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Articles & Notes on The English Language

Articles written about English language learning, teaching and usage, giving descriptions and explanations for some of the more common problem areas. We currently have 72 articles available.

English Grammar Usage Articles & Notes (26)

Articles dealing with English grammar and English language usage topics

Adjectives that look like adverbs - A list of English adjectives that look like adverbs
Agreeing and Disagreeing- So do I, Neither do I, etc - The rules for using So do I and Neither do I, etc.
All & Whole - The differences in usage between all and whole.
Beside & besides - The differences in usage between beside and besides.
Dangling Modifiers - What is a dangling modifier?
Descriptive and Prescriptive Grammar - A look at the prescriptive and descriptive approaches to English grammar.
English Conditionals: An Introduction - Everything you need to know about English Conditionals.
English Conditionals: First Conditional - How to use the first conditional in English
English Conditionals: Second Conditional - How to use the second conditional in English
English Conditionals: Third Conditional - How to use the third conditional in English
English Conditionals: Zero Conditional - How to use the zero conditional in English
Enough - What is the correct word order with 'enough'?
For & Since - What's the difference between 'for' and 'since'?
How to use the adverb 'highly' - Collocations with 'Highly' How to use the adverb 'highly' in English.
Number of - When to use a singular or a plural verb with the word 'number'.
Order of Adjectives - The correct order for adjectives before a noun.
Rather - Learn how to use 'rather' in English.
Relative Clauses - Part 1 - The use of relative pronouns in relatives clauses
Relative Clauses - Part 2 - The use and omission of relative pronouns in relatives clauses
The Use of BY + Agent in the Passive Voice - A look at when to use BY with the passive.
The Use of By + Until - When should you use 'by' and 'until'?.
Types of Sentences - Learn about Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences.
Using 'Shall' in British English - Learn about the use of 'shall' in British English.
Using 'Wish' in English - A look at how to use the verb 'wish'.
Whether and If - A look at when to use 'whether' and when to use 'if'.
While & During - What is the difference between 'while' and 'during'?

English Language Examinations (13)

Articles looking at how to teach or study for ESL exams

100 Ways to Improve your TOEIC Listening - 100 tips to help you with the TOEIC Listening Part One (Photographs)
100 ways to improve your TOEIC score - Tips for getting a better result in the TOEIC
21 ways to get more out of your TOEIC class - Here are 21 ideas on how you can make sure that you really learn a lot in your TOEIC class.
Choosing a good TOEIC class and TOEIC teacher - 20 questions that you should ask before choosing a TOEIC course.
IELTS Academic Reading Tips for Students- Matching headings to paragraphs task - Ideas for studying for question 3 of the IELTS Academic Reading Paper
IELTS Academic Reading Tips for Teachers- Locating information task - Ideas for teaching the IELTS Academic Reading Paper
IELTS Academic Reading Tips for Teachers- Matching headings to paragraphs task - Ideas for teaching question 3 of the IELTS Academic Reading Paper
Test your knowledge of the TOEIC Listening (for Students and Teachers) - True & False statements about the TOEIC listening with answers to examine your knowledge of this part of the exam
The 24 hours before your TOEIC exam - What you can usefully do before the TOEIC exam
TOEIC Exam Problems and Solutions - Suggestions for problems that TOEIC students often ask about.
TOEIC FAQs - Frequently asked questions about the TOEIC exam with answers
TOEIC Listening Part One Tips for Students- Photographs - Tips for TOEIC learners about the photograph part of the Listening paper
TOEIC Listening Part One Tips for Teachers- Photographs - Tips for TOEIC teachers about the photograph part of the Listening paper

Learning English (17)

Articles on how to learn English successfully

70 ways to improve your English - 70 practical tips for improving your English
Becoming Fluent in Speaking and Writing English - A look at how you can improve your reading and writing skills in English.
English Pronunciation - Test your knowledge of accent reduction
English Pronunciation for the ESL Learner - A look at ways in which learners can improve their pronunciation.
How to Master the English Language - A learner looks at how he learned English.
Read, Listen and then Pronounce - Understanding principles of learning can be as important for students as for teachers – especially adult learners.
Speak English with Body Language - A look at the importance of non-verbal communication.
Which is the most difficult language? - A look at whether one language can be said to be the hardest to learn
Why does my teacher make me learn English grammar words? - Do learners need to know grammar terms?
Why does my teacher make me learn the phonemic script? - Good and bad reasons for your teacher wanting you to learn the phonemic script
Why does my teacher make me read silently? - Why doesn’t my teacher make or let us read aloud?
Why does my teacher make me use an English-English Dictionary? - What's wrong with bilingual dictionaries?
Why does my teacher make us read difficult authentic texts? - Is it necessary to read authentic texts?
Why does my teacher make us work in pairs? - The two biggest disagreements between teachers and students all over the world on how it is best to study English in class are about the amount of error correction and the amount of pairwork.
Why does my teacher skip exercises in the textbook? - One of the ESL classroom mysteries explained
Why does my teacher use games in an adult class? - Do games have a place in an adult ESL class?
Why doesn’t my teacher correct all my mistakes when I am speaking? - A teacher's view some possible answers to a question commonly asked by ESL learners

Punctuation (4)

Articles on how to punctuate in English

Apostrophes - Learn about the use of the Apostrophe in English.
Comma Splices - What is a comma splice and how can it be avoided?
The Colon - How to use the colon in English.
The Semi-Colon - How to use the semi-colon in English.

Spelling (4)

Articles looking at English spelling, including the differences between British English and American English variants

Making Adverbs from Adjectives ending in '-le' - How to make an adverb from an adjective ending in -le.
Spelling Plural Nouns - A look at the rules for making nouns plural in English.
Spelling- Nouns and Verbs ending '-y' - A look at the rules for verbs and nouns ending -y.
Verbs ending '-e' - A look at the spelling rules for verbs that end with the letter 'e'.

General Articles (8)

General English Language Articles

Concordancers - A summary of what a concordancer does, and how it can be used.
Grice's Conversational Maxims - The Gricean maxims
Linguistic Predictions - How will English develop in the future?
Mockney, Estuary and Cockney English - What is Estuary English and how is it related to Cockney English?
NATO Phonetic Alphabet - The NATO Phonetic Alphabet is used as a way of spelling words
Tips for using your Grammar Checker - A look at some of the issues with grammar checkers
What is Offshore English? - What is Offshore English and why are native speakers learning it?
Word Frequency Analysis as a Way to improve writing quality - A look at how using word frequency software can help improve your writing