- Every = all without exception – All (+determiner)+ plural = Every + singular All children need love/ Every child needs love All cities are noisy/ Every city is noisy Please switch off all the lights/ Please switch off every light I’ve written to all my friends/ I’ve written to every friend I have (not… [...]
Almost and Nearly
- Almost = Nearly – Sometime Almost = nearly + little nearer – usually almost + negative works (not nearly) almost never, almost nobody, almost no money.
Ago and For
- time + ago = time before now I went to Spain six weeks ago (=six weeks before now) – for time = spent time I went to Germany for six weeks this summer (=I spent six weeks in Germany)
Across and Through
- across = movement on a surface We walked across the ice We drove across the desert I walked across the square – through = movement in a three-dimensional space We walked through the wood We drove through several towns I walked through the crowd. – People, ships + across The river’s too wide to [...]
after (preposition)- afterwards (adverb)
After is a preposition: it can be followed by a noun or an -ing form We ate in a restaurant after the film After seeing the film, we ate in a restaurant After in not an adverb: we do not use it with the same meaning as afterwards, then or after that We went to [...]
List A
-able/-ible Adjectives ending in -able or -ible can be difficult to spell because both endings sound identical. You’ll always need to be on guard with these words and check each word individually when you are in doubt, but here are some useful guidelines: (i) Generally use -able when the companion word ends in -ation: abominable, [...]
afternoon, evening and night
Afternoon changes to evening when it starts getting dark, more or less. However, it depends on the time of year. In summer, we stop saying afternoon by six o’clock, even if it is still light. In winter we go on saying afternoon until at least five o’clock, even if it is dark. Evening changes to [...]
at – in – on (time)
at + exact time in + part of day on + particular day at + weekend, public holiday in + longer period 1. Exact times I usually get up at six o’clock I’ll meet you at 4.15 Phone me at lunch time In informal English, we say What time…? (At what time…? is correct, but [...]
Like and as
Like = ‘similar to’, ‘the same as’. What a beautiful house! It’s like a palace, (not as a palace) ‘What does Sandra do?’ ‘She’s a teacher, like me.’ (not as me) Be careful! The floor has been polished. It’s like walking on ice. (not as walking) It’s raining again. I hate weather like this, (not [...]
Across and Over
- across and over = on the other side of ; to the other side of – prefer over = movement to the other side of something high Why is that woman climbing over the wall? – prefer across = movement to the other side of a flat area. It took him six weeks to [...]
