The IF Clauses or Conditional clauses are really tough (hard, difficult). So, we’re going to start out with the basics. First, I’ll talk to you about the present real conditional. This is when you are talking about a real situation in the present that is not necessarily going to happen, but it might happen. So, [...]
Have you ever had a shitty (terrible, bad) day when nothing really bad happened, but you were in a bad mood (you are not happy, not feeling joyful)? Sometimes you’re just having a bad day. That’s life. I hope today is not one of those days for you. I hope it’s a fabulous day. However, [...]
You want to sound like a real native English speaker, so you start using “hafta” instead of “have to” and “wanna” instead of “want to” and “gonna” instead of “going to”, but people look at you strangely. Why??? There are a few reasons. 1. You are overemphasizing (making it too strong when you talk) hafta, [...]
You need to use indirect speech when you are telling about an experience in your life because you have to explain what other people said. In my last blog post, I talked about how to do this. In this video blog, I tell you about taking my one-year-old daughter to get surgery on her foot. [...]
Vocabulary and Transcript You know, today I was planning on going to the beach and I thought, you know, a lot of my students have a problem with that sound, beach, that e sound, eee. The big confusion – it seems to be – comes between the e sound and the soft i sound. “i” [...]
This is one of the most confusing parts of English grammar. Normally, you should not use THE before a name. But sometimes THE is part of the name. For example, THE United States of America! Or the U.S. You can also say the U.S.A., though it’s very rare, except in military culture, to say the [...]
No, this is not about that kind of massage! Get your mind out of the gutter (Don’t think dirty thoughts). In this video blog post, I just came from an appointment with my massage therapist/chiropractor. I thought some of you ESL learners may have back pain and you might need to know who to see [...]
If you want to write a strong TOEFL essay or even a good email, you have to get good at using details in your writing. In this blog post, I talk about an experience I had in which a really sweet transvestite did my makeup. (sweet = nice) (transvestite = a man dressed as a [...]
Ha ha! Got you! (got you = I tricked you, I got your attention) I thought I’d get your attention if I put sex in the title. (to get someone’s attention = to make someone listen to what you are saying) I’ll give you some juicy examples later, so keep reading!! (juicy examples/details = examples/details [...]
This is my next lesson on articles. I was in my kitchen, preparing for a party, so I took out a bunch of food and used it to explain articles. When you watch, please notice how I pause. Sometimes I say “Um.” Sometimes I say something wrong and correct myself. It’s not the perfect way [...]