“How do I know what ‘get’ means?” I hear this question from my students regularly. I understand their confusion. If you look up “get” in a dictionary, you might see anywhere from 10 to 20 definitions. That is really scary. However, I have some good news. There is a much easier way to remember how […]
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How Do I Use the Word “Since?”
If you find yourself confused about how to use the word “since,” you are not alone. “Since” can be a preposition, a subordinating conjunction, or an adverb. That’s three different lexical categories! There is some overlap between the meanings of the different forms of “since,” but there are some definite differences. “Since” as a Preposition […]
What is the Difference between “dis-” and “mis-”? — Making Negative Words in English
If you want to improve your vocabulary in English, one of the best things you can do is to study the most common prefixes and suffixes for English words. Knowing what they mean will not only help you to remember more words, but it will also give you the ability to guess the meanings of […]
What is the Difference between “un-” and “non-”? — Making Negative Words in English
If you want to improve your vocabulary in English, one of the best things you can do is to study the most common prefixes and suffixes for English words. Knowing what they mean will not only help you to remember more words, but it will also give you the ability to guess the meanings of […]
Adjectives that end with “-y”
Today I want to talk about a particular group of English adjectives. These adjectives end with the suffix “-y”, which is pronounced like /i/. The “-y” suffix can change nouns and verbs into adjectives. For example, if we take the noun “dirt” and add “–y” to the end, we get the adjective “dirty.” If we […]
What’s the Most Efficient Way to Memorize Material? (Part 2)
When we learn anything new, including a foreign language, it’s necessary to memorize some basic information. This provides a foundation for everything else. So how can you memorize what you need without wasting a lot of time or feeling bored? Unfortunately, some of the strategies that we learned in school are not very efficient or […]
Translations Gone Wrong: How Automatic Translators Can Fail You
Automatic translators and translation dictionaries are easier to access than ever. Many are available online. It seems like a quick search is all you need to translate text from one language to another. Watch out, though — automatic translators sometimes make mistakes. They sometimes translate idiomatic expressions literally. Sometimes when there is more than one […]
Why do So Many Students Struggle with the “th” Sound in English?
It is normal to struggle with pronunciation when you are learning a new language, particularly if you are learning as an adult. Does this mean that learning new sounds is impossible? No! It is always possible to learn new sounds at any time of life. What changes is how you learn sounds. The way a […]
Idioms from Transportation: What do they mean and where do they come from?
Correctly using idiomatic expressions makes you sound more like the natives no matter what language you are trying to speak. Learning them can be tricky, though, because you often can’t guess the meaning of an idiom from the words. Trying to remember idioms as random sets of words is not very interesting or productive. The […]
Nautical Idioms in English, Part 2: What Do They Mean and Where Did They Come from?
Correctly using idiomatic expressions makes you sound more like the natives no matter what language you are trying to speak. Learning them can be tricky, though, because you often can’t guess the meaning of an idiom from the words. Trying to remember idioms as random sets of words is not very interesting or productive. The […]