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Tips, insights, and updates about English learning
Don't Panic When Seeing New Words: 3 Steps to Guess Meanings by Breaking Down Prefixes and Suffixes
Many intimidatingly long words are actually made up of small building blocks. Once you learn to break a word down into three parts—prefix, root, and suffix—you can guess its general meaning without looking it up in the dictionary. This is the first article in our "Learning Vocabulary by Breaking Down Words" series, guiding you through 3 steps to unlock a whole host of new vocabulary.
Countable or Uncountable? Master the Concept of English Noun Quantities Once and for All
Since Chinese does not have singular and plural inflections, 'countable vs. uncountable' English nouns are a particularly common stumbling block for Chinese-speaking learners. This article uses two rules of thumb, a list of common pitfalls, and a universal formula for 'measurement terms' to help you build this concept once and for all, ensuring you write every piece of advice and every glass of water correctly from now on.
both…and, either…or, neither…nor: Master the Parallel Structure Rules of Paired Conjunctions Once and for All
The most common stumbling block with paired conjunctions is deciding whether the verb should be singular or plural. This article uses the parallelism principle, the proximity rule, and easy-to-remember test methods to help you easily master both…and, either…or, and neither…nor, and even learn the B2-level not only…but also along the way.
and, but, or, so: 4 Little Words to Connect Your Sentences More Smoothly
Want to combine two short sentences into one but often get stuck? and, but, or, and so are the most commonly used conjunctions in English. Once you learn them, you'll be able to speak longer, more natural sentences. This article uses everyday conversational examples to help you understand the seven FANBOYS siblings and comma rules.
Changing the Stress Changes the Meaning: Contrastive Stress in 'I said BLUE'
In the same English sentence, simply placing the stress on different words completely changes the implied meaning. This article uses 'I said blue' to break down three types of stress, teaching you to understand what the other person is actually emphasizing and how to make sure you emphasize the right point when you speak.
Why Do Native Speakers Sound So Fast? The Secret Lies in the Rhythm of "Stress" and "Reduction"
Native speakers might sound like they're speaking at rapid-fire speed, but they haven't actually sped up—they are just pronouncing key words clearly while compressing and sliding over function words like to, of, and and. This article uses "I WENT to the STORE to BUY some BREAD" to teach you the stress-timed rhythm of English, and shares a table-tapping practice method to help your ears keep up with real-life speaking speed.
Even Native Speakers Can't Hear It? An Introduction to Weak Forms, Contractions, Linking, Elision, and Assimilation
Even though you know every single word, do they sound like a blur of noise when strung together? The problem isn't your ears; it's that fast-spoken English involves weak forms, contractions, linking, elision, and assimilation. Using everyday examples like an apple, don't you, and next day, this article helps you understand why word boundaries disappear and teaches you how to listen and speak.
blackbird is not black bird: Where does the stress go in compound nouns?
For the same words, putting the stress at the beginning versus the end changes the meaning completely. By learning the "Is this the name of a thing?" self-test method, you'll be able to understand and correctly pronounce compound nouns like GREENhouse and HOTdog, instantly making your English rhythm sound more natural.
The Complete Guide to Comparatives and Superlatives: When to Add -er, -est and When to Use more, most
Want to say "taller" or "cheapest" but don't know whether to add -er, -est or use more, most? This article uses the trick of "counting syllables," along with spelling rules and irregular variations, to help you master comparatives and superlatives once and for all, so you can easily write natural English sentences.