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by Liz Walter
Way back in 2015, I wrote a post that touched on some differences between American and British English. Today’s post looks specifically at differences in pronunciation. There are of course many, some (more or less) systematic, and some not. I hope that covering some common words will help to raise awareness of issues to look out for.
Continue reading “You say ‘to-may-to’ and I say ‘to-mah-to’: UK/US pronunciation”
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‘Nothing succeeds like excess’, said Oscar Wilde, the famous Irish writer, presumably having a bit of fun with the old proverb, ‘Nothing succeeds like success.’ I mention this because today’s post is all about excess – that is, an amount or level of something that is too much.
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by Liz Walter
Today’s post looks at phrases for talking about what the future holds. In particular, it will cover vocabulary relating to how much – if at all – we can control what happens to us.
Continue reading “It’s written in the stars: talking about things that might happen in the future”
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Today’s post deals with the language around a feeling that we all experience from time to time, embarrassment – that is, the feeling of being ashamed or shy in the company of others.
Continue reading “Cringeworthy and toe-curling (The language of embarrassment)”
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by Liz Walter
The covid pandemic and the continued rise of social media have both caused fundamental changes in the way we communicate and spend time with one another. Because of this, we often need to specify whether we are talking about being in the same physical place as someone or whether we are interacting online, for example to take part in work meetings, family chats or even romantic relationships. Today’s post looks at some words and phrases we use to make that distinction.
Continue reading “In real life or the virtual world: ways of being present”
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This week’s post looks at the language that we use to talk about risk – that is, the possibility of something bad happening. I look at phrases that include the word ‘risk’ itself and then consider a range of useful idioms on this theme.
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Today’s post is the latest in my ‘Idioms and phrases in newspapers’ series, which provides you with a regular supply of common, contemporary English idioms and expressions. The phrases in this post are taken from a range of national newspapers published on the same day.
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by Liz Walter
We all have times when we need to reassure someone, perhaps because they have done something they regret, because they are worried about something they have to do in the future or because they are experiencing something that is causing them anxiety.
Continue reading “Nobody blames you: phrases for offering reassurance”
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Books play a hugely significant role in all our lives, so it’s probably no surprise that there are a lot of English idioms that include the word ‘book’. In this post, I’ve selected what I consider to be the most useful and current ones and look at how they are used.
Continue reading “Cooking or hitting the books? (Idioms with ‘book’)”
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by Liz Walter
Today’s post covers vocabulary, and particularly natural-sounding collocations (words that often go together), for talking about things we want to do in our lives.
Continue reading “Pursuing aims and meeting targets: talking about things we want to achieve”