International Phonetic Alphabet
Today we’ll be talking about the International Phonetic Alphabet, or IPA for short. This article is a summary of my… Read More »International Phonetic Alphabet
Expletive Pronouns in English
Today we’ll be talking about expletive pronouns, also known as dummy pronouns in less formal language. They differ from all… Read More »Expletive Pronouns in English
Reciprocal Pronouns in English
Today we’ll be talking about reciprocal pronouns. These are pronouns that we use if the action of the verb is… Read More »Reciprocal Pronouns in English
WHEN and WHERE Used As Relative Pronouns
Today we’ll be talking about WHEN and WHERE used as relative pronouns. They are used in less formal language to… Read More »WHEN and WHERE Used As Relative Pronouns
Relative Pronouns As Objects of Prepositions
Today we’ll be talking about relative pronouns used as objects of prepositions. Of all the relative pronouns described in the… Read More »Relative Pronouns As Objects of Prepositions
Omitting Relative Pronouns
Today we’ll be talking about omitting relative pronouns. This is another article in the Relative Pronouns series. If you haven’t… Read More »Omitting Relative Pronouns
Restrictive vs Non-Restrictive Relative Clauses
Today we’ll be talking about restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses. I already wrote about this distinction in my article Relative… Read More »Restrictive vs Non-Restrictive Relative Clauses
Substituting Relative Pronouns
Today we’ll be talking about substituting relative pronouns for other relative pronouns. If you haven’t read my Relative Pronouns in… Read More »Substituting Relative Pronouns
Relative Pronouns in English – Introduction
Today we’ll be talking about relative pronouns. They are used to connect a relative clause to the main clause in… Read More »Relative Pronouns in English – Introduction
Interrogative Pronouns and Adjectives in English
Hey guys, today we’ll be talking about interrogative pronouns and adjectives in English. They are used to ask questions and… Read More »Interrogative Pronouns and Adjectives in English
Demonstrative Pronouns in English
It’s time for the next group of pronouns, demonstrative pronouns. Here belong THIS, THAT, THESE and THOSE. Demonstrative pronouns are… Read More »Demonstrative Pronouns in English
Indefinite Adjectives vs Indefinite Pronouns
In one of my previous posts we were talking about indefinite pronouns. But there are also indefinite adjectives that have… Read More »Indefinite Adjectives vs Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite Pronouns in English
We’ve been talking about pronouns a lot recently, I know, but we haven’t covered them all just yet. So, let… Read More »Indefinite Pronouns in English
Intensive Pronouns in English
Not so long ago we were talking about reflexive pronouns. Today we’re going to talk about intensive pronouns. They look… Read More »Intensive Pronouns in English
Reflexive Pronouns Basics
Hey, we’ve been talking about pronouns a lot recently. Today we’re going to discuss yet another group of pronouns, reflexive… Read More »Reflexive Pronouns Basics
Possessive Determiners vs Possessive Pronouns
Hey, in one of my previous articles we were talking about personal pronouns. There you could see examples with possessive… Read More »Possessive Determiners vs Possessive Pronouns
Personal Pronouns with Countries and Ships
Hey, today we’ll be talking about personal pronouns that refer to countries and ships. Pronouns, just like nouns, adjectives or… Read More »Personal Pronouns with Countries and Ships
Personal Pronouns After Linking Verbs
Hey, today we’ll be talking about personal pronouns again. This time we’ll have a look at personal pronouns after linking… Read More »Personal Pronouns After Linking Verbs
Personal Pronouns in English
Hey, today we’ll be talking about personal pronouns in English. These are pronouns that we use a lot in everyday… Read More »Personal Pronouns in English
Nouns with the Suffixes –ANCE and -ENCE
Today we’ll be talking about the suffixes –ANCE and –ENCE, which are used to create nouns from adjectives. We use… Read More »Nouns with the Suffixes –ANCE and -ENCE
Nouns with the Suffix -ITY
Today we’ll be talking about nouns with the suffix –ITY. We create such nouns from many adjectives ending in –E.… Read More »Nouns with the Suffix -ITY
Nouns with the Suffix -Y
Today we’ll be talking about nouns with the suffix –Y. We sometimes create such nouns from adjectives ending in –t.… Read More »Nouns with the Suffix -Y
Nouns with the Suffix -NESS
Today we’ll be talking about nouns with the suffix –NESS. It’s one of the most productive suffixes in English, which… Read More »Nouns with the Suffix -NESS
Suffixes Used to Create Nouns of Action
Today we’ll be talking about suffixes that are used to create nouns of action. These nouns derive from verbs. There… Read More »Suffixes Used to Create Nouns of Action
Nouns of Recipience
Today we’ll be talking about nouns of recipience. These are nouns derived from verbs that denote the recipient of an… Read More »Nouns of Recipience
Nouns of Agency and Profession
Today we’ll be talking about nouns of agency and profession. These are nouns that derive from verbs of action and… Read More »Nouns of Agency and Profession
Pluralizing Compound Nouns
Today we’ll be talking about pluralizing compound nouns. The general rule is that we add the plural ending to the… Read More »Pluralizing Compound Nouns
Plural-only Collective Nouns
Today we’ll be talking about collective nouns. I already wrote an article about collective nouns some time ago, so make… Read More »Plural-only Collective Nouns
LESS vs FEWER
Today we’ll be talking about the adjectives LESS and FEWER which are the opposites of MUCH and MANY, so we… Read More »LESS vs FEWER
Subject-Verb Agreement with Measurements
In one of the previous videos we were talking about subject-verb agreement. You know that the form of the verb… Read More »Subject-Verb Agreement with Measurements
Subject-Verb Agreement
Today we’ll be talking about subject-verb agreement. The verb must agree with the subject. In English verb forms are not… Read More »Subject-Verb Agreement
Singular THEY
Today we’ll be talking about the so-called singular THEY pronoun and its corresponding object form THEM and the possessive adjective… Read More »Singular THEY
Nominalization
Today we’ll be talking about nominalization. Nominalization is the process of creating nouns from other parts of speech, mostly verbs… Read More »Nominalization
Noun Phrases
Today we’ll be talking about noun phrases. A noun phrase is a group that consists of two or more words… Read More »Noun Phrases
Compound Nouns
Today we’ll be talking about compound nouns. A compound noun is a noun that consists of two or more words… Read More »Compound Nouns
Attributive Nouns
Today we’ll be talking about attributive nouns. Attributive nouns, also known as noun adjuncts, are nouns that are used before… Read More »Attributive Nouns
Collective Nouns
Today we’ll be talking about collective nouns. Collective nouns refer to a collection or group of multiple people, animals or… Read More »Collective Nouns
Count and Noncount Nouns
Today we’ll be talking about count and noncount nouns. Count nouns are nouns that denote individual items that can be… Read More »Count and Noncount Nouns
Concrete and Abstract Nouns
Today we’ll be talking about concrete and abstract nouns. Concrete nouns denote people, animals and objects that are physically tangible,… Read More »Concrete and Abstract Nouns
Nouns of Address
Today we’ll be talking about nouns of address. These are nouns used in direct speech. We use them to get… Read More »Nouns of Address
Common and Proper Nouns
In the previous couple articles we were talking about nouns. Nouns can be categorized in many different ways. Let’s start… Read More »Common and Proper Nouns
Predicate Nouns
In the previous article we were talking about nouns used as subjects or objects. I also mentioned that nouns can… Read More »Predicate Nouns
Nouns as Subjects and Objects
Today we’ll be talking about the two major roles nouns play in English. They can be used as the subject… Read More »Nouns as Subjects and Objects
Parts of Speech in English
Today we’ll be talking about the parts of speech in English. We have the following main parts of speech: Parts… Read More »Parts of Speech in English
OPPOSITE vs ACROSS FROM
The two prepositions, OPPOSITE and ACROSS FROM, can be often used interchangeably. They both mean on the other side of… Read More »OPPOSITE vs ACROSS FROM
Four-Word Complex Prepositions
In two of my previous articles I discussed the most important two-word and three-word complex prepositions. I also promised to… Read More »Four-Word Complex Prepositions
Three-Word Complex Prepositions
In one of my previous articles I discussed the most important two-word complex prepositions. I also promised to cover three-word… Read More »Three-Word Complex Prepositions
Two-Word Complex Prepositions
Prepositions may be simple, so consisting of just one word, or complex, so consisting of two, three, or even four… Read More »Two-Word Complex Prepositions
Free vs Bound Prepositions
Prepositions are function words that introduce a prepositional phrase. They can be divided into free and bound prepositions. Many prepositions… Read More »Free vs Bound Prepositions
Modals and Semi-Modals Overview
When discussing auxiliary verbs, we should pay special attention to modal verbs and semi-modals. Without diving into details, let’s just… Read More »Modals and Semi-Modals Overview
The Three Primary Verbs in English – BE, HAVE and DO
The three verbs, BE, HAVE and DO, play an important role in English. They are called primary verbs. In fact,… Read More »The Three Primary Verbs in English – BE, HAVE and DO
Function Words That Recapitulate an Expression
Some function words are used to recapitulate an expression. Here’s the video version of the article: The most obvious example… Read More »Function Words That Recapitulate an Expression
The Preposition ACCORDING TO
The preposition ACCORDING TO has several basic meanings: 1) as stated or reported by sb or sth: According to Principal… Read More »The Preposition ACCORDING TO
Determiner – Pronoun – Adverb Overlap
Function words like determiners and pronouns often overlap, which means the same forms are used as both determiner and pronoun.… Read More »Determiner – Pronoun – Adverb Overlap
Major Classes of Pronouns
Today we’ll be talking about the major classes of pronouns. Pronouns are function words that are used instead of a… Read More »Major Classes of Pronouns
Status of -ING Words – Nouns, Verbs or Adjectives
Before we start talking about -ING words, it’s worth mentioning that in English in general it’s not always easy to… Read More »Status of -ING Words – Nouns, Verbs or Adjectives
Characteristics of Adverbs
Let’s have a look at the morphological, syntactic and semantic characteristics of adverbs. You can watch the video version of… Read More »Characteristics of Adverbs
Abbreviation vs Acronym vs Initialism
The term ABBREVIATION is often used in a general sense for any abbreviated form of a word or group of… Read More »Abbreviation vs Acronym vs Initialism
Characteristics of Adjectives in English
In my previous articles I discussed the characteristics of nouns and verbs. Now it’s time for the characteristics of adjectives.… Read More »Characteristics of Adjectives in English
Characteristics of Lexical Verbs in English
Today we’ll be talking about the main characteristics of verbs. Here’s a video version of this article: There are two… Read More »Characteristics of Lexical Verbs in English