“I am gladder to be here than there.” I heard this sentence today, and being an English teacher, my first instinct was to correct it. “I am more glad to be here than there.” This seemed better, but still didn’t ring correctly in my ear. I further honed it to, “I am happier to be here than there.” Wait. What’s going on with “glad”? Glad means happy. “Happy” uses the comparative form “happier” and the superlative form “happiest.” Why would “gladder” and “gladdest” be wrong? The short answer: it’s not wrong. The long answer: it could be wrong. Wrong is probably too strong of a word. “Seldom-used ..read more

I thought this language was English! Why do I need to know Latin? Believe it or not, Latin words and phrases are used in the English language all the time. We see it used in many different situations, some of which you may not realize. What is Latin? Where did it come from? Latin is the language of the ancient Romans. Their  capital was Rome (obviously), and the empire at its height included all of Italy, Spain, France, most of England, North Africa and reached into the Middle East. Rome was a huge empire and lasted for hundreds of years. Once the empire fell, Latin was no longer used. Instead ..read more

The English language can be cruel to learners. Just when you think you have pronunciation rules down, a list of words like this shows up that must be memorized. On behalf of English speakers everywhere, I’m sorry. Not all news is bad, though. This list of words shows words that are really easier to pronounce than they look. The trick with this group of words is the of the sound of a vowel. The most prominent word like this is comfortable. Many learners pronounce this word like it is spelled: with four syllables. This seems natural, because one only has to say comfort, and add able. Most native ..read more

English, like many languages, has two types of nouns: countable and uncountable. At least, this is what we are told. What if I said there was another type of noun. A noun that is both countable, AND uncountable? I found just such a noun with “pizza.” Let me explain: Countable nouns can be used with the article a/an, or with numbers that explain how many there are. Here are some simple examples: a drink an apple two boys three oranges Uncountable nouns either are too numerous to practically count, or they might have no form at all which can be counted: water rice air music It is incorrect to us ..read more

I think every airport I’ve ever been to has had signs in English, and the people at the information desk have spoken English. I don’t know if this is true in every country, but it is true in every country I’ve been to. No matter what language is locally spoken, it seems you can get by with English in an airport. If you happen to be traveling in a foreign country, this post (and the following two posts) will help. Here are 34 English words that you really should know when you fly internationally.  Luggage: all of your suitcases and bags. Also called: baggage. Suitcase: a large bag in which clot ..read more

One of the many weird quirks in English is our use of “by” and “until.” Many languages have only one word for both of these. One such language is German. My wife is German, and she is very proud of her perfect, accent-free English. I don’t remember her actual words, but she once said something like: I have to be at work until 7:00 a.m. I thought this was odd, as she is a lawyer and it would be very unusual for her to work at night. Does this mean she will work all night long? I realized her error, and since she had told me to correct her English when I heard a mistake, I told her about it. She ..read more

Photo by Carlos Muza on UnsplashA few years ago I started teaching English online. While I have been teaching with some commercial companies, I also have been teaching a few lessons privately, as well. Until now, my private students have all come to my own house for classes. A friend of my wife asked if I would teach her kids, who are in another country. This is no problem for me, but it gave me the idea that perhaps I should start a website and see what happens. My wife thinks I’m a computer geek, but I have never built a website before. Having started a few different hobbies (some more succe ..read more