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Tips, insights, and updates about English learning
Always Confusing L and R? Tell Them Apart in One Second by 'Whether the Tip of Your Tongue Touches'
L and R are the most headache-inducing pair of sounds for Asian learners, who often pronounce rice as lice and grass as glass. Actually, there is only one secret: look in the mirror to see if the tip of your tongue touches your upper gums. If it touches, it's L; if it doesn't, it's R. This article will guide you to practice tongue positioning, minimal pairs, and the dark L at the end of words.
was / were / went / said, came: Common words you see every day that actually hide high-frequency irregular past tense verbs
You already know words like was, were, went, said, and came, but did you realize they are actually in the past tense? This article pulls out the irregular past tense verbs hidden in common words all at once, complete with a base-form comparison table and identification tips to help you stop getting stuck when speaking in the past tense.
Rising or Falling at the End of a Sentence? Three Arrow Rules to Instantly Understand the Intonation of Questions and Lists
For the same English sentence, a rising or falling intonation at the end can change the meaning entirely. This article uses three sets of real-sentence arrow rules to help you master the intonation of Yes/No questions, Wh- questions, statements, and lists. Complete with identification tips and practice methods, learners from A1–B1 will easily be able to understand and speak with the right intonation.
"according to my opinion" is Wrong: Natural Ways to Say "I Think" and "In My Opinion"
Many Taiwanese people blurt out according to my opinion when they want to say "I think," but unfortunately, this sounds like a broken sentence to native speakers. Through a series of "✗ Chinglish → ✓ Natural expression" comparisons, this article will help you understand the division of labor between according to and in my opinion once and for all, so you'll never mix them up again in writing or speaking.
Mastering Imperative Sentences: Give Commands, Invitations, and Reminders in One Sentence—Just Add please to Stay Polite
In English, telling someone to sit down, reminding them not to worry, or inviting a friend to go together all use the same type of sentence—the imperative sentence. Its structure is incredibly simple: just start directly with the base form of the verb. This article teaches you four ways to use them: giving commands with a base verb, using Don't for negatives, adding please to be polite, and making suggestions with Let's. Complete with correct vs. incorrect examples and handy takeaways to help you tell them apart.
i before e, except after c: Is This Old Spelling Rule Actually Accurate?
The "i before e, except after c" rule you've memorized for years is actually only half right. This article fills in the key condition (it only counts when it sounds like "ee"), clearly explaining why we use ei after c (ceiling, receive) and ie elsewhere (believe, field). We also list four must-memorize exceptions—weird, seize, foreign, and protein—along with spelling tips and right-vs-wrong examples, so you'll never have to rely on luck again.
How to Use Vocabulary Mode: Mark Words as Known or Unfamiliar and Let the Forgetting Curve Schedule Your Reviews
Constantly forgetting the vocabulary words you study and unsure when to review them? Loopy's Vocabulary Mode turns key words from lessons into flashcards. Simply mark them as 'Mastered' or 'Struggling,' and the system will use the forgetting curve to bring them back for review just as you're about to forget them. This article will show you how to get started in three easy steps.
How to Use the Vocabulary List: Collect New Words and Let the System Automatically Schedule Reviews
Do you write down new words in textbooks, sticky notes, or phone memos, only to rarely look at them again? Loopy's vocabulary list gathers the new words you've collected from everywhere in one place, and even uses the forgetting curve to automatically schedule the next review time for each word, allowing you to start practice with just one click when they are due. This article will teach you how to get it up and running in three steps.
Take Notes While Listening: Timestamped Notes Let You Jump Back to the Exact Sentence with One Click During Review
Ever written down 'I don't understand this part' during a lesson, only to forget which exact sentence it was when reviewing? Loopy's timestamped notes let you attach your questions directly to the sentence where they happen. During review, simply click to jump back and listen to that exact sentence again, helping you clear up every point of confusion one by one.