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Tips, insights, and updates about English learning
"I very like" is wrong! The Most Common Mistakes Learners Make with "Very"
While a single word like "很" can modify almost anything in Chinese, the English word "very" can only modify adjectives and adverbs—never verbs. This post uses a dense comparison of "✗ Chinglish → ✓ Authentic Expressions" to help you instantly spot the most common misuses of "very" and remember a quick, 3-second rule for getting it right.
What are sight words? Learn these few hundred words first to instantly make your reading smoother
Words like the, of, and and are short and inconspicuous, yet they make up half of all English text. This article will introduce you to sight words: why they are the most worth learning first, why you need to practice them until you can 'recognize them at a glance,' and three actionable practice methods to instantly make your reading and listening smoother.
Just Touch Your Throat: Understand Voiced vs. Voiceless (B/P, D/T, F/V, S/Z, K/G) Once and For All
Many English consonants actually come in "pairs"—the mouth shape is exactly the same, and the only difference is whether the vocal cords vibrate. By learning a simple trick of touching your throat, you will be able to distinguish between bat and pat, fan and van, and even your word-ending pronunciation will sound much more natural.
Present Simple vs. Present Continuous: Ask This One Question First to Never Use Them Wrong
"I study every day" and "I am studying right now" look very similar in English, but they are two completely different things. This article uses a simple question to teach you how to distinguish between the Present Simple and Present Continuous. Complete with signal words, stative verb exceptions, and common mistakes, you'll be able to tell them apart intuitively after reading.
Prepositions in / on / at: How to Choose for Time and Place, Mastered with One Simple Rule
in, on, and at are the three most common and easily confused prepositions in English. This article uses a 'smallest to largest' memory rule, paired with A1–A2 example sentences, to clearly explain their usage for time and place once and for all, while helping you fix the most common mistakes.
Past Simple Tense: Regular Verbs with -ed, be Verbs was/were, and Memorizing the 11 Most Common Irregular Verbs
The Past Simple tense is used to talk about things that happened 'yesterday, last week, that year.' While it seems simple, there are two major pitfalls: not knowing irregular verbs well, and forgetting to revert the verb back to its base form when did/didn't is used. This article uses a 'signal word' method to help you master regular verbs with -ed and the be verbs was/were, and then memorize the most common irregular verbs like go→went and have→had as a complete set. After reading this, you'll confidently speak about the past.
un-, in-, im-, dis-: 4 Negative Prefixes to Master Antonyms in One Go (Word Breakdown Series)
Learn just one negative prefix, and you can instantly add a whole list of antonyms to your vocabulary. This article will help you understand how to use and spell un-, in- (including im-, il-, ir-), and dis-, plus give you a paired-memorization method so you can learn two at a time, like happy→unhappy and possible→impossible.
can / could / can't: Your First Modal Verbs—Easily Talk About Ability, Permission, and Requests
can, could, and can't are probably the very first modal verbs you learned. This article uses a simple three-way decision trick—"ability, permission, or polite request"—to help you understand which one to use at a glance, while avoiding the two most common mistakes made by Chinese speakers: cans and can to.
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.