What´s the rush?
Wherever we go, wherever we look, we are always in a rush! We are either going to work, or dropping the children off at school or both! We never seem to have enough hours in the day to get everything done.
1711, 2023
Category Archives: Grammar
0208, 2023
Adverbs of Frequency for A1 Learners of English
What are adverbs of frequency?
These are ways of describing verbs and how often or how infrequently an action happens. Here are some of the basic adverbs of frequency that are commonly used in everyday English
1011, 2022
Why learn a new language?
As tourism is the primary industry in Mallorca, young people are learning languages to increase their career opportunities when they leave school. For that reason, English and German are the second languages on the curriculum. Over the past decade I have seen the demand for German rise exponentially. As Germans are the majority purchasers of property here, Mallorquins have been obliged to learn and speak German proficiently.
2507, 2022
English Made Simple: Verb Phrases
A breath of fresh air for English learners are Verb Phrases which are simple to use and very common. The verb is linked to a noun instantaneously giving meaning to the verb. Let´s take the example of the verb to wear. What do we wear usually? Glasses? Automatically glasses (noun) makes an association with wear (verb). Verb + Noun = Verb Phrase. Once we can associate a meaning with the verb, it helps us immediately assimilate and memorise it more easily.
1205, 2022
Why is grammar so fundamental in learning a language?
So much has been written on this topic and for very good reason!
To construct a building, we need a sturdy foundation which will support the walls and roof. The same goes for learning a language. We need a structure to build phrases. This structure is comprised of verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and conjunctions. In linguistics this is known as metalanguage. The grammar of a language is its basic framework which allows you to combine a finite number of words in an infinite number of ways and still be understood immediately.
1404, 2022
Phrasal Verbs made simple
There is a lot of fuss made about phrasal verbs in the classroom. The little words that follow the verb can change its meaning altogether. This can be very frustrating and make students give up before they have even started. And really who can blame them!
1801, 2022
La Voz Pasiva
La voz pasiva se usa todo el tiempo en inglés, por lo que vale la pena tomarse un tiempo para comprender su forma y uso.
Veamos el ejemplo a continuación:
• Me comí dos rebanadas de tostadas
Esto se conoce como una frase activa donde el sujeto va primero (la persona o cosa que hace la acción), seguido del verbo, y finalmente el objeto (la persona o cosa a la que le sucede la acción). Entonces, en esta frase, el sujeto es ‘yo’, el verbo es comido y el objeto son dos rebanadas de tostadas
1801, 2022
The Passive Voice
The Passive Voice is used all the time in English, so it is worth taking time out to understand its form and use.
Let’s look at the example below:
I ate two slices of toast
This is known as an active sentence where the subject goes first (the person or thing that does the action), followed by the verb, and finally the object (the person or thing that the action happens to). So, in this sentence, the subject is ‘I’, the verb is ate and the object is two slices of toast.
1201, 2022
EXAMS
Many students ask me if exams are important to measure their level of language. It is a good question and one which I will endeavour to answer. If you have managed to command a language to the extent that you can make yourself understood by a native, you have done well. But notice the word ´well´. Why didn´t I use very well or proficiently? Because making yourself understood doesn´t mean that you speak the language grammatically correct or use the most up to date vocabulary
2810, 2021
English made simple
There is no doubt that learning a new language has its complications. The main one being that we can never directly translate from our native language into the second language. For example, we say in English I am hungry but if we make a direct translation in Spanish Estoy hambre, it doesn´t make any sense as the verb they use is Tener (to have) not Estar (to be) = Tengo hambre.
0410, 2021
Use of the verbs Suggest and Recommend and their differences in meaning
When we are suggesting something, we are endorsing it as a promising idea only. There is no obligation on the third party to follow through. When we are recommending something, we are advising what should be done in a particular situation which would benefit the third party. It holds more weight than suggest and makes the receiver sit up and take note.
1509, 2021
Useful verbs to describe trends in Business and the Economy
A trend signifies a situation that is developing or changing. There are three specific changes I wish to highlight in this blog:
1) Financial (Sales, profits, costs, budgets)
Sales fell slightly last quarter.
Profits have risen 3% year-on-year.
2) Marketing (Market share)
We saw some growth in market share last year
Sales in the Asian market dropped by 10% last year
3) Economy (Inflation, interest rates, unemployment, house prices)
There has been a steady rise in inflation.
Unemployment has increased this year
House prices went up last year
1309, 2021
Trends in Teaching Today
We describe a trend as the way a situation develops or changes. Since COVID-19, Language Schools have had to adapt their styles of teaching. Classroom sizes have become smaller to allow for 2 metre distances between desks and students are obliged to wear masks and frequently wash their hands with hydroalcoholic gel.
1205, 2021
English Course for Beginners
If you cannot speak a word of English, come in and join us on our Beginner’s Course at our premises in Andratx. We start you off with the basics of Grammar and Vocabulary and help you little by little to gain confidence in Speaking.
2204, 2021
Past Simple Regular Verbs
We use the past simple for finished actions in the past e.g. We watched a good film on TV last night/I lived in Barcelona last summer.
2104, 2021
When do we use the Present Simple for the Future?
The present simple is used to make statements about events at a time later than now, when the statements are based on present facts, and when these facts are something fixed like a timetable, a work schedule, or dates in a calendar.
3103, 2021
Is working from home reducing stress?
Jordan Friedman, a prodigious Stress Coach from New York has been developing stress management programmes for over 20 years. Some of the main stressors his clients talk about are money, commuting, and too much to do in too little time. He believes that we are more stressed today than we were 20 years ago.
1102, 2021
The benefits of learning English online
There is no question that working and learning from home is the new era we live in today. Covid-19 has caused us to close the doors to our businesses and schools and those of us who remain open are obliged to follow strict norms so as not to infect or be infected.
2901, 2021
Do you like learning?
Are you someone who gets up in the morning with the intention of learning something new in your day? Or are you the opposite? You get up in the morning, immerse yourself in your job or studies without giving a single thought to learning something new?
1811, 2020
How We Use Past Time Phrases in English
Past time phrases can be confusing for ESL learners as there are so many! We use them to say when something happened in the past and they are always used with the Past Simple. They include expressions such as in 2019, last week, one month ago, on Monday, etc.,