The Teaching Hall

Simple Past Tense The common formula for a simple past tense sentence is: subject + past tense verb + object. Here's a graphic from easyenglishpath.com showing the formula for positive, negative and question sentences in the past tense.

Why English is hard to learn So true! Can everyone understand this poem and why it is funny? :)

Do you remember when you joined X? I do! #MyXAnniversary

Figures of Speech Ever heard somebody say, "it's a figure of speech"? There are many of these that are used in everyday language. It can be very useful to know what they mean and how they are used. Here are some examples.

Adjectives These are words that describe nouns - they describe people, places or things. They are used to make writing and speaking much more specific or clearer. Here are some examples of adjectives, together with their meanings.

Prepositions These are words used to link nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words in a sentence. They are important because they express direction, position, movement, location, and how an action is completed.

Figures of Speech These are words or phrases used in a non-literal sense in order to create emphasis. Here are some commonly-used Figures of Speech together with their meanings and examples of how they are used.

Conditionals These describe the result of something that might happen (in the present or future) or might have happened but didn't (in the past). They are also called "if clauses" because they contain the word "if". Here's a great graphic from @tedielts showing how to use them.

Its vs It's These words are often misused, even by native English speakers. Its is the possessive form of the pronoun "it". It's is the contraction of the words "it is". Here's an overview showing the difference between these words, and how they should be used.

Mustn't vs Don't Have To Mustn't (or must not) and Don't Have To (or do not have to) are Modal Verbs. Here's a good graphic from @WoodwardEnglish showing the difference.

Practice vs Practise In British English, 'practice' is the noun (person, place or thing) and 'practise' is the verb (action word). In American English, 'practice' is both the verb and the noun. Examples: I want to practise my English. It is common practice to check your spelling.

Prepositions These are words used to show direction, time, place or location. They are important because if used incorrectly they can change the meaning of a sentence (or make it incorrect). Here are a few common prepositions of place with a short exercise to help you practise.

May vs Can These words are very often confused. May is used to ask permission or express possibility. Can is used to express ability but is also used informally to ask permission. Think of this example: - Student: "Can I go to the bathroom?" Teacher: "You can, but you may not."

Idioms These can sometimes be difficult for English learners because the meaning of the Idiom (phrase or expression) cannot always be determined from the individual words used. Here are some common examples from @TakeLessons together with their meanings.

Do / Does / Did Here are the answers to the previous exercise.

Do / Does / Did Here's an exercise to test your understanding of the differences. See how many you can get. I will post the answers in a day or two.

Active vs Passive Voice When a sentence is written in the active voice, the subject performs the action. When a sentence is written in the passive voice, the subject receives the action. Here's an example from ESL.com showing the differences in each tense.