Learn American English Online Blog

The Blue Level comes to an end with two tests: Part 1 and Part 2. The answers for the tests are on this page. If you have trouble with these two tests, I recommend that you repeat the Blue Level. If you do well, move forward to the Red Level. Make sure that you print out the Red Level checklist and keep it next to your computer so that you can monitor your progress.

There’s a new reading exercise for the Blue Level: Diana works as a nurse.

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Green Level students move on to the Purple Level today. The main goal of this level is for you to become familiar with commonly used verbs in English. Many of these verbs are also used when forming idioms, so the meanings of these words can change. Click here to print out the checklist for this level.

The word of the day is "dim."

There’s a new Word of the Day quiz for the month of September. All of the words are verbs in the passive voice.

 

Today’s lesson for Blue Level students is a review of the Blue Level. If you are a new student, this review will help you prepare for tomorrow’s test. If you are a returning student, the review will help your relearn some basic things that you may have forgotten.

The word of the day is "ever."

Blue Level students study the verb "need" today.

If you are a Green Level student, here’s a link to Part 2 of the test. The answers for the test are on this page.

The word of the day is "wander." Thanks go out to Srinivas for suggesting this word.

The word of the day is "lump."

Blue Level students study "would like" today. This is similar to the word "want," but there are some important differences.

Green Level students take a test today. You’ll take the second part of the test tomorrow.

Students studying in the Blue Level go to Lesson Twenty-six to learn about using the verb "want" in the past tense.

Green Level students go the Green Level review to prepare for a test.

The word of the day is "zone."

This is a simple lesson for the verb "want." Over the years of teaching English, I’ve discovered that many students have trouble using "want" properly.

The verb "want" requires an object to follow it:

  • I want a banana. (The object is "banana.")
  • She wants a new phone. (The object is "phone.")
  • They want. (incorrect! There’s no object.)

It’s also common to see the use of an infinitive after the verb "want."

  • They want to go home.
  • He wants to see a movie.
  • What do you want to do today?

Click here to learn more.

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For students working in the Green Level, click here to practice listening and writing with dictation exercises. This is something that I do regularly with the students that I work with every day.

The word of the day is "yield."

Blue Level Lesson Twenty-four introduces "have to." There are two parts to this lesson: Part 1 and Part 2.

Use "have to" in the same way that you use a modal verb. It’s very similar to the modal verb "must," however, auxiliary verbs must be added when making the negative and when forming questions:

  • A: What do you have to do today?
  • B: I have to go shopping. I don’t have to do anything else.

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Green Level Lesson Twenty-four shows you a few things about using the verb "get" followed by a past participle. This is very common in American English, but it often confuses students who are learning English for the first time.

The word of the day is "x-ray."

The modal verb "can" describes ability or possibility. All modal verbs are used with a main verb in the simple form:

  • He can play football very well. (The main verb is "play.")
  • She can find what she needs at the store.
  • Can you hear what I said?

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Green Level students study "be called" today. We use "be called" when asking about the name of someone or something:

  • What is this called?
  • Do you know what this is called in English?
  • In the United States, this is called a fire hydrant.

The word of the day is "wag."

There’s a new reading exercise for the Red Level: Fall is in the air.

 

If you live in the United States, you’ll have to learn how to talk about basic math operations in English. Click here to learn vocabulary and grammar related to addition and subtraction.

When you want to describe where, how, or when something was manufactured, consider the use of "be made."

  • Where were your shoes made?
  • How was the food made?
  • When was the movie made?

The word of the day is "video."

Talking about numbers in English can be a real challenge for students. Blue Level Lesson Twenty-one features two videos that offer basic instruction in numbers.

Do you ever use the verb "use" in the passive voice? If not, Green level Lesson Twenty-one will show you how. This is important for describing interactions.

The word of the day is "ultimate."

Blue Level Lesson Twenty will help you talk about the days of the week in English.

Green Level Lesson Twenty is a review of verb tenses using the verb "be" as the main verb. The reason for this is because intermediate and advanced learners of English often forget or overlook the many common uses for this verb. Remember: the verb "be" is the most important verb to understand when you study English (in my humble opinion).

The word of the day is "tale."

Welcome to the newest students on this website. It’s free to join!

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To have your photo included in the photos section, email your teacher at and tell him your first name and the name of the country that you come from. It’s fun to be a member of this website.

Blue Level students study count and noncount nouns. This is an important lesson for everybody!

Green Level students review continuous forms for verbs.

The word of the day is "snap."

Do you know the months of the year in English? If not, click here.

Green Level students can practice their knowledge of the passive voice on this page.

The word of the day is "rail."

There’s a new reading exercise for the Blue Level: Mr. Jefferson is a math teacher.

Today’s Blue Level lesson is on time, day, and date.

The Green Level lesson for today is on the use of "make" as a causative verb.

The word of the day is "quiet."

How did you do on yesterday’s Word of the Day quiz? The answers are on this page.

There are two parts to your lesson for today. In the first part, you will learn about the verb "be" in the past tense. In the second part, you will learn how to use "there" with the verb "be" in the past tense.

Intermediate and advanced level students learn how to use causative verbs, "have" and "get."

The word of the day is "pack."

There’s a new word of the day quiz for September 2013.

Today is a good day to study possessive pronouns. Yesterday’s lesson was on possessive adjectives. It’s helpful to study both at the same time.

  • That’s my jacket. (possessive adjective)
  • That’s mine. (possessive pronoun)
  • This is your book.
  • This is yours.
  • Are these his shoes?
  • Are these shoes his?

Do you understand the difference between possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives? If not, this video might help you:

 

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Green Level students study passive gerunds in Green Level Lesson Fifteen. A gerund that is passive is formed like this:

being or getting + the past participle

  • My dog doesn’t like being washed.
  • Getting punished for someone else’s misbehavior is unfair.
  • They hate being told what to do.

 

The word of the day is "obese."

The word of the day is "numb."

To see the lessons for today, go to the home page.

There’s a new reading exercise for the Blue Level. The reading exercises on this website are designed to match the reading abilities of students for each level.

Blue Level students work on the formation of information questions today.

Green Level students study the past perfect tense in the passive voice.

The word of the day is "massive." Considering all the big disasters that have happened in the U.S. and around the world recently, this adjective makes a good choice.

All of my students should review the past tense today. We use this tense when describing activities that happened yesterday, last night, this morning, last year, last week, last Sunday, etc. I don’t think the past tense is too hard to learn, but irregular verbs will cause some confusion. You must remember how irregular verbs change from the simple form to the past tense form.

Green Level students need to remember the differences between verbs that are in the past tense and verbs that are in the passive voice. It’s easy to make mistakes with the passive voice because the main verb is in the form of the past participle, which sometimes looks like a past tense verb. Your lesson for today is on passive verbs in the present perfect tense.

The word of the day is "label."

Blue Level students study the use of prepositions today in Blue Level Lesson Eleven. It takes a long time to learn how to use prepositions properly, so don’t get too frustrated. You can find a list of preposition and examples for how they are used on this page. One of the best ways to learn how to use prepositions is by reading and listening to the way people speak.

Green Level students learn what the past continuous tense looks like when it’s in the passive voice.

The word of the day is "kin."

There’s a new reading exercise for the Yellow Level: Richard Ryan is stuck in traffic.

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Although it has been twelve years since the Twin Towers fell and the Pentagon was struck, the memory of that day still feels kind of fresh. On this day we remember those lost on 9/11.

Today’s lesson for the Blue Level is on articles. These are difficult for everyone–even advanced students make an occasional mistake with articles: a, an, and the.

The Green Level lesson for today is on the present continuous tense in the passive voice.

The word of the day is "jack." This is a popular name for a man, but it has many other uses.

Blue Level students study the verb "have" today. We use this verb for many different reasons:

  • What do you have for breakfast every morning? (food)
  • Do you have an umbrella? (ownership)
  • Let’s have a party this weekend. (activity)
  • She has a cold. (health)
  • Have a nice day!

Students working in the Green Level study modal verbs used in the passive voice and in the past tense:

  • He should have gotten up earlier. (But he didn’t.)
  • She shouldn’t have eaten that. (But she did.)
  • I could have helped them. (But I didn’t)
  • They must have made a mistake. (But we don’t know for sure.)

The word of the day is "idiot."

There’s a new Green Level reading exercise. See if you can find all of the verbs that use the passive voice.

As you start the second week of the Blue Level, you’ll learn to form and use the present continuous tense. This verb tense if used for three main reasons:

  1. Something is happening right now, at this moment.
  2. Something is going to happen later in the future.
  3. Something is happening in your life.

These sentences provide examples:

  1. You are learning English on this website. (now)
  2. Lisa is traveling to New York tomorrow. (future)
  3. Bill and Vanessa are attending college. (a current situation)

This lesson is in two parts. The second part is here.

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Green Level students study the use of modal verbs in the passive voice.

The word of the day is "harass."

Today’s Blue Level lesson is on the present tense. We use this tense to describe activity that happens every day, or all the time, or never:

  • I wake up at 6:00 in the morning every day.
  • What time do you wake up?
  • Bob never wakes up early.
  • He always sleeps late.
  • My students don’t like to miss a single day of class. They are very good students.

In Green Level Lesson Seven, you’ll learn how to use "be supposed to" when describing expectations that people have of each other.

The word of the day is "gap."

If you are a new student and would like to add your photo to the photo gallery for September 2013, email me with your first name and the name of the country that you come from. Include your picture, too, of course.

The word "there" is very common in English, and there’s a chance that you might not be using it enough. You might also be confusing "it" with "there." If so, print out this exercise and see how well you do.

Students studying in the Green Level learn that the verb "get" can often be used as a substitute for "be" when forming the passive voice. This is an important thing to understand when studying American English.

The word of the day is "fee."

Four essential pronouns for you to learn about are found in Blue Level Lesson Five. There’s also a video included. You can watch it here:

 

Notice that the voiced "th" sound is used when pronouncing these words. This is a difficult sound for some people to make. You can get more practice with the voiced "th" sound by clicking here.

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Are you studying in the Green Level this month? If so, you have completed Levels Blue, Red, and Yellow, or you are an intermediate to advanced student of English interested in learning about the passive voice. Today’s lesson is on the future passive.

The word of the day is "ease." Do you feel at ease when you speak English, or do you get nervous?

If you aren’t sure what a noun or a pronoun is, you can learn about these important kinds of words in Blue Level Lesson Four. Nouns and pronouns represent two of the eight parts of speech.

In Green Level Lesson Four, you’ll learn about the passive voice in the past tense. The verb "be" is in the past tense:

  • The pies were baked in the oven at 400 degrees.
  • The mess was cleaned up very quickly.
  • A promise was made to help the refugees.

The word of the day is "darling."

Blue Level students learn how to form questions in the present tense using the verb "be" in Lesson Three.

Green Level students learn how to form the passive voice in the present tense in Lesson Three. This is a little confusing because it looks as though the main verb is in the past tense, but it isn’t. The main verb is in the form of the past participle.

  • Dinner is served at 5:30.
  • Cars are made out of steel.
  • Students are taught the basics of English grammar on this website.

The verb "be" is in the present tense (is / are). Remember that the verb "be" determines the tense of the verb when you use the passive voice. Is this confusing? Let me know.

The word of the day is "capture."

There’s a new Think in English exercise.

Students studying in the Blue Level learn how to make the verb "be" negative in Blue Level Lesson Two. For new students, notice that the lesson of the day matches the date. Today is the second of September, so you are working on Lesson Two.

Green Level students learn how to talk about the place or time of their birth in Green Level Lesson Two. This is a good example of something that everyone needs to know how to talk about regardless of how much English is understood.

The word of the day is "blind."

There’s a new reading exercise for the Blue Level Reading Room. Click here to read about Patricia and Graciela.

The school year begins in September. Are you excited to return? This is a good time to commit yourself once again to hard work and study. On this website it’s the study of English.

Yellow Level students move forward to the Green Level.

The Blue Level begins here. Print out the Blue Level checklist and keep it by your computer as you work through all of the lessons.

The word of the day is "absurd." It’s important for students to go to the word of the day every day–even if your English skills aren’t that good–because it offers you listening and reading practice as you improve your vocabulary. Words are often chosen at random, but I think this month we’ll move through the Word of the Day alphabetically starting with the letter "a."

Click here to go to August 2013.

Click here to go to the LAEO Blog Archive.

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