FEW and A FEW (with 5 audio tracks!)

It is easy to confuse “few” and “a few.” When you add a little “a,” it makes a big difference! I’ll explain using some natural English sentence examples to help you learn the difference. Please read the bullet points below. Few ① = not many“There are few people in this restaurant.” Few ② = can be used to show how …

Learn Present Perfect Tense (English Grammar)

The PRESENT PERFECT tense is have/has + the past participle form of a verb. I have just eaten lunch so I’m not hungry. We use it to describe new information or an action that is related to now. Erica’s contact lens has fallen out. Let’s help her find it.Erica has lost a contact. Let’s help her find it. – Erica …

Adjectives ed and ing + quiz (English Grammar)

Adjectives with ed and ing + simple QUIZ In today’s post, you will learn how to use English adjectives that end with ed and ing. You will also find a simple quiz at the end of the post. Adjectives are an important part of our communication. They let us give more detail to our conversations and help to make our …

Have To or Must? Easy Grammar Guide + Infographic

Several of my English students have asked me “Should I use HAVE TO or MUST?” I made this Grammar Guide and Infographic to help answer this question. Have to and must are both used to show that something is necessary, but there are some differences.  HAVE TO can be used in the past tense (HAD TO do something) while MUST …

English Preposition Collection (11 posts + 4 quizzes)

Learn English prepositions with this collection of my blog posts and quizzes. Speak with CONFIDENCE An English grammar topic that I spend a lot of time teaching my private and company students is prepositions. All parts of grammar are helpful to learn, but I like to teach prepositions for two reasons. These little words are easy to confuse. Probably because …

Unless – As long as (English grammar)

In today’s blog post learn how to use the conjunction unless and the expression as long as in natural conversation. Use this English grammar like a pro! Unless In today’s post, I will teach you how to use the conjunction UNLESS in natural English conversation. Do you remember what a conjunction is in English grammar? A conjunction is:a word that …

NOW THAT English Grammar (2019)

Now that In today’s post you will learn NOW THAT English grammar with easy to understand examples. This English grammar point came from a real lesson I had with a private student here in Japan. The Japanese Emperor has just changed. The title of Emperor was passed from father to his eldest son. My student and I were talking about …

The English preposition BY (5 uses,15 real examples)

We often use the preposition by to show how we do something. How we travel My family went to Osaka by bullet train. Harrison goes to work by bicycle if the weather is nice. *Note – When we walk we don’t say by walk, we say on foot. I went to the mall on foot yesterday, it took 45 minutes. …

10 Phrasal verbs with OFF (15 real examples+video)

In this post you will learn 10 Phrasal verbs with the OFF. Audio and video for listening practice, and real examples in natural English. Take clothes off We put on, clothes, shoes, hats, gloves, jewelry etc. BUT We take these things off. “In Japan, people don’t wear their shoes in the house. They always take them off at the entrance.” …