Fun English learning site for students and teachers

Thanksgiving

11/27/2014

It's Thanksgiving today! What are you grateful or thankful for today? I'm sure there are so many things in your life you could be thankful for. Can you share some of those things?

This year, we're having the traditional Thanksgiving at our home with turkey and mashed potatoes. It's a lot of work preparing for the turkey but it's all worth it in the end! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, wherever you are in the world! May you use this day to give thanks to the small and big things in your life!

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Don't Quit

11/23/2014

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I came across this quote the other day and had to share it! I think most of us can relate to this feeling of wanting to give up on something because it's too difficult, but if we take a moment to remember why we wanted to do it in the beginning, we can feel more passionate to continue on!

I receive so many emails from students who say their English is really poor and don't know how to learn. I'm sure this is the same for a lot of you. Learning a new language is really challenging. You may feel unmotivated to keep learning when things don't make any sense and you don't live in an environment where English is used. No one said English is easy to learn. In fact, there are so many rules that don't even make sense to me!! If you feel like quitting, remember why English is important to you, to your future, to your life goals.

One thing I want to remind you too is that if you are trying to learn English only through textbooks and memorization, it will make it very easy to want to give up. Learn using things that interests you, watch a movie, read a magazine, listen to a podcast on a topic that you like, follow your favorite celebrity on Instagram, join an English Facebook page on cooking, shopping, pets, cars, home decor.....the opportunities are endless nowadays! Don't give up, English can be fun, just think outside the box!

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Different Condiments

11/17/2014

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Do you know the names of these condiments?

Condiments (con-di-ments) are sauces that we put in our food to give it some extra flavor. For example, I love to put lots and lots of ketchup on hot dogs and I don't like to use mustard. My husband, on the other hand, loves mustard.

There are actually many more to add like olive oil, fish sauce, salad dressing, sour cream, and butter. I'm sure your culture also has its own special condiments. Can you share some that you use regularly?

If you'd like to download this image of condiments without the answers so that you can practice it, please visit the Shop For Free Stuff page here.

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This And That

11/12/2014

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This has been a question that's been asked many many times: what's the difference between "this" and "that?" When should I use them?

Both of them are used when talking about one item or one person (singular). The main difference between the two is DISTANCE.

THIS (singular) is used for an object or person that is physically very close to the speaker (the plural form of THIS is THESE). If you look at the woman in the picture above, she can literally touch the slice of cake in front of her. She doesn't need to walk over to it. Therefore, she says I WANT THIS ONE.

THAT (singular) is used for an object or person that is more distant to the speaker (the plural form of THAT is THOSE). He or she must point to it and can't just touch the object or person without moving closer to it. The boy in the picture above needs to walk over to the cake in order to get the cake.

You'll see from below that if you're standing in front of one object (singular) or many objects (plural) we would use THIS and THESE.

If you're standing far from one object (singular) or many objects (plural), we would use THAT and THOSE.

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Compound Words

11/7/2014

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Compound words are very common in English. You'll see them in so many places, writings, and speech. Do you know why it's called COMPOUND? The word COMPOUND means something that is made of separate parts. It can be a noun, adjective, or verb. Below are some examples of other compound words.

tooth + brush = toothbrush
basket + ball = basketball
wall + paper = wallpaper
ear + rings = earrings
birth + day = birthday
play + ground = playground
head + ache = headache
gold + fish = goldfish
foot + ball = football
after + noon = afternoon
air + port = airport
bed + time = bedtime
bed + room = bedroom
news + paper = newspaper
news + stand = newsstand

As you'll notice from the last four examples, a single word can be a part of so many other new words (newspaper, newsstand, bedroom, bedtime). English is an interesting language!

What other compound words can you think of?