A double negatives is two negative words together in the same sentence. If these two negative words are talking about the same subject they cancel each other out and the sentence becomes positive:
"I am not going to pay no bills" = I am going to pay some bills.
"She can't make friends with nobody" = she can make friends with somebody
Hello everyone,
It’s teacher James here writing from the Thai / Burma border amidst floods and fighting.
For those of you who didn’t know I took some time out from teaching with EC Brighton English language school to come to work with Burmese refugees.
Essentially I am on a 3 month placement with the objective of training the Burmese refugee teachers how to best approach the difficult job of teaching English with little or no resources to hand (see pics of classrooms).
Put down: Stop holding
"Slowly put down the gun and keep your hands where I can see them."
"She finished reading the newspaper and put it down on the table."
We use can't put something down as an idiom to describe something we are reading that is so interesting that we don't want to stop reading it.
A chat up line (or pick-up line in America) is a humourous phrase that someone says to start a conversation with a person they are attracted to.
Chat up lines are an essential part of British pub culture, often used by men and women alike to compliment or start a conversation with someone they are interested in.
They are also, absolutely hilarious!
So here's a fun lesson which contains some of my favourite chat up lines, but with one word missing.
Can you choose which word goes in each one?
This tutorial tests your ability to use a key structure that is often tested in the Use of English paper. Check your answers by clicking on 'Show Answers' below.
Today's lesson comes from Chris Tang who teaches CAE courses in London.
1) Read the following text in which a student describes the advice given by their teacher about the speaking exam:
Today we take a look at the uses of Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect Continuous.
Thanks to Amy Whiting from our Cape Town English School for this lesson.
In this ‘Note from Caroline’, I want to focus on my family, who have been instrumental in shaping the person I’ve become today. When you’ve finished reading, see if you can answer the true or false questions at the end. Enjoy!
Lesson by Caroline
My brother Terence and I were oddly close as children, in fact, my first word was ‘brother’.
He was also the first person to make me laugh.
Our four year age gap meant that he could look after me without me feeling irritated by him doing so.
Here’s a list of idioms that all include a type of food, but can you remember which food completes which idiom? When you’ve finished filling them in, see if you can explain what each idiom means. Good luck!
Lesson by Caroline
Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelt differently and have different meanings eg.
Please come here.
Did you hear that?
Complete the sentences with the correct word:
Lesson by Nasreen, EC Cape Town English school.
I love sharks, though I wouldn’t get in the water with them like some of our crazy students in our Cape Town English school. I think they’re beautiful creatures. Here’s an article all about them with some key vocabulary taken out. Can you put the correct word in the correct gap?
Lesson by Caroline