6 Common Word Patterns That Confuse Advanced LearnersAt B2–C1 level, grammar mistakes are usually not about tenses — they’re about small words.
Especially prepositions. Some words sometimes need a preposition and sometimes don’t. That’s where even strong learners hesitate. Continue reading “When Do We Need a Preposition and When Not?”
Both “high” and “highly” have this in common: they are adverbs.
So, how are they different?
This post, like Common Mistakes in B2 Writing (1), is based on examples from students’ writing tasks – in this case, reviews. These are areas that frequently create confusion. Whether you’ve made these mistakes or not, the goal is to raise awareness so they can be avoided in the future.
This post is based on real examples from students’ writing. I have chosen these examples from areas that frequently cause confusion and regularly appear in the written work I correct. The goal is to raise awareness of these common mistakes so they can be avoided in the future. Continue reading “Common mistakes in B2 writing (1)”
X “He explained us why he didn’t agree with the proposal.”
Clue: What preposition would you need after explained?
Key: explain to somebody.
√ “He explained to us why he didn’t agree with the proposal.”
X “I knew her while we were volunteering for the National Trust in the Peak District.”
Clue: What is the difference between meet and know in this context?
Key: You meet someone for the first time and from then on, you know them.
√ “I met her while we were volunteering for the National Trust.”
Extra: “Over the working holiday, I got to know her and we became friends. After having shared some more experiences, we know each other very well now.” Continue reading “Common mistakes in First-B2 (Part 1)”
I changed the train in Madrid.
I changed trains in Madrid.
Here are 9 mistakes that pop up regularly in conversations with students. Have a look and make sure these are not a problem for you. There will be more posts on this matter. You can subscribe to my mail list* if you want to be in the loop.
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Continue reading “VISUALS: 9 common mistakes and how to avoid them”
ADVICE IS UNCOUNTABLE
Her mentor offered some sound advice that took her far in life.
Notes:
Advice is uncountable and as such, it cannot be preceded by an indeterminate article: A/an. Instead, we should use words like some, a word/piece/bit of or the.