Author Archives: mhardy3222

A Song with Present Simple & Past Simple

Did you know that the Present Simple is the most commonly used tense in spoken and written English? It accounts for between *50-60% of English communication. The second most commonly used tense is the Past Simple with nearly *20% usage.  … Continue reading

Posted in Beginner (Level 1), Elementary (Level 2), Grammar, Intermediate (Level 4), Listening, Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Songs, Upper Intermediate (Level 5), Vocabulary | Tagged | 1 Comment

Difficult Pronunciation & How to Remember It #2

Photo by Mimi Thian, Unsplash Today, I will continue to focus on common English words that many of you find difficult to pronounce. (See my previous post: Difficult Pronunciation & How to Remember It) Here is a quick reminder: My … Continue reading

Posted in Elementary (Level 2), IELTS, Intermediate (Level 4), Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Speaking & Pronunciation, Upper Intermediate (Level 5), Vocabulary | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Christmas 2024

Greetings Dear Students! It’s the Festive Season now for many of you: end-of-year party time; the beginning of summer holidays for the southern hemisphere; and Christmas celebrations and festivities.   As requested last Christmas, this year I am including some Christmas … Continue reading

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Beginner (Level 1), Elementary (Level 2), ESL Teachers, Intermediate (Level 4), Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Upper Intermediate (Level 5) | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

MUST – The Most Misunderstood Modal!

Greetings English Learners!  Do you remember when you first learned the meaning of ‘must’? Must = Rules and Obligation. You must obey the road rules! You must not be late! Doctor: You must take two pills with food daily for … Continue reading

Posted in Grammar, IELTS, Intermediate (Level 4), Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Upper Intermediate (Level 5) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Improve Fluency with Understatement

Greetings English learners! Today, I am looking at how you can improve your fluency with a simple technique and you can start today. Yes, today! Ready? Let’s start. Have a look at the painting below. What do you think? Do … Continue reading

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Cambridge, Speaking & Pronunciation, Upper Intermediate (Level 5) | Tagged , | 2 Comments

When not to use ‘s’ after nouns when it looks/sounds like we should! 

Posted in Intermediate (Level 4), Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Upper Intermediate (Level 5) | Leave a comment

Christmas 2023

Happy Christmas! It’s that time of year again when many of us prepare to celebrate Christmas. Traditionally, for Christians, it is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ approximately 2,000 years ago. However, Christmas has become an important time for … Continue reading

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Elementary (Level 2), Intermediate (Level 4), Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Songs, Upper Intermediate (Level 5) | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

English Inversion #1: Why? When? How?

One of the first things you learn when you start learning English is the word order in sentences. The subject comes before the verb:  SUBJECT                           VERB you                                        learn … Continue reading

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Cambridge, Grammar, IELTS, Upper Intermediate (Level 5) | Leave a comment

Relative Clauses #11: Advanced non-defining Relative Clauses

First, read the earlier posts on Relative Clauses, especially #3 and #6. Advanced non-defining Relative Clauses are not as difficult as their name suggests. There are only two Relative Clause Pronouns used, whom & which, and the Relative Clause is usually … Continue reading

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Cambridge, Grammar, IELTS, Relative Clauses, Upper Intermediate (Level 5), Writing | 1 Comment

Gerunds & Infinitives – What is the difference?

GERUNDS Gerunds are usually nouns but they are different from other nouns because they are made from verbs. ∗ Changing verbs into other forms: nouns or adjectives, for example, is common in many languages. Think about how your language changes … Continue reading

Posted in Grammar, Intermediate (Level 4), Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), TOEIC, Upper Intermediate (Level 5) | 2 Comments