Quick Answer A comma splice is when you use only a comma to join two full sentences. It is a common mistake. Fix it with a full stop, a semicolon, or a joining word like and, but, or so. Example: “It is raining, we should stay inside.” → “It is raining, so we should stay…
Quick Answer The verb “to be” is the most important verb in English. Its forms are am, is, are, was, were, and been. Example: “I am happy.” Am, Is, Are — See the Pattern Look at these sentences. Can you see which form goes with which person? Did you see the pattern? The form changes…
Quick Answer A cliché is a phrase or idea that people have used so many times that it is not interesting or original anymore. For example: “Everything happens for a reason.” Common Clichés — You Have Heard All of These Before Look at these phrases. You probably know every single one: Did you notice? You…
Quick Answer The present tense has four forms. Each one shows a different way something happens “now”: simple present (habit: I eat), present continuous (right now: I am eating), present perfect (finished, but linked to now: I have eaten), and present perfect continuous (started before, still going: I have been eating). The Four Forms —…
Quick Answer The plural of deer is deer. The word never changes. One deer, ten deer — always the same. One: I saw one deer in the forest.Many: I saw five deer in the forest. One Deer, Two Deer — The Word Never Changes Look at these words. Can you see what happens? Did you…
Quick Answer The past tense is how we talk about things that happened before now. English has 4 main past tense forms. Each one tells a different story about time. Simple example: I ate dinner. (It happened. It is finished. That is the simple past.) The 4 Past Tense Forms — See Them Side by…
Quick Answer The past tense of teach is taught. With “have” or “has,” it is also taught. Every day: I teach English.Yesterday: I taught English.Many times: I have taught English for five years. Teach and Taught — See the Pattern Read these sentences. Look at how the verb changes: Did you see the pattern? The…
Quick Answer The past tense of forbid is forbade. With “have” or “has,” use forbidden. Every day: I forbid it. Yesterday: I forbade it. Many times: I have forbidden it. Forbid, Forbade, Forbidden — See the Pattern Read these sentences. Look at how the verb changes: Did you see the pattern? There are three forms:…
Quick Answer The subject and the verb in a sentence must match. If the subject is one thing, the verb is singular. If the subject is more than one, the verb is plural. For example: “She walks” but “They walk.” Singular and Plural — See the Pattern Look at these sentences. Can you see how…
Quick Answer An idiom is a group of words with a hidden meaning. The words do not mean what they say. For example, “It is raining cats and dogs” does not mean animals are falling from the sky — it means “it is raining very hard.” See the Pattern: Words vs Real Meaning Look at…
