by Phil Williams | Nov 14, 2023 | Punctuation, Writing skills
I know a few people would like a proper introduction to commas and how to use them, so I’ve compiled a guide here based in part on the chapter on commas in Advanced Writing Skills for Students of English. Some of the specific areas I’ve gone into more detail on in the...
by Phil Williams | Oct 10, 2023 | Exercises, Grammar
It’s October, so Halloween is coming and it’s Spooky Season, which we are a fan of here on ELB. I’ve got lots of seasonal articles on the website, and you can find all my Halloween features here. Today I’m going to share a new mixed tenses exercise using...
by Phil Williams | Jul 11, 2023 | Exercises, Grammar
Continuing from last month, today I’ve got another gap-fill exercise to share, this time looking at the past perfect in use. Again, this is an exercise adapted from The English Tenses Exercise Book, where you can find many more. For the simple tenses exercise,...
by Phil Williams | Apr 11, 2023 | Definitions, Grammar, Punctuation, Writing skills
A problem many native English writers and foreign English learners have in common is combining independent clauses without the appropriate punctuation or conjunctions, often seen with what we call comma splices. I thought this would be an interesting topic to cover,...
by Phil Williams | Jan 10, 2023 | Grammar
Imperative verbs are used as commands or instructions in English. They are sometimes called “command words” and may be considered bossy or authoritative, as they are typically used to tell someone what to do. However, they can also just urge people towards an action,...