This week's grammar post is inspired by a common mistake I correct in my student's expression. When do we translate the verb 'laisser' as let and when as leave. After a few times correcting a student I very often get a look of something like this : Don't panic. It's ok. And it's actually much easier than you think. The key is to ask the question "Am I talking about permission?" If you are talking about permission than the correct answer is going to be let. E.g. Please let you

One key thing that I have noticed with students is that they often don't realize how important your choice of conjugation is in your expression. Specifically not conjugating accurately, but knowing what conjugation is appropriate for which context. It's so important that it was one of the very first blogs we wrote about last year! So to give you an example of this, we're looking today at the difference between active and stative verbs. Active verbs are verbs that describe act

"Paroles en anglais simple" is a biweekly blog post where we look at the lyrics of a popular song from the past or of today and highlight the key vocabulary that English learners may not understand. This week's post is on Taylor Swift's 'You Need To Calm Down'. You will find translations to French of the different expressions at the end of the post. Song and lyrics Copyright 2019 Joel Little & Taylor Swift. This weeks song is a current hit in the United States and getting mor

The last two blogs we've posted have all looked at a variety of different words that can be confusing. Last month we looked at the verb "get" and then two weeks ago we looked at expressions with "mind". This week we're looking at another confusing word that can be used in many expressions. "thing". No not that thing, but the word thing. It may seem simple, it replaces objects, but it is so versatile that we can use it in many different expressions. In total, six different wa

"Paroles en anglais simple" is a biweekly blog post where we look at the lyrics of a popular song from the past or of today and highlight the key vocabulary that English learners may not understand. This week's post is on Kygo's "Carry On" featuring Rita Ora. You will find translations to French of the different expressions at the end of the post. Song and lyrics Copyright 2019 AFSHeeN, Ilan Kidron, Josh Cumbee, Kygo, Nat Dunn & Rita Ora. This weeks song is a hit from the Pok

Last week we decided to take a look in depth at the often confusing verb 'get' and explore the different ways that we use it in English. Students really seemed to appreciate it so we've decided to do something similar this week with another often misused word 'mind'. Careful though, this one could get complicated, so be sure to.... Funny no? Let's get serious though. The word mind can be used in a variety of different expressions and situations. In total there about 8 differe

"Paroles en anglais simple" is a biweekly blog post where we look at the lyrics of a popular song from the past or of today and highlight the key vocabulary that English learners may not understand. This week's post is on Calvin Harris, Rag'n'Bone Man's 'Giant'. You will find translations to French of the different expressions at the end of the post. Song and lyrics Copyright 2019 Calvin Harris, Rag’n’Bone Man, Jamie Hartman & Troy Miller. This weeks song was a hit at the sta

This week we're going to look at one of the most confusing verbs in English. "Get". Every student I know has questions about this verb and asking people to explain it is like getting directions from these two: Confusing no? It only has to seem that way. In reality it can be quite simple. Get is really one of just 6 different meanings. Ok yes, 6 is a lot, but it's a lot less than the more than 100 different usages it can have in a conversation. GET - The 6 Situations Situation

"Paroles en anglais simple" is a biweekly blog post where we look at the lyrics of a popular song from the past or of today and highlight the key vocabulary that English learners may not understand. This week's post is on Avicii's 'The Nights'. You will find translations to French of the different expressions at the end of the post. Song and lyrics Copyright 2014 Infinity, Nicholas “RAS” Furlong, John Feldmann, Avicii & Gabriel Benjamin. This weeks song was a huge hit from ab

When student's are first starting to learn English, one of the first thing they learn are the two most important verbs. To be (être) and to have (avoir), but they often aren't told that there are two different ways to conjugate the verb 'to have'. Now I know what're thinking.... Yes, imagine that. We can conjugate the verb 'to have' in two different ways. Let's take a look.. Which option do you think is correct? OPTION A : + Positive + : I have got a pen. - Negative - : I hav

At least once a week I have a student who makes a mistake with the verb 'dire'. Do we 'say' something or 'tell' something? For many students it's a challenging moment where I often see a face looking similar to : It doesn't need to be so complicated! The answer to knowing which verb you need to use is actually very simple and depends on one single question. "Is my verb before a person, or not?" That's it. Simple, no? When the verb comes before a person, the correct verb is te

"Paroles en anglais simple" is a biweekly blog post where we look at the lyrics of a popular song from the past or of today and highlight the key vocabulary that English learners may not understand. This week's post is on Dermot Kennedy's 'Power over me'. You will find translations to French of the different expressions at the end of the post. Song and lyrics Copyright 2018 Stephen Kozmeniuk, Dermot Kennedy & Scott Harris. This weeks song is a recent hit that's doing great on

If there is any mistake that latin based language learners (French speakers included) make all the time, it's in knowing when and how to use articles. Do we say that "The English is fun to learn." or "English is fun to learn.". Do you "like the cookies" or "like cookies"? These questions are normal for a guy named 'Bubbles' but also for any latin based language learner because in your languages, you're using articles all the time. E.g. "L'anglais est amusant à apprendre". The

"Paroles en anglais simple" is a biweekly blog post where we look at the lyrics of a popular song from the past or of today and highlight the key vocabulary that English learners may not understand. This week's post is on Tom Walker's 'I will leave the light on'. You will find translations to French of the different expressions at the end of the post. Song and lyrics Copyright 2017 Tom Walker & Steve Mac. This weeks song is a current hit that has been featured in many French

At least several times a week I have a student who asks me a question about why certain words are plural or not. For example : "Why can we only say information and not informations?". It's a great question for students to ask because so much of English grammar is related to the answer to this question : The difference between countable and uncountable nouns. I know what you're thinking now.... Try to think of it this way. Countable and uncountable is a lot like Feminine and M

"Paroles en anglais simple" is a biweekly blog post where we look at the lyrics of a popular song from the past or of today and highlight the key vocabulary that English learners may not understand. This week's post is on Rudimental's 'These Days'. You will find translations to French of the different expressions at the end of the post. Song and lyrics Copyright 2018 Amir Amor, Kesi Dryden, Piers Aggett, Leon "Locksmith" Rolle, Jamie Scott, Julian Bunetta, John Ryan, Dan Cap

This week on our blog we're going to take a look at another common mistake for students. When to use remember and when to use remind. Both can be translated as 'se rappeler' or 'se souvenir'. Now before you panic, trust me, it's not as complicated as you think. The key to knowing the difference is one of internal or external. Does the information come from YOURSELF or from an outside source? In other words... Is it coming from inside my head or another person? If it's coming

"Paroles en anglais simple" is a biweekly blog post where we look at the lyrics of a popular song from the past or of today and highlight the key vocabulary that English learners may not understand. This week's post is on The Rembrandts 'I'll be there for you'. You will find translations to French of the different expressions at the end of the post. Song and lyrics Copyright 1995 Danny Wilde, Phil Solem, Michael Skloff, Allee Willis, Marta Kauffman & David Crane. This weeks s

As a teacher there are certain errors that we see and correct all the time (E.g. misusing the present perfect or simple past) and then there are other errors that we register, but don't always correct. Today we're going to look at one of these. Picture this scene, an intermediate student is thinking about quitting their job and starting a new career in a different field. They're thinking about the other possible jobs they could be doing, they're projecting into the future a d

"Paroles en anglais simple" is a biweekly blog post where we look at the lyrics of a popular song from the past or of today and highlight the key vocabulary that English learners may not understand. This week's post is on Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper's 'Shallow'. You will find translations to French of the different expressions at the end of the post. Song and lyrics Copyright 2018 Andrew Wyatt, Anthony Rossomando, Mark Ronson & Lady Gaga. This weeks song is a hit from the 2018