My favorite quote so far at IATEFL: “Do not teach things that are wrong.” That’s Dave Willis. And as he proves in this talk held before a room full of English teachers, it’s easier said than done. We often enough do teach total malarkey, namely as soon as we teach prescriptive grammar rules that don’t [...]
I’m allergic _____ pollen. (against, on or to?)
Sniff! Sneeze! Cough! When you have a cold, how can you tell whether it’s a virus or an allergy?
What do you say instead of “oops!” ?
* There appears to have been some sort of mistake.
* There appears to have been made some sort of mistake.
* There appears some sort of mistake has been made.
This is the silliest song Ella and Louis ever sang together, but it’s great singing on a bicycle. Try it!
[...]
“I’m thinking about what to make for our dinner party. How about having fish?” “Nice! We could serve ______ as the main course.”
It or them? And why?
One of my dear students is having trouble with the difference between stop to do something and stop doing something. I used to use that Talking Heads film title to pound it into people (oh, you pound people too?? Nasty laughs.) But Lady Gaga is more up to date, and her “Telephone” is hot. No, [...]
I hate renovating, and try to avoid it every year. So both of these options are nothing I’d look forward to. But they might be necessary. Which one uses correct grammar?
If we were to renovate our flat, I’d have to take a week off.
If we would renovate our flat, I’d have to take [...]
You watch an old film on TV for the first time. Afterwards, what do you say?
“This is the first time I see this film.” You use the present tense because it’s true now.
“This is the first time I saw this film.” You use the past tense because the film is over.
“This is the first time [...]
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