Category Archives: Cambridge

How to Describe a Painting using ‘Wh…?’ questions

Posted on December 3, 2025 by mhardy3222

‘The family of Darius before Alexander’ by Paolo Veronese 1565-1570 ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦  Greetings English learners! How would … Continue reading →

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Cambridge, Grammar, IELTS, Intermediate (Level 4), Listening, Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Upper Intermediate (Level 5) | Leave a comment

Sensational, Skilful Semicolons!

Posted on November 3, 2025 by mhardy3222

What the ….. !!    Not another SEMICOLON !! What is a  Semicolon? Let’s have a look. ; a) Spiderman is my favourite Super Hero; he’s my favourite person! b) Spiderman is my favourite Super Hero; actually, I still really like Superman.   What … Continue reading →

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Cambridge, Grammar, IELTS, Intermediate (Level 4), TOEFL, TOEIC, Upper Intermediate (Level 5), Writing | 1 Comment

Silent English Letters

Posted on October 25, 2025 by mhardy3222

Greetings English Learners! It’s time for some silliness! The English Language does seem to have an unfair number of silent letters. How can you remember them all? Well, it takes time and familiarity, and a generous dose of humour helps! … Continue reading →

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Cambridge, ESL Teachers, IELTS, Intermediate (Level 4), Listening, Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Pronunciation Videos, Speaking & Pronunciation, Upper Intermediate (Level 5), Vocabulary | 2 Comments

Advanced Reading – Improve your English & your Knowledge!

Posted on August 6, 2025 by mhardy3222

Is it possible to become a successful English writer when English is your second language?                  Imagine being taught English at school but not hearing it spoken outside of  the classroom. This is an … Continue reading →

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

The Crocodile and The Monkey : a Poem by Vikram Seth

Posted on June 30, 2025 by mhardy3222

Greetings English Students! It’s Story Time! Who doesn’t love a great story? Today, I’m going to share a fabulous story with you: The Crocodile and The Monkey by Vikram Seth. It may look like a children’s story, but it has … Continue reading →

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Cambridge, Listening, Reading, Speaking & Pronunciation, Upper Intermediate (Level 5), Videos, Vocabulary | Tagged , | Leave a comment

How AI Can Help You Learn English Faster and Smarter

Posted on April 22, 2025 by mhardy3222

Since starting this blog in 2013, I’ve been passionate about helping learners of English around the world—especially those learning it as a second or third language. One of my favourite methods is using songs to teach grammar, and many of … Continue reading →

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Cambridge, Elementary (Level 2), ESL Teachers, Grammar, Intermediate (Level 4), Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Writing | Tagged | 1 Comment

Improve Fluency with Understatement

Posted on May 25, 2024 by mhardy3222

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

English Inversion #1: Why? When? How?

Posted on October 26, 2023 by mhardy3222

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

Posted on August 5, 2023 by mhardy3222

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

5 Weak Words to Avoid & What to Use Instead

Posted on July 25, 2022 by mhardy3222

Weak words are commonly used in everyday English speech. Perhaps we are a little lazy. Perhaps we know that we convey meaning using our tone of voice. No doubt, you have similar common words in your language which are used … Continue reading →

Posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Cambridge, IELTS, Intermediate (Level 4), Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Upper Intermediate (Level 5), Writing | 1 Comment