The English teachers voice

  There is  and  there are What’s the difference between  there is  and  there are ? Depending on whether a singular or plural noun follows, we use ‘there is’ for singular nouns and ‘there are’ for plural nouns. Most natives will use the singular version ‘there is’ even with plural nouns, although this is actually incorrect and should only be used in informal speech. Do try to use the two forms correctly, for singular and plural nouns. Complete explanations with examples on  there is or there are  to follow: We use  there is  and  there are  to say that someone or something exists or is somewhere. We use them before the subject, or as a preparatory subject. For instance, it’s not correct to say; ‘a lot of people here’ or ‘they are a lot of people here’. The correct form would be ‘There are a lot of people here. There is : used with  singular   nouns There   is  a new  boy  joining our class today. I was told that  there   is  an  eclipse  tonight at 20:00h. There   is  a fantastic new 

  On and upon What’s the difference between on and upon?  There are two ways to answer this question, the first way is "Formality"!  ‘On’ is generally considered to be more common, and is preferred for everyday use. ‘Upon’ on the other hand, is far more formal, and should not be used all the time, instead of ‘on’. The two words, ‘on’ and ‘upon’ are mostly interchangeable, but not always. Both words function as prepositions and adverbs (also, ‘on’ can be an adjective).  Anytime, ‘on’ is being used, ‘upon’ could take its place, if the speaker wanted to do so. It’s generally best to use ‘on’ most of the time and use ‘upon’ more sparingly. Examples with ‘on’ I went on a school trip to Trujillo, Peru. Cristal put the books back on the shelf where they belong. I’ll be waiting for you on the third floor. On arrival, beware of the dogs. You can only enter on my authorization. The same examples, but with ‘upon’ I went upon a school trip to Trujillo, Peru. Cristal put t

Linking words are very important to know in any style of writing because they help the reader to follow what you are saying. Whether it’s an argument in an  essay  or a scene in a Harry Potter novel, the reader needs to be able to follow the true meaning of what they are reading.  What Are Linking Words? Linking words are words that connect ideas together in a piece of writing. It shows that two things are related in some way, or that the point you are making has supporting information. Linking words can be found at both the start of paragraphs as well as in the middle of sentences to connect two ideas together too. Why Learn Linking Words? The answer to that question is both simple and logical, if you don’t know a variety of linking words to connect ideas together in a piece of writing, then you’re writing won’t be understandable. In most cases, your readers will become confused and fail to follow the message you are trying to get across in your writing, because the bits of text that

 

  Learning a language is like learning anything else.  The more you practice, the better you get.  The more you speak, the easier it will be to speak.  The more you speak, the better your English will become. The better you speak, the more confident you will be at speaking a second language.  This will be an incentive to encourage you to speak even more. Before you know it, speaking English will be as natural as going for a walk or riding a bike, driving a car, or catching a bus. So, make it your goal to practice, practice and practice, even more, every single day, and with that, no matter who you are, you will become a proficient communicator. Reading out loud Find something you enjoy reading and read it out loud.  By reading out loud, you will develop fluency, which is the art of speaking smoothly and having the words, phrases, and sentences flow. It’s okay to stumble on a few words or have to look a word or two up in the dictionary. Just continue to read. Record yourself

  Prefixes and suffixes are super useful for customizing the meanings of words, but what are they? A prefix is a group of letters (or an  affix ) that’s added to the beginning of a word, and a suffix is an affix that’s added to the end of a word. Prefixes modify the meaning of a word. They can make a word negative, show repetition, or indicate opinion. Some suffixes add to or change a word’s meaning. Others can signal the word’s part of speech or indicate verb tense. Some Common Prefixes Some of the most common prefixes in the English language are  dis- ,  in- , and  un- , which make words negative. For instance, adding the prefix  un-  to the word  kind  creates the word  unkind , meaning  not kind . Another common prefix,  re- , indicates repetition. For example, adding  re-  to the word  build  means “to build again.” Other prefixes can indicate position:  Sub (meaning  under  or  below ) is found in common words like  subway  and  submarine .  Supra-  (which means  above ) often ap