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Keyword Transformations
Author Archives: Robert D. E. Senior
among / amongst: what’s the difference?
There is no difference at all between the meaning and use of these two options. Speakers of AE (= American English) will use ‘among’ for sure, but speakers of BE and other variations of English could use either. Writers of … Continue reading
Gerunds and infinitives
If you still having some problems with this rather troublesome aspect of English grammar then I would strongly recommend going here: http://www.englishpage.com/gerunds/index.htm and just working your way through the tutorial and the exercises. For those of you with access, there … Continue reading
Posted in Grammar
2 Comments
Floating Exchange Rate
I was asked about this in a Bec Higher group, so here you go: According to http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/floating-currency.html, which I have no reason to doubt, a floating currency is a currency with a floating exchange rate. And according to http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/floating-exchange-rate.html a floating exchange rate is … Continue reading
Posted in Business English
Tagged bec higher, business english, floating currency, floating exchange rate
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needn’t / don’t need to / needn’t have / didn’t need to: what’s the difference?
This one confused the hell out of all of us, me included, until I looked it up. Here’s the answer: Needn’t and don’t need to There is also a difference in use when these verbs are used to describe present situations. … Continue reading
Posted in Easily Confused Words, Grammar
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balcony / terrace / loggia: what’s the difference?
This one came up recently. So there does seem to be quite a bit of confusion about this one, with various people suggesting various answers. I would suggest the following as the best guide: a balcony is a railed elevated platform projecting from the wall of a building and … Continue reading
Posted in Easily Confused Words
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shall to should // will to would
This came up in a BEC Higher class. To keep it very simple it works like this: We use ‘should’ instead of ‘shall’ and ‘would’ instead of ‘will’ in reported speech following the basic ‘one step back’ rule: John: “I’ll … Continue reading
Posted in Grammar, Reported Speech
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Commas
If you want to write well in English it is essential to learn how to use commas correctly. This will make a big difference in how your ideas flow and will certainly impress an examiner, who is, after all, only … Continue reading
stumble / trip: what’s the difference?
This one came up in a CAE class. As far as I can work out there is in fact no difference at all in the literal definitions of stumble and trip. They strike me as being synonymous, which you can clearly … Continue reading
Posted in Easily Confused Words
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The Passive Voice – How, When and Why
Clink on the link for a very nice overview of how, when and why we use the passive voice. Click to access when-and-why-passive.pdf The next link is reference guide to how to use the passive in a large variety of … Continue reading
Posted in Grammar
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Writing Check List and Correction Codes
Writing Check List Here are some essential tips on how to be successful at writing compositions: 1. Give it your full attention. DO NOT do it while having your dinner, watching TV and having a conversation with your partner at … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
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robertdesenior 