English learning library
English lesson library
Find an English lesson by topic or level. Read the explanation, listen to examples, and try the practice exercises.
Changes in English dictionaries: how new words are recorded
A word can feel new because you have only just heard it. A dictionary editor needs stronger evidence: repeated use, clear meaning, and enough examples to show how people use the word.
Open lessonCleft sentences: add focus to an idea
Someone says the whole team changed the plan, but one person suggested it. You can say, "It was Rina who suggested the change." The cleft sentence puts Rina in focus.
Open lessonCognitive meaning: relating to thinking
When you compare two ideas, remember a route, or solve a puzzle, you use cognitive skills. Cognitive is an adjective for thinking and related mental processes.
Open lessonCohesive devices: connect a text
A list of correct sentences can still feel difficult to read if each sentence arrives without a clear link to the one before it. Cohesive devices give readers those links. They can point back to an earlier idea, add information, show a result, or signal a change of direction.
Open lessonColons and semicolons: connect ideas with clear punctuation
A colon tells the reader that something useful is about to follow. A semicolon lets two complete thoughts stay close together. They look similar, but each mark does a different job.
Open lessonComparative structures: show change and degree
A shorter route may be faster, but a better route can save time even when it is longer. Comparative structures help you show that difference clearly.
Open lessonCompliment or complement: choose the right spelling
Maya gave her colleague a compliment after the presentation. The blue scarf was a complement to her gray coat. One spelling is about praise, while the other is about how two things work or look together.
Open lessonConcession clauses: acknowledge a contrast
You can admit that one fact is true while still giving a different result. In Although the train was late, the team reached the interview on time, the first part names a difficulty and the second part gives the result.
Open lessonContraband meaning: use the word carefully in context
A report may say that officers found contraband in a package. The word tells you that the goods were prohibited in that setting; it does not identify the goods or explain the rule by itself.
Open lessonConundrum: meaning, tone, and examples
Your team has enough money for either a faster delivery service or lower prices, but neither choice solves every concern. That kind of difficult situation can be a conundrum.
Open lessonCorrelative conjunctions: both and, either or, neither nor
Both the schedule and the budget need approval. The pair both and makes the two things feel connected. If you write both the schedule and we need approval, the sentence loses that balance because the two parts are not the same kind of structure.
Open lessonCynical: meaning, tone, and examples
Cynical describes distrust of people's motives and can also describe an action that exploits others.
Open lessonDebauchery meaning: understand register and context
A newspaper review may criticize a character's debauchery, but an everyday conversation usually needs a clearer, less dramatic word.
Open lessonDelirious: meaning, tone, and examples in English
After a high fever, Amir was delirious and spoke as if he were still at work. At the stadium, fans were delirious with joy after the final goal. The same word can describe very different situations, so context matters.
Open lessonDespicable meaning: strong criticism and careful use
Taking credit for a colleague's work is unfair. Calling it despicable says that you judge the action far more severely than a small mistake.
Open lessonDichotomy meaning: a split between opposite ideas
A discussion can make a subject seem to have only two sides. Dichotomy is the word for that kind of split.
Open lessonDidactic meaning: intended to teach, sometimes too obviously
A guide can explain a skill clearly. A story can teach a lesson as well. Didactic helps you name the teaching purpose, especially when that purpose feels too obvious.
Open lessonDiscourse markers: guide a conversation naturally
A clear conversation has signposts. If you say, "Well, the train was late. Anyway, I made it to the meeting.", well prepares the listener for your answer, and anyway brings the conversation back to the main point.
Open lessonDiscrete or discreet: what is the difference?
The two words sound the same, but they do different jobs. A survey can have discrete sections. A colleague can be discreet about a private conversation.
Open lessonDisposition: character, tendency, and other meanings
Disposition can mean usual character or a tendency to act in a certain way. Formal uses include an arrangement, a transfer of property, or the outcome of a case.
Open lessonDown the ground: meaning in cricket English
A commentator says that a batter has driven the ball down the ground. The ball is not travelling toward a place called the ground. The phrase describes its route: it has gone straight ahead, back past the bowler's end of the pitch.
Open lessonEccentric: meaning, tone, and respectful use
A neighbor wears a different bright hat every day and keeps a collection of antique radios in the hallway. You might call the hats and collection eccentric. Whether you call the neighbor eccentric depends on your tone and how well you know the person.
Open lessonEclectic meaning: a thoughtful mix from different sources
A café may play jazz, folk, and electronic music in the same afternoon. If the choices feel considered rather than accidental, its playlist is eclectic.
Open lessonEffective or efficient: choose the word for results or method
A quick meeting can be efficient, yet it may fail to solve the problem. A longer meeting can be effective if it leads to a clear decision. The words often appear together, but they ask different questions.
Open lessonWhat you will find here
How this practice helps
Browse the lessons currently available on EnglishLeap, including grammar, vocabulary, and common mistakes.
Choose a topic, read the explanation and examples, then use Practice and Test to check what you understand. The current learning library is free to use.
