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An adjective clause is a group of words that modifies (describes) a noun or pronoun. These clauses begin with relative pronouns or subordinating conjunctions, such as who, which, what, that, whose, whom, when, and where. Adjective clauses are always dependent. In other words, you can remove an adjective clause without “breaking” the grammar of the…

This week we’re going to examine the differences between clauses and phrases. While these terms are often used interchangeably, they actually describe two different categories of word groups.   Clauses A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb. Clauses are either independent or dependent.   Independent clauses, or main…

This week’s lesson is a short quiz on one of the first topics we covered: gerunds.   Gerunds are verbals made by adding “-ing” to verbs. Verbals are words made from verbs that function as other parts of speech. Gerunds are derived from verbs but are used as nouns. They can fulfill all the same…

As we begin 2017, we’re going to cover some English words and phrases commonly-associated with the arrival of a new year.   If you need more help with vocabulary for celebrating the New Year, or any other aspect of the English language, contact the English Island in Atlanta. Our caring, passionate ESL teachers can create…

For this week’s lesson, we’re going to explain the meanings of some important end-of-year cultural and religious holidays observed in the United States. Next week, we’ll discuss specific vocabulary words relating to these seasonal traditions.   If you need more help with holiday vocabulary or any other aspect of the English language, contact the English…

Prepositional idioms are phrases where the meaning is determined by the choice of preposition. As with the idiomatic expressions we have looked at in the past, there is no “rule” for which prepositional idiom is correct in a given situation. This is because prepositional idioms have evolved through custom and usage as the English language…

Many common objects and ideas have different names in American and British English. In a previous lesson, we compared some of these words. In this lesson, we’re going to look at an additional fifty-six pairs, including words that have the same pronunciation but different spellings.   The left column in the chart below contains Standard…

This week we’re going to wrap up our lessons on idioms with a final eleven commonly-used English idioms. An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is different from the dictionary definitions of the words that comprise it. Idioms pose a special challenge for non-native English speakers precisely because you can’t determine their figurative meanings from…

Last week, we covered commonly-used correlative conjunctions, pairs of words which express relationships between equivalent ideas. This week we’re going to explore some additional correlative conjunctions. We’ll also cover several important rules for using correlative conjunctions correctly.   As … as As … as is used with an adverb or an adjective to compare similar…

This week we’re going to demystify another ten commonly-used English idioms. An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is different from the dictionary definitions of the words that comprise it. Idioms pose a special challenge for non-native English speakers precisely because you can’t determine their figurative meanings from their literal meanings.   English has thousands…