A phrasal verb is a verb that has two or more words.
They are basically made of a verb and a particle.
For example:
Turn up means increase volume: Turn up the radio, I love this song!
Call off means cancel: They called off the football game because of the bad weather.
Take back means return: I need to take back these books to the library.
Sunday marked International Women's Day _1_ the world.
The day when millions of people recognise the _2_ of females and call for gender equality.
Backed by the United Nations, the goal of Women's Day a is to _3_ world more freedoms and opportunity for women.
Women still earn earn _4_ than men in the workplace and are not promoted as often than men.
In some countries women are denied _5_ education, forced into marriage and are at risk of sexual abuse.
How many of you know the English expression raining cats and dogs, as in, 'I'm not going outside, it's raining cats and dogs'?
It means, and no one seems to know why, raining very heavily. The other strange thing I've noticed about this expression is the amount of English learners know it. Why is this expression so well know to students, I have no idea? Perhaps it's a fun, simple and easy phrase to remember?
Let's introduce you to some other expressions featuring the animal that makes up half that idiom - the dog.
Learning new words is probably the best part about languages. We find a new word, learn what it means, memorise it and then try to use it naturally in a conversation.
Do you have a note book where you keep a list of new words and their definitions? Many English learners do.
Doesn’t it feel like every time we learn a new word, we forget an old one! It seems like our brain only stores a certain number of foreign words so when we add a new one, our brain deletes and old one! Why is this?
The following sentence contains a singular noun.
They keep their car in the garage.
The following sentence contains a plural noun.
They keep their cars in the garage.
Plural nouns indicate there is more than one of something.
When a noun the ends in s, x, ch, or sh, add es to the end:
There is a an old church in the village.
There are two old churches in villages.
A pronoun takes the place of an unknown noun.
David returned the shirt David bought last week.
Instead of using David twice in a sentence, we can change the second use to the pronoun he:
David returned the shirt he bought last week.
Personal pronouns refer to specific persons, places, or things.
They love football.
I am Spanish.
She called me lazy.
In English we can use more than one verb to describe what's happening.
This sentence shows three things Donna (the subject of the sentence) did yesterday.
Yesterday Donna watched a movie, cleaned her apartment and was making lunch.
When two or more verbs have the same subject the verbs must be parallel. Parallel verbs mean the verbs used in a sentence should all be the same tense.
Read the sentence about Donna again. Is it grammatically correct? If not, why not?
Indicative, imperative, subjunctiveand infinitive are the four moods of English verbs. All manners and moods are expressed through these four verbs.
While verb tenses (present, past and future) are used to talk about time, the four mood verbs show states, attitudes and reality.
We use the indicative mood to express:
Assertion - Heathrow is the world's busiest airport.
Denial - Oliver cannot speak English.
Gerunds are nouns made from verbs by adding -ing.
We enjoyed learning about London's history
The dogs kept barking at night.
I started walking to work.
The gerund can be a subject
Running has been life since she was teenager.
Smoking is a terrible habit.
Gerund with prepositions
He is good at swimming
Gerund with phrasal verbs and to
We ended up watching a movie.
The Academy Awards or The Oscars were held last night in Los Angeles. The ceremony, now in its 87th year, celebrates the best in cinema over the last twelve months.
What's the best film you have seen recently? Recommend a good movie and why we should watch it. Leave your suggestions in the comments below.
Here are some sentences describing some of last night's events, but don't have to be a film buff (expert) to take this quiz. Read through the sentences and choose the correct missing word.