Jun 25
Happy Eid Mubarak!
Eid is the celebration at the end of the month of Ramadan.
Please follow Learn British English on Instagram.
Jun 18
Via the BBC (click).
Please watch the video below with captions and read the text below it.
Affect / effect
The verb ‘to affect’ means ‘to have an influence on’; ‘to effect’ means ‘to cause, accomplish’.
In most cases affect will be the verb, effect the noun.
Bail / bale
Use bail for the temporary release of someone awaiting trial.
To bail out is to help a company or person with financial problems (noun: bailout).
Use bale out for removing water from a boat, or jumping out of a plane.
Complement / compliment
To complement means to make complete or supply what is lacking.
Whether as a noun or verb, compliment means (to) praise.
Defuse / diffuse
defuse is to make safe an explosive;
diffuse is something that’s widespread.
Discreet / discrete
discreet means ‘careful’ or ‘tactful’;
discrete means ‘distinct and separate’.
Fazed / phased
someone who is disorientated or disconcerted can be described as fazed,
whereas phased means ‘introduced in stages’.
Formerly / formally
formerly means previously;
formally according to convention.
Gate / gait
gate is an entry; gait is a manner of walking.
Hangar / hanger
a hangar is where aircraft are kept.
A hanger is for putting clothes on.
Hyperthermia / Hypothermia
Hyperthermia is where the body temperature is greatly above normal.
Hypothermia is where the body temperature is markedly below normal.
Illicit / elicit
illicit means illegal;
elicit is to extract something, usually information.
Licence / license
The noun is licence with a ‘c’ (eg: driving licence);
the verb has an ‘s’ (eg: licensed to kill).
Practice / practise
the noun has a ‘c’; the verb has an ‘s’.
He’s a practising lawyer running his own practice.
Principal / principle
principal means ‘first in order of importance’ or a school head;
principle means ‘a rule or belief governing one’s personal behaviour’.
Rein / reign
reins are used on horses; reign is what monarchs do.
So you would rein in spending or take over the reins.
Jun 17
This free lesson is about English homophones. Homophones are words that are pronounced the same way. Please see the list below and use English captions to read the vocabulary.
List of Homophones
Cell / sell
Complement / compliment
Fair / fare
Fir / fur
Flower / flour
Hour / our
Know / no
Pair / pear
Principal / principle
Profit / prophet
Right / write
Root / route
Sail / sale
Sew / so
Scent / cent
Serial / cereal
Stationary / stationery
Suite / sweet
Wait / weight
Wear / where
Jun 01
Please watch the video and use the vocabulary notes underneath it:
Vocabulary
Party (noun): (e.g. Conservatives; Labour; Liberal Democrats)
Constituency (noun): an official area of land which chooses one MP.
Constituent (noun): person who lives in constituency.
Policy (noun): a party’s idea or plan about a subject.
Manifesto (noun): a document that includes the various policies of a political party.
Conservative party (Tory party / the Tories); leader Theresa May, Prime Minister.
Labour party; leader Jeremy Corbyn; opposition.
Liberal Democrats; leader Tim Farron.
Scottish National Party (SNP); leader Nicola Sturgeon; Scotland only.
Each party has a colour associated with them:
Conservatives: blue.
Labour: red.
Liberal Democrats: gold.
The UK general election: Thursday 8 June 2017.
Labour manifesto:
http://www.labour.org.uk/page/-/Images/manifesto-2017/Labour%20Manifesto%202017.pdf
Liberal Democrats manifesto:
http://www.libdems.org.uk/manifesto
Conservative manifesto:
May 23
Remember or remind?
Tom remembers something (by himself)
Jane reminds Tom to do something and Tom then remembers
May 21
Emmanuel Macron is the new President of France. He speaks English very well, but he makes some pronunciation errors.
Chris has recorded the speech in a British accent and pronunciation. Please watch Macron’s video using the link below and use the PDF document as well to see where the main errors are:
May 20
The Magical “F-Word”
This special lesson explores the many uses of the magical “f-word” in English, which is of course very rude and offensive. If you want to learn about this, please watch the video and access the document by clicking here. The text is also below the video.
Video of Osho: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2lNFikMFdY
American video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-30725cJe5Q
The Magical “F-Word”
One of the most interesting words in the English language today
is the word “fuck”.
Out of all the English words that begin with the letter “f”,
“fuck” is the only word that is referred to as the “f-word”.
It is a magical word.
Just by its sound it can describe pain, pleasure
hate and love.
In English, “fuck” falls into many grammatical categories.
It can be used as a verb,
both transitive:
“Mary fucked John.”
and intransitive:
“Mary fucks.”
However, it’s meaning isn’t always sexual.
It can be used as a noun:
“I really don’t give a fuck.”
It can be used as part of an adjective:
“John is a fucking spanner.”
It can be used as an adverb:
“Mary talks too fucking much.”
As an adverb enhancing an adjective:
“Mary is fucking beautiful.”
As part of another word:
“Abso-fucking-lutely.”
And as almost every word in a sentence:
“Fuck the fucking fuckers.”
As you can see, there aren’t many words with the versatility of “fuck”.
For example, there are also the following uses;
Ignorance:
“Fucked if I know.”
Dismay:
“Fuck it.”
Trouble:
“I guess I’m fucked now.”
Fraud:
“I got fucked at the second-hand car dealership.”
Curiosity:
“Who the fuck are you?”
Bafflement:
“What the fuck?”
Aggression:
“Fuck you.”
Displeasure:
“What the fuck is going on here?”
Difficulty:
“I can’t understand this fucking exam.”
Incompetence:
“He’s fucking useless.”
Instruction:
“Get fucked.”
Dismissal:
“You can fuck right off.”
Suspicion:
“What the fuck are you doing?”
Enjoyment:
“I had a fucking good time.”
Request:
“Get the fuck out of here!”
Hostility:
“I’m going to knock your fucking head off.”
Greeting:
“How the fuck are you?”
Apathy:
“Who gives a fuck?”
Clarification:
“What the fuck are you on about?”
Innovation:
“Get a bigger fucking hammer.”
And, finally, surprise:
“Fuck! You scared the shit out of me.”
May 17
Strong pronunciation: /si: ju: ‘leɪtə/
Weak pronunciation: /s(ɪ)j(ə)’leɪtə/
Example: “I’ll be at the party tomorrow; see you later.”
May 09
British Dialects: “Scone” /skɒn/ or /skəʊn/
(via University of Cambridge)
Please have a look at the below map that shows how likely it is for people in parts of the UK to pronounce “scone” (type of cake) as if it rhymes with “gone” /skɒn/:
Read this article for more details.
