I’m teaching ESL, and I came across a question from one of my students that I don’t know how to answer. Using the form “{subject} {verb} {adjective} {infinitive phrase}” we’ve been going over sentences such as “I was happy to help you.” (More specifically, “I helped you. I was happy. -> I was happy to … Read more
If I want to ask someone in the picture, like ‘Where’s John?’ or ‘Which one is john?’ which answer should it be? Answer "John is in the third" doesn’t make sense, "John is in the third place" is technically correct but reads oddly. "John is the third one/person" would work. Maybe specifying which direction, but … Read more
I realize the wording is a little difficult to parse; essentially, I’m asking how to fill in the following blanks: The ___ of “mistake” is “make”. The ___ of “action” is “perform”. The ___ of “party” is “throw”. The ___ of “campaign” is ___. Compound words are, of course, perfectly acceptable. A similar question suggested … Read more
I know that in a coffee shop in different countries you need to be more specific about how you want your coffee and milk. And I know that in the US they usually say “latte”, in the UK “white coffee”, and in Australia and New Zeland “flat white”. But what if you’re just talking about … Read more
In an ESL class, a student asked a difficult question about the use of “myself” in the following sentence: I notice similarities between myself and other people more than differences. (Speak Out, Upper Intermediate, p. 13, Exercise 11C, Pearson Longman, 2011) She said that she had been taught in Japan that it should “me” here. … Read more
I have been learning English all my life. I have been in the US for three years. I consider myself an advanced English speaker. There are many resources on the internet that are geared towards beginners and intermediate English learners. However, I am looking for fluency. I want to be able to speak English as … Read more
