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May 21, 2020 There are many different ways to use the word “once.” (Click here for the audio.) 1. once = one time 2. once = after or soon after 3. once = a time in the past 4. at once = right now 5. all at once = suddenly Here’s a video: May 6, 2020 Do you have trouble writing a basic paragraph? This video can give you some ideas for creating and organizing a paragraph about a location: April 18, 2020 This video helps you talk about numbers of things that are in a group: March 23, 2020 Considering the situation we are all in, I thought it would be helpful to make a video featuring commonly heard vocabulary related to the coronavirus. Here it is: If you find this to be helpful, I can easily make more videos like this one. March 22, 2020 The word of the day is “uneasy.” This is a good word to use when you don’t feel comfortable or something is making you very nervous.
March 17, 2020 My advanced level students were having a lot of trouble understanding how verbs change when they are in the subjunctive form. I think this video helped them: March 9, 2020 Use “how long” when asking about an amount of time: March 8, 2020 The word of the day is “farewell.” farewell = goodbye March 7, 2020 Comparative adjectives and superlative adjectives are useful when talking about differences between and among things and people. After completing Yellow Level lessons six and seven for these types of adjectives, you should take this quiz. March 6, 2020 The word of the day is “hunch.” March 5, 2020 The word of the day is “task.” A task is usually a short project or assignment; however, it could also be something that takes a long time to complete and is on a large scale. Learn about the word “task” here. Your lesson for the day is on forming questions in the present perfect tense. March 4, 2020 I just want to remind my students that you should be working on the reading exercises as well as the lessons. Here is a link to the Yellow Level Reading Room. Try to read at least one story every day. You can also practice your reading skills by using the audio recorder found at the bottom of the page. March 3, 2020 If you are studying in the Yellow Level this month, today’s lesson is on the present perfect tense. This is an important verb tense that you can use to talk about situations that began in the past and continue up to the present. The word of the day is “depend.” March 2, 2020 Here’s a new video for the phrase “when it comes to.” March 1, 2020 Attention to the corona virus outbreak really took hold of the country last week. When it was confined to China, people noticed, but it wasn’t a thing people talked about. Now that has changed. When there is a sudden increase in something, you can use the word “surge” to describe it. Students who successfully completed the Red Level will begin the Yellow Level today with Yellow Level Lesson One. This lesson is a review of some things students learned about the past tense in the Red Level. The Yellow Level focuses on the perfect tenses: present, past, and future. Students who are still not clear about the use of the simple and continuous tenses should repeat the Blue and Red Levels. February 29, 2020 The last lesson for the Red Level helps students talk about days on a calendar. It’s a simple but useful lesson. After students complete all of the Red Level lessons, they should go to the review, and then take the tests: Students who do well on the tests should move forward to the Yellow Level. Students who don’t do well on the tests should repeat the Red Level. One of the ways to improve your English grammar and usage skills is to repeat lessons that you have already studied. It often takes students more than one attempt to really learn a point of grammar well. February 28, 2020 When talking about the future, it’s common to put “will” and “be” together:
You can learn more about this in Red Level Lesson Twenty-eight. February 27, 2020 Verb phrases are formed by putting a verb and a preposition together. Sometimes verb phrases are called idioms or expressions. Whatever you want to call them, you have to learn about them because they are very common in English. Here are some examples:
Keep in mind that verb phrases often have more than one meaning or more than one application. That’s why it’s so important to spend time learning about them. Click here for Red Level Lesson Twenty-seven if you are interested in learning more about verb phrases. February 26, 2020 In today’s lesson, students learn how to use the verb “go” and then another verb. This is very common in spoken American English, but perhaps not too common in British English. You certainly don’t have to speak like this, but be ready for it when you hear it:
So, as you can see, the verb “go” is not necessary. You can easily leave it out, but for some reason we use it. Go figure. Learn more about this in Red Level Lesson Twenty-six. The word of the day is “attract.” February 25, 2020 Here is a new video for adjectives. The important thing to remember about adjectives is that they are not always easy to recognize. Some students confused adjectives with nouns or verbs. February 24, 2020 Your lesson for today is on the verb phrase (be) used to. If you are used to something, you do it whether you like it or not. It’s an activity or a situation that is part of your life. Notice the difference between used to (yesterday’s lesson) and (be) used to:
Learn more about (be) used to in Red Level Lesson Twenty-four. February 23, 2020 Use “used to” when talking about the past. Something happened in the past, and now it’s completely finished. You might not return to that activity or situation.
This is a very important way of talking about the past You can learn more about it in Red Level Lesson Twenty-three. February 21, 2020 The word of the day is “modify.” To modify something is to change it, usually for the better. Tom modified his van. You should see the inside! February 20, 2020 Reflexive pronouns refer to a previous subject in a sentence. Here are some examples:
You can learn more about reflexive pronouns in Red Level Lesson Twenty. February 19, 2020 The word of the day is “more.” I’d like more pizza, please! February 18, 2020 This video shows how to form the past perfect continuous tense. It’s intended for intermediate and advanced level learners of English. February 17, 2020 The word of the day is “less.” This small but useful word is difficult to use for some students. February 15, 2020 Your lesson for today is on conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, yet, and so. February 14, 2020 Today is Valentine’s Day. What do you know about this holiday? Click here to learn. The word of the day is “passion.”
February 13, 2020 The word “like” is used as a verb and in other ways that you should know about. Click here to go to Red Level Lesson Thirteen and learn more about the word “like.” February 12, 2020 Most Americans use the “going to” future when talking about things that are planned for the future. To do this successfully, you have to think about how the verb “be” changes according to the subject. Here are some examples:
Do you see how to the verb “be” changes in these sentences? You can learn more about this in Red Level Lesson Twelve. Have you spent any time looking at the prepositions section of the website? If not, you should. It takes a long time to learn how to use prepositions in English. The best way to do that is by reading. On this page, you can find ways that the preposition “above” is used. February 11, 2020 Today’s lesson is on forming the future tense with the modal verb “will.” The word of the day is “downright.” February 9, 2020 The word of the day is “forthright.” This new video provides examples of how the words “forth,” “forthright,” and “forthcoming” might be used. February 8, 2020 Today, students studying in the Red Level learn the differences between the adjectives “many” and “much.”
Do you know why one question uses “much” and the other question uses “many”? If not, click here to learn more. February 6, 2020 The word of the day is “prime.” A man who is in the prime of his life feels good about himself. February 5, 2020 Today’s lesson of the day shows students how to form questions with the helping verb “do.” This sentence is in the present tense:
This question is in the present tense:
The helping verb “do” goes at the beginning of the question. It matches the subject, “you.” In this next example, the subject is singular and in the third person: he.
Notice how the helping verb changes to match the subject. Also, the main verb is in the simple form when there is a helping verb. To learn more about forming questions by using “do.” click here. February 4, 2020 This new video shows how to use the adverb “anyway” in a sentence: February 1, 2020 The verb “do” is an important verb for forming questions and negative verbs. It’s also a common main verb. Understanding the verb “do” is extremely important when you first study English. Learn more about “do” as a helping verb in Red Level Lesson One. Each course level on this website has a checklist. Print out and keep the checklist next to your computer, tablet, or phone and use it to track your progress as you move through the lessons: PRINT: Click here to go back to January 2020 Click here to go to the LAEO Blog Archive. o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o |