Conversation repair strategies
When something is unclear, say what you need: ask for repetition, name the detail you want to check, or restate the meaning in your own words. Keep the phrase short and polite.
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Coordinating conjunctions: join equal ideas
Use a coordinating conjunction to join equal ideas. Choose and for addition, but or yet for contrast, or for a choice, and so for a result.
Couch potato: meaning, tone, and use in English
Use couch potato for an informal comment about someone who spends a lot of free time sitting and watching entertainment: 'I was a couch potato all weekend.' Be careful when you say it about another person. A direct sentence such as 'He spent the evening watching television' is kinder and more exact.
Could, would, or should: ability, polite choices, and advice
Use could for past ability, possibility, or a polite request. Use would for a polite offer, invitation, preference, or imagined result. Use should for advice. After each modal, use the base verb: could help, would choose, should rest.
Could, would, or should: choose the meaning
Use could for possibility, would for imagined results, and should for advice. When another verb follows, use its base form.
Cover letters in English: show how your experience fits the role
Name the role early, choose two or three relevant skills or results, support them with brief evidence, and close by asking to discuss the role. Adapt the letter for each application instead of sending one general message everywhere.
Cry over spilt milk: meaning and use in English
Use cry over spilt milk for a past problem that cannot be fixed: There is no use crying over spilt milk. We missed the deadline, so let us ask what we can do next. In American English, you may also see cry over spilled milk.
Dark horse: meaning, use, and possible origin
A dark horse is an unexpected competitor or candidate with a real chance of doing well. In a race for class representative, a quiet student who suddenly receives strong support may be called a dark horse.
Descriptive writing: choose specific English details
Choose a clear focus and use particular words for what the reader should notice. Show the place or moment through selected details, then read the paragraph to check that the details arrive in a natural order.
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.
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.