Till or until: meaning, form, and sentence position
Use till and until to mean up to a particular time. They can come before a time expression or before a clause. Until is more formal, while till is more informal.
English for work and meetings
Practice expressions used to talk about work, projects and other people. Try each recording before opening the explanation.
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Titles and names in English writing
Capitalize a person's name and a courtesy title before it. Capitalize a job title when it directly comes before a name, but use lowercase when the title describes a role after the name or in general.
Turn-taking in English conversations
Wait for a natural pause, then use a short phrase that matches your purpose. Say "Can I add something?" to join in, "Just one more point" to hold your turn briefly, and "What do you think?" to pass the turn to someone else.
Unless: state an exception or condition
Use unless to mean if not when one condition changes a result. Say, Unless the road is closed, we will take the usual route. The usual route is the plan, and a road closure is the exception.
Used to and be used to: talk about the past and familiarity
Use used to + a base verb for a past habit or state. Use be used to + a noun or an -ing form for something that feels familiar.
Useful English words beginning with O
Use the context to choose the O word. An obstacle is a problem in the way, observe means watch carefully, obtain means get, and an outcome is a result.
Veteran: meaning in service, work, and sports
A veteran is a person who has served in the armed forces, or a person with a lot of experience in a job, activity, or sport.
What a semicolon does in English writing
Use a semicolon between two complete sentences that have a close connection, or between detailed list items that already contain commas. Do not use it to join a complete sentence to a fragment.
Who, which, or that: relative pronouns in English
Use who for people. Use which for things, especially when the clause is extra information between commas. Use that in many defining clauses about people or things, but never after a comma.
Will or going to: decisions, plans, and predictions
Use will for a decision made now: The doorbell is ringing. I'll get it. Use be going to for a prior plan: I'm going to visit my cousin this weekend. For predictions, will often states what you think, while be going to often points to present evidence.
Absence and in absentia: meaning, context, and use
Use absence to name someone or something not being present. Use in absentia after an action to say that it happened without the person concerned being there. For example, a student may be absent from a ceremony, and the degree may be awarded in absentia.
Accuse and allege: understand the difference
Use accuse when someone says that a person or group did something wrong. Use allege when someone makes or reports an unproven assertion. Accuse commonly follows the pattern accuse someone of doing something. Allege often follows allege that plus a clause.
