Salisbury - English Training

Future reference 'Will' & 'going to' for future intentions Will  (future simple) is used to express future intentions that are decided at the time of speaking (spontaneous offers, promises and decisions): "Come on, I' ll help  you with those bags."   (seeing that someone is struggling with their shopping bags) Be going to  is used to express future intentions that have already been planned or decided before the time of speaking: "I can't make it on Saturday. I' m going to help  my parents around the house."   (referring to a decision that the speaker has made in the past) 'Will' & 'going to' for predictions Will  is used to make predictions that are based on personal judgement, opinion or intuition: "I'm sure you' ll have  a lovely time in Italy."  (opinion) Be going to  is used to make predictions that are based on present evidence. The predicted event is either very near...

Centuries after its 1847 publication,  Wuthering Heights,  Emily Brontë’s breathtaking literary classic, remains a seminal text to scholars, students, and readers around the world. Though best known for its depiction of romance between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, it is also largely multidimensional, dealing with themes such as religious hypocrisy, the precariousness of social class, and the collision of nature and culture.  But how much do you know about this famous work of English literature? Follow those links to carry out the  online  tests  https://blog.oup.com/2015/03/wuthering-heights-quiz/

‘The best of both worlds’   – means you can enjoy two different opportunities at the same time. “By working part-time and looking after her kids two days a week she managed to get the best of both worlds.” ‘Once in a blue moon’   – an event that happens infrequently. “I only go to the cinema once in a blue moon.”   ‘When pigs fly’ –  something that will never happen. “ When pigs fly she’ll tidy up her room.”   ‘To cost an arm and a leg’ – something is very expensive. “Fuel these days costs and arm and a leg.”   ‘A piece of cake’ – something is very easy. “The English test was a piece of cake.”   ‘Let the cat out of the bag’   – to accidentally reveal a secret. “I let the cat out of the bag about their wedding plans.”   ‘To feel under the weather’   – to not feel well. “I’m really feeling under the weather today; I have a terrible cold.”   ‘To kill two birds with one stone’   – to solve two problems at o...

Read the grammar explanation and do the exercise. In reported speech the tenses, word-order and pronouns may be different from the original sentence. Reported speech  When we report someone’s words we can do it in two ways. We can use  direct speech  with quotation marks ( “I work in a bank” ), or we can use  reported speech  ( He said he worked in a bank .) In  reported speech  the tenses, word-order and pronouns may be different from those in the original sentence. Present simple and present continuous tenses Direct speech:  “I travel a lot in my job”  Reported speech:  He said that he travelled a lot in his job. The present simple tense ( I travel ) usually changes to the past simple ( he travelled ) in reported speech. Direct speech:  “Be quiet. The baby’s sleeping.”  Reported speech:  She told me to be quiet because the baby was sleeping. The present continuous usually changes t...

You've probably heard of the terms  passive verbs  and  passive voice , but do you know what they mean? Do you know how they relate to active verbs and the active voice? You'll be relieved to know that you can understand the difference by asking just one simple question: Is the subject performing the action of the verb or receiving the action of the verb? In order to understand this concept, you need to understand subjects and action verbs. Subjects  tell us whom or what a sentence is about.  Mary  sang. Action verbs  show action.  Mary  sang . Note that this discussion doesn't include  linking verbs . Why? They are not action verbs. The topic of active and passive only relates to action verbs. Action verbs can be written in two different "voices." These voices tell us whether the subject is performing the action (active voice) or receiving the action (passive voice). Subject performs the action = Active Voice W...