💬 Cambridge speaking exams test this: Simply saying "I think..." every time makes your language sound flat. Examiners — and real people — want variety. Here are the phrases that move you from B1 to…
💬 The politeness problem: In a staff meeting in Sydney, someone proposed an idea I thought was terrible. I said: "That's wrong." Silence. Frowns. I was right about the idea. I was wrong about how…
💬 From real life: My first week in Australia, a colleague said: "Just get on with it, mate." I nodded. I had absolutely no idea what "get on with" meant. I spent the afternoon pretending…
💬 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…
💬 Grammar that sounds smart: Instead of writing two short sentences — "This is the student. She won the prize." — you can say: "This is the student who won the prize." One sentence. More…
💬 Imagine: If I had a time machine, I would go back to 2005 and tell myself to learn French immediately. — That's the second conditional. Imaginary. But it makes grammar beautiful.
💬 Real life: Learning French as an adult, I told myself: "If I practise every day, I will reach C1." I did. Five years later, I passed the Diplôme. Conditionals are not just grammar —…
💬 From the classroom: A student once wrote "You must to go now." The to after modal verbs is one of the most common errors at A2–B1. You can fix it in one rule.
💬 True story: Working in hospitality, I once told a VIP guest: "I will get your table" — as if I'd just decided. It was booked for weeks. The right sentence was "Your table is…
💬 Story: A student wrote: "When I arrived at the party, everyone went home." — This means he walked in, and then they left. The real story was they'd already gone. One tense, completely different…
Questions about a post, a lesson or a video? Write to me.
sourovdeb.is [at] gmail [dot] com
Sourov Deb EI · SIRET 106 764 061 00011 · Saint-Pierre, La Réunion