‘Sorry, honey, I’ve changed the locks.’ Getting rid of Bad Grammar

As boring as it sounds, there's no improving your writing or speaking without improving your grammar. Obviously, it's not the only thing you can do, but it certainly is just as important as increasing your vocabulary. Or almost as important :)

Recognizing and admitting your problem

So, how do you let Good Grammar into your life? First of all, you've got to make yourself aware of the typical mistakes that non-native speakers of English make. Here are some of them along with a few guidelines on how to overcome these problems:

1. Difficulties with getting the word order right.

There are two main issues here. Firstly, English sentences have a set word order and we are not allowed just to put words anywhere we want. Secondly, a typical declarative English sentence should have a subject (the thing or person you are talking about) and a verb (a word or group of words that describes an action). Now, let’s see what the word order of a typical English sentence should be.

'I need to lie down.' Choosing the right word: 'lie', 'lay' or a different 'lie'?

lie - lay - lie

How do you know which one to use? And if you do, how do you use them? Let's see...

These three little bad boys can cause lots of difficulties for English learners because they seem so similar. So, if you want to stop them from ruining your otherwise perfect life, you'll need to get to know these guys a bit better. Let's get down to business!

lie (1) - to say something that isn't true
Verb forms: lied (past simple), lied (past participle), lying (present participle)

e.g. Don't you lie to me!
I promised to tell you the truth, but I lied.
He's already lied to me, and I'm sure he'll do it again.
I have a strong feeling that you're lying to me.

Prepositions and idioms:
lie to somebody
lie about something
lie through your teeth (=say something that is completely untrue)

Free IELTS Speaking and Writing feedback from a professional IELTS tutor!

You know how everybody says that it is possible to self-study for IELTS Listening and Reading, but you can’t do it with the other two parts because they need feedback from a teacher? Well, it’s true, and I’m willing to help you with that ABSOLUTELY FREE! Let me tell you how it works :)

IELTS Speaking feedback

All you have to do is record your speech when doing a practice IELTS Speaking task (you can use these or any other sample tasks) and send me the recording to beinfashion84@gmail.com. Your audio files should not be longer than 2 minutes, the format should be .mp3 or .wma, and it would be great if you could briefly describe what you’re already doing to prepare for the Speaking module. In addition, you’re welcome to tell me a few words about yourself, but that’s optional.

Learning when to shut up. Practice Task 2 for IELTS Speaking

‘The mind is a wonderful thing. It starts working the minute you are born and never stops until you get up to speak in public.’ Roscoe Drummond

To be honest, I’ve got no idea who that Drummond guy is, but he definitely has a point. For some reason, whenever most people need to give a talk, they turn into helpless puppies, which are extremely cute and awkward, but not really eloquent. Luckily, we all know how to address this problem – just practice giving speeches!

‘It’s… There’s…That’s… What was the question again?’ Vocabulary for IELTS Speaking

We all know that in many awkward situations a smile can go a long way. Unfortunately, it’s not enough to score well on IELTS Speaking, so let’s see what else might help.

Regardless of how you see the world, when you sit in front of your examiner on the day of the Speaking test, you should have an opinion on a number of different subjects and be able to express it. In this article I’ll go on the assumption that you have no problems with the former and focus on the vocabulary that can help you communicate your ideas efficiently. Here we go!