Grammar

Verbs with different meanings when they are states and actions

Some verbs can talk about a state or describe an action, but the meaning changes.

Present continuous

Present simple

State verbs

Dynamic verbs

Grammar

Talking about one thing: A/AN or ONE

Usually you can use A/AN or ONE if you are talking about one thing, but in some cases we prefer ONE.

9 things about prepositions you need to know

Most people learning English don't understand prepositions and find them very difficult. Prepositions are much easier if you remember these 9 simple things.

Prepositions

Grammar

How to say の in English

Translating の as "of" in English is often wrong. There are 3 other ways to translate の.

Prepositions

Possessives

Grammar

Special cases of ONE used with nouns

There are some special cases when we use ONE with nouns.

Possessive Determiners

Casual English

Grammar

When to use A/AN not ONE

We use A and AN in some fixed expressions to mean "one".

A/An

Articles

Grammar

When to use A or AN

A man throwing a red umbrella in the air

We choose A or AN based on sound NOT spelling.

Articles

A/An

Grammar

Performative verbs: when you say a word you do the action the word describes

An apology by Robleto via Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/grobleto/2651622914

When you use a word like "promise" or "apologise", you are doing the action by just saying the word. In those cases, use the present simple and not the continuous.