This week, we’re going to explain the differences between an additional half dozen sets of English homophones. Recall from our last lesson that homophones are words with identical pronunciations but different spellings and different meanings. The distinction between or among homophones is essentially irrelevant in spoken language but vital in written language.   Ant and…

In this lesson, we’re going to clarity the differences between several homophones found in the English language. Homophones are words with identical pronunciations but different spellings and different meanings. These words represent a challenge for non-native speakers of any language because the distinction between or among them is essentially irrelevant in spoken language. It is…

This week, we’re going to look at another five words whose meanings have changed over time. English, like any living language, continues to grow, change, and evolve. New words are created, old words fall out of use, and existing words take on new meanings. Many common English words have very different meanings now than they…

Building on last week’s lesson on phrasal verbs, this week we’re going to discuss three word phrasal verbs. We’re also going to cover the rules for using pronouns with transitive phrasal verbs.   A phrasal verb is an idiomatic expression consisting of a verb plus an adverb or preposition. The addition of the adverb/preposition gives…

This week we’re going to begin talking about phrasal verbs. A phrasal verb is an idiomatic expression consisting of a verb plus an adverb or preposition. The addition of the adverb/preposition gives the verb a different meaning than it has on its own.   If you need more help with phrasal verbs or any other…

Verb tense consistency is especially important in modern English. In most cases, verb tenses must remain the same within and among sentences, paragraphs, and entire passages. Yet, there are a handful of situations where a shift in verb tense is not only acceptable but necessary to help express a particular idea.   Unacceptable Shifts English…

Building on our previous lessons on numbers, this week we’ll discuss how to express numbers ranging from 1,000,000 to 999,999,999,999,999. We’ll also share some shortcuts that can make writing very large numbers more manageable.   If you need more help with numbers or any other aspect of the English language, contact the English Island in…

This week, we’ll continue our lessons on the English expression of numbers by looking at the words for 1000 to 999,999. As with last week’s lessons, we’ll be breaking these words down into manageable chunks, explaining each group of numbers before moving on to the next. This lesson builds on the previous lesson. If you…

In this week’s lesson, we’re going begin discussing the words used to express and count numbers in English. We’ll be breaking these words down into manageable chunks, explaining each group of numbers before moving on to the next.   0 to 20 The numbers 0 through 20 twenty have their own unique count words. The…

In this lesson, we’re going to explain the essential meanings behind eight more commonly-used business English expressions. As with last week’s lesson, this is just a small sample of the unique vocabulary of the English-speaking business world. If you need more help with business English, or any other aspect of the English language, contact the…