Like or as? For English language learners, this is one of the trickier questions. To choose the correct form, ask yourself: Is it followed by a verb? If the answer is yes, use as. Examples: As I mentioned previously, the meeting will begin at 9 am. It sounded as though she would be late. In each… Read more »
Posts Tagged: grammar
English Immersion in Maine: Perspective Mexico
Many executives and professionals from Mexico and Latin America have found Maine, with its friendly people and distance from any Spanish-speaking populations, to be the perfect place to study English in a total immersion environment. In this video, Rosario, an accountant from Mexico, talks about her experience in a 3-week intensive English immersion course at… Read more »
Learn English Prepositions with Photos
Who is the English language student’s enemy number 1? Prepositions. Prepositions are small but pugnacious, refusing to fade into the background. Prepositions laugh at translation (that’s laugh at, not laugh with, because it’s not a friendly laugh). Depende de in Spanish. De = of or from in English. So, it depends of the context, right? Wrong. It depends on… Read more »
English Immersion in Maine: Perspective Québec
Old Orchard Beach – for many, many generations of French speakers from the province of Québec, those three foreign-sounding words have meant sun, surf, sand, fried food, and fun family holidays on the beautiful coast of Maine. Beginning as long ago as 1842, even before there was a train connection between Maine and points south like Boston and… Read more »
Writing: The Best Way to Improve Grammar and Vocabulary in English
Have you ever cornered a native English speaker and begged her or him to correct you every time you make a mistake in English? If you have, the experience was probably highly frustrating for both of you. During an online lesson or an immersion course, a good teacher can take notes on the mistakes a student makes… Read more »
Between You and Me: Grammar Conundrums
Between you and me? Between you and I? Between me and you? Even native speakers of English confess to feeling perplexed when it comes to choosing the correct pronouns. In his entertaining podcast Lexicon Valley on the online news website Slate, Mike Vuolo presents a satisfyingly thorough and often funny discussion of the confusion provoked by… Read more »
Who vs. Whom: Which is Correct?
Choosing between who and whom, either as a relative pronoun or question word, can be tricky for English language learners and native speakers of English alike. The quick test in choosing between who and whom is to substitute he or him. If he sounds better, who is correct; if him sounds right, whom is correct…. Read more »