When I was in my first semester in college, the professor in the English class I was taking, commented on my writing. He looked at my paper, then looked at me and told me that I would probably not get an A in his class. My sentences were “awkward,” according to him, because they didn’t […]
English modals: must not vs. don’t have to
I recently saw someone saying “teachers don’t have to make mistakes” while he meant “teachers must not make mistakes.” Although I don’t agree with this statement, I’d like to clarify the difference between must not and don’t have to. Must is one of the modals in the English language. The word “modal” comes from the […]
The power of community – a weekend in NYC
What is the best way to learn English?
10 commonly confusing English phrasal verbs
Prepositions give many nonnative speakers of English a very hard time. And when they are used to form phrasal verbs, they seem even harder. Oftentimes it is challenging to remember what preposition follows a certain verb in order to communicate a particular meaning. According to the Oxford dictionary, a phrasal verb is a verb that […]
10 mistakes Spanish speakers make in English
How I started my career as a pronunciation coach
The confusing meaning of double negatives
You have probably heard that double negatives in English are not grammatically correct. A double negative is when you use two negative words in a phrase or a sentence. For example, ✘ “I don’t like nothing” is grammatically incorrect. The correct way to say this sentence in English is ✔ “I don’t like anything” or ✔ “I like nothing.” But there is another […]
Six things I didn’t do when I was learning English
There is a difference between learning English as a Second Language (ESL) and learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The former is learning the language while you are in an English speaking country (the US in my case) while the latter means that you study it while you are in your home country or […]
What does it mean to be fluent in English?
Do you consider yourself fluent in English or are you waiting to reach this “perfect” level when you will no longer make any mistakes and speaking English will feel as natural as speaking your native language? What does it mean to be fluent in another language anyway? When I started college in the US, I […]