Comparatives and Superlatives — From Busy Nights to Beautiful Islands (A2)
Compare two things or find the extreme — the essential tools of everyday English
Tag: A2
Intonation — Questions That Sound Like Questions
Rising and falling tones carry meaning your words alone cannot
Restaurant and Food Vocabulary — The Words Every Diner Needs (A2)
From Sourov's world: In my early days at Uccello in Sydney — a fine Italian restaurant in the Merivale group — a guest pointed at the menu and said: "Can I have the thing with…
Articles — A, An and The: The Little Words That Change Everything (A2)
The smallest words in English — but they change everything about what you mean
Reading Headlines — What Newspapers Don’t Say
From Sourov's world: When I moved to La Réunion, I picked up my first French newspaper and read the headline. The words were French but the meaning made no sense — where were the articles?…
English at the Doctor’s — What to Say When You’re Ill
💬 When language fails at the worst moment: My first year in Australia, I hurt my back. I sat in a medical clinic, could not explain my symptoms clearly, and left with the wrong prescription.…
Word Stress in English — Are You Stressing the Right Syllable?
💬 The word that confused everyone: A student asked for the menu at a restaurant — but said "DESsert" for "desSERT" (the sweet course). The waiter heard "DEsert" (the sandy place). Same letters. Different stress.…
Small Talk in English — What to Say When You Don’t Know What to Say
💬 My first week in France: I was waiting for a meeting to start. Eight French colleagues. Silence. In Australia, we'd have talked about sport, weather, weekend plans. I had none of those reference points.…
Feelings & Emotions in English — How to Say What You Feel
💬 The word that changed everything: In a job interview in Sydney, I was asked "How are you feeling about the role?" I knew the grammar. I didn't know the vocabulary of feelings. I said…
Articles in English: A, An, The — The 3 Little Words That Change Everything
💬 My first year in Sydney: I was not a native speaker. I read a lot. But articles — a, an, the — still tripped me up daily. A colleague once gently pointed out: "It's…