by Liz Walter
We use conditional sentences to talk about what will, might or could happen in various circumstances. There are three main conditionals which we call first, second and third. This post is intended as a brief reminder of how we choose which conditionals to use, and how we form them. Continue reading “If I had a million dollars: Using conditionals (1)”
by Liz Walter
The English philosopher George Henry Lewes said ‘We must not assume that which is incapable of proof.’ Certainly, proof and evidence have an important role in many areas of our lives, so it is not surprising that there is a lot of vocabulary related to these concepts. Continue reading “Conclusive or anecdotal? Talking about evidence and proof.”
by Liz Walter
Family is important to most cultures at this time of year, so this post looks at the way we describe family relationships. I’m going to assume that you already know the basic family words such as aunt, grandmother, cousin and nephew and concentrate on some more interesting terms. Continue reading “Siblings and in-laws: talking about family relationships”
by Liz Walter
Talking is one of the most basic things we do. Back in 2019, I wrote a post about collocations connected with communication. This post looks at words that describe various types of conversation. Continue reading “Passing the time of day and talking shop: talking about conversations”
by Liz Walter
As people from all over the world gather in Glasgow, Scotland for the COP26 climate change summit, I thought it would be nice to look at language connected with this topic. Back in 2019, I wrote a post about collocations connected with climate change. For today’s post, I have looked at the official COP26 website and picked out a selection of words and phrases that are relevant to the conference but which are also useful in a broad range of situations. Continue reading “Stepping up efforts and phasing out coal: words connected with climate change.”
by Liz Walter
We might not like the thought of blood, but there are lots of useful phrases that contain this word! Continue reading “Blood, sweat and tears: phrases with ‘blood’”
by Liz Walter
We all need to talk about when things happened or when things will happen. There are lots of ways of doing this and learners often make mistakes with some of the most basic ones. Continue reading “The day before yesterday: using time expressions”
by Liz Walter
In my last post, I presented some words and phrases to describe people who are loyal and who you can trust. Today’s post deals with the opposite. Continue reading “I wouldn’t trust them an inch: talking about people you don’t trust”
by Liz Walter
This post looks at words and phrases connected with the question of trust. I’ll start with ways of talking about people you are certain will keep their promises. You can depend on, rely on or count on them to do what they say they will do:
I know I can depend on Patrick to keep the business running while I’m away.
If you stand for election, you can count on me to support you! Continue reading “As good as your word: Talking about trust and loyalty”
by Liz Walter
My last post talked about words for describing levels of confidence. This post looks specifically at some of the colourful derogatory phrases to describe people who are over-confident or have a very high opinion of themselves. Continue reading “Delusions of grandeur: talking about people with a high opinion of themselves”