Stabbed, jailed, reborn: the chef who lost his love of food – then regained it behind bars
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EN: Passive Voice in the Past Simple ('was/were + past participle'): Used to describe an action that happened to the subject in the past, often emphasizing the victim or result rather than the perpetrator.
The cyclist was injured in an accident on Friday evening.
EN: Past Participle as a Reduced Relative Clause: 'called Nathaniel Mortley' functions as a reduced form of 'who was called Nathaniel Mortley', post-modifying the noun phrase 'a 16-year-old'.
A student called Liam won the science competition.
EN: In the UK, 'knife crime' involving teenagers has been a significant social and policing issue, particularly in urban areas like south London. Community street festivals are popular summer events, but can occasionally become flashpoints for youth violence.
EN: The past perfect tense ('had' + past participle 'received') is used to describe an action that happened before another past event (in this context, being attacked in 2010). The adverb 'just' emphasizes that it happened very recently before that reference point.
She had just finished her homework when the lights went out.
EN: The past continuous tense ('was' + '-ing' verb 'planning') is used here to describe an ongoing state of mind, intention, or future arrangement that existed around that specific time in the past.
They were planning to travel abroad before the trip was cancelled.
EN: In the UK education system, 'GCSEs' (General Certificate of Secondary Education) are key exams taken at age 16 (Year 11). Most students take 8 to 10 GCSEs, so achieving excellent grades in 14 is exceptionally impressive. 'A-levels' (Advanced Levels) are subject-based qualifications taken at age 18 to gain university entry; students typically take only 3 or 4, making Mortley's plan to take 5 a sign of extraordinary academic ambition.
EN: The double genitive (or 'double possessive') pattern 'a friend of his girlfriend' combines 'of' with a possessive form (or here, a noun phrase specifying the possessor) to indicate one of several friends.
He met a colleague of his brother at the party.
EN: The relative adverb 'where' introduces a non-defining relative clause, adding descriptive background information about the location mentioned in the main clause ('a street').
We stayed at a quiet hotel, where we could relax completely.
EN: In the UK, 'knife crime' involving teenage gangs has been a serious public concern, particularly in major cities like London. The setup described—being lured to an ambush by an acquaintance—reflects a tragic reality of street violence in certain urban areas.
EN: Compound sentence with coordinating conjunction 'and': Two independent clauses are joined by 'and' to show chronological sequence. The second clause uses passive voice ('was called') because the caller is unspecified or unimportant.
He slipped on the ice, and a doctor was called immediately.
EN: Infinitive of purpose ('to take him to hospital'): The 'to + verb' structure functions as an adverbial modifier indicating the goal or purpose of calling the ambulance. Note that in British English, 'to hospital' is commonly used without the article 'the' when referring to receiving medical care.
She ran out to catch the bus.
EN: In British English, speakers say 'go to hospital' or 'take someone to hospital' without the definite article 'the' when referring to being hospitalized or receiving medical treatment, similar to 'go to school' or 'go to church'. In contrast, American English typically includes the article: 'go to the hospital'.
EN: The present perfect passive ('have been' + past participle) is used here to describe an action that occurred at an unspecified time in the recent past whose effects are felt in the present moment.
I think the window has been broken.
EN: Non-defining relative clauses using 'who' provide extra, non-essential information about a person. They are separated by commas and cannot use 'that'.
He spoke to the manager, who agreed to refund his money.
EN: In British culture, a 'pub' (public house) serves as a central community hub. If someone is injured or in trouble on the street, seeking shelter in a local pub where staff ('behind the bar') can assist and call emergency services is very common.
EN: A preposition followed by a gerund or noun phrase (such as 'of opening a restaurant') is often used after nouns like 'dream', 'idea', or 'hope' as an appositive/complement defining what the noun involves.
Her dream of becoming an astronaut came true after years of training.
EN: The linking verb 'seem' followed by a to-infinitive ('seemed to disappear') expresses an impression or appearance, indicating that something appeared to be the case based on evidence or perception.
All their problems seemed to vanish once the rain stopped.
EN: Passive Voice in the Past Simple ('was sent'): Formed with 'was/were' + past participle. It indicates that the action happened to the subject rather than the subject performing it. 'Be sent to jail' is a common passive idiom meaning to be imprisoned.
He was sent to prison for three years after the trial.
EN: Prepositional Phrase 'behind bars': An idiomatic expression functioning as an adverbial phrase of place, meaning 'in prison' or 'incarcerated'. The 'bars' refer literally to the iron bars of a jail cell.
The criminal will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
EN: In British English, 'offence' is spelled with a 'c', whereas American English uses 'offense' with an 's'. Furthermore, 'behind bars' is a universally understood idiom across the English-speaking world representing incarceration, often used in journalistic writing to avoid repetitive use of the word 'prison'.
EN: "Now that" is a subordinating conjunction used to explain a new situation or cause. It means 'since' or 'because now', indicating that something has changed and this change affects the main clause.
Now that the exams are over, we can finally relax.
EN: The idiom "make up for lost time" means to do something with great urgency or energy because one has missed the opportunity or wasted time in the past.
After being sick for two weeks, she worked overtime to make up for lost time.
Key vocabulary words with IPA pronunciation, definitions, example sentences, and interactive quizzes.
Phrases with type tags, bilingual definitions, usage notes, and example sentences.
to do something quickly or thoroughly because you started late or missed opportunities earlier
in prison or jail
to physically wound someone in the back with a sharp object (or idiomatically, to betray someone)