by Phil Williams | Nov 7, 2017 | General English
As I continue work on my upcoming book on writing skills, I’d like to start sharing some of the lessons I’m preparing for the books. The first, and perhaps the most important, is such a general concept it works like an introduction – the idea of...
by Phil Williams | Apr 6, 2017 | General English
Whether applying for schools or jobs or simply asking for information, at some point everyone communicating in English must write cover letters. There are templates you can use to get started, as long as you make them personal, but the basic principles for effective...
by Phil Williams | Mar 28, 2017 | General English
To make my site and the articles I post as helpful as possible, I am running a survey to find out what you, the student, are most interested in learning. And, just as important, how do you like to learn? Please take my quick survey by clicking HERE – it’s...
by Phil Williams | Mar 7, 2017 | Definitions, General English, Grammar, Prepositions, Vocabulary
Subjects formed with multiple nouns connected by of can mean consisting of, or taken from, for example ‘piece of cake’, but can also mean belonging to, or with the purpose of, such as ‘father of the bride’. ‘Bird of prey’ can be confusing, though, because it seems to...
by Phil Williams | Feb 7, 2017 | Definitions, General English, Grammar, Writing skills
In my article on the different formats for dates in UK and US English, there are plenty of rules and variations – some covered very briefly. Across business letters and other correspondence you may find uses that you do not recognise (or did not notice) in that list....
by Phil Williams | Dec 22, 2016 | Definitions, Exercises, General English, Vocabulary, Words
Here on ELB, I’m always fond of highlighting seasonal language, with articles and exercises that help practice English at particular times of year. In much of the English-speaking world, Christmas is one of the biggest and most universally celebrated festivals,...