Similes: comparisons with like and as
A simile compares two things using like or as. You can place an adjective between two as words, or put like before the thing used for comparison.
Everyday listening
Start with short recordings, then work through longer phrases. Listen once for the situation and again for the words.
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Since or for: choose the right time phrase
Choose since before the beginning of a period. Choose for before the amount of time in that period.
Since or for: talking about time correctly
Use since before the point when something began, such as since Monday or since 2021. Use for before a period or duration, such as for three days or for a long time.
Sleep, asleep, live, and alive: what is the difference?
Use sleep for the action of resting and asleep for the state of not being awake. Use live for the verb of having a home or existing, and alive for the state of being living or not dead. Before a noun, use live when that is the meaning: a live animal.
So and such: show degree and result
Use so plus an adjective or adverb. Use such plus a noun phrase. Add that and the result when you want to explain the consequence.
So or such: choose the right pattern for emphasis
Use so before an adjective or adverb: so quiet, so quickly. Use such before a noun phrase: such a quiet room, such helpful advice. With countable plural nouns and uncountable nouns, use so many or so much: so many messages, so much traffic.
Speak English or speak the English?
Say speak English when English names a language. Use the English only when a following phrase identifies a particular variety or body of language, such as the English of this contract or the English spoken in this region.
Spoken English exercises for everyday conversations
Practice one short conversation move at a time: open with a question, respond to an answer, ask a follow-up, or close the conversation politely.
Sports idioms in English: meanings beyond the game
A sports idiom uses a game-related phrase to express an idea outside sport. Get the ball rolling means start an activity. Treat the whole expression as one unit instead of translating each word separately.
Sports idioms: understand figurative English in context
Sports idioms use language from games or competition to describe ordinary situations. Read the complete phrase and the situation around it. Do not translate each word one by one.
Stationery or stationary: spelling, meaning, and memory tips
Use stationery for writing materials. Use stationary when something stays in one place and does not move.
Stative verbs: when English verbs do not take -ing
Use the simple present with stative verbs such as know, need, belong, and understand when they describe a state. Use the present continuous when a verb describes an action happening around now. Some verbs can use either form, but the meaning changes.