Reading English Books Together

Sometimes the name of a real person becomes the name of a thing, a place or an invention. The person gets forgotten but his name enters our day-to-day vocabulary describing something we cannot really do without. Who, for example, remembers James Thomas Brudenell, seventh Earl of Cardigan? Yet, when winter comes, most of us like to wear woolen knitted jackets that the seventh Earl of Cardigan designed and made popular. Whose names brought the words 'boycott' and 'hooligan' into existence? Read our post to find it out. Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott was an estate manager running the lands of Lord Erne in County Mayo, Ireland. His reponsibilities included collecting rent from the farmers who worked Lord Erne's land. He showed no mercy for those farmers who had no money to pay rent because of bad harvests. He was not to be persuaded to reduce rent payments or let them pay later. His only response to them was: If you cannot pay, give up the land.  As a result...

Suppose I want to say: She not only helped me to find a job but also let me stay in her flat for a few months. Is it correct?  What about the following sentence: The place doesn’t only depress me but also makes me feel frightened? ' Answer: Sentence 1 is correct but sentence 2 is not. Sentence 2  should be changed into 'The place not only depresses me but also makes me feel frightened.' REMEMBER: Not only ....but also is used WITHOUT do\does\did.   Here are more examples for you: She not only speaks like Cicero but also has considerable legal expertise. The war not only caused destruction and death but also stirred up intense hatred between the two nations. Bonus: You can start your sentence with not only for emphasis. Then it will be followed by an auxiliary verb and the subject. Not only did she overcome her severe illness but also made an invaluable contribution to political science. Not only do they cherish their time-honored traditions but also...

‘We are turning over a new leaf and if we put our shoulder to the wheel and keep our eye on the ball, we will enjoy success and never come back to the mundane life we used to have.’ What is an idiom? It is a fixed word combination whose meaning is not transparent. It creates a picture through which an idea is communicated to you. Can you find 3 idioms in the first sentence of this news item? Why study idioms? There are at least three valid reasons: a. to sound more interesting E.g. Which sentence sounds better: It is easy. or It is a piece of cake? b. to give importance to what you are saying, to make it more expressive Compare: His new film failed. or His new film sank like a stone. c. to break the ice or bring a smile to another person’s face: The film was so boring – like watching paint dry Can you add more reasons to the list? Test yourself on the commonest English idioms. Choose the right answer: 1. If you don't have any plan, you are going to play it by ...  ...

Is ‘media’ singular or plural?  Would it be correct to say: Managerial excellence is an important criteria? Which plural should I use: referenda or referendums? Read our post below to find it out. There is a small group of nouns in English which are of Greek or Latin origin. For example: an analysis, a criterion, a stimulus.   These nouns still form plurals in the same way as they did in Latin or Greek. Let us focus on the most common nouns of this type and divide them into 5 groups. Group 1   -is [ ɪ s] ending in the singular      -es [i ː z] ending in the plural                a crisis                                       crises      ...