How or what?
Both are great words to use to show you are asking a question, but we need to be careful with the structure of that question. What does...
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Joanne
- Nov 20
- 2 min
5 examples of the past perfect in action
The past perfect is used to talk about events that took place in the past, but it is different to the past simple. The past simple is...
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Joanne
- Nov 7
- 1 min
5 different ways to use by or beside
Is Granny sitting by the fire or beside the fire? She is actually doing both since in many cases by and beside can be used...
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Joanne
- Oct 3
- 1 min
An hour or a hour?
We know the rule, if a word starts with a vowel: a. e, i, o or u we use an in front of it. If a word starts with a consonant, not a...
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Joanne
- Sep 26
- 1 min
I have done or I did?
This blog post looks at when we use the present perfect (I have done) or the past simple (I did). It is raining and I cannot find my...
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Joanne
- Sep 11
- 1 min
At, on or in? - Let's talk about places
In the previous blog post we looked at how at, in or on are used to talk about different time elements. This blog post looks at these...
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Joanne
- Sep 4
- 1 min
At, on or in? - let's talk about time
Sometimes the smallest words in the English language are the most difficult to use. This is especially true when we think about at, on or...
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Joanne
- Oct 17, 2022
- 1 min
What is the most popular pub name in the UK?
The Red Lion Why do we call it 'the' Red Lion when only the name 'Red Lion' is written on the sign? That's because all hotels, pubs and...
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Joanne
- Oct 5, 2022
- 1 min
How many times have you heard "the World Health Organisation" in the last couple of years?
I'm sure at least ten times a day during the height of the pandemic. Did you ever wonder why it was always called 'the' World Health...
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Joanne
- Sep 27, 2022
- 1 min
The view from the Empire State building
Well known buildings and works of art all require us to use 'the' in front of their names: the Empire State Building the Mona Lisa the...
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Joanne
- Sep 20, 2022
- 1 min
I read the newspaper
Have you ever noticed that all newspaper names start with the? The Washington Post The New York Times The Sunday Times The Guardian The...
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Joanne
- Sep 13, 2022
- 1 min
Canary Islands or the Canary Islands?
How do I know which geographical features should have 'the' in front of them and which should not? Mountain ranges all start with 'the',...
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Joanne
- Sep 6, 2022
- 1 min
Why do some countries start with 'the'?
Have you ever noticed how we refer to some countries as 'the [country name]' and others just as 'country name'? How do you know when to...
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Joanne
- Apr 20, 2021
- 1 min
When...? or How long...?
When asks a question that is looking for a defined time in the past. Q: When did it start raining? A: It started raining at 10 o'clock...
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Joanne
- Apr 13, 2021
- 1 min
I have been doing vs I have done
In other words, the present perfect continuous vs the present perfect simple. We use I have been doing when we are talking about an...
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Joanne
- Apr 7, 2021
- 1 min
'I always do' vs 'I'm always doing'
These two phrases sound very similar, but unfortunately they cannot be used interchangeably since they have different meanings. Let's...
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Joanne
- Mar 30, 2021
- 1 min
How or what?
How does it look like? What does it look like? 'What does it look like' is the correct version of the question because we are asking for...
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Joanne
- Mar 22, 2021
- 1 min
Make or take a photograph?
I often hear people say that they have made a photograph of something, but a native speaker would say they had taken a photograph. We...
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Joanne
- Mar 15, 2021
- 1 min
Must or have to?
'Must' is a word that I often hear over used. My advice is to try and use it as little as possible. Instead, use 'have to'. Why is that?...
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Joanne
- Mar 12, 2021
- 2 min
Who or whom?
This can be a tricky question for many native speakers and is often used as part of a joke in comedy shows. I'm sure there was more than...
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