Beside or besides: place, addition, and sentence position
Use beside before a person or thing when you mean next to it. Use besides when you are adding something else, an extra reason, or an additional fact.
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Beware of: use this warning phrase correctly
Use beware of before the danger, risk, or problem you want to mention. Follow it with a noun, a pronoun, or a verb ending in -ing.
Body-part idioms in English: figurative meaning in context
Body-part idioms use a body word to express another idea. Keep an eye on means watch carefully, lend a hand means help, get cold feet means become too nervous to continue, cost an arm and a leg means be very expensive, and have a heart of gold means be very kind.
Body-part idioms in English: meaning, context, and register
Read the whole sentence first. A body-part idiom usually describes an action, feeling, price, agreement, or memory rather than a real body part. Use it when the listener is likely to know the expression and the register fits the situation.
Both, either, and neither
Use both for the two together, either for one of two possible choices, and neither when neither member of the pair fits the statement.
Brake or break: two words with different jobs
Use brake for the part of a vehicle that slows it or for the action of slowing it. Use break when something splits, stops, or pauses.
Break a leg: meaning and use in English
Say break a leg to wish a performer success before a performance, audition, or similar event: 'Break a leg in your audition tomorrow!' It is a friendly idiom, not a warning or a wish that someone gets hurt. Use good luck when the person or setting may not understand the idiom.
Break the ice: meaning and use in English
Use break the ice when an action helps strangers or a quiet group begin talking: The host asked a simple question to break the ice. It is usually used for the start of an interaction. If you need to state the action plainly, say introduce yourself, ask a question, or begin the conversation.
British and American English: useful spelling and vocabulary differences
British and American English are both standard varieties. Learn common pairs such as colour and color, then follow the spelling and vocabulary style your reader expects.
British and American pronunciation: notice common sound patterns
Notice recurring sound patterns, then listen to the speaker in front of you. Many American accents pronounce r after a vowel, while many southern British accents do not when no vowel follows. Other features, such as t sounds and vowels, also vary within both countries.
British and American spelling: common differences
Choose the spelling style expected by your reader and keep it consistent. British English often has forms such as colour, centre, and travelled; American English usually has color, center, and traveled.
Broke and broken: understand the difference
Use broke as the past simple of break, usually for an action at a finished past time. Use broken as the past participle after have, has, or had, and as an adjective for something damaged or not working. Broke can also mean without money in informal English.