Desert or dessert: spell and use two different words
Dessert is the sweet course after a meal. Desert is a dry place, or a verb meaning to leave someone or something behind.
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Determiners: choose words before nouns
Use a determiner before a noun when you need to show reference, ownership, number, or amount. Choose the word that gives the listener the information needed to understand the noun.
Direct and reported speech: report what someone said
Use direct speech for the exact words. To report the message, begin with a reporting verb such as said, told, or asked, then adjust pronouns, verb forms, word order, and time words when the new situation changes them.
Direct and reported speech: say what someone said
Use quotation marks for direct speech. For reported speech, choose a reporting verb such as said, told, asked, or advised, then change pronouns and time references as needed. After a past reporting verb, present forms often move one step back: "I am ready" becomes she said that she was ready.
Discourse questions: keep a conversation moving
Listen for one useful detail, react briefly, then ask about that detail. Use questions such as ‘How did that happen?’, ‘What was it like?’, ‘And then what happened?’ or ‘What do you mean by that?’ to invite the speaker to continue.
Do or make: common English collocations in context
Use do for work, duties, activities, and general tasks. Use make when you produce a result, prepare something, or arrange a decision or plan.
Do, does, and did for emphasis
Use do, does, or did before a base-form main verb when a positive statement needs extra force. Use do with I, you, we, and they; does with he, she, and it; and did for every subject in the past.
Double negatives: make negative meaning clear in English
For a clear standard-English negative, use not with anybody, anything, ever, or anywhere, or use nobody, nothing, never, or nowhere without not. Read a deliberate double negative carefully because it can mean a cautious positive idea.
Double negatives: meaning and standard use
For a clear standard-English negative, use not with anybody, anything, anywhere, or ever, or use nobody, nothing, nowhere, or never without not. A phrase such as not impossible is deliberate and means possible, often cautiously.
Double negatives: when English negatives change the meaning
In standard English, use one negative idea when you mean no. Write ‘I did not see anybody’ or ‘I saw nobody’, rather than ‘I did not see nobody’. Two negatives can also create a positive meaning: ‘It is not impossible’ means that it is possible.
Down-to-earth: meaning and use in English
Use down-to-earth for a person who seems practical, approachable, and free from unnecessary pride: Our new manager is down-to-earth and listens to the team. It often describes a person's manner. For one exact quality, choose a word such as practical, honest, or friendly.
Each and every: understand the difference
Use each to focus on members separately: Each drawer has a label. Use every to mean all members as a group: Every drawer is full. Both words are followed by a singular noun, but each can also appear in each of us or each of the drawers. Do not use every of us; say every one of us.