or "in other words." Remember the "i" in "in other words" and the "e" in "for example." The comma after "e.g." or "i.e." is optional. "Good" and "Well" "Good" is an adjective or noun; "well" is usually an adverb. Say "I am doing good" only if "good" is a noun. For instance, charities can do good. Otherwise, use "well" with all verbs other than linking and be verbs. "I am doing good today" is incorrect (unless you are doing good things, like Superman) but you can say "I am good today."

• Incorrect: "She cannot see good." (Use "well.")
• Incorrect: "This car runs good." (Use "well.")
• Incorrect: "This plan works real good." (Use "very well.")
• Correct: "This plan sounds good." ("Good" follows the linking verb "sounds.")
• Correct: "I am well today." ("Well" is an adjective showing my well-being and health.)

"Historic" and "Historical" To help avoid confusion, use "historical" for things that happened in history or pertain to history; reserve "historic" for things that were important in history. "A historical character" is a character from history; "a historic character" is an important character from history. Note that "a" is usually the proper article for both "historic" and "historical." "An historic" and "an historical" are proper if you use the alternative pronunciation with a silent "h." "If" and "Whether" Use "whether" with verbs such as "know," "ask," or "learn" that refer to verifying something. If you are not sure which to use, try rewriting the sentence with the if-clause at the beginning. If the sentence does not make sense or it is not possible to move the if-clause, choose "whether."

• "He did not know if they would arrive early."
• "If they would arrive early, he did not know."
• "He did not know whether they would arrive early."Occasionally, either "if" or "whether" is correct. In the sentences below, either "if" or "whether" can be used to show that he will inform us about their arrival.
• "He will tell us if they arrive on Monday."
• "He will tell us whether they arrive on Monday." (He will inform us regardless of whether they arrive or not.)
• "If they arrive on Monday, he will tell us." (He will contact us only if they arrive on Monday.)

"Lay" and "Lie" Use "lay" if you mean "put" or "place." Use "lie" if you mean "rest." "Lie" is intransitive and is thus used with prepositions such as "on" or adverbs such as "here." "Lay" is transitive and takes an object. The past tense forms are confusing. "Lay" is, in fact, the past tense of "lie," so you would say, "I lay in bed yesterday." Use "lain" with "to have": "I have lain in bed for two hours." If you mean "tell a lie," use "lied" in the past tense and with "to have." The "–ing" form for "lie" in either sense is "lying." For "lay," use "laid" in the past tense and with "to have." "Like," "As," "Such as," and "As though" In the written language, avoid using "like" for "as" or "such as." “Like” in these senses is nonstandard and can also be ambiguous. For example, the phrase “nineteenth century writers like Dickens” should refer to writers who a) produced works in the nineteenth century and b) are being compared with Dickens. If the writer is just talking about nineteenth century writers in general and is giving Dickens as an example, it is proper to write “nineteenth century writers such as Dickens.”[1] Use “such as” if you can write “nineteenth century writers (e.g. Dickens).” “Like” for “as if” or "as though" is informal.

• It’s like he never existed.
• It is as though he never existed.

"Prone" and "Supine" "Prone" means lying on your stomach (face down). "Supine" means lying on your back (face up). "Raise" and "Rise" "Raise" is the transitive verb; "rise" is the intransitive verb. Use "rise" to refer to getting up (including getting out of bed) or going up (e.g., a building rising). To say that something increases, you can use either "rise" or "be raised." It is not possible to use "rise" with an object. Note that "raise" is regular in all of its conjugations. For "rise," use "rose" in the past tense ("The prices rose") and "risen" with "to have" ("The prices have risen").

• "Taxes rose."
• "Taxes were raised." (This sentence uses "raise" in the passive voice.)
• "The politician rose taxes." ("Rose" cannot take the object "taxes.")

"Real" and "Really" Do not misuse "real" for "really." Remember that "real" is an adjective, and "really" is an adverb. "Set" and "Sit" "Sit" is almost always intransitive. Use "sit" if you can write "be seated." "Sit" is transitive in "He sat me down," which means "He made me sit down." "Set" can be transitive or intransitive. For example, "The sun sets" uses "set" intransitively. The sentence "I set the book on the table" uses "set" transitively. Because of the similar sounds of "sit" and "set," it is a common mistake to use "sit" in this sentence. You might just say, "I put the book on the table." "Set" is used in the past tense and with the verb "to have": "I set the book on the table yesterday" and "I have set the book on the table for you." For the verb "sit," use "sat" for the past tense and the verb "to have." "Shall, "Will," "Should," "Would" You usually use "shall" in the first person and "will" in the second and third person. It is proper to use "will" in the first person when you want to really emphasize a statement; this is known as the emphatic future. For instance, you would say, "I shall go to the grocery and buy some milk," but "I will retaliate!" The same is true for "should" and "would." If you are not sure whether to use "shall" or "will," just use a contraction. You can even form negative contractions such as "I'll not do it" and "I'd not do that if I were you." You could also use "I am going to" and "we are going to" in place of "I shall" and "we shall." "To," "Too," and "Two" Use "to" as a preposition. "To" is always correct if you are talking about direction and is also used with verbs such as "talk" and "listen." "To" is used to form the infinitive (e.g., "It is my goal to write one page today"). "Too" is always an adverb; "too" is correct if you can substitute "also." "Two" is always a number. You should almost always write out the word "two" rather than using the Arabic number. By the way, you should write "two-percent milk" (with the hyphen). "Which" and "That" Some writers mistakenly believe that “which” is inherently more formal, but “which” is grammatically incorrect where “that” is required. To decide whether to use “which” or “that,” try removing the relative clause from the sentence. If it still makes sense, use “which.” If it does not make sense or its meaning has changed, use “that.” “That” is necessary for clauses that identify which one. In general, use “that” unless you have used a comma. Also try deleting the relative pronoun. Only the pronoun “that” can be deleted in sentences. If you have used “which” and you can delete it, replace it with “that.”

• "The book which I found in the library is an excellent reference."
• "The book I found in the library is an excellent reference." (The pronoun can be omitted.)
• "The book that I found in the library is an excellent reference." (Include the pronoun “that” in formal writing.)The pronoun “which” would be proper in this paragraph: "I finished reading The Elements of Style. The book, which I found in the library yesterday, is an excellent reference." Notice that it has been established that the book in question is The Element of Style. In the sentence “The book that I found in the library is an excellent reference,” the that-clause is used to identify which book.

"Who's" and "Whose" "Who's" is the contracted form of "who is" and is suitable for use only where the uncontracted form would also be suitable.

• Correct: "Who's coming to dinner?"
• Incorrect: "People who's families are bilingual are at an advantage."

"Whose" is a possessive pronoun. It must be used to modify another noun: "Whose shoes are these?" "Anyone whose parents are here should thank them." In fairly informal speech, "whose" may occasionally appear alone as a question, but another noun that it modifies is always suggested. "We must take someone's boat. Whose [boat]?" "Hilarious" and "Hysterical" Hilarious means arousing great merriment; extremely funny.[1] Hysterical means; of, pertaining to, or characterized by hysteria, uncontrollably emotional, irrational from fear, emotion, or an emotional shock.[2] Strictly speaking these two words have very different meanings despite the fact that many people use them interchangeably. While common usage may be changing if you wish to use the words perfectly then you must keep the distinction in mind. In other words "hysterical" should not be used as a synonym for "hilarious".

• She's my favorite comedian, I think she's hilarious. correct
• She's my favorite comedian, I think she's hysterical. incorrect

The second sentence means that the comedian being described is uncontrollably emotional, in shock, suffering from hysteria, or essentially losing her mind.

Tips

• Teachers, do not forget to look at the other wikiHows in the English grammar category for additional articles on grammar that you can easily incorporate into your teaching.

Related wikiHows

• How to Choose Between "I" and "Me" Correctly
• How to Use "Who" and "Whom" Correctly
• How to Use Than and Then
• How to Use You're and Your
• How to Use There, Their, and They're
• How to Use Its and It's

Sources and Citations

1. ↑ Richard Lederer, Richard Dowis, and Jim McLean. Sleeping Dogs Don't Lay: Practical Advice for the Grammatically Challenged. Page 79. 2001.

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Use Commonly Misused Words. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

3 Nice videos on how to use an apostrophe

Apostrophe is a punctuation mark ( ' ) used to show possession and also to show that one or more letters have been left out of a word. Below is an amazing infographic from Grammar.net on the top ten apostrophe mistakes.  You can read the full article from Grammar.net in this link. 

[Infographic provided by Grammar.net]

Now here are three nice videos about using apostrophe! You can also click here to watch these videos in another page. By the way these videos were embedded using TubeSnack!

15 Most Useful Phrasal Verbs

A phrasal verb is a verb plus a preposition or adverb whose combination creates a meaning different from the original verb. There are a lot of  phrasal verbs in the English language, that's why it is important to be familiar with them.  Here is one fun video about using 'get' phrasal verbs which you can also watch in YouTube by clicking the link.

And here is one excellent infographic from Grammar.net about 15 of the most useful phrasal verbs in  the English language.

[Infographic provided by Grammar.net]

Football English

Learning words in English should be fun for all learners. Now learning is usually fun especially if what you're  trying to learn is interesting and relevant.  All of my  students are Koreans and most of them like football, hence, I think they would love the Football English Dictionary. The only thing missing is the definition of each word and audio file of the pronunciation but I think the pictures would be sufficient to learn the words in this dictionary.

DeepLeap

DeepLeap is a simple but challenging vocabulary online game. All you need to do is spell words from the tiles to gain points ; 75 tiles drop every game, reload or click here to play a new game. You get more points for spelling longers words and you get a bonus for having no tiles left at the end.

Image via daily-english-activities.blogspot.com

H/O to Nik Peachey of daily-english-activities.blogspot.com

 

 

All about adjectives

You really don't know what you will find on the Internet. Today I just found this amazing grammar site, Grammar.net. One of the things I like about this amazing website is it's collection of infographics about grammar concepts. Thanks to Grammar.net for this very nice infographic about adjectives.


[Infographic provided by Grammar.net]

Know more words with Knoword!

Knoword is an excellent vocabulary game that's good for intermediate to advanced learners of English.  When you begin, you will see the first letter of a  word and you will also see its randomly generated dictionary definition.  You must fill in the rest of the word to  gain more points and an added time bonus. You will start off with one minute before the game ends, and every word is an opportunity to extend your time. If you're ever stuck on a word, just hit the skip button and a new word will be shown. I have enjoyed playing this game and I think this is also good in indirectly improving one's typing skills because you have to think fast in guessing the word and you have to type it fast too.

Learning Resources Bank

From Oxford University Press comes a great website for English Language learners (ELLs) ; it's called Learning Resources Bank (formerly Student Sites). It's a big website with a lot more sites inside, where all sorts of learners can practice on a lot of worksheets, games and interactive quizzes. It's one of my favorite websites for ELLs because of the variety of resources you can access in this amazing website.

Watch videos at SnagFilms

Watching videos can also be a fun way to learn English. Now to learn English and learn about social issues as well, is an even greater skill. Here is a video from SnagFilms for intermediate learners of English. It's a great video to watch and learn about the Friendship Cup at the Lindenwood University in Missouri, USA.

Watch more free documentaries

Describing pictures

Describing pictures is one thing you need to learn when studying English. Here is a fun video about describing pictures. Have fun watching !

3 Amazing Things About Knowble

Knowble Articles is a free site for people learning a number of languages, including English. But first there is a forty question test to evaluate your present level in English. Next, you’re given a variety of articles to read that are aligned with the test results. Words that they figure are new to you are shown in bold, and you can get an audio recording of it as well as a translation of the word into your native language. In addition, on the side of the article there is a short related cloze, or gap-fill.


Knowble Articles promo movie from Knowble Articles on Vimeo.



Knowble Articles Instruction movie short from Knowble Articles on Vimeo.

TED Talks - Evelyn Glennie shows how to listen

Another great video from TED Talks about listening.



Word cloud of the TED Talk video. 

Word Cloud made with Wordle.net

TED Talks - Julian Treasure : 5 ways to listen better

Listening is a very important skill in learning English. From the TED website, is a nice video about listening by Julian Treasure. 



Now here is a word cloud which shows the words used by Julian Treasure in this TED video. Cool, isn't it?

Word Cloud made with ABCYA