Are you ready for a test?

Blue Level students: Test #1 and Test #2. The answers are here.

Purple Level students: Test #1. The answers are here.

Tomorrow Blue Level students move to the Red Level and Purple Level students move forward to the Orange Level.

The word of the day is "slick."

There’s a new video that explains some of the differences among indefinite pronouns.

 

Also, click here for a new lesson on the pronouns "nobody" and "no one."

Blue Level students prepare for tomorrow’s tests with this review.

Purple Level students also have a review to complete. Click here.

Today’s word of the day is "anyone." This is from the new Aqua Level section of the website. I recommend that beginning and intermediate level students complete the Aqua Level.

The last lesson in the Blue Level is on the verb "need" in the past tense. Tomorrow Blue Level students start the review and then there are two tests for Friday.

Students studying in the Purple Level practice listening and writing skills on the dictation page and reading skills in the Purple Level Reading Room.

The word of the day is "squirt."

Blue Level students study the verb "need" today. We use this word when something is necessary or important. You can also use "need" as a noun:

  • They need food. (verb)
  • They have a need for food. (noun)
  • She needs love. (verb)
  • She has a need for love. (noun)

Purple Level students study the verb "work" today. This word has many interesting applications that you should be aware of.

Use "would like" when making a request or expressing your interest in something. This is your lesson for today if you are working in the Blue Level.

Purple Level students study the verb "set."

The word of the day is "twist."

How to use the verb "want" in the past tense is an important thing to learn. Click here for Blue Level Lesson Twenty-six.

Learn how to use the verb "last" in this Purple Level Lesson.

The word of the day is "budge."

Blue Level students study the verb "want" today. Afterwards, take this quiz.

Purple Level students study the verb "have." This verb is both a helping verb and a main verb.

The word of the day is "bungle."

This a new video for students who have problems pronouncing words that begin with the letter "a."

 

This quiz matches the video. If you regularly visit the Word of the Day section of the website, you should do quite well on it.

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Blue Level students learn how to use "have to" today. This lesson is in two parts, and there’s a quiz.

Purple Level students study the verb "do." This is a tricky verb to use properly because it’s both a helping verb and a main verb. Intermediate and advanced level students make mistakes with "do."

The word of the day is "young."

The modal verb "can" is one that beginning level students learn early because it expresses ability and possibility.

  • Can you speak English? (ability)
  • How much weight can you lift? (possibility)
  • He can’t walk because he broke his leg. (ability)
  • She can’t make it to the party because she has to work late. (possibility)

Learn more about the verb "can" in Blue Level Lesson Twenty-three.

Click here to learn about the verb "send."

The word of the day is "weak." Don’t confuse this with the word "week."

There’s a new reading exercise for the Blue Level. Click here to read about the Winter Olympic Games.

One great thing about learning anything online is that you can study at home without worrying about a difficult commute to school. Many students on the east coast of the U.S. had a day off from school either yesterday or today due to snow storms that have made traveling difficult. As long as the electricity is still on, they can study online. Isn’t that great?

How did you do on yesterday’s quiz? Did it help you? Was it easy or difficult? Today’s Blue Level lesson is on addition and subtraction. I’m sure you already know how to do simple math, but you need to learn the vocabulary and grammar for adding and subtracting. Not all of the rules apply as you will see in Lesson Twenty-two.

The verb "let" is featured in today’s Purple Level lesson.

The word of the day is "vicious."

Blue Level Lesson Twenty-one has two videos about using numbers. There’s also this brand new quiz.

Learn about the verb "seem" in Purple Level Lesson Twenty-one.

The word of the day is "unlike."

Today is a national holiday in the United States commemorating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a civil rights leader during the 1950s and 1960s. You can learn more about him and the struggle for human rights on this page.

Blue Level students learn about the days of the week.

Purple Level students study the verb "be." This is one of the most basic yet complicated verbs in English.

The word of the day is "tie."

This is a reminder to students who receive emailed lessons and updates to the website. I can’t change your email address. If you get a new email address, you have to sign up again on the homepage. The reason for this is because my email service doesn’t want to have anything to do with the creation of spammy email. I understand this reason.

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Do you know the difference between count and noncount nouns? If not, Blue Level Lesson NIneteen is very important for you to study. Let’s look at these two questions:

  • How much lettuce is in the referigerator?
  • How many apples are in the bowl.

One question uses "how much" and the other uses "how many"? Why? Click here to find out.

The verb "run" has many different uses. You can run for political office. You can run water in the sink. You can can run a business. You can run an engine. You can run from the police. You can run out of energy. Click here to learn more about this interesting verb.

The word of the day is "simple."

There’s a new lesson for the Aqua Level. Click here to learn about the indefinite pronoun, "someone."

The Blue Level lesson for today is on the months of the year.

The verb "play" is important to understand because it’s so common. This lesson is for students working in the Purple Level.

The word of the day is "random."

Blue Level Lesson Seventeen is for new students. Click here to learn about time, day, and date. What day is today? What’s the date? What time is it?

 

Learn about the verb "cut" in Purple Level Lesson Seventeen. There are many different idioms that use this verb. You can take this quiz after completing the lesson.

The word of the day is "quack."

There are two lessons today for students studying in the Blue Level. The first lesson shows how the verb "be" changes in the past tense. The second lesson shows how the past tense form of the verb "be" and the word "there" are used together.

There are many different ways to use the verb "keep." Learn about "keep" in Purple Level Lesson Sixteen.

The word of the day is "perk."

 

The next set of lessons for the Aqua Level focuses on indefinite pronouns. These are pronouns that we use to describe groups of people, individuals, or the the absence of people. Lesson Eleven explains some important things for the word "everyone."

Students working in the Blue Level study possessive pronouns today.

Purple Level students study the verb "tell." Know that you have studied both "say" an "tell" you are ready for a quiz to see if you really understand the difference between these two verbs.

The word of the day is "ooze." Don’t you love the long vowel sound in this word?

Blue Level Lesson Fourteen is on possessive adjectives. Don’t confuse these with possessive pronouns, which is the lesson for tomorrow. New lessons in the Aqua Level help you learn the differences between these two groups of words.

For beginning level students, there’s a new YouTube video for pronouns in the first person, singular.

The Purple Level lesson for today is on the verb "say."

The word of the day is "niche."

Words used to make questions include who, what, where, when, why, and how. Learn about them in Blue Level Lesson Thirteen.

In contrast to yesterday’s lesson on the verb "need" is today’s Purple Level lesson on the verb "want." These two words should be studied together because some students mix them up. This quiz will determine how good you are at recognizing the difference between "want" and "need."

The word of the day is "mix."

The lessons for this week will include instruction for the past tense. Use this verb tense to describe things that you did yesterday, last week, last year, an hour ago, etc.

Learn about the verb "need" by clicking here. We use this word when something is necessary.

The word of the day is "lead." The audio will be added later. There’s a small problem with uploading sound files this morning. The word "lead" rhymes with "read."

 

There’s a new page for the Aqua Level. It lists all of the lessons that are available to students. After you look at all of the lessons, see how well you do on the pronoun review page. As always, I recommend that you write your answers in your notebook.

Today’s Blue Level lesson is on prepositions.

The Purple Level lesson is focused on the verb "come." There are many idioms that use this word. The lesson includes this quiz.

The word of the day is "kitchen." Pay special attention to the pronunciation of this word. I can’t tell you how many of my students over the years have mispronounced this word and said "chicken" instead of "kitchen" when speaking English!

An important pronoun to understand when asking questions about people is "who." Click here for this new Aqua Level lesson to learn about it.

Many, many of my students have trouble using articles (a, an, and the). Even intermediate and advanced level students need help. Blue Level Lesson Ten offers an introduction to articles.

Listen to your teacher read examples for the verb "make" in Purple Lesson Ten. There are also two videos included on this page, and there’s a quiz. The idioms that make use of this verb are found here.

The word of the day is "jittery."

 

Use the pronoun "they" when talking about things or people. It’s important to remember that "they" is the plural form for "it."

The verb "have" is a common verb in English. Learn about it in Blue Level Lesson Nine.

Students studying in the Purple Level click here to learn about the verb "know."

The word of the day is "idiom."

Here you go —

Aqua Level Lesson Eight shows examples for the plural form of the pronoun "you."

In Blue Level Lesson Eight you’ll learn about the present continuous tense. You form this tense like this:

(be) + _________ ing

The verb "be" changes to am, is, or are depending on the subject. There are two parts to this lesson. The second part is on the formation of questions.

The Purple Level lesson for today is on the verb "look." There’s a matching idoms page for this verb, and there’s a quiz.

The word of the day is "house." This word can be used as a noun and as a verb.

If you need help with plural pronouns, we‘ll be working on them for the next couple of days. Today’s Aqua Level lesson is on the pronoun "we."

Blue Level Lesson Seven helps you form the present tense. This can cause confusion even among intermediate and advanced students of English, so take a look at it just to make sure you are using the present tense correctly.

Purple Level Lesson Seven shows examples for the verb "see." We use this word when talking about vision and understanding, and it can also be used when you meet someone.

The word of the day is "glide."

The pronoun "it" causes some confusion for beginning level students. Click here for Aqua Level Lesson Six if you need help with it.

Students working in the Blue Level study the word "there" today. The words "their" and "there" and the contraction "they’re" all sound the same. It’s important to know the differences among them.

The Purple Level lesson for today is on the verb "give." Don’t forget to take a look at the idioms that are formed with this word.

The word of the day is "frigid."

 

The words "this," "that," "these, and "those" are demonstrative pronouns. It’s essential that you understand the differences among these words. Beginning level students go to Blue Level Lesson Five to study them.

Aqua Level lessons are also intended for new students. Click here to learn about pronouns used when talking about girls and women.

The verb "take" has many different applications. Go to Purple Level Lesson Five to learn about this important verb. You can also click here to see what kinds of idioms are formed by "take." There’s is a quiz that goes along with this lesson.

Do you know what a noun is? What’s a pronoun? Blue Level Lesson Four explains.

We’re also learning about pronouns in the Aqua Level. Today’s lesson is about pronouns used for men.

The Purple Level lesson for today is on the verb "use."

 

The word of the day is "dodge."

To make a question with the verb "be," place it before the subject:

verbsubject 
Are
you
a student?
Is
it
cold outside?
Where are
we?

Click here to learn more about making questions with the verb "be."

Today’s Purple Level lesson is on the verb "put." Don’t forget to look at the idioms that include this word.

In Aqua Level Lesson Three, you’ll learn how to use the pronoun I and other pronouns that refer to oneself.

The word of the day is "chubby."

Blue Level students learn how to make the verb "be" negative in Lesson Two.

The pronoun "you" is both singular and plural. Learn more about it in Aqua Level Lesson Two.

Purple Level Lesson Two shows different ways in which the verb "get." is used. There are also many idioms that include this verb.

The word of the day is "bag."

Today is the first day of a seven-month program designed to help you master basic English grammar and usage. If you follow the website daily, your English should improve; however, I can’t guarantee anything. It all depends on how hard you are willing to work. Advice for achieving success is found on this page and in the video below.

This is the first lesson for the Blue Level. It’s on the verb "be." This is the most important verb to understand in English. I will also post lessons for the Aqua Level this month. This is a new level for beginning level students, but it’s still in the testing phase. Lesson One is on the pronouns "you" and "I." Let me know if these new lessons are helpful. If you have any suggestions, send them to me.

For students who have completed the first four levels which we began in September 2013, you may move forward to the Purple Level. The first lesson is on the verb "go." All of the lessons in this level are about verbs.

The word of the day is "abide." This word is fairly common when talking about following rules and regulations.

Good luck with your goal of learning English this year!

 

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